The Iceberg story- updated 2/23/07

[Danimal]

Yesterday I spent nearly the entire day hunting an old park that I think has been abandoned for a while, and had been open to the public for over 100 years before that. It is all overgrown and heavily wooded now
I wandered around most of the day before finding a good area. In the last 2 hrs of daylight I found a 1964 silver Washington quarter, a 1959 Rosie and 14 wheaties, with most being from the late 30's and early 40's (3-1944's, but no D/S)
Even all the memorials I found were from the very early 60's, with only three coins total being from the non-silver era.
The area they were in was just scratched by myself. The silver quarter was just laying on the ground! I will be back fo'sure!

Oh yeah..I also dug a solid silver gravy spoon. The maker's marks on the back ar quite intricate....but I am sure I can date it!

I'll also post pics later from my Friday night hunt near an early 1800's farmhouse foundation. 2 musketballs!!

I think thse finds are just the tip of the Iceberg as we have barely touched this area and most of the coins were fairly concentrated.

HH all!

 

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[Danimal]

Return to the Iceberg, and continue chipping at it's tip.

Saturday my son and I worked the whole day at an old park that I had last week discovered and pulled 13 wheats and a few silver coins. We packed food and water and took the root saw this time and went at it!
Rather than go on and on, I'll just show more pictures!
Total finds included:
39 wheat pennies!...lots of early dates (1911 being oldest) but no key dates (two 1944 D's, but no D/S)
nice old silver ring (fits Spencer...now on his hand)
1918 Buffalo Nickle in VF shape (not a 17/18 overstrike)
1951 Rosie
scout scarf holder
COOL old copper-stamped foot from some type of beast!
some trinkets
the ONLY clad we dug was JUST like last weekend...ALL 1965!!! DOH!
TONS o' tabs...(see pic)...most were dug to help get coins pinpointed, as the areas saturated with wheats also were filled with tabs.

Enjoy the pics!

HH all

 

[Danimal]

Re: Return to the iceberg, and continue chipping at it's tip.

what's weird is that for several hours I was pulling wheat after wheat, to the point where it was almost becoming routine...I would call out "wheatie"...Spencer would call out "wheatie"...(BTW, ALL memorial pennies we dug were from the silver era, with 45 of them being 1959!!)
And I kept thinking "where in the he77 are all the dimes and quarters?"...when I would get a solid quarter ID, it would be anxious time...and then 1965!!!....
The area where I dug the Rosie and Buff also gave up 10 wheats, and all within a 10 minute period!...and let me tell you...THAT spot we BARELY touched as it was turning dark and we had a hike to get out!...I WILL be back to THAT spot and hammer it hard next weekend, and I GUARANTEE a lot of nice coins, as the small spot that produced the Buff,silver Rosie and 10 wheats was only a 5' square spot and there are DOZENS of the SAME spots surrounding it (can't really tell what type of spot it is for privacy reasons, but let's just say they are repetitive and all the same, with the same odds of holding coins as the spot I dug)

 

[River Rat]

Re: Return to the iceberg, and continue chipping at it's tip.

What a weekend!!! Awesome finds.

I recognize the claw foot...not actually knowing how big the one you found is, but it is the tips from the legs of a couch (mine has 4 toes) and the coffee table has 3 toes. The couch feet are much bigger than the coffee table. I don't know what those thingies are actually called. But I can say...my couch & table are from the early 40's.

RR

 

[TJPOPELKA]

Re: Return to the iceberg, and continue chipping at it's tip.

Great assortment of finds!! I hope my son gets interested when he is older-he is 8 now-doesn't care for it much now. More interested in his video games I guess!

 

[Danimal]

Re: Return to the iceberg, and continue chipping at it's tip.

Great assortment of finds!! I hope my son gets interested when he is older-he is 8 now-doesn't care for it much now. More interested in his video games I guess!

His attention span can vary wildly at times though and he's 12 going on 20 lol!!

One thing that REALLY pissed him off and kind of discouraged him was, at one point early in the day, I had just dug about 8 wheaties in about 5 minutes and he was like "man..I aint getting nuttin but broken pulltab sounds" (his BH only has a knob discrimination) and I told him to increase the discrim a bit and to SLOW DOWN (he swings like he's using a sickle to reap wheat, not a detector to find wheaties)
and right then I got yet another SURE wheatie target and said.. "look..here's a wheatie...see what this sounds like before I dig it and play with your discrimination so it still sounds good"
I swear, his BH Fast Tracker wouldn't even make a PEEP until he turned discrim. OFF!!!!...the SECOND he clicked it back on the coin dissapeared!
After that I offered to let him use my detector, but he choose instead to run his with discrim. off...and was ok from there, but still, I pulled 20 coins to each of his. He did pull the oldest coin, a 1911 wheat.

 

[Danimal]

Weekend hunt at the Iceberg with Mirage and Nate-57 silver, 17 Buffalos!!!!

If you TN`folks remember, the past two weekends I have been hunting an old park that had been abandoned years ago after being used for picnicing, etc for a LONG time. Now it sits deep in the woods and is completely overgrown. After about 16 hrs working this LARGE wooded area, I had finally started pulling some silver, lots of wheats and JUST as darkness fell last weekend, a beautiful 1918 Buffalo in VF condition! I have decided to designate this spot the ICEBERG, because I am convinced that not only is it previously unhunted, but since the area is large, the amount of nice coins I was pulling was just the beginning of what lies hidden below.
I have hunted several times with Mirage (who posts here on TN as well as his son Nate) before and the more I get to know him the more I like his "style". He has been gracious enough in the past to turn my son Spencer and I on to a couple hot spots where I have found some nice coins (including my first IH)..so I decided to let Bob and Nate in on my little secret area. I thought the companionship would be nice on weekends when I don't have my son, and the area to cover is quite large, so I figured it would help speed the search to hot areas.
Bob and I hunted about 6 hrs together at the 'Berg Saturday, and returned Sunday with Nate for another 7 hrs or so.
The amount of nice coins found over these two days was staggering (well...at least by MY standards, and I have only been at this hobby for 7 months now). I broke ALL my records....and I mean I WAY broke them...I shattered them...decimated them....you get the point!!
I will let Bob (Mirage) and Nate post their own pictures (hopefully on this thread) along with their totals, so what I list and show here is JUST for myself for the past two days.
*90 wheat pennies. I have a breakdown of dates, but no key dates really. The oldest was a 1917. The soil here is REAL nice to ALL coins, and most of the wheaties can clean up to full red.
*22 memorial pennies.Latest date 1973. Many from 1959-62.
*11 Jefferson Nickles-most from 40s and 50s.
*4 clad quarters all from 60s.
*5 clad dimes, all from 60s.
Now here we go.....
*10 Buffalo Nickles, including a first year 1913 type 1 with the buffalo standing on the mound-my first! These buffalos clean up wonderfully, and only ONE is undated! 13T1,16,18,19,2-27s,28,35D,36 and an undated D mint Buff.
*3 silver War Nickles-43P,45P and a 45S.
*11 Mercury Dimes,18S,2-20D,28,35,41,2-43,2-44 and a 45.
*11 silver Rosies,46,46S,47,50D,52,52S,52D,53D,56 and 2-57s.
*a 1913 Barber Dime!! (my 3rd Barber dime)
*4 silver Washington Quarters,43,52,53D and a 57.

THIRTY silver coins total in two days!! Whew!
I am gonna keep this location to myself and Bob and Nate have promised to as well. I have worked real hard researching spots and spent a lot of time in the field, so I really feel like I deserve to hit a spot like this. At one point on Saturday I felt so giddy that I just started laughing and couldn't stop. I am sure Bob thought I was going insane.
I will try and keep things in perspective when hunting other areas. In two days I nearly DOUBLED my total silver coin count for the entire time I have been doing this!
Keep at it folks...there REALLY ARE some great spots left. Just do your research and spend some hours out there!

HH all!!

BTW, for all those purists who will shudder at these polished coins, trust me, I first carefully clean the dirt off, check for key dates, and if not a ket date, get out the Blue Magic and clean em up!...to me they look better in my album!

update 10/31:
I added the three silvers I found at the Glacier ( I think now, in perspective, it's MUCH larger than an Iceberg) the two previous trips while locating the hotspot, as well as Nate's 4 silvers.
I will also keep a running total of Buffalo Nickles found here. So far it's my 1 from two weeks back, 10 from last weekend, 5 of Mirage's and Nates single for a total of 17!!
I will update this thread after each subsequent trip to the Glacier as well!!

 

[Danimal]

Re: Weekend hunt at the Iceberg with Mirage and Nate-UNREAL!!!

more pics!!

 

[Danimal]

Re: Weekend hunt at the Iceberg with Mirage and Nate-Broke all my records!!!

based upon the age and number of coins we pulled, I really think the odds of pulling my second (and maybe third and forth?) SLQ are pretty good here!...makes me excited just thinking about the next trip.

 

[Danimal]

Re: Weekend hunt at the Iceberg with Mirage and Nate-Broke all my records!!!

Just goes to show-research and patience really does pay off! Way to go-Did you have a hard time sleeping that night wondering what else might be there?!

dude...I'm gonna have a hard time sleeping all this week waiting for next Saturday!!
By then my arm and knees should feel better as well.

 

[Mirage]

Re: Weekend hunt at the Iceberg with Mirage and Nate-Broke all my records!!!

Yes Dan, I broke a lot of my records too.
You took some awesome pics Dan! That one overall shot with the wheats on both sides is SMOKIN. I can tell it took some time to set up.

Here are my totals:

20 Silver(2 quarters, 9 mercs, 5 rosies, 3 war nickels and a Benjamin Half)
5 Buffalos
67 Wheats

Lot of nice date wheats. I still have not gone through most of them.
Benjamin Half was a first for me. Very sweet! So was the Canadian silver dime.

By the way, I owe you one!

Also Dan I have some more theoreys for you. But I will save that for our next hunt.

Mirage

 

[Danimal]

Re: Weekend hunt at the Iceberg with Mirage and Nate-Broke all my records!!!

That's just an excellent, excellent hunt for all involved..... most impressive are the Buffalo's, cleaned up fantastic!!.....congrats!!!!!

HH all!

Greg

I used blue magic on the silver and Buffs...and for the Buffs it was quite a bit of work to get them nice, so the last couple I tried something different. I used a soft-bristle brass brush, wetted it with blue magic and went to town....less than 30 seconds on each side and those suckers looks incredible!!

Out of the 10 Buffs, only ONE had the typical nickle pitted corrosion...WOW

here's a nice closeup of Saturday's six Buffalos after cleaning

 

[Danimal]

Re: Weekend hunt at the Iceberg with Mirage and Nate-Broke all my records!!!

Also Dan I have some more theoreys for you. But I will save that for our next hunt.

Mirage

Theories schmeries....lol!!

Here's what I anticipate Mirage's theory will go like...
" well Dan, judging by the angle of each coin found and the dispersal zone of the groupings, combined with the type of coin and the date range, I figure that back in 1954 a group of 13-16 year old boys were out picnicing. The oldest of the boys, a strapping young man of 16 (we KNOW he was big because it was HE who carried the Franklin half) started taunting the smaller boy, calling him a shrimp. Each boy had pockets full of pennies for the candy stand located nearby at the park entrance, as well as plenty of dimes for the hot dog stand located near the swimming area. A fight ensued. The Mother, acting as chapperone, TRIED to break it up, but these testosterone-infused kids just got her involved and she started swinging her purse in an attempt to defend herself. Coins flew everywhere. It rained metallic disks for over half an hour.
Suddenly a heavy downpour with intense lightning began. Not wanting to stay under the canopy of large oak trees, all involved hightailed it back to the parking area and scrambled into their assortment of 1940s and 50's era cars. Not wanting to leave because of the money lost but not willing to brave the storm they waited. Two hours later dusk fell and the decision was made to leave. All parents involved were notified and the amount of money lost was deducted from the boy's allowances. None returned because of the ill-feelings this caused.
Being fall, the storm dislodged many many leaves, quickly covering the carpet of freshly fallen coins.
There they lay until Dan "stumbled" upon it."

or something like that

what really got me was that Mirage pulled that Franklin half less than 2 ft from a spot I had been working for hours!!!...GRRRRRRRRR lol
AND, Bob had JUST stated that he doubted there would be halves there, as they are easily spotted when dropped.....

 

[Danimal]

Re: Weekend hunt at the Iceberg with Mirage and Nate-someone pinch me!!!

So let's see now...
50 silver coins total, and Nate has yet to post.

I swear I am about to start giggling again sitting at my desk looking at these pictures!

 

[Danimal]

Re: Weekend hunt at the Iceberg with Mirage and Nate-50 silver total so far!!!

BAM! Nice haul you guys!

I haven't had a haul like that since the 1980s LOL!

Can't wait to see what all you pull out of there!

If it is like the 'untouched' park I hit one time, the first wave will be all that stuff you're finding now, then you get to slow down and pick out all the deep OLD stuff.

But first you have to get all that pesky newer silver out of the way.


Congrats you guys!

Thanks MLW!!...I will not even attempt to steal any of Nate's thunder, but some of that older silver may have already shown itself (older than my Barber)

 

[Danimal]

Re: Weekend hunt at the Iceberg with Mirage and Nate-50 silver total so far!!!

I found two merc dimes one day and thought I had hit the jackpot, but your haul is nuts. Wow. Nice finds.

Ted

Ted-
Before this, my best day was 3 silvers.
Before this, in the 7 months I have been at this hobby, I had dug less than 40 silver coins.
Before this, I had dug 5 Buffalo nickles in 7 months.
And before this, I had been told by other far more experienced THers that I was doing quite well for a beginner.

This is straight out of a 1972 issue of W&E Treasures as far as numbers!!

BTW, LOVE Dio!!

 

[PBK]

Re: Weekend hunt at the Iceberg with Mirage and Nate-50 silver total so far!!!

This is straight out of a 1972 issue of W&E Treasures as far as numbers!!

Hey, how about straight out of a future issue? Write it up and send it in. With finds like those, it's a cinch!

 

[Danimal]

Re: Weekend hunt at the Iceberg with Mirage and Nate-50 silver total so far!!!

This is straight out of a 1972 issue of W&E Treasures as far as numbers!!

Hey, how about straight out of a future issue? Write it up and send it in. With finds like those, it's a cinch!

PBK-I would, but my concern for now is that the location of this place stay with me, Mirage and our two sons. It would be WAY too easy for thisplace to get innundated. I spent a LONG time finding this hotspot, and getting back into it is kind a hike too!!
Now if I could write it up and not mention exact details, perhaps, but I doubt they would like that!

 

[PBK]

Re: Weekend hunt at the Iceberg with Mirage and Nate-50 silver total so far!!!

Now if I could write it up and not mention exact details, perhaps, but I doubt they would like that!

No problem... they do it all the time. You can just be a little vague about the site: " an old farmhouse," "a small town park," etc. No reason why that should get in the way of a good story. Of course, you'd need to be careful not to include any easily identifiable landmarks in the photos. Go for it!

 

[Nate in Ohio]

Re: Weekend hunt at the Iceberg with Mirage and Nate-50 silver total so far!!!

What's up all. Here's my finds from the hot site. Yes, my MEASLEY four silver coins!! Also a 1923 buff, 17 wheats (some better dates), a 45-D and 42 quarter, some old thingy with a "T", and a thingy that reads "campus." I did score an 1876 seated dime (my third). That was exciting. The thing was pretty bad when I found it. I musta went through at least 40 Q-tips, both ends, scrubbing it with some silver cleaner (Mothers). Dan, did you check your wheats? These things clean up amazingly! I used ammonia and Q-tips. It's nice to find some older wheats for a change. Dude, thanks for letting us accompany you at the site! It was great even though I got annihilated for totals. I can't wait to find out what else is all going to turn up there. HH all!