Well, I am down out of Austin, Tx working for the folks of Bastrop County Texas on the Wildfires they had down here. What an old part of Texas! Founded in 1832, there should be lots of loot for me to take home with me.......and I am diggin it!
So today, after I got off at 3, I stopped by a local church and received permission to hunt an old house they owned (found that out through the Tax Appraisal District database, where I searched the address for the owner). The Pastor told me to Tell the 94 Year Old woman next door I had permission. Well, I knocked on her door, and talked to Pat, the 94 ear old. Born in 1917......my gosh, the tales I bet she has.
I explain to Pat what I am doing, and she tells that the vacant house next door is 124 years old. Man, my ETrac was getting turned on.....well, it will be turned on soon, anyway....... She then tells me that she has an old metal detector, and gets a flashlight and digs out a really old Fisher MD from behind the couch, probably mid to late 70's I am guessin......and gives it to me. Man o man, I haven't even started hunting, and I have a treasure already!
So after she blesses me with that old detector, she also tells me that
1. I can detect her yard as well and she has never done it.
2. The house across the street was where the stage stopped over for the night, and
3. She will tell the owners of the former stage stop to let me hunt there....
Elated, I get to detecting.....
I am using my stock coil as the yard is an unknown. I go along the outside of the house, North side, and back, basically getting a feel for the yard.......lots of targets, getting a lot of iron nulls. I am running Multi, sens auto +3, Threshold 15, with modified coin pattern, fast on, deep off. I find memorials....junk aluminum, brass, copper pipe....and then....Bam! 12/46, 12/48, ....circle 90 degrees, same, but it's not deep and man is it loud! Depth gauge shows 4 inches......dig my hole, and see silver reeded edge.....Big Silver! Half dollar size silver......Oh great! I think....maybe a Walker......get it out, and see the eagle......Oh Boy! She is a Barber! Oh Boy turns to OMG, a BARBER HALF!!!! SWEET!!!! My head does a happy dance, since I don't want to start people laughing at the stage stop house and think I am nuts before I detect their place. Actually,only one of me is nus, the other me is perfectly normal........LO
I dab the mud off the Barber with water and she is a beauty! In the 38 years I have detected I never cease to marvel at the variety of finds that have crossed my coil......such a great hobby. Though anticlimactic, I move along, thinking man, what else is here.....I have almost a half acre to hunt on, and it is adjacent to an old civil war factory that made bayonets and rifles.
A bit further on, I get another silver signal....and out pops a SLQ. BADLY worn. I cannot discern the date at all......I hate it when that happens......so....back to my detecting....onward....
Dark is approaching and I get a 12/44, 5 inches on the depth gauge....dig it, and out pops a merc. 1937. Not bad.
Ok, now for the Whatsit coin/token thingy.....HELP!
It has a shield on one side, with a lion on it as well as some other stuff.....on the other side, there is a 0 over an M , and the letters SH over GP and finally a wreath on it. For size, it is just a bit bigger than a penny, and appears to be nickel red in color.....or copper..... ANY IDEAS......
OK, tomorow, I am heading back over there to hunt thesame yard.....will report as appropriate and at the end of the hunt, I will share all the other schtuff I found as well.....
HH
Dennis with a fresh haircut.......
So today, after I got off at 3, I stopped by a local church and received permission to hunt an old house they owned (found that out through the Tax Appraisal District database, where I searched the address for the owner). The Pastor told me to Tell the 94 Year Old woman next door I had permission. Well, I knocked on her door, and talked to Pat, the 94 ear old. Born in 1917......my gosh, the tales I bet she has.
I explain to Pat what I am doing, and she tells that the vacant house next door is 124 years old. Man, my ETrac was getting turned on.....well, it will be turned on soon, anyway....... She then tells me that she has an old metal detector, and gets a flashlight and digs out a really old Fisher MD from behind the couch, probably mid to late 70's I am guessin......and gives it to me. Man o man, I haven't even started hunting, and I have a treasure already!
So after she blesses me with that old detector, she also tells me that
1. I can detect her yard as well and she has never done it.
2. The house across the street was where the stage stopped over for the night, and
3. She will tell the owners of the former stage stop to let me hunt there....
Elated, I get to detecting.....
I am using my stock coil as the yard is an unknown. I go along the outside of the house, North side, and back, basically getting a feel for the yard.......lots of targets, getting a lot of iron nulls. I am running Multi, sens auto +3, Threshold 15, with modified coin pattern, fast on, deep off. I find memorials....junk aluminum, brass, copper pipe....and then....Bam! 12/46, 12/48, ....circle 90 degrees, same, but it's not deep and man is it loud! Depth gauge shows 4 inches......dig my hole, and see silver reeded edge.....Big Silver! Half dollar size silver......Oh great! I think....maybe a Walker......get it out, and see the eagle......Oh Boy! She is a Barber! Oh Boy turns to OMG, a BARBER HALF!!!! SWEET!!!! My head does a happy dance, since I don't want to start people laughing at the stage stop house and think I am nuts before I detect their place. Actually,only one of me is nus, the other me is perfectly normal........LO
I dab the mud off the Barber with water and she is a beauty! In the 38 years I have detected I never cease to marvel at the variety of finds that have crossed my coil......such a great hobby. Though anticlimactic, I move along, thinking man, what else is here.....I have almost a half acre to hunt on, and it is adjacent to an old civil war factory that made bayonets and rifles.
A bit further on, I get another silver signal....and out pops a SLQ. BADLY worn. I cannot discern the date at all......I hate it when that happens......so....back to my detecting....onward....
Dark is approaching and I get a 12/44, 5 inches on the depth gauge....dig it, and out pops a merc. 1937. Not bad.
Ok, now for the Whatsit coin/token thingy.....HELP!
It has a shield on one side, with a lion on it as well as some other stuff.....on the other side, there is a 0 over an M , and the letters SH over GP and finally a wreath on it. For size, it is just a bit bigger than a penny, and appears to be nickel red in color.....or copper..... ANY IDEAS......
OK, tomorow, I am heading back over there to hunt thesame yard.....will report as appropriate and at the end of the hunt, I will share all the other schtuff I found as well.....
HH
Dennis with a fresh haircut.......
