AirmetTango
Forum Supporter
I love when odd coincidences pop up while I’m out metal detecting, and I had a funny one happen yesterday while I was out hunting an old home site that shows up on an 1886 map. Part of the site has been plowed over and is a farm field, but part of the home’s original yard areas are still quite obvious as an small, thickly overgrown wooded patch. I’ve hunted the field portion a couple times before, but the only time I attempted to hunt the woods, I ended up covered in PI for 2 weeks afterwards 
Yesterday, I was hunting the field for a bit. I didn’t intend to tangle with the woods this time - the PI shouldn’t be as much an issue this time of year, but I had tweaked by back in the morning and I was afraid one wrong move ducking and dodging branches and thickets would torch it up the rest of the way.
Anyway, I wasn’t finding much in the field other than a couple harmonica reeds, some farm implements, and miscellaneous junk. But I did learn some interesting history about the site: the field/home site sits with a modern home right next door, and about 90 minutes into the hunt the home owner wandered over. I was expecting the usual - either “You finding anything good?” or “Do you have permission to be here?”
Instead, I got a new one...”Are you surveying to put in a solar field?” 
After squashing his high tech hopes, and mentioning the former home site, he says “oh yeah...that’s actually the house right over there” while pointing at an obviously late 1800s farm house standing next door to his. “They picked it up and moved it about 35 years ago.” Cool info to know - I had assumed the house had been knocked down or burned. If it was moved, maybe the wooded site won’t be very junky!
After that encounter and the lack of field finds, I decided to brave the woods - back be damned! Worst case, I call my wife - “Can you come help me? I threw my back out in this thicket...in the woods...in a field.”
Turns out it wasn’t too bad bushwhacking my way into a very small area where I could actually stand up and swing fairly well. In short order, I got over a solid 20-21 (EQ800), and deep. The signal was right underneath a discarded plastic card that probably blew in there from some past storm. Moving that out of the way, I started to dig, and soon unearthed an 1898 Indian:
Cool! My oldest coin from the site so far! But then, for who knows what reason, my eyes happened to fall on that discarded plastic card and I focused on the words near the bottom...yep, I agree, that’s an Emerald Beauty all right What the heck are the odds for that particular bit of trash landing directly over top of a deep Indian Head cent dropped a century or so before?? I just love that kind of stuff - blows my mind:
A few steps away, I was down on my knees and stretching the machine ahead of me to scan under a small thicket, and got over a solid 26-27, not quite as deep, but nice and compact. I had absolutely no doubt - silver dime. I cleared away enough dead bramble and branches to dig without stressing my back too badly, and sure enough, I got rewarded with the sight of a beautiful reeded rim of a dime from about 5” down, 1942 Merc:
Maybe 3 foot away, I got my last coin signal of the day...1934 Wheat. By then it was after 3pm and had to get home to meet my daughters’ bus, so I started to make may way back out of the woods. Half way out, I spotted what looked like a chunk of green glass half sticking out from under a leaf - probably a broken bottle bit, I thought. Picking it out from under the leaf, I was thrilled to see it was a completely intact sample medicine bottle! “Sample Bottle, Foley’s Kidney Cure, Foley & Co, Chicago U.S.A.” Research online says its pre-1906, and good to cure “Bright's disease, chronic inflammation of the bladder, gravel, irritation of the kidneys, diabetes and nervous exhaustion”:
All in all a fun hunt, and I’m anxious to get back out into those woods to see what else might be hiding there. I wonder if Foley had a cure all for back spasms??
Yesterday, I was hunting the field for a bit. I didn’t intend to tangle with the woods this time - the PI shouldn’t be as much an issue this time of year, but I had tweaked by back in the morning and I was afraid one wrong move ducking and dodging branches and thickets would torch it up the rest of the way.
Anyway, I wasn’t finding much in the field other than a couple harmonica reeds, some farm implements, and miscellaneous junk. But I did learn some interesting history about the site: the field/home site sits with a modern home right next door, and about 90 minutes into the hunt the home owner wandered over. I was expecting the usual - either “You finding anything good?” or “Do you have permission to be here?”
Instead, I got a new one...”Are you surveying to put in a solar field?” After squashing his high tech hopes, and mentioning the former home site, he says “oh yeah...that’s actually the house right over there” while pointing at an obviously late 1800s farm house standing next door to his. “They picked it up and moved it about 35 years ago.” Cool info to know - I had assumed the house had been knocked down or burned. If it was moved, maybe the wooded site won’t be very junky!After that encounter and the lack of field finds, I decided to brave the woods - back be damned! Worst case, I call my wife - “Can you come help me? I threw my back out in this thicket...in the woods...in a field.”
Turns out it wasn’t too bad bushwhacking my way into a very small area where I could actually stand up and swing fairly well. In short order, I got over a solid 20-21 (EQ800), and deep. The signal was right underneath a discarded plastic card that probably blew in there from some past storm. Moving that out of the way, I started to dig, and soon unearthed an 1898 Indian:
Cool! My oldest coin from the site so far! But then, for who knows what reason, my eyes happened to fall on that discarded plastic card and I focused on the words near the bottom...yep, I agree, that’s an Emerald Beauty all right
What the heck are the odds for that particular bit of trash landing directly over top of a deep Indian Head cent dropped a century or so before?? I just love that kind of stuff - blows my mind: A few steps away, I was down on my knees and stretching the machine ahead of me to scan under a small thicket, and got over a solid 26-27, not quite as deep, but nice and compact. I had absolutely no doubt - silver dime. I cleared away enough dead bramble and branches to dig without stressing my back too badly, and sure enough, I got rewarded with the sight of a beautiful reeded rim of a dime from about 5” down, 1942 Merc:
Maybe 3 foot away, I got my last coin signal of the day...1934 Wheat. By then it was after 3pm and had to get home to meet my daughters’ bus, so I started to make may way back out of the woods. Half way out, I spotted what looked like a chunk of green glass half sticking out from under a leaf - probably a broken bottle bit, I thought. Picking it out from under the leaf, I was thrilled to see it was a completely intact sample medicine bottle! “Sample Bottle, Foley’s Kidney Cure, Foley & Co, Chicago U.S.A.” Research online says its pre-1906, and good to cure “Bright's disease, chronic inflammation of the bladder, gravel, irritation of the kidneys, diabetes and nervous exhaustion”
: All in all a fun hunt, and I’m anxious to get back out into those woods to see what else might be hiding there. I wonder if Foley had a cure all for back spasms??
I wonder if an animal or another detectorist dug it up and left it?? I can't imagine it's been sitting there since before the house was moved.
I'd definitely trade the PI for some raspberry and blackberry bushes, though! Built in snacks for the hunt! I'd come out 2 pounds heavier, and streaked in red and purple 
My back is already feeling much better - hoping to hit those woods again as soon as I get a little time!
