What is your White Whale?

[PA Sleuth]

I got out for a few hours at an old permission the other day. Too lazy to seek out a new permission, I hunted an area I have covered at least ten times, when Blamo, a 12-46, 1-41 on the Etrac at 6 inches. How did I miss this before? After digging a wide careful plug, out pops my White Whale! A Franklin Half!




I wasn't going to post it, as proud as I was, because that was all I found in several hours of hunting. Then, last night I watched a Hoover Boys video on YouTube. He found a Barber Quarter and was nearly brought to tears, it was his White Whale. Got me thinking, while we all have dreams of finding 8 Reales, Chain Cents, Twenty Cent pieces, and Flowing / Draped Bust silvers, the chances of those being found in a career are slim. So for most of us, myself included, we have chosen an item or coin to be our realistic White Whale, maybe because we should have found it by now, but for some reason, the metal detecting gods think it is funny to withhold. Do you have a Realistic White Whale that eludes you?

By the way, a Shield Nickel is my new White Whale

 

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[bill_wabo]

A SLQ or a Morgan would make my year, just love the design of those coins and the size. My chances are slim where I live but we never know. My first find was a 1775 half penny, so I still can hope because I had never thought I'd find coins older than 1860. Hope we all find our Moby Dick (dont skip the Moby word)!

 

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[doninbrewster]

I've been detecting for a long time. As a result, I've found a lot of stuff that might be a white whale, bucket list item. You can see some of this in the photos. I misplaced my flying eagle cent so it's not in the photos. I also forgot to put my silver dollar in with the silver coinage. When it comes to the white whale I've tried to eliminate those finds nobody is likely to make like a Brasher doubloon, although one of the 7 known examples was found in a cellar hole in Philadelphia in 1915. I have found a gold coin already anyway.

As I live in NY I'd like to find one of the early coppers from NY like an Excelsior cent, Indian w/eagle on globe, George Clinton cent etc. As you can tell from my photo, I've found most of the silver coinage from seated on up. I've even found a seated half dollar and half dime. Actually in seated dimes I've found all the major types from the first year of issue no stars obverse as well as the stars obverse, legends obverse and arrows at date. Although I've found older silver including pistareens, 2 reales, 1 real and half real, I've never found any bust silver. It's my white whale in silver. I'd like to find any bust silver, the larger the better (unless it happens to be an 1802 half dime). There you have it. Thanks for reading my wordy post. BTW, these are pretty high res photos so if you click on them a couple of times you can really zoom in.

 

[Steve in PA]

I've been detecting for a long time. As a result, I've found a lot of stuff that might be a white whale, bucket list item. You can see some of this in the photos. I misplaced my flying eagle cent so it's not in the photos. I also forgot to put my silver dollar in with the silver coinage. When it comes to the white whale I've tried to eliminate those finds nobody is likely to make like a Brasher doubloon, although one of the 7 known examples was found in a cellar hole in Philadelphia in 1915. I have found a gold coin already anyway.

As I live in NY I'd like to find one of the early coppers from NY like an Excelsior cent, Indian w/eagle on globe, George Clinton cent etc. As you can tell from my photo, I've found most of the silver coinage from seated on up. I've even found a seated half dollar and half dime. Actually in seated dimes I've found all the major types from the first year of issue no stars obverse as well as the stars obverse, legends obverse and arrows at date. Although I've found older silver including pistareens, 2 reales, 1 real and half real, I've never found any bust silver. It's my white whale in silver. I'd like to find any bust silver, the larger the better (unless it happens to be an 1802 half dime). There you have it. Thanks for reading my wordy post. BTW, these are pretty high res photos so if you click on them a couple of times you can really zoom in.

View attachment 1334323 View attachment 1334324

I have found your white whale twice (Draped Bust Dimes x2) BUT....I have only ever found one seated silver....an 1890 dime. Imagine that!

My white whale would be a colonial gold coin.

 

[Bruce R]

An engine cylinder head from the United flight 624 crash site.

 

[digger460]

Nice Franklin find!!

Mine is the elusive 1877 IHC.

 

[Doodle Bug]

At the moment, my white whale is a silver coin. I am just getting back into detecting. I use to have a bounty hunter land star but gave it up pretty quickly after a few hunts of trash, pull tabs and a few zinc pennies. I recently picked up a Teknetics Delta 4000. It seems quite comparable to the land star but has the vdi which I am hoping will help me dig a little less trash. I got out with my brother for a couple hours and came home with 14 cents in clad, a 4 inch section of copper pipe, some round head nails, some bottle tops and a beaver tail. I found the coins at the end of the hunt, so I am slowly starting to get a feel for what signals are being displayed. When in doubt, I dig. This will be my year to find silver!

 

[doninbrewster]

Amazing. You found multiple bust coins and only one seated. I've found 6 seated dimes so far this year and a couple of years ago even found a bust quarter and half dollar in the same hole, yet no bust coinage. I think we are both overdue.

Forgot to reply with quote, this was for Steve in PA

 

[toasted]

Amazing. You found multiple bust coins and only one seated. I've found 6 seated dimes so far this year and a couple of years ago even found a bust quarter and half dollar in the same hole, yet no bust coinage. I think we are both overdue.

Forgot to reply with quote, this was for Steve in PA

Wheres the 3 cent nickel.

 

[Steve in PA]

Amazing. You found multiple bust coins and only one seated. I've found 6 seated dimes so far this year and a couple of years ago even found a bust quarter and half dollar in the same hole, yet no bust coinage. I think we are both overdue.

Forgot to reply with quote, this was for Steve in PA

On top of that, I have found 65 Spanish silvers, over 100 large cents, around 25 half cents, and countless Indian heads....and yet only one seated silver.
It boggles my mind

 

[Loco-Digger]

Congrats on pulling the Franklin. My white whale is a Morgan.

 

[doninbrewster]

Wheres the 3 cent nickel.

That one eludes me and my three cent silver has a piece broken off. I'm surprised I haven't found a 3 cent nickel with all the shield and V nickels I've found. It's not a coin that high on my list as nickels usually come out of the ground like you, toasted

On top of that, I have found 65 Spanish silvers, over 100 large cents, around 25 half cents, and countless Indian heads....and yet only one seated silver.
It boggles my mind

I'm like you, I've found over 100 large cents, lots of state coppers and KG's and have yet to find any bust silver. I've also pulled hundreds of Indians and a lot of my seated coinage has come from the same areas as the Indians. With your finds I can't believe you haven't found more seated coinage.

 

[TooManyHobbies]

Any Seated coin and any Reale.

 

[Scrappy]

I have found many items beyond my wildest imagination. I'm not sure I have a single white whale, but perhaps a few would be English hammered silver or gold (in the states of course), or hammered Mass silver.

I know I'm close.

 

[jwp1964]

Nice find! Congrats on the Benji.

Any Large Cent is my white whale. Been trying 40 years


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[Gridwalker306]

I mentioned the Walker being a "white whale" coin for me. However, as far as relics go I have always wanted to dig anything related to the North West Mounted Police. This year it finally happened with my buttons. I think now I'm up to 17 of them now. That's another crazy thing- as soon as you find one of your dream items, more seem to follow much easier.

 

[beerguy]

Great thread. I have a goal to dig a Walker this year, never found one.

I have dug a Morgan dollar, Barber quarter and half this year, so I am hot on the trail.

My white whale would be any gold coin.

 

[RelicMedic]

I got a handful of my white whale (8Reales ) so now my new white whale is a seated anything.

 

[Diggin Dude]

After reading all of this I have a new White Whale...... Being grateful for all my past keepers and any future ones. And, may all of you and myself enjoy whatever we find next.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

My current white whale is a V nickel. I can't believe I haven't dug one in over three years of metal detecting. I've found 7 buffalo nickels and 2 war nickels, but never found a V nickel. Not right! I've paid my dues! Give me a V nickel! LOL!

 

[heepiepow]

Amazing array of finds! And it reminds me I need to get a type album. Filling albums up with only detecting finds is one of the thrills I get after the hunt, when I search for dates even for wee and trashed modern nickels and such. My white whales (well, there a lot lol, but...):

a 3 cent piece, because that design is so unusual and cool:

A standing liberty quarter, again what an awesome design:

And a gold coin. Maybe a 1933 $20 double eagle? Why not dream big? Plus it has another Lady Liberty. She was standing tall and being bold with some of the best-looking coins near the last turn of the century. She needs a coinage comeback and a new Augustus Saint-Gaudens in the mint. Some of the new park quarters are also fantastic, made by excellent sculptors. But we need more. Abe, George, Thomas, Franklin, hey you guys were great but just a cameo of your face isn't very novel art or inspirational.

And I'm so happy I've found two walking liberty halves, another gorgeous coin design (with one badass stomping eagle on the back to boot). Lady Liberty kicks ass. And should again in modern coins, designed by a master artist. Lost my pictures of mind after my last computer died, but example:

Was the last featured eagle the Ike? I've yet to find one and that's also on my bucket list. Very nice back side with the moon and EAGLE, who even attacks Moon or lands on it!! And considering the size of the curvature and craters, that eagle is hundreds of miles tall! We need more badass eagles and Lady Libertys! Less cameos and buildings.