I just had to get out for a bit last Saturday evening so I headed out to the Courthouse for a quick 2 hour hunt. Just one of those times when you don't care if you find anything, you just want to get out and meld with your E-Trac. Enroute to the site, I decided to leave the stock coil on, dig every single conductive target and see if I could get some deeper targets. I spent several of my past hunts there using the X-5 trying to separate the unbelievable number of targets in the ground. There was one corner of the property that had recently produced two very nice Indian Heads for me so I thought I would focus my search there. This particular corner of the lawn was where the "Hanging Tree" stood. Back in the day they had public hangings which drew huge crowds there to witness them.
Running my machine in open screen with a 24 ferrous line and manual sensitivity set at 24, I slowed my sweep to a virtual crawl and began digging targets. About halfway down the first row. I had already recovered three wheats, a White's Sewing Machines advertising thimble, a printer's block, a baby ring and quite a few clads when I got a very iffy but promising signal. It was bouncing back and forth from iron to a 12-44 signal. I dug down and cleared two small iron tacks from the hole. Stuck the pin pointer in the hole again and got a nice signal under a root at the 7 inch mark. After quite a bit of digging under the root, I saw the edge of a very thin and worn 1907 Barber dime. This was the very first Barber I had found there and I was elated. I turned back around and began to go down my second row. The evenings have begun to get shorter now and it was 7:30 and getting a bit dark when I got another marginal signal that was reading 8 inches deep. Again, it was going back and forth between iron and 12-43 and 12-44. This time it was mostly iron signals that were showing up on my backlit screen but every once in a while a good number would hit. I decided I had nothing to lose and dug down. I hit numerous targets in the hole with the pin pointer and after a bit of clearing the iron nails and bits out, got a nice hit. Of course, it was under another root. After more digging and cleaning the dirt out, I soon realized I finally had it out of the hole. Scooped a handful of dirt up and opened my hand. Another Barber dime! This one just as worn and dated 1902. It's been a long time since I have found two Barbers in one day so I was a happy hunter.
Thrilled with how this quick hunt was going, I continued down the row and got a 12-22 signal at 4 inches down just as the light was waning. After digging a quick plug, I saw an old key in the hole. Really didn't think much of it as it said YALE on one side and had some other logo on the other side. Pretty much a run of the mill key, I thought, and stuck it in my pouch and called it a day. It was only when I got home and cleaned it off did I realize it wasn't your typical Yale key. On the other side of the key, I saw that it had an old style wood spoke wheel and tire with a banner across it that read Studebaker! Very cool. Being a car guy, I think I almost liked that find better than the Barbers.
All in all, a great time and a great hunt. I had to wonder who had lost these items. Did they lose the dimes while watching a hanging way back then and did someone have to hitch a ride back home afterwards as a result of losing the key to their Studebaker? We'll never know but it's always fun to wonder about the history of the finds we make. HH.
Running my machine in open screen with a 24 ferrous line and manual sensitivity set at 24, I slowed my sweep to a virtual crawl and began digging targets. About halfway down the first row. I had already recovered three wheats, a White's Sewing Machines advertising thimble, a printer's block, a baby ring and quite a few clads when I got a very iffy but promising signal. It was bouncing back and forth from iron to a 12-44 signal. I dug down and cleared two small iron tacks from the hole. Stuck the pin pointer in the hole again and got a nice signal under a root at the 7 inch mark. After quite a bit of digging under the root, I saw the edge of a very thin and worn 1907 Barber dime. This was the very first Barber I had found there and I was elated. I turned back around and began to go down my second row. The evenings have begun to get shorter now and it was 7:30 and getting a bit dark when I got another marginal signal that was reading 8 inches deep. Again, it was going back and forth between iron and 12-43 and 12-44. This time it was mostly iron signals that were showing up on my backlit screen but every once in a while a good number would hit. I decided I had nothing to lose and dug down. I hit numerous targets in the hole with the pin pointer and after a bit of clearing the iron nails and bits out, got a nice hit. Of course, it was under another root. After more digging and cleaning the dirt out, I soon realized I finally had it out of the hole. Scooped a handful of dirt up and opened my hand. Another Barber dime! This one just as worn and dated 1902. It's been a long time since I have found two Barbers in one day so I was a happy hunter.
Thrilled with how this quick hunt was going, I continued down the row and got a 12-22 signal at 4 inches down just as the light was waning. After digging a quick plug, I saw an old key in the hole. Really didn't think much of it as it said YALE on one side and had some other logo on the other side. Pretty much a run of the mill key, I thought, and stuck it in my pouch and called it a day. It was only when I got home and cleaned it off did I realize it wasn't your typical Yale key. On the other side of the key, I saw that it had an old style wood spoke wheel and tire with a banner across it that read Studebaker! Very cool. Being a car guy, I think I almost liked that find better than the Barbers.
All in all, a great time and a great hunt. I had to wonder who had lost these items. Did they lose the dimes while watching a hanging way back then and did someone have to hitch a ride back home afterwards as a result of losing the key to their Studebaker? We'll never know but it's always fun to wonder about the history of the finds we make. HH.
