Memorial Motherlode Part Deux

[WThesing]

I just had to get out today. I hit two of the township parks briefly, as they were still partially submerged due to the amount of rain we have been getting. I decided to head over to a 1780's farmstead that I have been working since around Thanksgiving. This 11 acre property was purchased by our township, and is slated to become a park sometime in the future, and word has it now, that the 4 buildings will remain.
Anyway, I hit memorial motherlode # 1 back in November, and a 2ft x 3ft. area yielded well over a hundred pennies, some of which were stuck together in roll fashion. Today I found another patch about 6ft x 5ft. where they were so dense that the were literally falling out of the grass roots. The soil is very soft, and was yielding pennies down to about 8 inches. I got tired of retrieving them so I mapped out the area to find readings connecting the two patches along a 20 foot swath. It almost looks as though they were once in some sort of container that is long gone, and were both loose and in rolls. By the concentration I am guessing that there is possibly a couple of thousand pennies to be had.
When I found the 1st patch, I worked my way down hill from the initial concentration and found nothing more. This time I was working uphill from there, and found the beginning of the motherlode. This area is also very heavy in trash, targets almost every 6 inches. In 5 visits here I have found two silver Rosies, a 1900 Barber quarter, two silver Washington quarters, and a patch of clad in what was an old flower bed.
The pennies are annoying, but due to the other finds, I have no choice but to dig the area a section at a time. There are also lots of small electrical parts and connectors, brass and copper, mixed in with the trash, which makes this site kind of challenging.

 

[Oklahunter]

"I got tired of retrieving them..."

I can only imagine...

 

[WThesing]

Part one was posted in the old forum. Thus far, the oldest penny from the first patch was a 1972 if I remember correctly. I am currently cleaning up what I retrieved today in order to see the dates, but so far not one wheatie. Signals are varying all over due to the many positions, closeness, and stacking of the coins. Just maybe I will find something better out of this patch, but it does get a bit tiring of methodically working two foot square areas until they are clean of any signals. It took two hours to clear about 6ft. x 2ft. The count from this area alone is well over 200 pennies.

 

[hoser]

I'm like you Steve. Just can't imagine getting tired of digging coins. But hey, good job and cograts on the great finds you made. I would be all over that area till it was clean.

 

[OkieDigger]

Sounds like you need a sifter!

 

[HobBob]

Keep after it, you never know what jewels might be mixed in with the Linc memorials... sounds like at least they are mostly copper, not zinc! Let us know what else you find.
Happy hunting!
Bob

 

[WThesing]

I wish a sifter would work, but unfortunately the soil is soft, and very moist/muddy. The grass has a root system denser than what you normally see that goes down about 3-4 inches. If conditions were to dry out some, the sifter may work. We have had a lot of rain since fall, and I have not seen the soil reasonably dry since September. I am working clump by clump, and trying to put each excavated area back together so that the grass continues to grow. I know I don't have to be fussy about the holes, but all it takes is one person to make a comment, and my privelege could end, along with a negative effect on some of the in roads I'm making and future sites as I network more and more. There are some zinc pennies mixed in, but not many. Interesting note is that the zinc pennies are not eaten up much by the soil, but come out of the ground with that "newer" copper lustre. If I remember correctly, the 1st patch yielded a 1986 penny.
Besides the penny field, yesterdays finds also included a small brass and nickel knob with APX in the center. Almost looks like a button. Turned finial handle from a fireplace tool or set. Looks to be newer vintage brushed stainless steel without a speck of discoloration.
Next time I get over there I'll try to remember to take the camera.

 

[TerryEastTexas]

Wow! I've never heard of such a concentration of coins.

 

[WThesing]

I'm still trying to figure out whether they were dropped during a move or what!!!! The owners of this property lived there in very "spartan" conditions (I'm putting it mildly) up until 3 years ago. They were decendants of the original owners, and I'm told were also quite a few clicks left of center. The township bought the property, and it has been vacant since. There is electricity, but no modern plumbing whatsoever. The two flat fields were set up for kids soccer. This property sits in a section of a class A township surrounded by typical upper middle income homes. The trees are gradually being trimmed, and the grounds are being cleaned up by volunteers, a little at a time. I have never experienced this much "trash" mixed in the soil around the buildings in any ground I've ever detected.

 

[Treasurekidd]

Finding that many coins in such a small area would be a lot of fun, although if mixed with lots of trash, I can see how it might get a bit tedious. Still, I can;t see myself getting bored, even if they are all pennies. I'd keep hitting it and get as many as I could, all the while hoping for one really nice coin mixed in the bunch! Good luck!

 

[Carol K]

That sounds like exactly what happened WT, they got dropped in the move. The township probably gave them so much money they felt they didn't need a bunch of pennies.

They may have stooped down and grabbed what they could and left the rest. Makes ya wonder what else they left behind.

Regardless... great spot!

 

[WThesing]

I had heard that they wanted 1 million for the property. I don't think they got anything near that, but who knows. What I do know is that they were pretty screwy. It's bad enough hunting in a trashy area, but the kinds of trash, and where I'm finding it is unbelievable. It's like detecting on top of a landfill in some areas.

 

[WThesing]

I got out for about 2 hours yesterday. I think I solved the riddle of the penny patch, as to how they got there. I ignored the penny signals, and dug a couple of "good targets" to find the knobs off of wood drawers. I think that the drawers broke apart, or were dropped during a move, and the grass may have been too tall for retrieval. Anyway, this time around I didn't forget the camera. The penny field is about 20 ft from the front door / walkway, which would have been a good spot to park a truck.

 

[WThesing]

This property is C. 1780

 

[WThesing]

This is the guesthouse. I found a small field of mixed clad in the flower bed. I found a 1900 Barber quarter between the foundation and the tree to the right of the doorway.

 

[WThesing]

The "entryway" on the left of garage is a privy ( double seater )

 

[WThesing]

I'ts hard to believe that a family actually lived here until 3 years ago.
NO plumbing, lived in squaller, but I found the cable TV yesterday!!! :duh:

 

[OkieDigger]

Nice pics WThesing. I bet that place is fun to hunt.

 

[WThesing]

I enjoy hunting anywhere, but this place is about 1 1/2 miles from me, so it's convenient. I've been trying to work a section at a time, starting with the areas of "most frequent use". It has been frustrating in that I have never come upon so much trash and iron in the soil. I have been plagued with bottle caps, pull tabs, jar lids, small bits of aluminum flashing, aluminum nails. and hundreds of various copper electrical connectors and copper wire pieces. It is literally like hunting in a land fill with multiple targets every few inches.

 

[OkieDigger]

Sounds similar to my weekend. I must have dug enough old copper roofing tacks to put a new roof on. What's bad is that you have to dig them because they come up as a penny/dime.