Does A Surface Barber Count???

AirmetTango

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Joined
Apr 14, 2017
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3,109
Location
NW Ohio
It’s been ridiculously hot and dry in my corner of the world lately, so I haven’t been doing much detecting. On a whim yesterday, I decided to drive past a park/old school site tear out that I hit about a month ago (Grab a Seat, And I'll Tell You About A Park Tear Out) – I honestly expected to see all the work completed, but I was shocked to see they didn’t have much more done…just more dirt moved around for the most part! The ground was still hard and dry, but at least I didn’t have to worry about killing grass – I even broke out the big shovel (the entire location looks like a construction site, not a park). For this hunt, I decided to break from my usual Park 1 search mode on the Equinox 800, and elected to try Beach 1 instead, modified to 5 tones with the bins and tones altered to my own search profile. Kept the 11” coil on as usual.

The hunt started fairly mundanely – a 1940 Wheatie and a WRA Co .38 Special S&W casing along a section where one of the tear out piles had gotten spread out. About 20 minutes in, I got approached by a guy on his way to the adjacent river to fish, asking if I was finding anything. I gave my standard response “Not much, but I haven’t been here long.” He told me that he and his buddy spent a lot of time detecting here just after the work started and didn’t find anything…I just responded “well, you never know once the dirt gets moved around a little more,” and chuckled to myself thinking about the half-dime and other goodies I pulled on my previous visit. As it turns out, he and his buddies missed a few other items as well…

Soon after that conversation, I got over a nice, tight 19-20 TID showing average depth – prepared for a Zincoln, I wasn’t surprised to see a penny sized, ultra-crusty coin roll out as I searched the plug. As crusty as it was, it sure looked like a Zincoln at first, but I soon realized it had too much of a greenish tint showing through the crud! I was able to rub off enough crust in the field to see a little bit of Liberty’s headdress, but the real clincher was when I could see the shield on the back…Indian Head! The return trip was already worthwhile! The crust and corrosion is too thick right now to get a date, but hopefully a little clean up will do the trick…I’ll update the post once I get a chance to clean all of the finds. Edit: the IHP has been stubbornly resisting all my cleaning efforts, but I’ve finally got enough corrosion cleared to get a date…1896. I’m not sure I’ll be able to the rest of the crustiness off, but I was pleased to get the date revealed at least:

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After the Indian, there was a 30 minute lull where I pulled nothing more than junk and a shotshell headstamp (Winchester Ranger…could be as early as 1925, but made into the 60s). I was starting to feel the 90º+ heat, and even considering packing up and escaping to air conditioning, when I saw a dime sitting next to a clump of weeds about 5 feet away – it was just sitting on top of the ground, plain as day, like it was just dropped. “The heat’s gotta be getting to me, because I bet that’s silver,” I thought as soon as I saw it…it just had that “look”. As I walked up to it, there was almost no doubt – it was a dime with that unique silver patina! I swung the detector over it for giggles, and got a solid 28-29 on the TID. As I bent down, I could see the obverse pretty clearly – “ARE YOU KIDDING ME??” I literally said out loud!! Surface Barber dime!! It’s kind of funny, but my next thought was, “Does this even count as a detecting find??” Since I swung the detector over it, I say "yes" :D It turns out that it was actually attached to the ground pretty well, so it had been there at least through a couple rains…I plucked it off the surface, and it still had a good chuck of dirt still attached to the reverse.

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Anyways, I gave it a quick spray down in the field, revealing the date and mint mark…1908D! It’s the first Barber that’s showed up for me since November 2020, and definitely the first that's ever been waiting on the surface for me!! Since there was still a lot of black oxidation left after cleaning it with dish soap and water at home, I hit it with a little baking soda and water…good as new!

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Soon after the excitement of the Barber dime, I got the coil over a very interesting 31-35 signal showing average depth. Despite the variability, the TID changes were smooth, not choppy, and the signal was pretty compact. I have to admit, I started hoping for maybe a silver quarter. I turned over a 5” plug, and swung the detector again to learn the target was in the plug. Breaking things apart, a big green disk rolled out – holy cow, a Large Cent?!? On closer look, the size was right, but the lettering was wrong, and I could start to see an eagle through the dirt. This was big ol’ token!! As it dried and I was able to gently brush off some of the dirt at home, it became clear this was a 1830s or ‘40s Hard Times token for a brass founder in New York City! The ad below is from the March 31, 1843 edition of the New York Daily Herald. Who knows how it came to be lost in NW Ohio, but it’s easily one of the best tokens I’ve found detecting, and the star of the hunt for me!!

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I closed out the hunt with a couple more cartridge casings, a ’44 Wheat, and a full harmonica reed. Overall, it was a wonderful couple hours, and well worth the 5 lbs in sweat!! I’ll certainly head back again soon. And I’ll update the thread once I’ve had a chance to clean the token and IHP!

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That token is super wicked! I don't normally get too excited about token finds but that one has some incredible history, interesting story associated "on it", and generally "awesomeness"!! Congrats...
 
Of course it does! Wow what a great post, these type posts are why I like the forum. Awesome write up, finds and photos. That token is the coolest one I've seen yet!
Super Congrats!
 
Yup, if you hadn’t been detecting, you’d have never seen it.
 
Counts for me! Great finds!


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When you first sent me a text the other day telling me that you are out I thought wow it's cooking outside. Once again what a great write up thanks for sharing the pictures with me first. The token definitely cleaned up nice and yes the Barber dime counts.
 
Some great finds to go with a great story. And here's a theory. The guy who stopped and told you he and his buddy had no luck detecting the area was simply trying to get you to be convinced that it had been covered so you'd leave it for them. Perhaps the surface Barber was even a dropped find from one of their hunts. And now, it's yours:shock::cool3:
 
It’s been ridiculously hot and dry in my corner of the world lately, so I haven’t been doing much detecting. On a whim yesterday, I decided to.....

What a great hunt! Nice job staying with a good site. That token is absolutely terrific, and that Barber definitely counts!
 
Good play-by-play. Good pix. I like the in-situ shots . Nice job !
 
Heck yeah a surface find counts, all day long. Congrats on the Barber dime, Ihp and super cool token. Thats awesome. And nice write up as usual Ben. My last 3 hunts I sweated my behint off also for a few wheaties and not much else. I have had two sunbaked surface finds this year a Merc and an Ihp. Different sites and months apart and you bet they count.:lol: Gotta love the easy ones. Good luck on your return. Mark
 
You ARE the detector! Congrats. Nice story.

Thanks SilverLegacy! Score one for the ol’ Mark I Eyeballs!

That token is super wicked! I don't normally get too excited about token finds but that one has some incredible history, interesting story associated "on it", and generally "awesomeness"!! Congrats...

Thanks Buellride! Tokens are actually my favorite finds - I love the history and uniqueness of them…but this one is easily my favorite (and oldest) I’ve found so far! I’m absolutely thrilled with it!

Token awesomeness!! And the Barber ain't too shabby either. Congrats!

Thanks stetam! That token is my favorite of all my finds for the year so far! And Barbers are a very rare find for me - I doubt I’ll ever forget the way I found this one!
 
Awesome Bro! Great site!
Jer

Thanks dumbdigger! It really has been a fun site - amazing the difference a little earth work can make for reopening a site!

Of course it does! Wow what a great post, these type posts are why I like the forum. Awesome write up, finds and photos. That token is the coolest one I've seen yet!
Super Congrats!

Thanks so much for the kind words, Soil! I really enjoy doing the write ups - almost like a diary to help remember the details of my own hunts, but I also like the idea that the posts can bring the forum members along for the hunt. The “Stories and Pictures” section is definitely where I spend the most time on the forum. I love seeing what others are finding and how they’re doing it - and I’ve learned a ton from others by doing that. This is my way of trying to return that favor :yes:

And, yes, that token is easily my favorite token find I’ve had yet! :cool3:


Yup, if you hadn’t been detecting, you’d have never seen it.

Thanks, Chaz! Agreed…I was there to detect, the machine was in hand, and I even swung the coil over the target to hear it in all its glory to make it official :lol:
 
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