small change
New member
Finally getting around to posting the last two weekends of finds. It goes back to Sat. the 23rd when I met Bryce, Phil & Nick in St. Louis & we ended up going to a smaller park in South City. Stayed there & hunted a good 4+ hours or so. Didn't find much but I did get lucky with the '27 Mercury that was only a couple inches deep. It ended up being the only silver coin found there that day (Bryce did find a couple of nice silver rings). Along with that I found an old cuff link (which I broke trying to get some dirt off it) and a couple of wheats. I'm not sure what the cuff link is made out of, I don't think it is silver. We then left & ended up stopping at a place in Forest Park & hunted there for a couple of hours until we called it an evening. Didn't find much there either, but I did get a corroded 1901 Indian Head & then after we had all taken in Bryce's discovery of "The Dime", we resumed hunting again & I "just happened to wander" over fairly close to where he pulled the dime out & got a nice nickel hit. I pulled out a 1891 V Nickel that was about 6" deep or so. Not long after that we left.
I didn't do much hunting the rest of the holiday weekend. I went back & stayed a couple of days with the folks & it rained off & on & when it wasn't raining it looked threatening. I finally did hunt a little in my parents front yard & then wandered over next door where my uncle lives & all I managed to get in an hour & a half was one wheat out of his yard before it came up a storm. I have hunted both yards often enough that I would be surprised to make any more good finds in either of them anyway.
Last Saturday it was raining when I got up so I got a later start than usual. Went to a school lot where I had hunted before & then changed my mind after I got there & decided to go up a little further & try a small town park that I had tried before a couple of times & found a few wheats & an Indian Head but no silver. It was just clearing off & drying up when I started hunting. It started off slow with the first thing I found was the old compact. Soon after was a wheat & then I had a good high tone but it was only 2-3" deep. It turned out to be a '43 Mercury which surprised me a little. I then concentrated on an area in the center of the park & started doing fairly well. Got several more wheats, a '35 Buffalo Nickel, then a '59d Roosevelt Dime. I had someone tell me before they had found barbers in this park years ago & though there has to be a few more left. It wasn't long after that I had a good penny signal but it turned out to be the well worn '04 Barber Dime. Shortly after I pulled a ,44d Mercury near some large Maple tree roots that had run well out away from the tree. I went a while w/o finding silver, then I managed to find a '36 Mercury & then a ,14d Barber Dime a few feet apart from each other in a place where there was a slight depression where maybe a tree had been. Left to get something to drink & when I came back some people stopped by when I was just getting out of my truck again & I got to gabbing a little too much. I finally did get back to hunting & hunted a couple more hours until it was nearly dark, & managed a few more wheats & a couple 1940 Jeff Nickels but no more silver. I did end the day with 6 silver dimes, 14 wheats, a Buffalo, & an Indian Head which was pretty good even for as long as I hunted. The funny thing was that just about all of the silver coins were less than 6" deep. A good portion of the wheats were too with maybe a few just a bit deeper. The deepest coin I dug turned out to be a 1967 Memorial Penny at a good 8-9" deep.
Sunday I wanted to try some new places & went to a town that I thought would have a really old park but the few that I saw looked only "marginally old". I spent a couple hours at a small playground lot behind an older school building & did find a couple of wheats along with the clad but didn't feel real confident about the place so I moved on. I drove down South a bit & checked out a couple more places but didn't stop & hunt them. The time just didn't feel right for some reason, but I plan on maybe going back there later on in the year (fall or early winter). Headed back North & stopped a a school I'd been to maybe 3 weeks before where I found a merc & 6 wheats. I tried to pick up where I left off going back & forth across the field. Early on I dug the old Navy Button & the wheat with the hole in it, but after several passes not getting anything but shallow pennies, I got bored & left.
I went up to a picnic & playground area in a park near an old city lake where I had been to a couple of years ago, but the results were about the same. I did find 4 wheats & all were pretty shallow but couldn't find any silver. I have yet to find any silver coins out of that place which is starting to bug me since I have found several wheats so I know there should be a few silver coins left. The lake was built around 1918 so it's plenty old enough for silver. After that I left & went over to the next town to hunt some soccer fiields where there had been an old fairgrounds. I started hunting around dusk after the pool nearby had closed & most everyone had left. I only stayed an hour. The grass was a bit high, & I only found a few newer coins. I suspect the whole lot may have been regraded and or fill brought in some years ago as there is no sign of a racetrack having been there. And that was the conclusion of the weekend, a pretty good Saturday followed by a disappointing Sunday but I at least did find one new spot that's pretty old that I can try later.
I didn't do much hunting the rest of the holiday weekend. I went back & stayed a couple of days with the folks & it rained off & on & when it wasn't raining it looked threatening. I finally did hunt a little in my parents front yard & then wandered over next door where my uncle lives & all I managed to get in an hour & a half was one wheat out of his yard before it came up a storm. I have hunted both yards often enough that I would be surprised to make any more good finds in either of them anyway.
Last Saturday it was raining when I got up so I got a later start than usual. Went to a school lot where I had hunted before & then changed my mind after I got there & decided to go up a little further & try a small town park that I had tried before a couple of times & found a few wheats & an Indian Head but no silver. It was just clearing off & drying up when I started hunting. It started off slow with the first thing I found was the old compact. Soon after was a wheat & then I had a good high tone but it was only 2-3" deep. It turned out to be a '43 Mercury which surprised me a little. I then concentrated on an area in the center of the park & started doing fairly well. Got several more wheats, a '35 Buffalo Nickel, then a '59d Roosevelt Dime. I had someone tell me before they had found barbers in this park years ago & though there has to be a few more left. It wasn't long after that I had a good penny signal but it turned out to be the well worn '04 Barber Dime. Shortly after I pulled a ,44d Mercury near some large Maple tree roots that had run well out away from the tree. I went a while w/o finding silver, then I managed to find a '36 Mercury & then a ,14d Barber Dime a few feet apart from each other in a place where there was a slight depression where maybe a tree had been. Left to get something to drink & when I came back some people stopped by when I was just getting out of my truck again & I got to gabbing a little too much. I finally did get back to hunting & hunted a couple more hours until it was nearly dark, & managed a few more wheats & a couple 1940 Jeff Nickels but no more silver. I did end the day with 6 silver dimes, 14 wheats, a Buffalo, & an Indian Head which was pretty good even for as long as I hunted. The funny thing was that just about all of the silver coins were less than 6" deep. A good portion of the wheats were too with maybe a few just a bit deeper. The deepest coin I dug turned out to be a 1967 Memorial Penny at a good 8-9" deep.
Sunday I wanted to try some new places & went to a town that I thought would have a really old park but the few that I saw looked only "marginally old". I spent a couple hours at a small playground lot behind an older school building & did find a couple of wheats along with the clad but didn't feel real confident about the place so I moved on. I drove down South a bit & checked out a couple more places but didn't stop & hunt them. The time just didn't feel right for some reason, but I plan on maybe going back there later on in the year (fall or early winter). Headed back North & stopped a a school I'd been to maybe 3 weeks before where I found a merc & 6 wheats. I tried to pick up where I left off going back & forth across the field. Early on I dug the old Navy Button & the wheat with the hole in it, but after several passes not getting anything but shallow pennies, I got bored & left.
I went up to a picnic & playground area in a park near an old city lake where I had been to a couple of years ago, but the results were about the same. I did find 4 wheats & all were pretty shallow but couldn't find any silver. I have yet to find any silver coins out of that place which is starting to bug me since I have found several wheats so I know there should be a few silver coins left. The lake was built around 1918 so it's plenty old enough for silver. After that I left & went over to the next town to hunt some soccer fiields where there had been an old fairgrounds. I started hunting around dusk after the pool nearby had closed & most everyone had left. I only stayed an hour. The grass was a bit high, & I only found a few newer coins. I suspect the whole lot may have been regraded and or fill brought in some years ago as there is no sign of a racetrack having been there. And that was the conclusion of the weekend, a pretty good Saturday followed by a disappointing Sunday but I at least did find one new spot that's pretty old that I can try later.
