TrpnBils
Hero Member
I'm still in shock over this afternoon....
So I went to a spot this morning with a bunch of Civil War history that I've had my eye on for about two years and finally gained permission at. Turns out it might as well be a landfill now. They ripped out an old bridge and dumped it right in the site, but you can't tell that from the road. Went to my backup spot but found nothing of interest. Went to my 2nd backup spot only to find that the creek I need to cross to get there is still ice-covered and I couldn't tell if it was shallow enough for me to cross... Went to my 3rd (last resort) backup spot only to find a closed gate, so I played over every productive site I hit last year and didn't think any of those would be thawed enough. On a whim I went back to a field I hit twice last year but didn't find anything at (there was a sizable troop encampment there). It too was frozen, but the hillside/field across the road which is owned by the same guy was nice and thawed.
I had my stock coil on my Etrac because I thought I was going to be looking for deep lead this morning, but there was so much iron at this site that I was getting nulls all over the place and could hardly carry a threshold tone. I had been hunting for about 9 hours at that point and hadn't even found a Lincoln penny, so I went home and threw on my 6" coil and went back to the site.
First tone I got with the small coil on was a flat button. Second tone I got was a flat button. Third tone was a large cent! This was technically my second large cent, but my first one was almost worn smooth and had a huge KKK counterstamp across the front of it, so this was the first one I found that LOOKED like a large cent. It's holed, but I'll take it. I was expecting it to be a CW-era coin, but when I wiped away the dirt I saw the head was facing the wrong way...I got a draped bust! To add to that, I was excited to see that it was pre-1800 (it's a 1799, but the pictures don't do it justice at all). I was even MORE stoked when I got home and saw that the Red Book has this coin valued at $1200+ in AG ("Clear enough to identify") condition. I'm not sure if it's the 1799/8 or the 1799 variety yet, but the prices are similar. It's a dug coin, which will decrease the value, and it's holed so I'm sure that will decrease it more....either way, I probably wouldn't sell it regardless. I'm afraid to do any kind of cleaning to it so it's still got dirt all over it. I hit it with water and a toothbrush but it didn't do much, and my camera seems to only grab onto the dirt rather than the coin details. It looks way better in person and the date is completely readable, unlike in the pictures.
My next coin at the same site was my first half cent (1806). It's got some kind of weird red streak on the front of it and, again, looks way better in person than in this picture because of the dirt I can't seem to get off. It's got some decent detail under the dried dirt though so I might hit it with a toothpick or Qtip later.
My last coin was an IHP which I'm always excited to find. It's an 1864 and looks like it was brand new straight from the mint when it was dropped.
I dug a total of 5 buttons today, some with back marks but I haven't really looked at them yet, and I've got some other odds and ends that are period but haven't cleaned them up yet. I'm still on a bit of a high from the coin day!
So I went to a spot this morning with a bunch of Civil War history that I've had my eye on for about two years and finally gained permission at. Turns out it might as well be a landfill now. They ripped out an old bridge and dumped it right in the site, but you can't tell that from the road. Went to my backup spot but found nothing of interest. Went to my 2nd backup spot only to find that the creek I need to cross to get there is still ice-covered and I couldn't tell if it was shallow enough for me to cross... Went to my 3rd (last resort) backup spot only to find a closed gate, so I played over every productive site I hit last year and didn't think any of those would be thawed enough. On a whim I went back to a field I hit twice last year but didn't find anything at (there was a sizable troop encampment there). It too was frozen, but the hillside/field across the road which is owned by the same guy was nice and thawed.
I had my stock coil on my Etrac because I thought I was going to be looking for deep lead this morning, but there was so much iron at this site that I was getting nulls all over the place and could hardly carry a threshold tone. I had been hunting for about 9 hours at that point and hadn't even found a Lincoln penny, so I went home and threw on my 6" coil and went back to the site.
First tone I got with the small coil on was a flat button. Second tone I got was a flat button. Third tone was a large cent! This was technically my second large cent, but my first one was almost worn smooth and had a huge KKK counterstamp across the front of it, so this was the first one I found that LOOKED like a large cent. It's holed, but I'll take it. I was expecting it to be a CW-era coin, but when I wiped away the dirt I saw the head was facing the wrong way...I got a draped bust! To add to that, I was excited to see that it was pre-1800 (it's a 1799, but the pictures don't do it justice at all). I was even MORE stoked when I got home and saw that the Red Book has this coin valued at $1200+ in AG ("Clear enough to identify") condition. I'm not sure if it's the 1799/8 or the 1799 variety yet, but the prices are similar. It's a dug coin, which will decrease the value, and it's holed so I'm sure that will decrease it more....either way, I probably wouldn't sell it regardless. I'm afraid to do any kind of cleaning to it so it's still got dirt all over it. I hit it with water and a toothbrush but it didn't do much, and my camera seems to only grab onto the dirt rather than the coin details. It looks way better in person and the date is completely readable, unlike in the pictures.
My next coin at the same site was my first half cent (1806). It's got some kind of weird red streak on the front of it and, again, looks way better in person than in this picture because of the dirt I can't seem to get off. It's got some decent detail under the dried dirt though so I might hit it with a toothpick or Qtip later.
My last coin was an IHP which I'm always excited to find. It's an 1864 and looks like it was brand new straight from the mint when it was dropped.
I dug a total of 5 buttons today, some with back marks but I haven't really looked at them yet, and I've got some other odds and ends that are period but haven't cleaned them up yet. I'm still on a bit of a high from the coin day!
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