FliesOnly
Senior Member
In addition to metal detecting, I also do a little duck and goose hunting. For about the last 6-7 years I've had permission from an old farmer to hunt on his land. He lives in stone farmhouse that has been around since the mid to late 1800s and for some unknown reason, I have never bothered to ask him if, in addition to hunting, it would be OK if I walked around with my metal detector. I have no idea why it took me until this year to ask for permission...I guess the thought just never entered my mind. Anyway, he was thrilled with the idea, actually, and even told me where there used to be a few buildings that had long ago been torn down.
Well, I managed to get in part of one day of detecting before the cold weather got here for good (I live in the middle of Michigan) and found mostly old junk. The only thing I found that I wasn't sure about was a round piece of metal that I honestly thought was just one of those metal "knockout thingies" you find on electrical panels and such. I dropped it into my bag to dispose of when I got home (I keep a "junk metal recycling bag" in my garage).
My wife got me an ultrasonic cleaner for Christmas that I will primarily use for bicycle parts (yeah, I also ride/race mtn, gravel and fat bikes), but that I will also use to throw in some of my detecting finds. Well, I wanted to try it out but my bikes were already clean, so I tossed in a few dirty finds and things I couldn't really identify, including the above-mentioned piece, and gave it its first test run.
Imagine my surprise when after 30 minutes of cleaning I looked at the junk piece of metal and was able to make out what I thought was the word "Dime" on one side, and a face and a date on the other!! I do not have any "before cleaning" pictures, but as you can clearly see by the "after cleaning" pictures, the coin is in very very poor condition. Still, as far as I can tell, it appears to be a Barber Dime from 190something. Can anyone make out that last digit? I'm thinking it's maybe a "7". Not that it really matters, I'm just curious. Still, I was pretty happy that I didn't just drop in into the recycle bag when I got home.
Well, I managed to get in part of one day of detecting before the cold weather got here for good (I live in the middle of Michigan) and found mostly old junk. The only thing I found that I wasn't sure about was a round piece of metal that I honestly thought was just one of those metal "knockout thingies" you find on electrical panels and such. I dropped it into my bag to dispose of when I got home (I keep a "junk metal recycling bag" in my garage).
My wife got me an ultrasonic cleaner for Christmas that I will primarily use for bicycle parts (yeah, I also ride/race mtn, gravel and fat bikes), but that I will also use to throw in some of my detecting finds. Well, I wanted to try it out but my bikes were already clean, so I tossed in a few dirty finds and things I couldn't really identify, including the above-mentioned piece, and gave it its first test run.
Imagine my surprise when after 30 minutes of cleaning I looked at the junk piece of metal and was able to make out what I thought was the word "Dime" on one side, and a face and a date on the other!! I do not have any "before cleaning" pictures, but as you can clearly see by the "after cleaning" pictures, the coin is in very very poor condition. Still, as far as I can tell, it appears to be a Barber Dime from 190something. Can anyone make out that last digit? I'm thinking it's maybe a "7". Not that it really matters, I'm just curious. Still, I was pretty happy that I didn't just drop in into the recycle bag when I got home.
It looks like either 1901 or 1907 to me. Glad the field has been productive for hunting treasure & birds for you! 
