What Was In This Spot 160 Years Ago-Neat Story

[RLOH]

My detecting spots are mostly limited to public places. For some reason, I do not feel comfortable knocking on doors of people with old houses and asking to dig in their yards. Just about all of the coins over 150 year old that I have found have come from old houses of people that I know. The last large cents that I found came from a house built in 1830 and I found five of them. This was about 9 years ago. With my history done, here is the story. I have been detecting a school built in 1959 and it consists of a soccer field on one level, a football field on the next level, and a baseball field on the highest level. I have concentrated my efforts on the football field and I always hit the soccer field on my way out. I have been hunting this place for four years and have found over 50 silver coins and several hundred wheat pennies. All of the silver are roosies and a spattering of mercs. Last Sunday while hunting this spot, I started in the football field and had a normal for this place morning(five wheats and one silver roosie). After three hours of detecting I headed back to the truck and decided on one spin around the perimeter of the soccer field. I must have found about 7 or 8 clads. When I got about 3/4 of the way around the field, I got a nice signal that was deep. From about 11 inches deep comes a 183? large cent. I was amazed and figured it was brought in with fill. Since I was heading for home, I decided that the next time I was here I would grid the area to see what was left. I did not have too high of expectations because this was the first and only old coin from this school. Yesterday I was back and spent most of the morning in a part of the soccer field that produced wheats and silver. I was saving the large cent area for later in the morning. This particular area has a gate in the fence so I started my grid by detecting three fence posts each way from this gate. On the second pass, I got a reading on the Explorer which was where a clad quarter would hit and not all that deep. From 6 or 7 inches I saw the outline of a large cent sized coin and sure enough it was another one. Not nearly as deep and about ten feet from the first one I found. I really tightened my pattern and it was three or four passes later I got a "stop you dead in your tracks" silver signal. Explorer users know what I mean. From 6 or 7 inches I saw silver. I was expecting a silver roosie , but when I saw the back of the coin, I knew it was better. 1849 seated dime! I highly doubt that these coins came in fill, but am more inclined to believe there was something here 150 plus years ago. Less than twenty feet away from the seated, I found a 1956 roosie. You can bet I will be back and really gridding.

 

[Joel-Winnipeg]

Nice, you may have found the glory spot.

 

[mudpuppy]

That is a cool story and a great spot! Thanks.
Mud

 

[Digdoggy]

You may want to go to that towns library and ask if there is any aerial photos. Some states actually have every square ft covered. They were doing air surveys in the 1930's there's a good chance that old stone walls , ( if like here in New England) and remains from the old foundations or old path and or roads and driveways may still be seen from above before the schools or parks were built. I've found huge farms with old farm houses and out buildings shown clearly on a 1934 aerial photo which is now right in the middle of the school grounds today. I was sick when the Huge school building near me is sitting right on top of an old farm house, barn and all the other out buildings. But....on another school theres old farm buildings on the 1934 air photo right next to the school, in the woods. Its thick brush now but fall is comming! Also topo maps I've recently heard have dots where the houses were. Those can be really old maps. GL HH