James N.D.
New member
This year was a fun filled year with a lot of nice finds not only by me but by all the members of the Club. I belong to the Minnkota Artifact Recovery Group, or also known as MARG for those that would like to know. Sunday was out Christmas Party and there were prizes that one could choose from when called up to the table (starting with 1st Place down to 20th Place) and the Club gave prizes out all the way down to 20th Place this year. I believe there were 36 Members at the Party out of 50+, which was a great turn out and a lot of fun. I finished 2nd this year and I chose a replica Peace Dollar that is ONE TROY POUND OF SILVER. That's Right! ONE TROY POUND OF SILVER!!! After everyone had received out prizes of choice, we played Deal Or No Deal, which was fun but there wasn't enough Film Canisters for all the Members in attendance, so a few didn't receive anything. Inside each Canister was assortments of different Coins, Paper Money with Coins, and some even had a note that was for a Troy Ounce of Silver. All the contents of each Canister were on a board so everyone knew what was in them, except for the Troy Ounces, they were a bonus prize. I was one of the unlucky ones along with the 1st Place finisher for the year Tim Pazdernik. But that was O.K., because we had more than our share of Luck during the detecting season and it was nice to see others get a few things for a change. After that we played some bingo for a few left over coins from the Find Of The Month Prizes, which a few more than 20 were bought so there was more of a variety of prizes to choose from. I Won a 1891 Seated Dime with a Bingo. We also had Gift Exchange for the members and we all had tickets that were drawn and if your ticket was drawn, then it was your turn to go get a wrapped gift of your choice, without knowing what was inside them. I picked out one and I opened it and found a 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar. There was also a Raffle for some Silver Rounds and other Coins and also a separate Raffle for a 1/10th Ounce Gold American Eagle. I wasn't lucky enough to win anything from those 2 raffles but that didn't matter, it was all the fun and especially the great food that was brought with from each member and also the Ham and Scalloped Potatoes and etc. that Rick and Lavonne Schroeder provided for the Christmas Party, that all made up for what I didn't get on the Raffles. Rick even donated 3 Nice Walking Liberty Half Dollars to the Club, which were also raffled away. A big Thanks to Rick for being such a wonderful Sport and one of the nicest Guys you could ever meet.
It sure was a lot of fun and everyone enjoyed themselves. Too bad it is only once a year! Thanks to the Club and Rick and Lavonne Schroeder for the terrific Christmas Party and Food and to the Club and all the members for the great Prizes awarded to the members down to 20th Place.
Good Luck to you all next season and HH. Pics of my Troy Pound Front and Back, along with a size comparison of the Troy Pound and the Seated Dime side by side. Also the Half and the Seated Dime Front and Back. [attachment 43397 TroyPoundFront.jpg][attachment 43398 TroyPoundBack.jpg][attachment 43399 HalfandDimeFront.jpg][attachment 43401 HalfandDimeBack.jpg][attachment 43403 TroyPoundandDime.jpg]


