YOU NEVER KNOW

1dirtyknee · Feb 14, 2007

Found this at a local softball field last Sunday. I was finding a few clad coins and the usual junk and got a signal between a nickel and a zinc cent. It was about 5 inches down. I was using a White's IDX. I was sure the park wasn't built until the 50's. Could have been in some fill dirt or lost long before it became a park. Who knows...?

Turns out it is the 1864 copper nickel variety. I noticed it was pretty thick when I first held it.

Can't quite read the "liberty" on the headband, but still in good shape I think.

1dk

West Jersey Detecting · Feb 15, 2007

Nice find!

Could have been a couple of things...On is that it could have been lost much later than the 1800's. When I was a kid in the mid 1960's I remember getting Indian Heads in my change at the lunchroom numerous times. Nowadays finding a wheatie in my change is a rare thing.

More likely is that before the park was in existance, there was something else there. See if you can find old maps of the area. I have made numerous finds from the mid 1850's on my own property, yet my house was built in 1965.

divi996tt · Feb 15, 2007

WOW!!! Thats a great finding. I'm just starting this hobby and its great !!!!!

Divi

West Jersey Detecting · Feb 15, 2007

Neil in West Jersey said:
Nice find!

Could have been a couple of things...On is that it could have been lost much later than the 1800's. When I was a kid in the mid 1960's I remember getting Indian Heads in my change at the lunchroom numerous times. Nowadays finding a wheatie in my change is a rare thing.

More likely is that before the park was in existance, there was something else there. See if you can find old maps of the area. I have made numerous finds from the mid 1800's on my own property, yet my house was built in 1965.

Skrimpy · Feb 15, 2007

1dirtyknee said:
I went to coinfacts.com and it said it is the rarer version (lower mintage). I am swinging in northern VA, so I know there were a bunch of folks passing through...
No wheaties yet and no silver. I'll keep trying of course.....
Have to wait for the snow to melt and the ground to thaw. Should be in the 50's next week. We'll see..

Nice coin. Indians that old are not as common as wheats so it is a little bit of a surprise that you found that before finding any wheats. Only indian I've found I got while digging a privy...we had an XLT with us but I didn't find the indian with it. The indian was in the dirt and my eye happened to grab it as it fell down into the pit from the shovel. grabbed a handful of dirt where I thought it fell and whammo. 1899. At first I thought it was a button.

raptor · Feb 15, 2007

Nice find I agree that you should research the area you live in. I live in Western Pa and as far back as 1735 there were people British/French/Indians roaming around here.Now where did I put that map!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

skalleewag · Feb 15, 2007

sweeeet

hollowpointred · Feb 15, 2007

its true, you never know! i have found two large cents in hunted out school yards! its amazing that they were where they were and even more amazing that no one else ever got a coil over them! your indian is a really nice find! congrats!

scotto · Feb 15, 2007

It's in really great shape too, good find.

SilverDreams · Feb 15, 2007

Great shape indeed!

MikeTN · Feb 16, 2007

WOW That is a really nice find!!! Congrats!!!

Mike

fd3615 · Feb 16, 2007

very nice... I sure wish my luck was as good as some of you... i have alot of time to swing.. Thank god for this thread, as i get encouraged more then discouraged. Thanks for the pic as well...

Maybe its time to get a better detector...

1dirtyknee · Feb 16, 2007

divi996tt said:
WOW!!! Thats a great finding. I'm just starting this hobby and its great !!!!!

Divi

Divi,

I'm no expert, but I've been MDing on and off for about 12 years. The only truth I've discovered in this hobby is that you have to dig alot of trash to find the treasure....and oh yes...you never know.....
1dk

TreasureTales · Feb 16, 2007

fd3615 said:
very nice... I sure wish my luck was as good as some of you... i have alot of time to swing.. Thank god for this thread, as i get encouraged more then discouraged. Thanks for the pic as well...

Maybe its time to get a better detector...

Luck is surely a part of the success rate. But most successful detectorists are very determined and tend to dig everything. It's the effort that counts....more than the luck. In other words, anyone can find good stuff if s/he is willing to put in the time for research and the effort to dig everything. Don't get discouraged, get energized and DIG TIL IT HURTS. lol The bounty will come to you, too, if you keep trying.

moonshine · Feb 19, 2007

in my opinion you have to treat everything that you dig as history, take it all in as tresure, whether it has any monetary value or not. that is what keeps me encouraged. i always wonder how something got to be where it is, what happened to make something get in the ground. how old and what might the history be behind this item. everything i find gives me a thrill. then when you do find something it just makes it all the better. also leave a few of your nicer recent finds on display. even a coin here or there adds up until you have a nice little display of stuff. around new years i had found a coin here or there, and i really enjoy looking at it, and it gets me excited to go try to find some more. every time the detector beeps its exciting because you never know what you might dig up!