LovestheShiny!
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I headed out for a 4 1/2 day detecting trip (use AT Pro) to Nothern Montana, and met my friend Jason (uses Manticore) in Helena and off we went.
On the first day of detecting, Jason did well with a Ben Franklin Half Dollar, other silver dimes... Rosies and Mercs, and wheat cents and clad. The day started slow for me, finally got into a really good yard that started out with some wheat cents, then a Silver GW Quarter. This home was built in 1896 so I hoped for some older stuff. I got a worn silver quarter signal, and out popped a quarter sized silver disc, well worn. Not sure what I had, then saw "58" and Lady Liberty Seated! My 2nd oldest silver, a 1858 Quarter! This yard also produced some Buffalo Nickels, a "V" Nickel, a neat 1918 Canadian Large Cent, and an Indian Head Cent, along with the usual clad. Also got a charm bracelet with "liquor themed" charms, and some neat Victorian era costume jewelry. A very small section of curb strip gave me a Silver Rosie, Merc Dime, and Silver Quarter back to back in only about a 6' area. Very happy to say the least!
Jason could not make it the second day, so I sampled some towns and did well. I ended up with a really cool J. L. Case agricultural machinery advertising pin, 3 silver dimes, an Indian Head Cent, Buffalo Nickel, and a couple of old "V" nickels. Most of the good finds came from one yard, as I was driving looking for a home to detect, I noticed the lawn had been scraped off a ca 1900 home. The owner said go right ahead so I jumped right in. This yard produced two of the Merc Dimes, Buffalo Nickel, and the "V" nickels along with some Wheat Cents. Also got the usual clad from other yard permissions.
The third day we both headed to the unfrozen tundra of Northern Montana area. The hunting was good and the homeowners very nice, as Jason ended up with more silvers, Sterling Rings, wheat cents and lots of other coins. We did get permission at an old Carnegie Library that was owned by a private couple, and had high hopes. Unfortunately extra dirt or previously detected, as we did get a fair amount of really deep wheat cents but no silvers or older coins. I managed to get into one early yard, ca 1900, with the first two coins being Indian Head Cents! Also pulled another "V" nickel and a 1905 Barber Dime. Also found a cool "Conductor" button, some other buttons, and of course plenty of wheat cents and clad. The vast majority of the curb strips were hammered, lots of recent drops, but we did get a few silvers and wheat cents, and I managed to pull 2 Silver Rosies out of the curbs this day. The last permission was at an old church that unfortunately a lot of dirt had been added to the lawn area, though I did get a nice Sterling Ring and a Scout Neckerchief there.
The fourth day was good, we met very friendly people and lots of yard permissions on all the days out. Some big thunderstorms rolled thru in the morning and evening, but we did get a full day of detecting in between. This time I started strong with one small section of curb strip producing a Merc Dime and 5 Silver Rosies! Definitely the exception to the rule in this town. Another area outside a 1904 home gave me a 1928 Merc Dime and another "V" nickel. Later in the day I snagged another Silver Rosie and that was it for the silvers for me. Also ended up with a couple of old lead hem weights. Jason started slowly, but finished strong with 2 Barber Dimes, several Merc Dimes and some Silver Rosies, along with a lot of wheat cents, so we both did well.
The last half day was spent doing some town sampling on the return to Helena. Jason did great with a beautiful 1910 Barber Half! He followed that up with some Silver Dimes and more wheat cents and clad. I started slowly, we had some great yard permissions at homes dating from 1901, 1905, and 1915, that produced nothing at all. We also talked to a couple of homeowners who mentioned other detectorists recently, and one owner told us of a couple of younger guys going on private property w/o permission. We did noticed some plugs in some of the curb strips that we had not detected. I finally got on the Shiny Board with a Merc Dime, then in a curb strip I pulled a coin that I have not found in 7 years of detecting with my AT Pro... a 1964 90% Silver Kennedy Half! I was delighted with that find! Ended the day with a Silver Rosie, and with a long drive ahead, it was time to head back to Hamilton Montana.
The trip was fun, we met a lot of good people when asking permissions, had decent weather, and made plenty of good finds. I ended up with 22 Silvers, a couple of Sterling Rings, 8 Indian Head Cents, 116 wheat cents, and some Buffalo and "V" Nickels. I did get a ton of clad quarters, dimes, and copper memorial cents. Being close to Canada we did get some KG 6 and QE 2 Canadian cents. Jason also ended with 22 silvers including 4 Barbers, a ton of wheat cents, a beautiful Sterling and Turquoise bracelet, silver rings, and a bucketload of clad and copper memorial cents.
Definitely a good detecting trip, very grateful for good finds and safe travel, thank you for your interest! First pics show Jason's finds, last several pics show my best finds.
On the first day of detecting, Jason did well with a Ben Franklin Half Dollar, other silver dimes... Rosies and Mercs, and wheat cents and clad. The day started slow for me, finally got into a really good yard that started out with some wheat cents, then a Silver GW Quarter. This home was built in 1896 so I hoped for some older stuff. I got a worn silver quarter signal, and out popped a quarter sized silver disc, well worn. Not sure what I had, then saw "58" and Lady Liberty Seated! My 2nd oldest silver, a 1858 Quarter! This yard also produced some Buffalo Nickels, a "V" Nickel, a neat 1918 Canadian Large Cent, and an Indian Head Cent, along with the usual clad. Also got a charm bracelet with "liquor themed" charms, and some neat Victorian era costume jewelry. A very small section of curb strip gave me a Silver Rosie, Merc Dime, and Silver Quarter back to back in only about a 6' area. Very happy to say the least!
Jason could not make it the second day, so I sampled some towns and did well. I ended up with a really cool J. L. Case agricultural machinery advertising pin, 3 silver dimes, an Indian Head Cent, Buffalo Nickel, and a couple of old "V" nickels. Most of the good finds came from one yard, as I was driving looking for a home to detect, I noticed the lawn had been scraped off a ca 1900 home. The owner said go right ahead so I jumped right in. This yard produced two of the Merc Dimes, Buffalo Nickel, and the "V" nickels along with some Wheat Cents. Also got the usual clad from other yard permissions.
The third day we both headed to the unfrozen tundra of Northern Montana area. The hunting was good and the homeowners very nice, as Jason ended up with more silvers, Sterling Rings, wheat cents and lots of other coins. We did get permission at an old Carnegie Library that was owned by a private couple, and had high hopes. Unfortunately extra dirt or previously detected, as we did get a fair amount of really deep wheat cents but no silvers or older coins. I managed to get into one early yard, ca 1900, with the first two coins being Indian Head Cents! Also pulled another "V" nickel and a 1905 Barber Dime. Also found a cool "Conductor" button, some other buttons, and of course plenty of wheat cents and clad. The vast majority of the curb strips were hammered, lots of recent drops, but we did get a few silvers and wheat cents, and I managed to pull 2 Silver Rosies out of the curbs this day. The last permission was at an old church that unfortunately a lot of dirt had been added to the lawn area, though I did get a nice Sterling Ring and a Scout Neckerchief there.
The fourth day was good, we met very friendly people and lots of yard permissions on all the days out. Some big thunderstorms rolled thru in the morning and evening, but we did get a full day of detecting in between. This time I started strong with one small section of curb strip producing a Merc Dime and 5 Silver Rosies! Definitely the exception to the rule in this town. Another area outside a 1904 home gave me a 1928 Merc Dime and another "V" nickel. Later in the day I snagged another Silver Rosie and that was it for the silvers for me. Also ended up with a couple of old lead hem weights. Jason started slowly, but finished strong with 2 Barber Dimes, several Merc Dimes and some Silver Rosies, along with a lot of wheat cents, so we both did well.
The last half day was spent doing some town sampling on the return to Helena. Jason did great with a beautiful 1910 Barber Half! He followed that up with some Silver Dimes and more wheat cents and clad. I started slowly, we had some great yard permissions at homes dating from 1901, 1905, and 1915, that produced nothing at all. We also talked to a couple of homeowners who mentioned other detectorists recently, and one owner told us of a couple of younger guys going on private property w/o permission. We did noticed some plugs in some of the curb strips that we had not detected. I finally got on the Shiny Board with a Merc Dime, then in a curb strip I pulled a coin that I have not found in 7 years of detecting with my AT Pro... a 1964 90% Silver Kennedy Half! I was delighted with that find! Ended the day with a Silver Rosie, and with a long drive ahead, it was time to head back to Hamilton Montana.
The trip was fun, we met a lot of good people when asking permissions, had decent weather, and made plenty of good finds. I ended up with 22 Silvers, a couple of Sterling Rings, 8 Indian Head Cents, 116 wheat cents, and some Buffalo and "V" Nickels. I did get a ton of clad quarters, dimes, and copper memorial cents. Being close to Canada we did get some KG 6 and QE 2 Canadian cents. Jason also ended with 22 silvers including 4 Barbers, a ton of wheat cents, a beautiful Sterling and Turquoise bracelet, silver rings, and a bucketload of clad and copper memorial cents.
Definitely a good detecting trip, very grateful for good finds and safe travel, thank you for your interest! First pics show Jason's finds, last several pics show my best finds.
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All I can say is WOW and congrats to you all for such an awesome hunt.
