Way to go Aaron !! I used to be really heavy into collecting coins, still own a pretty large collection. The knowledge I learned from that hobby goes hand in hand with coin shooting. Please,,,and I repeat,,,please, be very careful cleaning any old coin you find. Its the biggest mistake you can make. Wire brushing coins,,,,,even with a brass brush, can instantly turn a $1000.00 coin into a $10.00 coin. I even cringe when I hear about folks tumbling old coins. Its OK for common clad stuff,,,,,but anything earlier than 1964, be gentle until you verify its date and value. I soak all my coins in virgin olive oil. It is an inert oil that will not harm any coins, including silver too. Once the crud is loosened up by the oil, rinse off with hot water, and pat dry with a cotton towel or paper towels work too. The idea is not to rub minute scratches on the surface. If there is stubborn crap still on them, a cotton Q-tip with finger nail polish remover (acetone) and a gentle rubbing action will remove allot of that. Unfortunately, the reality is that sometimes the long vacation a coin may spend buried, will do some damage, but in many cases, care in cleaning can bring them back to a condition of value. For instance,,that mercury dime you found,,,it that had a D mint-mark, in poor condition, would be worth $950.00 Please, my intent here is not to lecture anyone in this area, and I'm sure there are many other members here well versed on coin values. When you take a coin into a coin shop to sell it, the proprietor will look at that coin with a 10 power loupe. If you clean it with with steel wool, no matter how fine, a fine wire brush, even brass, etc, the dealer will most often ask you if you attempted to clean it. Then he will most likely give you the bad news that you ruined any chance of collector value that the coin may have had. And one last thing, when digging with tools to recover your finds, treat that hole like you have found a rare date silver coin, because you just may have found one indeed, and gouging it with a trowel would really be a bummer.
Enough of my ranting,,,I too like Nancy, love Indian Head pennies. When I first started collecting, it was my main area of interest. I have several key Indians that I paid $500.00 each for, and those were not the highest grade either. I have one complete set of them, including the 1877, which is the key coin in that series. I hope to find more with my MXT Pro.
Was 60 degrees here yesterday and snuck out with my new MXT for a few hours. Had a ball,,,,am still learning this machine, but did well. Found some clad stuff that will be rolled and cashed in at my bank. I would have played all day, but my wife has a honey-do list longer than Rt-66 so I had to head on home.
Where can you find a hobby that is so much fun, gives you a chance to be out doors in the sun and fresh air, provides you with moderate free exercise, and affords you the opportunity to meet so many really nice folks from all over the world ? It surely has to be this one ! And the excitement of the adventure, with the chance of finding valuable goodies, is just the icing on the cake. Happy hunting everyone !!!
You've found two of my favorite coins! The Indian cents and an old nickel. Looks like you can read the "LIBERTY" on the 1881 Indian. Super! There's something mystical about Indian cents. I just love seeing them recovered. Is that a love token in the last picture? Thanks for the great photos. We won't be hunting for a while. Wind chill yesterday morning was 1 degree. OUCH! Last year at this time we were mowing our yards and smelling the flowers. Thanks again and congrats. HH, Nancy
HH, Nancy
I credit my D2 coil, the wheat cent and silver dime were right with a junk of iron, a big rusty nut which showed full negative VDI so it nulled completely except for standing one direction that allowed the DD coil to separate the items. A concentric coil would not be able to find those unless you dug -80 VDI IRON signals.