🥇 BANNER My First US Gold Coin!

winslow

Sr. Member
Oct 30, 2004
423
1,457
Oregon, No Cal Border
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, Garrett AT Max, Equinox 800
It took almost 40 years but I finally found a US minted gold coin.

I put my small coil on the Equinox 800 with the intention of working an area that is laden with square nails, deteriorating cans and junk. Never got there. As I was crossing a dry creek I got a solid 20 on the VDI and thought I'd be digging a lead bullet or something of that nature.

QTR Eagle Site.jpg


I was absolutely floored when I dug what certainly looked like gold through the dirt.
QTR Eagle Dirt (1).jpg


And oh man it was!
QTR Eagle Edge.jpg


It just doesn't seem real after digging thousands of square nails, shell casings, rivets, buttons etc. etc. I've found silver coins and some cool relics but never a US minted gold coin. My life is now complete. Ha!
QTR Eagle fnt.jpg

QTR Eagle Rev.jpg
 

Upvote 225

Digger RJ

Gold Member
Aug 24, 2017
19,312
33,445
SW Missouri/Oklahoma
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Minelab CTX 3030; Minelab Equinox 800;
XP Deus 2
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
It took almost 40 years but I finally found a US minted gold coin.

I put my small coil on the Equinox 800 with the intention of working an area that is laden with square nails, deteriorating cans and junk. Never got there. As I was crossing a dry creek I got a solid 20 on the VDI and thought I'd be digging a lead bullet or something of that nature.

View attachment 1984885

I was absolutely floored when I dug what certainly looked like gold through the dirt. View attachment 1984883

And oh man it was! View attachment 1984884

It just doesn't seem real after digging thousands of square nails, shell casings, rivets, buttons etc. etc. I've found silver coins and some cool relics but never a US minted gold coin. My life is now complete. Ha!
View attachment 1984881
View attachment 1984882
Outstanding!!!! Congrats!!!
 

park pirate

Gold Member
May 16, 2013
8,248
7,643
City of Rensselaer (upstate NY)
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800-Explorer SE -Sovereign-GT- -Whites 6000 Di pro SL-Specturm XLT.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
It took almost 40 years but I finally found a US minted gold coin.

I put my small coil on the Equinox 800 with the intention of working an area that is laden with square nails, deteriorating cans and junk. Never got there. As I was crossing a dry creek I got a solid 20 on the VDI and thought I'd be digging a lead bullet or something of that nature.

View attachment 1984885

I was absolutely floored when I dug what certainly looked like gold through the dirt. View attachment 1984883

And oh man it was! View attachment 1984884

It just doesn't seem real after digging thousands of square nails, shell casings, rivets, buttons etc. etc. I've found silver coins and some cool relics but never a US minted gold coin. My life is now complete. Ha!
View attachment 1984881
View attachment 1984882
Outstanding....
 

RatherBeDigging

Sr. Member
Jun 16, 2020
384
2,102
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Started with a Minelab X-Terra 505 with stock coil or 18.75khz elliptical coil depending upon the site. Upgraded to Equinox 600 with stock coil, xl coil and sinper coil depending on circumstances.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Holy cow🐄! Have to take the back of my 14k longines watch and see what gold coin sized object signal sounds like. Long time coming on that bucket lister but you did it.
 

Silver Saver

Sr. Member
Mar 15, 2017
490
939
Center of North America
Detector(s) used
Etrac- Sunray x5, x8, x12. Garrett Carrot.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I think any old US gold coin is worthy of the banner. They're just so rare and at the top of most bucketlists.

I like the picture with dirt still attached. It's like when you first see the gold color and gets your heart pumping...then normally ends up being some trickster. But this one ends up being the real deal and you get to relish in the excitement of your find! Congratulations!!

That would definitely make me want to hunt that same area some more.
 

ArfieBoy

Silver Member
Aug 11, 2011
3,342
5,529
N.E. Oregon
Detector(s) used
Compass X-70, Compass X-80, Compass X-90, Compass Judge 2, Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
That gold coin is in beautiful shape. Congratulations on a fantastic find! I also voted banner! Thanks for sharing and including us in your celebration!
 

OP
OP
winslow

winslow

Sr. Member
Oct 30, 2004
423
1,457
Oregon, No Cal Border
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, Garrett AT Max, Equinox 800
Love it! Congrats! Thank you for the VDI as well. Most charts have them as ringing up lower, but your find was actually "in the ground", so I think that's way more accurate. Now I know I wouldn't miss one. A 20 is ALWAYS a dig, no matter how trashy the area. Congratulations again, sounds like you earned it!
I air tested it and came in at 15. Quite a difference!
 

BLK HOLE

Silver Member
Aug 3, 2017
4,725
6,500
Northern Virginia
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
AT MAX/AT PRO/GPX-4500, Equinox 800, Garrett Pro Pointer,NEL Attack Coil, Lesche diggers, and the custom made in the USA Freeloader Pack Mule Pouch!
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
WOW!!!! Congrats!
 

NZ49er

Hero Member
Apr 3, 2018
520
1,968
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I air tested it and came in at 15. Quite a difference!
I wonder why? Was there anything else in the hole with it? Wet soil?
 

Jan 4, 2013
15
14
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
It took almost 40 years but I finally found a US minted gold coin.

I put my small coil on the Equinox 800 with the intention of working an area that is laden with square nails, deteriorating cans and junk. Never got there. As I was crossing a dry creek I got a solid 20 on the VDI and thought I'd be digging a lead bullet or something of that nature.

View attachment 1984885

I was absolutely floored when I dug what certainly looked like gold through the dirt. View attachment 1984883

And oh man it was! View attachment 1984884

It just doesn't seem real after digging thousands of square nails, shell casings, rivets, buttons etc. etc. I've found silver coins and some cool relics but never a US minted gold coin. My life is now complete. Ha!
View attachment 1984881
View attachment 1984882
Beautiful Coin- Never found a Gold one yet but am looking in the right places. Congrats!!
 

Blak bart

Gold Member
Jun 6, 2016
18,548
97,691
FL keys
🥇 Banner finds
5
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Mine lab primary fisher secondary
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Great looking gold....congratulations !!
 

Jose The Goon

Hero Member
Apr 1, 2017
566
1,501
East Coast
Detector(s) used
Whites 6000D, 6000Di, Eagle, & PI 1000
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I wonder why? Was there anything else in the hole with it? Wet soil?
You might be right about the wet soil.
It is mentioned in the text of the link about "The Halo Effect". " Only a small amount of dampness is expected to be necessary for this, but more has a greater effect."
Also, could the difference in the VDI in the ground & out of the ground be "The Halo Effect" itself ?
I'm not sure about gold coins, (never found one) in the ground, but I do know that copper & silver coins buried a long time do have a "halo" in the dirt around them which the old VLF detectors would pick up & sound really solid & crisp, then when you cut out a nice plug, you break the "halo effect" & you hear nothing in the plug or over the hole. That usually means the coin is deeper & you should dig some more. I don't know how the new digital machines work but maybe someone can shed some light on why winslow's gold coin registered different on the VDI when out of the ground.
Here is a good link to save that explains the "Halo Effect" & some of the controversies around that theory/science: http://www.njminerals.org/metaldetecting-haloeffect.html


Short excerpt from link:
VII. Summary of the Halo Effect
The halo effect is real, not just on iron. It can happen by (A.) classical chemical mechanisms, (B.) biological-biochemical mechanisms, or (C.) both.

Once a halo forms, it would be expected to work in one or more of the following ways:

1.) By increasing the size of the conductive area centered on the metal object. Only a small amount of dampness is expected to be necessary for this, but more has a greater effect. When the entire ground becomes conductive (as on a wet salt beach), notice how a typical VLF detector reacts.

2.) By generating an electric field due to a potential difference. This does not require moving current. Regions of potential difference (i.e., voltage) are expected wherever a metal and its alteration products exist together in the soil. Interactions can be complex due to soil chemistry (e.g., charged groups on organic molecules in soil). What's important is that a potential difference gives rise to a DC electric field. The required amount of soil moisture is probably low.

The larger the extent of an electric field, the more it's going to interact with the coil of a metal detector.

3.) By generating a magnetic field due to the movement of charge. There has to be some dampness for ions to move, though really not that much; consider a so-called "dry cell" battery. More water helps, of course, such as after a couple days of rain.

A detector works by inducing a current in a metal object. This induced current causes the object to emit its own magnetic field. This in turn causes a back-induction in the search coil. If the target is already emitting a field of its own, this is going to make it easier to detect. I have found buried plastic pipes with a metal detector, but they always had water moving through them. Moving ions = magnetic field.
 

OP
OP
winslow

winslow

Sr. Member
Oct 30, 2004
423
1,457
Oregon, No Cal Border
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, Garrett AT Max, Equinox 800
I wonder why? Was there anything else in the hole with it? Wet soil?
The soil was wet but nothing else in the hole. The difference is making me question my memory! In any event, I'm digging any non-ferrous target and the bigger ferrous targets where there is a possibility of cool old stuff.
 

Hunk-a-lead

Bronze Member
Dec 20, 2020
2,091
3,252
Kansas City
Detector(s) used
Nokta Legend, Predator Phoenix Shovel
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
It took almost 40 years but I finally found a US minted gold coin.

I put my small coil on the Equinox 800 with the intention of working an area that is laden with square nails, deteriorating cans and junk. Never got there. As I was crossing a dry creek I got a solid 20 on the VDI and thought I'd be digging a lead bullet or something of that nature.

View attachment 1984885

I was absolutely floored when I dug what certainly looked like gold through the dirt. View attachment 1984883

And oh man it was! View attachment 1984884

It just doesn't seem real after digging thousands of square nails, shell casings, rivets, buttons etc. etc. I've found silver coins and some cool relics but never a US minted gold coin. My life is now complete. Ha!
View attachment 1984881
View attachment 1984882
big time gratz! great find, great save. And so beautifully preserved, well done
 

THing4CSA

Full Member
Aug 20, 2006
146
77
Leesburg, VA
Detector(s) used
I use an XP-Deus and have a Whites DFX as a back-up/loaner detector.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
It took almost 40 years but I finally found a US minted gold coin.

I put my small coil on the Equinox 800 with the intention of working an area that is laden with square nails, deteriorating cans and junk. Never got there. As I was crossing a dry creek I got a solid 20 on the VDI and thought I'd be digging a lead bullet or something of that nature.

View attachment 1984885

I was absolutely floored when I dug what certainly looked like gold through the dirt. View attachment 1984883

And oh man it was! View attachment 1984884

It just doesn't seem real after digging thousands of square nails, shell casings, rivets, buttons etc. etc. I've found silver coins and some cool relics but never a US minted gold coin. My life is now complete. Ha!
View attachment 1984881
View attachment 1984882
Congrats on one beautiful coin! I guess you have to wait longer for a much nicer coin! My one and only US Gold coin is a One Dollar 1854 Type I. I found it in Leesburg, Virginia using a Whites XLT with a 9 inch coil and the factory pre-set coin and jewelry program. It was 9.5 inches down in the ground under a brick and a bunch of square nails. It took me 35 years to find a 1st gold coin! I just hope that it does not take another 35 years to find my 2nd! LOL ;-)
 

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