I was out a couple nights ago in a very old park where I've been hunting for the past 25yrs and I brought along a brand new FTP machine, which I'm VERY impressed with so far,(I'll post more later..). I was trying as usual to find some deep old coins and or relics. Nothing but deep clad for the first couple hours, high sink rate soil area. Found 2 coin spills, one was $1.47 all clad @ 6". After only alot of clad after over 2 hours, I got another deep coin hit, dug @ 6" found a copper memorial pennie, it was dark and was using my propointer to find it when I found something shiny in the side of the hole above the pennie...and it ended up being a 2" section of a womans gold bracelet. It wasnt even registering to the ProPointer. It was only pure chance that I found it, needless to say the detector didnt pick it up, it was only because of the pennie I found it.
Now it gets real interesting..
It was past 9pm and well past dark and started heading back toward the truck and just kept the coil to the ground and was just swinging wide, not over lapping and got a big hi-tone quarter hit. It was only 1" deep, a double beep. Figured it was on edge, okay, so I started to probe with my Leschee, and wasnt finding it until I pulled the blade out and out popped the quarter. Even in the dark I could tell something was different about it..I picked it up..and in my hand..was a 1909 Barber quarter! My first in 25yrs of hunting. It couldnt have been more than 1 inch down. This was basically in the middle of a field where soccer and football is played regularly and people were sledding all winter, not in the woods where its not uncommon to find old coins and relics close to the surface.
As mentioned earlier, this is a very old park, and pre-dates that coin by many many years. It was apparently lost, somehow... recently.
The chances of me finding it given the circumstances were crazy.
Thank for reading.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2011 12:48PM by Aaron.

Great story!!! I always love those "walk back to the truck" tales. Methinks there's a subconscious reason why so many finds are made in this manner Way to go on the gold and Barber! Is there a particular reason you didn't want to post which detector you were swinging? The curiosity is driving me nuts

Trust me Aaron, don't assume it was a recent drop because of the (relative) depth!

Very true buckeye Some of my best finds were either surface or near surface targets. My oldest coin (1864 2 cent piece) was no more than 2 inches under the soil. Just this past weekend, I dug 2 I.H. pennies that couldn't have been more than 2" or 3" inches deep. As the saying goes..."ya just never know". That's why it's always a good idea to dig overloads. I know MANY hunters who will assume overload's are trash and won't dig them, but, there are a lot of goodies there as well. What if someone dropped a honker of a ring yesterday and you walked over it with your detector? You might get an overload. And most detectorists would walk right by. Big mistake Think of the varied big targets like belt plates, buckles, slave tags, chauffeur badges, etc. that would surely cause most detectors to overload. Never assume that surface targets are not "dig worthy"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2011 03:17PM by njnydigger.

Sounds like 'turned' soil.........or a root may have pushed up the quarter.

KEEP that piece of gold chain.....and see how various detectors respond to it. tape it to a wooden ruler/paint-stick. (Don't be disappointed in how/what detectors will NOT detect the chain.

Nope. No turned soil, only short grass. Not a tree within 100yrds.
Funny..today, I found a 1940 Merc, within a few yards of where I found the Barber, and it was 7" deep!
I forgot to mention the Barber is well worn...most of the detail on the eagle is gone, so it was in circulation for quite awhile, Im amazed I didnt scratch it.

Nice.

hi Aaron. Your ProPointer-Would that be the Garrett ProPointer? If so, I have one of those. I am not the least happy with it. Piece of junk if you ask me. If you do have the Garrett, I have a very simple mod that will give the pointer some power.

Is the Garrett pinpointer mod the sliding coin technique?

Yes..the Garrett ProPointer..I really havent had any problems with mine, had it for around a 18 months. Seems to be bullet proof.
I interested in your mod though.
Thanks

Hi Terradigger. I haven''t heard about the sliding coin thing, but my mod is similar. You may of heard of it. First, wrap a strong rubber band around the middle of the detector. Then insert a small iron rod under the band. (I use a big nail). Then, push the rubber band/iron up front, until the detector starts going off. Then back off a little, until it stops signaling. Works for me. I can't believe Garrett hasn't figured this stuff out!

Actually, they are very aware of it. A poster said he called them and asked if this 'metal' slide technique would harm the unit. There response was, no it wouldn't. I agree with you, that a built in slider should be incorporated on these units.