James N.D.
New member
Hello again everyone! I see many of you are still getting out and making some finds. Good for you all!!!
As for me.....well.........it's been raining here and then turning to snow so I am unsure if I will be able to get out again this upcoming weekend due to this. Snow has pretty much fallen over the area where I hunt in or could hunt in should I say so I guess I will have to wait to see what Saturday brings for weather.
Sorry for the delay in posting but I've been working late some nights (Tuesday, worked from 7:00am to 9:00pm finishing a Garage Slab with a Power Trowel) trying to get concrete done so my time has been limited for other activities.
I also tried out that Dalyn Sodbuster Digger that I was borrowed from Kickback when we hunted together. It works alright but I do see where the Lesche is a bit better. When you get a good Deep Target, it is a bit harder to avoid hitting Coins which I found out the hard way! I nailed a Merc pretty good with the digger and I was just happy to see it was a common date. The tip of the Lesche is pointed unlike the Dalyn Sodbuster which is wider and don't have the pointed end. I thought the Dalyn Sodbuster was well made and would work well in the ground conditions I have around here so it is another good Digger in my book. Also, the Dalyn doesn't have the Serrated Edge which comes in very handy sometimes with the Lesche when you run into roots. I will give the Dalyn Sodbuster a since more use would better the odds of hitting less Coins. I will be using it again, maybe next season so I have a little more time to get use to it......that is if that is alright by you Kickback!
Thanks again for lending me that Digger. I would get a Lesche Digger if I were you for the ground conditions where you are currently located at Kickback. Would help in Digging a bit better in that HARD GROUND you have over there. Now......let's get to the story and the few finds I uncovered!
Well.....Friday I tried for about an hour and didn't come up with much of anything but Clad Coins, the Key on the Key chain I found and the Oldest Coin.....a lousy 59 Lincoln Memorial Penny. This spot was an Old Trailer Court and I have did find a Silver Quarter here along with a few Wheats so there is some goodies here but the grass was a bit too long and the Iron to Junk Ratio is the toughest part in hunting this spot. This spot will be developed sometime I figure since some trees had been recently removed. I had gotten permission to hunt this spot from the land owner and for some reason never did ask when he planned on building on it. Tough part was the grass since it would grow pretty high and thought maybe he was just going to let it get overgrown but recently drove by and seen it had been mowed probably 2 weeks ago so I figured it was worth a shot again. I only hunted it for probably 2 hours due to the tall grass and amount of Junk and Iron present. I wanted to use the Joey Coil but I had to stick with the Pro Coil and I know that Targets were getting masked due to the size of Coil being used and all that Junk and Iron in the ground. Maybe if it hasn't been developed next year, I might give it another shot. Hate to see them Silver Coins get buried forever.....don't you???:sad:
Saturday, I was going to head out with the temp's being in the lower 20's in the morning but decided to wait a little longer and didn't get going until around 10:00am. The wind was also a factor on Saturday.....blowing from around 20mph with gusts up in the 30mph+ Range. The temp only got up in the mid 30's also so it was a cold one to hunt in. I decided to try a Ball Diamond area where I have pulled some nice Silver from in the past. I still think that this site use to be an Old Fairgrounds just due to the Stone Pillars at the Entrance and the Grand Stand by the Football Field area. Anyways...I got to this spot around Noon and decided to see if I could get 2 Silver Coins from here. All I needed was 2 Silver Coins and I would reach the 400 Silver Mark for the year, which again......is my first time in reaching such a goal as for amount of Silver found in one season. Current Record was 323 which I got 2 years ago so this was a very special milestone for me to meet. Well, after about an Hour and a Half time hunting, I decided to pack it in for the day since Sunday was suppose to be a bit warmer and the wind wasn't suppose to blow much. In that amount of time, I had found a Merc Dime which I mutilated
, some Clad Coins and 2 Wheats. I also had 2 Frozen Middle Fingers on my Right Hand due to the Cold and the Wet Gloves which also played a factor in quitting for the day. 399 Silver so 1 more shouldn't be too hard to get on Sunday!
Well, Sunday I decided to go down to where I took Dale and Tim....another Ball Diamond where I got the Franklin Half and some Silver Quarters and where Dale got 4 Silver Quarters and a Brunswick Token recently. I figured there had to be more Silver there somewhere so I took the chance. As I headed towards this spot, I noticed snow started to show up on the ground which I didn't like seeing. Well...when I pulled up the the Ball Diamond, there was about an Inch of snow covering much of the area. I decided to hunt it anyways since it was starting to get warmer out and the snow was turning to slush. I did find out that the slush would stick to the Pro Coil so every few swings, I would have to knock off the build-up of slush due to the weight of the Coil. I hunted this for about an hour or so and didn't find 1 Silver anywhere! I only was able to pull 2 Wheats and it was now Noon and I didn't really have any good spots left where I thought I could find some extra Silver at. The only other spot that I thought I had a chance for 1 more Silver was the Ball Diamond I was at the day before so I decided to pack it in and go give it another shot.
Well, it took me about a half hour to drive to this site and the good thing was that there was no snow on the ground now so it was going to be easy swinging. I decided to try out in a grassy parking area by the Grand Stand for the Football Field. I started working my way into the center and about 5 minutes later, I got a good 27 on Digital that showed around 6" Deep. I figured Wheatie so I dug a plug and it turned out to be a 1929 Wheatie. I got up after covering my hole and started walking again. I got about 10' away and got another good sounding 27 on Digital at the same Depth. I thought Wheatie again! Dug it and it turned out to be one of them bothersome Aluminum Screw Caps that we all love so much when we find them....don't we fellas???
I then hunted in an area where I had never hunted in in this parking lot area. I was going along and finally got a good 28 on Digital where it showed around 6" Deep. I dug a plug hoping to see Silver and I did! Merc! 
YES!!!!!! NUMBER 400!!!!!
I was very happy when I seen that Silver Edge sitting in the dirt and was relieved in reaching this mark since the weather here is changing for the worse, getting snow off and on and just wondering how much more time I had to hunt so it was a big relief when I finally pulled that Merc from the ground.
After this, I decided to go over into the Ball Diamond. I decided to walk along the chain link fence and got about 75' in and got a good Wheatie Signal. I dug it and out pops a Wheatie. I covered up the hole and thought I better re-scan it. It sang out again! I re-opened it and by the time I got done, I dug out 5 more Wheats, a 59 Memorial and a Silver Rosie from this little pocket spill. Silver #401! I walked a little further and was picking up a few Deeper Clad Coins and nothing else. I remember Tim pulling a 1916-d Wheatie I believe with a 1913 Barber Dime from this side of the Diamond so I decided to start working a Pattern here. I stopped and counted the posts on the fencing. There were 12 Posts where I stopped so I figure if the Posts were put in at 10', that I had just covered around 120'. The Posts didn't look as if they were set at 8' so it had to be at 10'. Anyways, I headed back in the opposite direction. I got about 3/4th's the way down and got a good 28 on Digital which was showing around 8" Deep. I dug a plug and finally found what it was. It was Silver #402 which was another Merc. I then worked the rest and turned around again and headed back in the other direction. I got about 1/4th the way across and popped out a Canadian Penny dated 1952 and another Wheatie. I then started hunting again and got about 1/2 way and pulled out another Merc! Silver #403! Now this was getting crazy! Now....this may seem as if I was hitting them every few minutes but it was nothing like that since I was working slow and it was taking me probably 20 to 30 minutes just to get across this 120' of grass. I kept working and turned around again. I then walked about 1/2 way and got a Super Deep 28 on Digital which showed around the 10" Mark. I dug a plug and pulled out a Barber Dime! Silver #404!!!
Barber too boot also!!!
This was really getting nuts and never thought that I would find what I was in this area. Even though it was taking me awhile to hunt it, the Oldies were there and I was hitting them. Now as I walked down the next line, I got another Wheatie and some Silver Item with a piece of Copper Wire fastened to it. Don't know what it is but it appears ornate and very old. I got about 3/4th's the way down and got a 28 that showed around 4"-6" Deep. Now....I wasn't expecting anything special since I was finding a few Clad Dimes and Newer Pennies in this range and I am just glad I didn't leave this Target behind due to this fact. Anyways, I dug a plug which was about 6" Deep and flipped it open. My eyes literally BUGGED OUT
of my head! As the plug laid on the ground, there was about 2" of dirt that had separated from the Coin which was in the plug. What I saw just 
the crap out of me and never even thought it was what it turned out to be. There laying in that plug with the back facing me was a Walking Liberty Half Dollar! I picked it up and just couldn't believe my eyes since this is the first Half from this site. The weird thing was earlier in the hunt I was thinking about why I have never found any Halves here but have found a few Quarters. Well......I guess a little luck was shining on me Sunday and I will always remember this Half since it was Silver #405. I put it in my pouch and continued on. I did a few more lines and started to wander around a bit. I decided to head back home early....which was 5:00pm. In the next 2 hours or so, I dug another Barber Dime well worn and hoped it was Seated but I'll take what I can get and pulled 2 more Merc's. Silver now was 408 for the year and I am very happy with that if I don't get out again this season. I also only got 1 more Wheatie which I just couldn't figure out. There were more Silver Coins here than Wheaties and that just doesn't happen that often since Wheats usually outnumber the Silver. Still baffled about that.....there should have been more Wheats but didn't find any. Oh Well! It was a terrific hunt on Sunday and never imagined finding another Half or the amount of Silver I did on Sunday. Just goes to show you that you just never know what maybe lost in some of them sites we hunt until you start working a tight Pattern....then you maybe surprised how productive of a site you maybe hunting.
Total Silver for the year is now 408 which is one feat I most likely will never beat or come close to again. It's been one heck of a season on finds for me and I am happy that many of you were here to enjoy all those finds I was so fortunate to find in 2009. I just hope some of you have some excellent years ahead of you and can only hope that some of your area's are just as productive as mine have been this year. Thank you all for being along for the ride and hope you enjoyed it just as I have this season.
Total Silver found was 10. They are 1 Walking Liberty Half Dollar dated 1934-s, 2 Barber Dimes dated 1907-d,1912, 6 Mercury Dimes dated 1917,1917-s,1918,1940,1942-d,1945 and 1 Silver Roosevelt Dime dated 1958-d. I also dug 1 Canadian Penny dated 1952. For Wheats, I only found 13 of them this time and it was kinda nice for once not having a ton of finds to clean up. They are dated 18,26,27-d,28,29,40-d,44,(2)46-d,47-d,48-d,49-d and 56-d. For Misc. Finds, I found a Key and a Silver Whatzit Item. I hope you enjoyed this posting everyone! Thanks for the great times and if your able to hunt this weekend, the BEST of LUCK and HH to you all. Thanks for looking and I hope to get out myself again......maybe??? [attachment 142363 DirtySilver.jpg][attachment 142364 CleanedSilver.jpg][attachment 142365 DirtyPennies.jpg][attachment 142366 CleanedPennies.jpg][attachment 142367 DirtyMisc..jpg][attachment 142368 CleanedMisc..jpg]
As for me.....well.........it's been raining here and then turning to snow so I am unsure if I will be able to get out again this upcoming weekend due to this. Snow has pretty much fallen over the area where I hunt in or could hunt in should I say so I guess I will have to wait to see what Saturday brings for weather. Sorry for the delay in posting but I've been working late some nights (Tuesday, worked from 7:00am to 9:00pm finishing a Garage Slab with a Power Trowel) trying to get concrete done so my time has been limited for other activities.
I also tried out that Dalyn Sodbuster Digger that I was borrowed from Kickback when we hunted together. It works alright but I do see where the Lesche is a bit better. When you get a good Deep Target, it is a bit harder to avoid hitting Coins which I found out the hard way! I nailed a Merc pretty good with the digger and I was just happy to see it was a common date. The tip of the Lesche is pointed unlike the Dalyn Sodbuster which is wider and don't have the pointed end. I thought the Dalyn Sodbuster was well made and would work well in the ground conditions I have around here so it is another good Digger in my book. Also, the Dalyn doesn't have the Serrated Edge which comes in very handy sometimes with the Lesche when you run into roots. I will give the Dalyn Sodbuster a
since more use would better the odds of hitting less Coins. I will be using it again, maybe next season so I have a little more time to get use to it......that is if that is alright by you Kickback! Thanks again for lending me that Digger. I would get a Lesche Digger if I were you for the ground conditions where you are currently located at Kickback. Would help in Digging a bit better in that HARD GROUND you have over there. Now......let's get to the story and the few finds I uncovered!Well.....Friday I tried for about an hour and didn't come up with much of anything but Clad Coins, the Key on the Key chain I found and the Oldest Coin.....a lousy 59 Lincoln Memorial Penny. This spot was an Old Trailer Court and I have did find a Silver Quarter here along with a few Wheats so there is some goodies here but the grass was a bit too long and the Iron to Junk Ratio is the toughest part in hunting this spot. This spot will be developed sometime I figure since some trees had been recently removed. I had gotten permission to hunt this spot from the land owner and for some reason never did ask when he planned on building on it. Tough part was the grass since it would grow pretty high and thought maybe he was just going to let it get overgrown but recently drove by and seen it had been mowed probably 2 weeks ago so I figured it was worth a shot again. I only hunted it for probably 2 hours due to the tall grass and amount of Junk and Iron present. I wanted to use the Joey Coil but I had to stick with the Pro Coil and I know that Targets were getting masked due to the size of Coil being used and all that Junk and Iron in the ground. Maybe if it hasn't been developed next year, I might give it another shot. Hate to see them Silver Coins get buried forever.....don't you???:sad:
Saturday, I was going to head out with the temp's being in the lower 20's in the morning but decided to wait a little longer and didn't get going until around 10:00am. The wind was also a factor on Saturday.....blowing from around 20mph with gusts up in the 30mph+ Range. The temp only got up in the mid 30's also so it was a cold one to hunt in. I decided to try a Ball Diamond area where I have pulled some nice Silver from in the past. I still think that this site use to be an Old Fairgrounds just due to the Stone Pillars at the Entrance and the Grand Stand by the Football Field area. Anyways...I got to this spot around Noon and decided to see if I could get 2 Silver Coins from here. All I needed was 2 Silver Coins and I would reach the 400 Silver Mark for the year, which again......is my first time in reaching such a goal as for amount of Silver found in one season. Current Record was 323 which I got 2 years ago so this was a very special milestone for me to meet. Well, after about an Hour and a Half time hunting, I decided to pack it in for the day since Sunday was suppose to be a bit warmer and the wind wasn't suppose to blow much. In that amount of time, I had found a Merc Dime which I mutilated
, some Clad Coins and 2 Wheats. I also had 2 Frozen Middle Fingers on my Right Hand due to the Cold and the Wet Gloves which also played a factor in quitting for the day. 399 Silver so 1 more shouldn't be too hard to get on Sunday!Well, Sunday I decided to go down to where I took Dale and Tim....another Ball Diamond where I got the Franklin Half and some Silver Quarters and where Dale got 4 Silver Quarters and a Brunswick Token recently. I figured there had to be more Silver there somewhere so I took the chance. As I headed towards this spot, I noticed snow started to show up on the ground which I didn't like seeing. Well...when I pulled up the the Ball Diamond, there was about an Inch of snow covering much of the area. I decided to hunt it anyways since it was starting to get warmer out and the snow was turning to slush. I did find out that the slush would stick to the Pro Coil so every few swings, I would have to knock off the build-up of slush due to the weight of the Coil. I hunted this for about an hour or so and didn't find 1 Silver anywhere! I only was able to pull 2 Wheats and it was now Noon and I didn't really have any good spots left where I thought I could find some extra Silver at. The only other spot that I thought I had a chance for 1 more Silver was the Ball Diamond I was at the day before so I decided to pack it in and go give it another shot.
Well, it took me about a half hour to drive to this site and the good thing was that there was no snow on the ground now so it was going to be easy swinging. I decided to try out in a grassy parking area by the Grand Stand for the Football Field. I started working my way into the center and about 5 minutes later, I got a good 27 on Digital that showed around 6" Deep. I figured Wheatie so I dug a plug and it turned out to be a 1929 Wheatie. I got up after covering my hole and started walking again. I got about 10' away and got another good sounding 27 on Digital at the same Depth. I thought Wheatie again! Dug it and it turned out to be one of them bothersome Aluminum Screw Caps that we all love so much when we find them....don't we fellas???
I then hunted in an area where I had never hunted in in this parking lot area. I was going along and finally got a good 28 on Digital where it showed around 6" Deep. I dug a plug hoping to see Silver and I did! Merc! YES!!!!!! NUMBER 400!!!!! I was very happy when I seen that Silver Edge sitting in the dirt and was relieved in reaching this mark since the weather here is changing for the worse, getting snow off and on and just wondering how much more time I had to hunt so it was a big relief when I finally pulled that Merc from the ground. After this, I decided to go over into the Ball Diamond. I decided to walk along the chain link fence and got about 75' in and got a good Wheatie Signal. I dug it and out pops a Wheatie. I covered up the hole and thought I better re-scan it. It sang out again! I re-opened it and by the time I got done, I dug out 5 more Wheats, a 59 Memorial and a Silver Rosie from this little pocket spill. Silver #401!
I walked a little further and was picking up a few Deeper Clad Coins and nothing else. I remember Tim pulling a 1916-d Wheatie I believe with a 1913 Barber Dime from this side of the Diamond so I decided to start working a Pattern here. I stopped and counted the posts on the fencing. There were 12 Posts where I stopped so I figure if the Posts were put in at 10', that I had just covered around 120'. The Posts didn't look as if they were set at 8' so it had to be at 10'. Anyways, I headed back in the opposite direction. I got about 3/4th's the way down and got a good 28 on Digital which was showing around 8" Deep. I dug a plug and finally found what it was. It was Silver #402 which was another Merc. I then worked the rest and turned around again and headed back in the other direction. I got about 1/4th the way across and popped out a Canadian Penny dated 1952 and another Wheatie. I then started hunting again and got about 1/2 way and pulled out another Merc! Silver #403! Now this was getting crazy! Now....this may seem as if I was hitting them every few minutes but it was nothing like that since I was working slow and it was taking me probably 20 to 30 minutes just to get across this 120' of grass. I kept working and turned around again. I then walked about 1/2 way and got a Super Deep 28 on Digital which showed around the 10" Mark. I dug a plug and pulled out a Barber Dime! Silver #404!!! Barber too boot also!!! This was really getting nuts and never thought that I would find what I was in this area. Even though it was taking me awhile to hunt it, the Oldies were there and I was hitting them. Now as I walked down the next line, I got another Wheatie and some Silver Item with a piece of Copper Wire fastened to it. Don't know what it is but it appears ornate and very old. I got about 3/4th's the way down and got a 28 that showed around 4"-6" Deep. Now....I wasn't expecting anything special since I was finding a few Clad Dimes and Newer Pennies in this range and I am just glad I didn't leave this Target behind due to this fact. Anyways, I dug a plug which was about 6" Deep and flipped it open. My eyes literally BUGGED OUT of my head! As the plug laid on the ground, there was about 2" of dirt that had separated from the Coin which was in the plug. What I saw just the crap out of me and never even thought it was what it turned out to be. There laying in that plug with the back facing me was a Walking Liberty Half Dollar! I picked it up and just couldn't believe my eyes since this is the first Half from this site. The weird thing was earlier in the hunt I was thinking about why I have never found any Halves here but have found a few Quarters. Well......I guess a little luck was shining on me Sunday and I will always remember this Half since it was Silver #405. I put it in my pouch and continued on. I did a few more lines and started to wander around a bit. I decided to head back home early....which was 5:00pm. In the next 2 hours or so, I dug another Barber Dime well worn and hoped it was Seated but I'll take what I can get and pulled 2 more Merc's. Silver now was 408 for the year and I am very happy with that if I don't get out again this season. I also only got 1 more Wheatie which I just couldn't figure out. There were more Silver Coins here than Wheaties and that just doesn't happen that often since Wheats usually outnumber the Silver. Still baffled about that.....there should have been more Wheats but didn't find any. Oh Well! It was a terrific hunt on Sunday and never imagined finding another Half or the amount of Silver I did on Sunday. Just goes to show you that you just never know what maybe lost in some of them sites we hunt until you start working a tight Pattern....then you maybe surprised how productive of a site you maybe hunting. Total Silver for the year is now 408 which is one feat I most likely will never beat or come close to again. It's been one heck of a season on finds for me and I am happy that many of you were here to enjoy all those finds I was so fortunate to find in 2009. I just hope some of you have some excellent years ahead of you and can only hope that some of your area's are just as productive as mine have been this year. Thank you all for being along for the ride and hope you enjoyed it just as I have this season.
Total Silver found was 10. They are 1 Walking Liberty Half Dollar dated 1934-s, 2 Barber Dimes dated 1907-d,1912, 6 Mercury Dimes dated 1917,1917-s,1918,1940,1942-d,1945 and 1 Silver Roosevelt Dime dated 1958-d. I also dug 1 Canadian Penny dated 1952. For Wheats, I only found 13 of them this time and it was kinda nice for once not having a ton of finds to clean up. They are dated 18,26,27-d,28,29,40-d,44,(2)46-d,47-d,48-d,49-d and 56-d. For Misc. Finds, I found a Key and a Silver Whatzit Item. I hope you enjoyed this posting everyone! Thanks for the great times and if your able to hunt this weekend, the BEST of LUCK and HH to you all. Thanks for looking and I hope to get out myself again......maybe???
[attachment 142363 DirtySilver.jpg][attachment 142364 CleanedSilver.jpg][attachment 142365 DirtyPennies.jpg][attachment 142366 CleanedPennies.jpg][attachment 142367 DirtyMisc..jpg][attachment 142368 CleanedMisc..jpg]
to you. Gold Nuggets
That way I know it wasn't tampered with and it should be good to go on Silver once again!