sidewalk strip= 3 silver dimes

[alb1]

Today I returned to the sidewalk strip around the closed school ball field and found 3 more silver dimes, 6 wheaties 41-57 dates, two WA tax tokens, and a 1949 falsa pecunia play dime and a funky medallion that says "Aint it hell to be poor" obverse says "This entitles the bearer 1,000,000 worth if good luck" No idea how old it is. Ive posted a before and after gentle clean of the dimes to show not all silver dimes pop out shiny. All were found between 3-6 inches. I'm about to ask the people across the street for permission to check their walkway strips.

 

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[68K]

Nice finds!

 

[Randy Combs]

I love sidewalk strips too. The medallion is very cool

 

[Nepa-Will]

Great finds!

 

[park pirate]

Nice silvers..

 

[Sluice Box]

Congratulations on that nice Merc, and unique medallion!

Sluice

 

[Carolina Tom]

Congrats on the silver. Triple play, good show. GL&HH!

 

[cjon455]

Nice job on the curb strip!

 

[Fletch88]

Nice finds alb1!

 

[Metal Illness]

3 Silver day, you can't beat that! Congrats and good luck across the street!

 

[cruiserkev]

Nice silvers and wheaties, tokens and medallion are great too.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Awesome finds! Great detecting on your part!

 

[Plumbata]

Nice scores! Looks like the area hasn't been hunted before (or if so, only by people cherrypicking the big coins). Oughta be more goodies to be had in the area.

Do you technically need to request permission to hunt the "public right-of-way" strips in your area? I've spent a lot of time reading boring documents trying to get to the bottom of it, and from what i gather, the strips are technically the property of the owner of the lot, but relinquished to the city/municipality as a permanent easement open to access and the use of the public, as well as utility crews and whatnot, of course. Unless explicitly prohibited, I figure that detecting falls under the category of "public use". That said, if the strips are pretty and well-maintained obtaining permission would be the courteous thing to do (I just detect junky/unkempt looking ones anyway) but probably isn't absolutely necessary unless local regulations make it so.

 

[beez0404]

You had a very good day hunting and finding all those silvers. Well done!

 

[hbeaton]

The "ain't it hell to be poor" token is cool. You asked about age. While I can't nail down a specific date I can help a bit...in 1896 a popular novel "Checkers: A Hard Luck Story" is published by Henry Blossom. A play version of the book was written a short time later in 1904 . However, the phrase "ain't it hell to be poor" is spoken by the main character, Checkers, in the play version but was not mentioned in the book. The phrase gained applause each time it was spoken by those viewing the play. The phrase was apparently risque to say at the time as some censors banned its use during performances. See: https://books.google.com/books?id=L...=onepage&q="ain't it hell to be poor"&f=false

By the early 1920s the phrase is mentioned in a modern inquiry into the development of phrases in the English language published in book form by noted essayist and scholar of American English, H.L. Mencken. See: https://books.google.com/books?id=X...=onepage&q="ain't it hell to be poor"&f=false

By the early 1930s tokens from cigar shops had started using the phrase. See: http://tokencatalog.com/display_rec...ingAnyWord=&HomePageSearch=&view=All+Listings

If you notice the last entry on the token catalog search, you will see the same "moonface" token you have albeit with a different reverse. The reverse speaks of the New York Michigan Development Corporation indicating the token was good for "20 dollars as down payment" on purchase of a lot for a new development, Archmont.
Archmont was the first phase of a planned housing development near Albany New York, (Watervliet to be exact) and its proposed 3,000 lots. This development's first phase began in 1922 as is now known as Archmont Knolls. See page 3 line 16: http://coloniepedd.org/attachments/planning-minutes/2009-07-28 STENO Archmont Knolls.pdf

Now....what does this have to do with your token presumably found many thousands of miles away? Well, like I said, I couldn't put an exact date on it but I have an example that started at least in the early 1920s and presumably were made for decades afterwards for a wide swath of causes but included that all encompassing phrase about poverty. Based on your wheatie/silver finds....I'd say you have a token from atleast 1930s onward.

Hope the helps.

 

[46Wheat]

Thank you for sharing your hunt and those pictures with this snowbound northern boy . Come on spring hurry up

 

[dirtlooter]

awesome finds, love the token too

 

[UnderMiner]

Those good luck medallions really work you know. And finding one doubles the luck it gives.

 

[treblehunter]

Great finds!

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Very nice finds!