CZconnoisseur
Active member
Yesterday was surely a red-letter day for Mike and myself - we decided to hit the old park again but we spotted some recently disturbed dirt across the street...the utility company was repairing a water main - fortunately for us! 
We kept our eyes on the progress, and after Mike and I made a few finds I walked over to the foreman, showed him what I'd found, and then asked him permission to hunt the dirt pile while the pipefitters did their thing. We had scarcely an hour to hunt the cubic yard or two of dirt, and it was totally worth it! The crew went to lunch, allowing us a little more hunt time, but turns out we only needed several minutes.....
Snapped up an 1894 Indian right off the bat inside a dirt clod, it may have been an inch deep. This would be the oldest coin for the day...but not the only! Seconds later Mike pulled a Wheat, and then a V nickel! I poked around the dirt a little while longer, spreading the dirt out so the coil could get a good look at things. Got a faint hit deep into the dirt - moved several inches away and then got a low-toned, soft hit that turned out to be a war nickel! We showed the workers what we'd found seconds before the backhoe filled in the hole - not sure they spoke English but the faces told the story!
Definitely in the right place at the right time!
Once that excitement was over, we were relegated to hunting our usual grounds, but our spirits were high - the weather was about 65* and sunny, with a light breeze - not bad for the 6000-ft level in January! We hunted in a trashy area and began pulling our share of nails, foil balls, Bic lighter striker wheels, and gum wrappers; just like every hunt. Then, out of nowhere Mike calls out "Silver!" From about 6-7" he pulls a worn Mercury dime, relatively shallow for us, at least. Time went on, and day eventually turned to twilight - and for about 2 hours nothing noteworthy was found by either of us - just "paying our dues" with the heap of trash that eventually bulges out the pockets....
I remember getting a solid 86-88 indication while running the relic program - the signal was clear, tight, and didn't change on a cross-scan. For some reason I didn't pay too much attention to it besides looking at the VDI. At only 6" deep I was blown away to see the backside of a 1946 S Walker staring right back at me!
Didn't see it coming at all - even with the machine saying "Here's a silver half!" I guess digging all the trash put me in "surprise mode" - sure wish I could have recorded my flailing arms and antics when I saw it LOL Definitely out of left field.....I still can't believe how this coin was missed all these years - Mike and I pull our share of deep coins - these are almost always dimes and pennies - but to have a silver half at only 6" escape the hordes of detectorists over the years?! Who knew?
Not long after, I got a large shallow signal that locked on at "42", and at 2" deep I saw a glint of gold - this would be the Monet-style "Golden Poodle" - definitely the most intriguing find of the day, but I snapped off the clasp on the backside trying to get the mud out of the crevices. Doh! Looking at the fresh break of the metal proved it was simply a costume piece, and merely gold plated at best. Still a neat find - I gave it to my youngest 6-year old daughter who accompanied me on the first leg of the hunt, she was happy to add it to her collection!
Another interesting signal was the chain - Sounded like a shallow nickel, maybe 3-4 inches deep, but once I popped the plug, I saw a glint just under the roots. Pulled out a "kink-resistant" type of chain, weighing 3.1grams. It felt heavy in my hand, so I passed it in front of the coil - it sounded exactly like a small piece of foil. I rechecked the hole - nothing. I guess the way it was lying in the grass gave the machine just enough conductivity to make it sound off....yet another one out of left field!
Once the sun went down Mike and I started to run out of steam. It was becoming increasingly difficult to stand up from a kneeling position, and my arms were starting to turn to Jell-O from all of the deep signals dug. I remember digging a 16" deep hole chasing a ridiculously deep target, only to stop and see a solid steel or iron plate, possibly a railroad-related item. I was so tired I filled the hole in, and gave up on it - not my usual M.O. however! I dug a shallow 1938 D Wheat near the end of the hunt at only 5" or so.
So today, I wasn't dead-dog tired but I did catch a cold...pick your poison I guess! Will be at it again next Monday, and the weather looks perfect!
We kept our eyes on the progress, and after Mike and I made a few finds I walked over to the foreman, showed him what I'd found, and then asked him permission to hunt the dirt pile while the pipefitters did their thing. We had scarcely an hour to hunt the cubic yard or two of dirt, and it was totally worth it! The crew went to lunch, allowing us a little more hunt time, but turns out we only needed several minutes.....Snapped up an 1894 Indian right off the bat inside a dirt clod, it may have been an inch deep. This would be the oldest coin for the day...but not the only! Seconds later Mike pulled a Wheat, and then a V nickel! I poked around the dirt a little while longer, spreading the dirt out so the coil could get a good look at things. Got a faint hit deep into the dirt - moved several inches away and then got a low-toned, soft hit that turned out to be a war nickel! We showed the workers what we'd found seconds before the backhoe filled in the hole - not sure they spoke English but the faces told the story!
Definitely in the right place at the right time! Once that excitement was over, we were relegated to hunting our usual grounds, but our spirits were high - the weather was about 65* and sunny, with a light breeze - not bad for the 6000-ft level in January! We hunted in a trashy area and began pulling our share of nails, foil balls, Bic lighter striker wheels, and gum wrappers; just like every hunt. Then, out of nowhere Mike calls out "Silver!" From about 6-7" he pulls a worn Mercury dime, relatively shallow for us, at least. Time went on, and day eventually turned to twilight - and for about 2 hours nothing noteworthy was found by either of us - just "paying our dues" with the heap of trash that eventually bulges out the pockets....
I remember getting a solid 86-88 indication while running the relic program - the signal was clear, tight, and didn't change on a cross-scan. For some reason I didn't pay too much attention to it besides looking at the VDI. At only 6" deep I was blown away to see the backside of a 1946 S Walker staring right back at me!
Didn't see it coming at all - even with the machine saying "Here's a silver half!" I guess digging all the trash put me in "surprise mode" - sure wish I could have recorded my flailing arms and antics when I saw it LOL Definitely out of left field.....I still can't believe how this coin was missed all these years - Mike and I pull our share of deep coins - these are almost always dimes and pennies - but to have a silver half at only 6" escape the hordes of detectorists over the years?! Who knew?Not long after, I got a large shallow signal that locked on at "42", and at 2" deep I saw a glint of gold - this would be the Monet-style "Golden Poodle" - definitely the most intriguing find of the day, but I snapped off the clasp on the backside trying to get the mud out of the crevices. Doh! Looking at the fresh break of the metal proved it was simply a costume piece, and merely gold plated at best. Still a neat find - I gave it to my youngest 6-year old daughter who accompanied me on the first leg of the hunt, she was happy to add it to her collection!
Another interesting signal was the chain - Sounded like a shallow nickel, maybe 3-4 inches deep, but once I popped the plug, I saw a glint just under the roots. Pulled out a "kink-resistant" type of chain, weighing 3.1grams. It felt heavy in my hand, so I passed it in front of the coil - it sounded exactly like a small piece of foil. I rechecked the hole - nothing. I guess the way it was lying in the grass gave the machine just enough conductivity to make it sound off....yet another one out of left field!
Once the sun went down Mike and I started to run out of steam. It was becoming increasingly difficult to stand up from a kneeling position, and my arms were starting to turn to Jell-O from all of the deep signals dug. I remember digging a 16" deep hole chasing a ridiculously deep target, only to stop and see a solid steel or iron plate, possibly a railroad-related item. I was so tired I filled the hole in, and gave up on it - not my usual M.O. however! I dug a shallow 1938 D Wheat near the end of the hunt at only 5" or so.
So today, I wasn't dead-dog tired but I did catch a cold...pick your poison I guess! Will be at it again next Monday, and the weather looks perfect!
