Hi folks!
Ahh the joys and the pressures of taking dear friends to a site of your own!
Originally, we were to hunt a set of isolated cellar holes (which would have provided some welcome relief on a day like today), but Bob put forth a convincing set of reasons why not to go there, so that's how we wound up at what I've come to call over the last two years my "Last Ditch Field".
A true scorcher it was today! We all suffered, to varying degrees, the effect of the heat and humidity today. My watch thermometer told me it was well into the 80's, pressure dropping, and thunderstorms looming.
I made the grave mistake of posting on another fourm a very detailed list of the items that had been found over the last two years at the site where I took Ron, Bob, and Bob's hunting partner and long-time friend, Brad. To see a list like that, and then walk the site an hour with nothing more to show for it than chicken tags, bullet casings, and a tack buckle can be discouraging. I know. I think today, after a couple of hours, everyone thought this site was "hunted out" and that most of the best was in my possession. But, this site had never let me down before...
Not a single time did this site disappoint me. But after two hours of hunting, and watching my friends march out one by one from my beloved field looking very discouraged, I myself became very dissapointed. When I become disappointed, I also become stubborn, and angry.
So I walked onto that other field where my friends had just been with some apprehension, anger, and lust. The same field where I found my first 3 Cent coin, an 1813 Half Stiver, and a 1722 Two Reale, and countless buttons. My gut told me there had to be something more.
There were pieces of red brick strewn on the surface of the freshly turned field, and shards of porcelain... I now knew for sure there had been a house there, off to one side of the field.
I hunted slow, overlapping my swings, and zig-zagging. Bob's lessons applied to the fullest; all metal, slow, and listening carefully. I spoke outloud to the field, as I've done before, pleading for it to give me something (and promising to come back and visit). After 15 minutes, the field replied. First good signal was a thatch pattern button. "This could have been a coin!" I thought to myself, remembering my companions who'd been there earlier. Then, 15 minutes later, another good signal... That was the 1821 One Reale (my first ever One Reale). Any one of us could have gotten it, but it was me. I would have rather have had Brad, Bob's friend find it, after driving two hours to hunt with us.
I headed back to where we were parked, and joined the gang for a snack. I think it was a unanimous decision to go back to where I had found the piece of Spanish silver, and so we got back to work. I showed Ron where I had found the One Reale, and then headed out from there. 5 minutes later, another good signal... That's when I found the old coin with the initials "R L"... And as luck would have it, these are Bob's initials! An omen?
Two years ago, we may have all walked out of that field slapping each other on the back, and rejoicing in some great find. Today, we had to work hard for what we got. But my "Last Ditch Field" proved once again fruitful, and happy to see me come back.
The site itself is a "full package" deal... An old house with yard, and fields. Bob did well close to the house, where he found a gorgeous Seated Dime.
I never want to go through what I went today, so I'm taking measures in order to host my next hunt for these dear friends on much more "virgin" soil.
Thank you for looking!
Good luck, happy and safe hunting to all.
Jules
Ahh the joys and the pressures of taking dear friends to a site of your own!
Originally, we were to hunt a set of isolated cellar holes (which would have provided some welcome relief on a day like today), but Bob put forth a convincing set of reasons why not to go there, so that's how we wound up at what I've come to call over the last two years my "Last Ditch Field".
A true scorcher it was today! We all suffered, to varying degrees, the effect of the heat and humidity today. My watch thermometer told me it was well into the 80's, pressure dropping, and thunderstorms looming.
I made the grave mistake of posting on another fourm a very detailed list of the items that had been found over the last two years at the site where I took Ron, Bob, and Bob's hunting partner and long-time friend, Brad. To see a list like that, and then walk the site an hour with nothing more to show for it than chicken tags, bullet casings, and a tack buckle can be discouraging. I know. I think today, after a couple of hours, everyone thought this site was "hunted out" and that most of the best was in my possession. But, this site had never let me down before...
Not a single time did this site disappoint me. But after two hours of hunting, and watching my friends march out one by one from my beloved field looking very discouraged, I myself became very dissapointed. When I become disappointed, I also become stubborn, and angry.
So I walked onto that other field where my friends had just been with some apprehension, anger, and lust. The same field where I found my first 3 Cent coin, an 1813 Half Stiver, and a 1722 Two Reale, and countless buttons. My gut told me there had to be something more.
There were pieces of red brick strewn on the surface of the freshly turned field, and shards of porcelain... I now knew for sure there had been a house there, off to one side of the field.
I hunted slow, overlapping my swings, and zig-zagging. Bob's lessons applied to the fullest; all metal, slow, and listening carefully. I spoke outloud to the field, as I've done before, pleading for it to give me something (and promising to come back and visit). After 15 minutes, the field replied. First good signal was a thatch pattern button. "This could have been a coin!" I thought to myself, remembering my companions who'd been there earlier. Then, 15 minutes later, another good signal... That was the 1821 One Reale (my first ever One Reale). Any one of us could have gotten it, but it was me. I would have rather have had Brad, Bob's friend find it, after driving two hours to hunt with us.
I headed back to where we were parked, and joined the gang for a snack. I think it was a unanimous decision to go back to where I had found the piece of Spanish silver, and so we got back to work. I showed Ron where I had found the One Reale, and then headed out from there. 5 minutes later, another good signal... That's when I found the old coin with the initials "R L"... And as luck would have it, these are Bob's initials! An omen?
Two years ago, we may have all walked out of that field slapping each other on the back, and rejoicing in some great find. Today, we had to work hard for what we got. But my "Last Ditch Field" proved once again fruitful, and happy to see me come back.
The site itself is a "full package" deal... An old house with yard, and fields. Bob did well close to the house, where he found a gorgeous Seated Dime.
I never want to go through what I went today, so I'm taking measures in order to host my next hunt for these dear friends on much more "virgin" soil.
Thank you for looking!
Good luck, happy and safe hunting to all.
Jules