OLD PICNIC SITE SILVER - SURPRISE!

BlueKnight

Greenie
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Messages
13
Reaction score
71
Golden Thread
0
Location
So. NM
Detector(s) used
Fisher Gold Bug 2, Minelab (various models), Fisher 2 Box
Shadow X-5
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
I happen to live in the Southern NM (desert), and during Library Research, I ran across a news article from the 1950s that mentioned a remote picnic site that was popular for weekend and holiday gatherings. A faded black and white photograph showed several concrete tables, benches, and stone bar-b-Que pits on a secluded hilltop outside of town. I couldn't find anything else to go on and everyone I talked to had never heard of it, so I explored the back-roads until I located it by a process of elimination.
Nothing was left of the concrete and stone that was functionally intact, and the, (4x4 only), inaccessibility of the rocky washed out road made the location an ideal lover's lane, beer drinking - high school hideaway.

After several trips to the site and a modest clean-up effort, I managed to unearth a few nice surprises: Wheaties, rosies, Jefferson's, a buffalo/Indian head, a girls 10k gold ring with a tiny "diamond" setting, and a singed (partially burned), 1961 Ben Franklin half dollar. The biggest surprise though, was the improvised "black-jack" made from a gym sock filled with (217) clad pennies, hidden under a pile of rocks!
Another strange surprise was a 1961 Washington Quarter that had a hole shot through it! Gives new meaning to the term, "Coin Shooting" To me, that's what makes metal detecting and coin shooting so interesting. You just never know what you might find next!
DSCN0709.webp
 

Attachments

  • DSCN0710.webp
    DSCN0710.webp
    2.2 MB · Views: 104
  • DSCN0687.webp
    DSCN0687.webp
    749.5 KB · Views: 116
  • DSCN0685.webp
    DSCN0685.webp
    760.1 KB · Views: 107
  • DSCN0688.webp
    DSCN0688.webp
    1.1 MB · Views: 99
  • DSCN0689.webp
    DSCN0689.webp
    1.5 MB · Views: 102
  • DSCN0692.webp
    DSCN0692.webp
    1.7 MB · Views: 107
  • DSCN0756.webp
    DSCN0756.webp
    668 KB · Views: 101
Upvote 18
The biggest surprise though, was the improvised "black-jack" made from a gym sock filled with (217) clad pennies
Finally! A use for those zinc Lincolns!! :icon_thumright:


Nice research, and it paid off!
 

Great research and results.
Hope that brownish staining wan't old blood.
 

Good job finding the site and congrats on the great finds !
 

Cool stuff down there! The shot silver quarter is a nice find and the Franklin half is a hard find anytime/where. I see at least two and maybe up to four silver war nickels. Throw in some gold and you've got great spot and I'll bet theres more around somewhere.
Congratulations, way to work it and thanks for sharing.
If that 43 nickel two down from the buffalo doesn't have a mint mark above the dome on the back, check out the 43 counterfeit coins.
 

What an exciting hunt you had and all the recoveries you brought to light! Good job!
 

Looks like some of those clad pennies were from the 2000's.
 

Suggesting that something potentially unfortunate happened there more recently. May be more than metal buried in the ground out there if you follow me.
True. Creepy stuff.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom