Newbies First Finds

[LizB]

Newbie's First Finds

Hello everyone,

First, I would like to thank all of those who offer input and advice on this website. I think my first month of md'ing could have been long and frustrating if it wasn't for all the helpful posts I've read. I really learned a lot.

I love conducting historic reasearch and I found out my house was built around 1890 and used to be used as a public building in the 1920's so I thought my yard would be a great place to learn the basics (as suggested on this site).

I received my md a couple of weeks ago and after a few hours each week my daughter and I have found many items (and I think I have just touched the surface). I do have one question - Any suggestions on cleaning coins. I have about 15 pennies that I can not read the dates (stuff is stuck to it).

My MOST exciting finds:

1926 Mercury Dime & a sterling silver ring (Pictured below) (Any ideas on age of ring - The inside is marked "sterling")



1 Highway Token from State of NH.



Next 4 quarters, 1 dime, 1 nickel & 11 pennies (all 1960's - 1990's) (OH - & a spoon)



One interesting item - No sure what it is. Heavy granite with what looks like wire wrapped to a nail through it. I've read farmers use to attached wire to the tops of their stone walls. Anyone else have any ideas?



The best part was - it was so much fun. I loved finding the mercury dime & thinking about the person who may have lost it & how long had it been since anyone had touched it.

Hopefully I have just touched the surface and there will be a lot more finds.

 

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[kyleeskastles]

Lemon juice is working great on my silvers and clads. Overnight soaking makes em alot easier to rag rub clean. Congrats on the finds, probably alot more around too. The stone dealy wacker is interesting, could be a weight but dont take my word for it.

 

[Gotta dig it]

Well Done! You are on your way to a great hobby. The windows in old houses had a weight system in them to raise and lower. I suspect you have one of these weight's as they came in different sizes and shapes. Dig On

 

[flatbutton]

Very nice stuff! Congrats and welcome to the addiction

 

[Gridwalker306]

Nice finds, welcome to the forum! What ever you do, check the dates and mint marks on your coins before you clean them. If they are a key or semi-key--don't clean them! The guys over in the "coins" forum are great for advice.

 

[dirtlooter]

welcome and congrats

 

[Mduece]

Awesome find. As a "newbie" myself ( from southern NH not far from you" I've got a couple nice old finds but other then a couple silver Rosie's can't seem to find a merc. Good job and welcome

 

[vpnavy]

Great finds! Thanks for sharing...

 

[Shelbe]

Love the ring....I recognized it right away....I have the same one...my Grampa bought it for my mom when she was two. She is 67 now. I have passed it down to my 6 year old daughter and it stays safe in her jewelry box. I'm not far from you either....here in VT.

 

[g-olden years]

Congrats on pretty ring & your Merc! Took me over a year to dig my first & only Merc, still hunting for the second one. Have fun! Andi

 

[dig kzoo]

Congrats on some nice finds, and welcome to the addiction! HH!

 

[treblehunter]

There is a forum on the site for cleaning and preserving, be careful, overnight soaking and rag cleaning of a key date (valuable date) can reduce value of coin. Most times a old silver coin, the date can be seen by just holding under running water. Do not rub with anything. Most old Mercs are not worth but a few bucks. A guy on the site found a key date just a few days ago (1916 D) If you found a key date and lightly rub it with a cotton cloth under running water it would put scratches on it reducing value. Grading companies look at all coins under a microscope, scratches are very frowned upon.
You have a great yard to metal detect, take your time and go slow, learn your machine. GL and HH
Brad

 

[Indian Steve]

Your "granite" piece looks more like lead to me.

 

[I-DIG-IT]

nice finds, many many more to come.

 

[jmastny78]

Really nice finds! I'm about 2-3 weeks new into the hobby myself and my first merc definitely was an exciting find as well! Keep up the enthusiasm, it can only bring you continued success! Can't wait to see more finds as you post them!

 

[park pirate]

Nice finds and the ring looks to be older..

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Nice finds! Awesome that it's your own yard!
I usually let mine soak in warm water, most of the crud comes off.
Like they said if it's old, or a key date be careful how you clean it.

 

[LizB]

Window weight - thanks I never thought of that. I do remember them. I grew up in an old house. My parents replaced the windows but I do remember the weights in the old windows. Mine were a little dfferent.

 

[LizB]

THANK YOU Shelbe. It is a childs ring. I didn't mention that in my post. That is a big help. I don't think my house was a public building in the 50's or 60's. Now I'm off to town hall to find out who owned it then. Maybe I will be able to return to the little girl who lost it. That would really be the icing on the cake. Do you know what the stone is or where it came from?

 

[LizB]

The problem is I can not read the dates at all so I am not sure where to start in the cleaning process.