Half Cent and a Couple Silvers

[deershed]

The kid and I hit a permission we've hit before. The same site I got all the buckles a few hunts ago.
The boy starts the day off finding a deep barber dime. An 1800's something too, the ones I find are always in the 1900's?
I didn't go too long before I got a sweet little coin spill with a little silver in the mix, 6 wheats and a 51 Rosie. The hit rang up 80 on the AT Pro so the wheats were doing a good job hiding the Rosie.
I found a few more wheats then flipped a plug to a 1937 merc. Not much more other then some tag and a couple more wheats and trash.
The kid had plans so I took him home then made a return trip for some more swinging.
On my return trip a started off finding a few more wheats and a couple buckles. Then I got a 75-76 hit and thinking Indian, I flip a plug and have a 1809 Half Cent staring up at me. Sweet!!
The toasted Indian, 1901, 1912 wheat and what looks like a fired round ball with a chunk of lead cut out. We're found on a short hunt a couple days ago.

 

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[UnderMiner]

Nice Classic Head half cent! I learned something yesterday that I didn't know - it's said the blank planchets for these coins were often made far from the mint so they had to be transported to the mint by ship. They were stored in the bottom of the ship's hull as part of the ballast before being unloaded at the mint. As a result of this many blanks were damaged by salt water that leaked into the ship's hull. The mint rarely removed the damaged planchets so they frequently minted coins that were already pitted and quite damaged even when they were new. This has contributed to the lack of well preserved pennies and half pennies from the early 1800's. Coupled with the fact that they were made of pure unalloyed copper made them even softer and even less likely to survive into the modern era. Very cool!

 

[deershed]

That's some cool info. Underminer, I've only found a few others and they were toast. One was a 1794 Capped Half and if we didn't take a pic fresh out of the hole we'd have never gotten anything off it.

 

[UnderMiner]

That's some cool info. Underminer, I've only found a few others and they were toast. One was a 1794 Capped Half and if we didn't take a pic fresh out of the hole we'd have never gotten anything off it.

I hear ya, I got a Classic Head LC a few days ago, my oldest American coin to date, but the date is completely worn away, but since they were only made until 1814 it has to be at least 202 years old, so cool. Only a slight outline of the head remains, but surprisingly the tails side is still 75% legible.

Must have been amazing to find one from 1794! That's very cool! Too bad these coins deteriorate rather quickly in the ground. Apparently it wasn't until 1816 that they started adding hardening agents to the copper to make it stronger - thus US cents from this date and later are more common to find in better condition.

 

[always diggin]

Very nice hunt Congrats!

 

[digging440yrs]

Nice finds !

 

[Trezurehunter]

Very nice job on the Half Cent. Underminers info may be the reason mine was in such bad shape. On the front you can only see the outline of the face and hair. No date. The reverse was in better shape & it turned out to be the stemless wreath variety making it an 1804. Of course mine was also found in a field which did not help the coins condition either.

 

[trapperart]

Very nice finds congrats

 

[Carolina Tom]

Congrats on the nice finds... especially that half cent. WOW... over 200 years old. Envious...

 

[doninbrewster]

That's a great day out in my book. Been detecting for 35 years and didn't find a half cent until this year. Now I've found 2, a 1795 Liberty Cap early in the year and last week an 1805 Draped Bust. They don't come out of the ground very often. Great find!

 

[scruggs]

Good job with your nice finds!

 

[treblehunter]

That's a great day of hunting!

 

[against the wind]

Congratulations on the 1/2 cent. You don't see them very often. You also brought home some silver.
Really good day.

 

[basque-man]

Very cool half cent!!!

 

[Scrappy]

Great half cent DS. To find one in that condition is a rarity.

 

[Calabash Digger]

congrats on the finds! The half cent eludes my coil.