Fast_Dave
Full Member
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2003
- Messages
- 215
- Reaction score
- 7
- Golden Thread
- 0
- Location
- Superior, WI
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Explorer, White's 6000, Fisher Aquanaut
"My Walking Half" or "Why I'm Still Detecting"
Jim D and I started hunting Saturday morning with the intention of hitting some out of the way places and getting them off our summer list. Our first hunt was in a patch of woods not far from Jim's house that has seen considerable use over the last 100 years as a patch of woods. We gave our thanks to the lone partier who, sometime in the mid 1960's, trekked to this spot , downed a 12 pack and fell to the ground, spilling his pockets. Jim netted two silver Roosevelt's and I came up with a '44-p war nickel. It also seems he dropped his 18K copper ring at this spot, no doubt a devastating loss. I know it's 18K copper because it's green and brown and marked 18K on the inside of the band. I shouldn't complain, that means it's 75% copper and with the way copper spot prices are on the rise it could be valuable someday. I'm not sure what the other 25% is though. Just up the hill, Jim got a token from a 1926 jacks tournament, and I got a set of junior pilot wings.
Our second stop was at a scenic overlook, something Duluth has an abundance of. Jim started hunting in the woods just off the road while I made a beeline for what could laughingly be called a trail running to the top of the 60 foot rock escarpment. Duluthians are a hardy breed of hillside dwellers, counting mountain goats somewhere in their genetic heritage. As I scaled the south face of Mount Oops on a trail that reached a pitch of 70 degrees in some places, I got a pulltab signal at 2 1/2 ". My decision to dig was made easier by the fact that my face was less than 6 inches from the target at that point due to the steepness of the trail, and I wouldn't even have to bend over to dig. It's interesting to note that one can hold a Minelab Explorer with one's teeth as long as the dig time doesn't exceed 2 minutes. My efforts were rewarded as I plucked from the ground a beautiful silver class ring. At least some time in it's life it was both beautiful and silver. I could tell right away this student had passed the "Heirloom of a Lifetime" section of the catalog and gone directly to "Its the Thought That Counts". I know some students are not rich and a gold ring is beyond their means, but why bother to buy a silver plated copper class ring? Perhaps the problems were economic in nature or maybe he had a problem with losing rings, having lost his 18K copper ring at a party the previous week.
When I reached the top of the rock, stopping long enough to catch my breath and wipe the shoe treadmarks off my tongue, I marvelled at the panoramic view. In fact, the view was so magnificent that it seemed no one had stayed long enough to drop anything, being totally overwhelmed by their own insignificance. Sadly I trudged/slid/fell down the trail and we left for our last stop of the day, where Jim managed to pick up a war nickel before rain drove us off.
Sunday came and we were back out in the afternoon. Jim had hunted a coworkers house in the morning and had found a silver Roosevelt and a Merc dime in the parking strip. What came as a total coincidence was that I had lived within half a block of that house 14 years ago and had even found the owner's property markers for him when his neighbor wanted to build a fence. I hadn't even thought to check the parking strips. Oh well, live and learn.
Our first stop was another scenic overlook developed by the city sometime around the 1920's. We could tell this place was much more used from the brightly colored shards of melted sand strewn liberally about from defunct beverage containers(broken glass). The rocks were also very colorful, with explicit descriptions of difficult anatomical acts, although usually not performed by the author. Some even came complete with pictographs in case you were unsure of the meaning. Jim found some carvings done by people in the 1930's before such conveniences as spraypaint were available. The overlook itself was a bust, but off to one side was a flat area that apparently had been intended as a picnic spot by the city planners. As we moved in, we could see reminders of a bygone era, rusty conetop beer cans. I guess some things never change. Even with the debris, Jim managed to pick off a wheat and a 1940's nickel. Right near the entrance to the picnic spot, I pulled out a 1934 Walking half. Our last stop for the weekend was a park which gave up 2 wheats and a horribly pitted 1906 Indianhead.
And you know, when I got home and pulled out that Walking half to clean, my only thought was,"Boy was it worth it!"
Jim D and I started hunting Saturday morning with the intention of hitting some out of the way places and getting them off our summer list. Our first hunt was in a patch of woods not far from Jim's house that has seen considerable use over the last 100 years as a patch of woods. We gave our thanks to the lone partier who, sometime in the mid 1960's, trekked to this spot , downed a 12 pack and fell to the ground, spilling his pockets. Jim netted two silver Roosevelt's and I came up with a '44-p war nickel. It also seems he dropped his 18K copper ring at this spot, no doubt a devastating loss. I know it's 18K copper because it's green and brown and marked 18K on the inside of the band. I shouldn't complain, that means it's 75% copper and with the way copper spot prices are on the rise it could be valuable someday. I'm not sure what the other 25% is though. Just up the hill, Jim got a token from a 1926 jacks tournament, and I got a set of junior pilot wings.
Our second stop was at a scenic overlook, something Duluth has an abundance of. Jim started hunting in the woods just off the road while I made a beeline for what could laughingly be called a trail running to the top of the 60 foot rock escarpment. Duluthians are a hardy breed of hillside dwellers, counting mountain goats somewhere in their genetic heritage. As I scaled the south face of Mount Oops on a trail that reached a pitch of 70 degrees in some places, I got a pulltab signal at 2 1/2 ". My decision to dig was made easier by the fact that my face was less than 6 inches from the target at that point due to the steepness of the trail, and I wouldn't even have to bend over to dig. It's interesting to note that one can hold a Minelab Explorer with one's teeth as long as the dig time doesn't exceed 2 minutes. My efforts were rewarded as I plucked from the ground a beautiful silver class ring. At least some time in it's life it was both beautiful and silver. I could tell right away this student had passed the "Heirloom of a Lifetime" section of the catalog and gone directly to "Its the Thought That Counts". I know some students are not rich and a gold ring is beyond their means, but why bother to buy a silver plated copper class ring? Perhaps the problems were economic in nature or maybe he had a problem with losing rings, having lost his 18K copper ring at a party the previous week.
When I reached the top of the rock, stopping long enough to catch my breath and wipe the shoe treadmarks off my tongue, I marvelled at the panoramic view. In fact, the view was so magnificent that it seemed no one had stayed long enough to drop anything, being totally overwhelmed by their own insignificance. Sadly I trudged/slid/fell down the trail and we left for our last stop of the day, where Jim managed to pick up a war nickel before rain drove us off.
Sunday came and we were back out in the afternoon. Jim had hunted a coworkers house in the morning and had found a silver Roosevelt and a Merc dime in the parking strip. What came as a total coincidence was that I had lived within half a block of that house 14 years ago and had even found the owner's property markers for him when his neighbor wanted to build a fence. I hadn't even thought to check the parking strips. Oh well, live and learn.
Our first stop was another scenic overlook developed by the city sometime around the 1920's. We could tell this place was much more used from the brightly colored shards of melted sand strewn liberally about from defunct beverage containers(broken glass). The rocks were also very colorful, with explicit descriptions of difficult anatomical acts, although usually not performed by the author. Some even came complete with pictographs in case you were unsure of the meaning. Jim found some carvings done by people in the 1930's before such conveniences as spraypaint were available. The overlook itself was a bust, but off to one side was a flat area that apparently had been intended as a picnic spot by the city planners. As we moved in, we could see reminders of a bygone era, rusty conetop beer cans. I guess some things never change. Even with the debris, Jim managed to pick off a wheat and a 1940's nickel. Right near the entrance to the picnic spot, I pulled out a 1934 Walking half. Our last stop for the weekend was a park which gave up 2 wheats and a horribly pitted 1906 Indianhead.
And you know, when I got home and pulled out that Walking half to clean, my only thought was,"Boy was it worth it!"
Attachments
Upvote
0
