ToySoldier
Forum Supporter
Over the weekend I was invited to hunt with a member of this site who took a break from detecting and is getting back into it. He received permission for a large vacant 1800s home as well as the same owner's nearby farm field. Both sites had been detected previously. The weather was cool in the morning and recent much needed rain had softened the dirt up a bit.
We started early at the vacant home. I ventured away from the house hoping to find some goodies in areas neglected by other detectorists. That plan didn't work out too well, unless you count a few dozen shotgun head stamps, a zinc penny spill, bullet casings, old junk from the house like broken doorknobs, and a few modern beer cans. I did find a nice 1940s Tootsie Toys truck with all of the wheels intact. Things turned around as I made may way closer to the house. A harmonica reed, a bit key with a wonderful patina, a decorative screen/disk (?) that doesn't seem to be a button, and a common wheat cent. My host found an Indian Head cent and a small gold or gold plated wedding band.
We drove a few miles to a farm field where the tobacco had just been harvested and was drying in a nearby barn. He had hunted the field previously and pointed out the location of an old home site. Sure enough, I came up with a couple of flat buttons, and he came up with a nice large flat button and the find of the day: a small cut piece of a Spanish silver.
We parted ways and on the drive home the GPS took me past a park I learned about for the first time earlier in the summer when I took my kid there for her friend's birthday party. I made a mental note of an area where a few early-mid 1900s houses used to stand, but it was too dry to detect. On the other side of the park I noticed a guy swinging a detector 100 miles per hour in front of some park workers.
I was cautiously optimistic. With my gear ready to go from the morning hunt and another hour or so to kill, I swung into the park and headed for the shade of a large tree that would have been near the back door of one of the homes. I found a clad quarter (first I'd heard all day) and then hit silver. The 1940s Mercury dime and a 1960 Washington were a few feet apart. I then found a few other odds and ends, including an iPod sitting in some taller grass (haven't tested it yet), an old lip stick case, a decorative lid to something, and a few more pennies.
Great detecting day...and I still had time to get home and mow the lawn!
We started early at the vacant home. I ventured away from the house hoping to find some goodies in areas neglected by other detectorists. That plan didn't work out too well, unless you count a few dozen shotgun head stamps, a zinc penny spill, bullet casings, old junk from the house like broken doorknobs, and a few modern beer cans. I did find a nice 1940s Tootsie Toys truck with all of the wheels intact. Things turned around as I made may way closer to the house. A harmonica reed, a bit key with a wonderful patina, a decorative screen/disk (?) that doesn't seem to be a button, and a common wheat cent. My host found an Indian Head cent and a small gold or gold plated wedding band.
We drove a few miles to a farm field where the tobacco had just been harvested and was drying in a nearby barn. He had hunted the field previously and pointed out the location of an old home site. Sure enough, I came up with a couple of flat buttons, and he came up with a nice large flat button and the find of the day: a small cut piece of a Spanish silver.
We parted ways and on the drive home the GPS took me past a park I learned about for the first time earlier in the summer when I took my kid there for her friend's birthday party. I made a mental note of an area where a few early-mid 1900s houses used to stand, but it was too dry to detect. On the other side of the park I noticed a guy swinging a detector 100 miles per hour in front of some park workers.
I was cautiously optimistic. With my gear ready to go from the morning hunt and another hour or so to kill, I swung into the park and headed for the shade of a large tree that would have been near the back door of one of the homes. I found a clad quarter (first I'd heard all day) and then hit silver. The 1940s Mercury dime and a 1960 Washington were a few feet apart. I then found a few other odds and ends, including an iPod sitting in some taller grass (haven't tested it yet), an old lip stick case, a decorative lid to something, and a few more pennies.
Great detecting day...and I still had time to get home and mow the lawn!
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