Another one from the depths

My lunch time hunt happened at the same park and at the same spot on that park where I found the other old coins recently.

Maurice, my XP Deus metal detector, and I began our hunt just North of where the other coins where found. My first hole was a deep rusted nail. The second was a bottle cap because I always have to dig one. The third hole was a hole to nowhere where I may have been off on my pinpointing. The fourth hole produced this at around 10.5 inches deep with a very faint signal:

I am very excited about this. It proves that there are many silver coins left in the park. I am excited for the possibility of Seateds and gold coins.

Stay tuned.

Opportunity knocks

Today, the vicissitudes of life allowed me to take Maurice, my XP Deus metal detector, for a spin at the park. While I was there, I met a fellow Friendly Forum member from Dodge City. I hope he found lots of goodies.

And so I thought that was it for hunting for me for the day. However, as I was driving to pick up my son from a birthday party he had attended, I drove past an area of town that I hunted earlier during the year and saw that they had torn up one of the oldest streets in the city. I still had 15 minutes before the party was over so I stomped on the breaks, grabbed Maurice and hit the tear up for a blissful 10 minutes. In that time, I got an unmistakable quarter signal at a very shallow depth. I dug the hole and that grandest of geometrical figures appeared. It took me a second to realize what I had because the coin had been under that street for a very long time:

Yep, that’s a 1896 Barber quarter minted in Philadelphia (no mint mark). It has little to no wear which means it saw very little circulation before it was dropped.

So after I picked up my son, I went home and I was so agitated about having this opportunity that I was given permission to go back for 30 more minutes.

After 30 minutes, I had one 1906 Indian Head penny, one 1920 wheat, one 1952D wheat, and one wheat with an undetermined mint mark. At first I thought I had two Indians but I was mistaken. Also, I thought the 1920 wheat was a 1916. Alas, it was a good hunt nonetheless. I barely scratched the surface. I hope the street is still available tomorrow!

Thank you for looking!

The first Barber of 2012

Phew! I thought I was going to go all through 2012 without finding a Barber coin. Luckily, the XP Deus metal detector is a monster in iron. I returned for an hour to the 100 year old school that I hunted yesterday and was able to pull a trade token and an 1897 Barber quarter.

The token is about the size of a U.S. nickel and thanks to Steveouke, I know that it was made by a company called Mills between 1913 and 1932. The token was used in slot machines that were designed to prove that the machines themselves were not gambling machines!  They did this by telling the gambler (gamer?) how many coins he or she would win on the next spin. If the number shown was zero, then you would put your coin in anyway because the next number  shown could be something other than zero. The machines also dispensed gum for your coin, thus making the machine a combination of vending and gambling machine. Interesting to say the least.

Not a bad haul

The Barber quarter gave a dime signal. I wonder if the reason for that is that the quarter is very worn. The coin was about 5 inches deep.

Although the spot where I found these two (and the 1881 Indian Head and 1920 Merc yesterday) is iron infested, the Deus was able to pick up their signal nice and clear. I think I will hit it one more time before I move on to my other spot where I think I will find silver.

Thank you for looking!

My First Barber

My first ever Barber coin is a heavily tarnished 1899 Barber quarter.

I found it at a set of apartments downtown. I have hunted these apartments a couple of times before and I just knew there were old coins there.

This quarter was just below the surface. I am not surprised at the shallow depth however, because I found it on a slope and water has been washing off the dirt over the coin for God knows how long. And I am so proud I did not scratch it!
🙂

The AT Pro identified it correctly as a quarter, with a Target Id of 87-88.

Not pretty but awesome anyway