Wow. What a day!
I was with my detecting buddies Steve and Bus Driver Don. Don got the nickname because he is always taking us to school when it comes to detecting. We have a light hearted competition of who will find the best, most, or oldest finds during the hunt. Even though I am in the game, my money is always on Don to come out ahead.
Earlier in the year I came into contact with a local guy, Steve K. He is in his 70s and had lost his dad's WWII gold pilot's ring doing fall cleanup in the yard 60 some years ago. His mother still owns his boyhood home and he wanted to find the lost ring, as it is very sentimental to him. I had searched the garden a couple months ago where he recalls losing the ring. But, did not have any luck finding it.
We had time to kill before we were scheduled to go to Steve K's for the attempted pilot ring recovery. We decided to hit a couple unproductive parks. One is very old, the other newer. There was the typical newer pocket change at the old park. The Bus Driver managed to find a 1945 Canadian penny, which put him on the top of the leader board and had Steve and me in the familiar catch up position in the competition.
The 1950s park offered up some good finds. Of course Don right away pulls out a 1940s silver Mexico 20 cent piece that had been converted into a necklace. I noted the fact that he was having an international finds kind of day given that he had found that Canadian penny earlier. He was still ahead, but Steve and I had found a silver Rosie, a couple of Mercs, and a silver quarter between us. At least the skunk was out of the box and we all had silvers on the board. Even if we found nothing else we could chalk it up as a good day.
We made our way over to Steve K's place. We spread out in the backyard in the corner where he remembers losing the ring. Steve K. was sitting in a lawn chair watching us hunt. About 20 minutes in I made it over to the area where his boyhood swing sat. I had found some wheaties there on a previous hunt. I got an interesting signal and dug a plug. I got that big silver rush when I saw a half dollar sized coin in the dirt. My finds portfolio is skinny on silver halves, so I was happy to see it sitting there. Even better was that it was a Franklin. The first in my collection. There ended up being a silver Washington in the hole too. Less than 30 seconds later my buddy Steve finds a Walker half near by. So now we are way ahead of lucky Don. He did manage to find a cool silver 191? French Franc coin that had been cut in half and made into a necklace charm. It played well into the international finds theme that he had going. But, I knew that he knew he was behind in the count given the big silvers Steve and I had just dug. About the only way he is going to beat us was to find that missing gold pilot's ring before we did.
About another 20 minutes had passed. I was 20 yards away when I heard Bus Driver Don exclaim something and head over to Steve K. to excitedly show him a find. At first I thought it was the ring. But, it was too big and silvery in his hand. I heard something about a badge. Sure enough, it looked like one of those big Lone Ranger cereal toys Steve K. probably lost in the yard when he was a kid. As I got closer I heard Steve K. say, " It has my dad's name on it." Sure enough, Steve's dad for a short time was a county deputy sheriff and he was holding his long lost badge from the 1940s that Don had just recovered. Steve K. went in to show his mom. Later he told me that he does not remember, but apparently he had lost it playing with it without permission as a kid. His dad had been issued a new one which Steve K. still has. He said the recovered one would be displayed next to the replacement.
Like I had said: Wow. What a day. The weather was perfect even though we are really late into fall, I got to hang out with my best friends on probably the last hunt of the season, I befriended some great people, got to see one heck of a personalized find make its way back to an appreciative family member, we all found some good finds, Steve and I got bested again by The Bus Driver, and the gold pilot's ring is still there waiting for a spring time reunion.
I was with my detecting buddies Steve and Bus Driver Don. Don got the nickname because he is always taking us to school when it comes to detecting. We have a light hearted competition of who will find the best, most, or oldest finds during the hunt. Even though I am in the game, my money is always on Don to come out ahead.
Earlier in the year I came into contact with a local guy, Steve K. He is in his 70s and had lost his dad's WWII gold pilot's ring doing fall cleanup in the yard 60 some years ago. His mother still owns his boyhood home and he wanted to find the lost ring, as it is very sentimental to him. I had searched the garden a couple months ago where he recalls losing the ring. But, did not have any luck finding it.
We had time to kill before we were scheduled to go to Steve K's for the attempted pilot ring recovery. We decided to hit a couple unproductive parks. One is very old, the other newer. There was the typical newer pocket change at the old park. The Bus Driver managed to find a 1945 Canadian penny, which put him on the top of the leader board and had Steve and me in the familiar catch up position in the competition.
The 1950s park offered up some good finds. Of course Don right away pulls out a 1940s silver Mexico 20 cent piece that had been converted into a necklace. I noted the fact that he was having an international finds kind of day given that he had found that Canadian penny earlier. He was still ahead, but Steve and I had found a silver Rosie, a couple of Mercs, and a silver quarter between us. At least the skunk was out of the box and we all had silvers on the board. Even if we found nothing else we could chalk it up as a good day.
We made our way over to Steve K's place. We spread out in the backyard in the corner where he remembers losing the ring. Steve K. was sitting in a lawn chair watching us hunt. About 20 minutes in I made it over to the area where his boyhood swing sat. I had found some wheaties there on a previous hunt. I got an interesting signal and dug a plug. I got that big silver rush when I saw a half dollar sized coin in the dirt. My finds portfolio is skinny on silver halves, so I was happy to see it sitting there. Even better was that it was a Franklin. The first in my collection. There ended up being a silver Washington in the hole too. Less than 30 seconds later my buddy Steve finds a Walker half near by. So now we are way ahead of lucky Don. He did manage to find a cool silver 191? French Franc coin that had been cut in half and made into a necklace charm. It played well into the international finds theme that he had going. But, I knew that he knew he was behind in the count given the big silvers Steve and I had just dug. About the only way he is going to beat us was to find that missing gold pilot's ring before we did.
About another 20 minutes had passed. I was 20 yards away when I heard Bus Driver Don exclaim something and head over to Steve K. to excitedly show him a find. At first I thought it was the ring. But, it was too big and silvery in his hand. I heard something about a badge. Sure enough, it looked like one of those big Lone Ranger cereal toys Steve K. probably lost in the yard when he was a kid. As I got closer I heard Steve K. say, " It has my dad's name on it." Sure enough, Steve's dad for a short time was a county deputy sheriff and he was holding his long lost badge from the 1940s that Don had just recovered. Steve K. went in to show his mom. Later he told me that he does not remember, but apparently he had lost it playing with it without permission as a kid. His dad had been issued a new one which Steve K. still has. He said the recovered one would be displayed next to the replacement.
Like I had said: Wow. What a day. The weather was perfect even though we are really late into fall, I got to hang out with my best friends on probably the last hunt of the season, I befriended some great people, got to see one heck of a personalized find make its way back to an appreciative family member, we all found some good finds, Steve and I got bested again by The Bus Driver, and the gold pilot's ring is still there waiting for a spring time reunion.
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