Show your best scratch coin

[Arturo de Zorro]

Because of Sharpshooter's resent post I'm thinking it's time to confess we all have. I dug 19 silver dollars out of a old vacant lot back in 2004 and scratched only one but it was the best date one. 1885 cc

 

[akelley]

As I posted in Sharpshooter's thread - when I found my first Mercury Dime, 1942 S (I've only found two so far), I scratched it! It was about an inch from the surface, so I was thinking just another clad dime - a rookie mistake. I was heart broken for the rest of the hunt!!
-Alex

 

[RickIowa2009]

OOPs

 

[UtahRich]

n/t

 

[sharpshooter]

1931 S Wheatie ---- Ouch.

Dang!
Been lookin' for one of those for 12 years.
Dug several hundred wheats, but no 31-S yet.

I dug 19 silver dollars out of a old vacant lot back in 2004 and scratched only one but it was the best date one. 1885 cc

Zorro, how 'bout some details on that amazing dig of yours from 04?
That not the type of find a person hears about every day.

 

[Ken (iowa)]

This is the one that made me cry. No tree root, no hard clay, no gravel, no excuse. Just plain carelessness.
It was on edge and made for an iffy signal though.
Ken

 

[Arturo de Zorro]

One of my hunting partners had a treasure story in which he had found two silver Morgan dollars, and he had told me this story for two years about hunting an old lot near his home town that had a saloon back in the late 1800 but now is a large vacant lot on a corner. Finally the day came that my friend Charles had to go back to his home town to sign some papers, so about 6:55 am Saturday, Charles (Saamdigger) pulled into my driveway and I jumped in with my Explorer II and we were off for a 1

 

[Jason in Enid]

Great story.

Until a couple weeks ago I would have said that silver won't get anything but a black patina. Then I pulled a Merc dime encased in rust and corrosion, it looked nothing like a dime, and nothing like silver.

So I wonder what those coins were buried with that turned them green?


Personally, I would have been using a shovel and a sifting screen in that place!

 

[UtahRich]

 

[Crash620]

But It is a my one and only silver dollar. It was right on the foundation of an old house in hard gravel and dirt and screamed like a piece of junk. It was so hard to dig I was just hacking away at the dirt. When I finally got my tool into the ground, I just popped up the dirt . Needless to say I was disappointed to see the gouge I put in the Eagle.

 

[sharpshooter]

Re: You ask for it

Holy she-eye-tee, Zorro. That's quite a story.

I've actually had several digs similar to yours, but then the alarm clock goes off and it's time to go to work.

Thanks for taking the time to tell it.

 

[MAcle1997]

Scratched up the 1900 half dollar by digging too fast at dusk without a light.
I carved up my only bust coin while trying to find it between two large roots of
a Silver Maple tree. I think I'll spend some time this winter making a few wooden
digging tools. A cheap plastic garden trowel may help too.

Mark

 

[FastnHigh]

Faustina II -

 

[onemore]

I don't have a picture, but my "best" scratched coin was about a year after I began detecting. I got a good signal under the bend in a large fallen tree trunk. Couldn't move the tree, so dug the coin out from the side. Turned out to be my one and only 1921 Merc dime in Fine condition, with a nice gouge right in the center of the headdress - made by my shovel! AAAARRGH!!!

Since learned to dig less and use the probe more - makes a big difference.

Recently, I was disappointed when I dug out an early Wheat cent that had a nice size Native American spearpoint below it in the hole. My shovel knocked off a piece of it right where it ties to the wooden pole. Darn!