Australian Pre-decimal Coin Patch Along Geoffrey Bay On Magnetic Island

[Erik Oostra]

7 hours ago, Goldpick said:

I reckon your "half sovereign" is more likely a Jubilee head 1887 shilling going off the design, size and oxidation

you're spot on Goldpick, it's a bit of a shame bit i'm still stoked with it.. that would also explain the high target ID.. I'll keep hunting for those sovereigns.. 

[Erik Oostra]

2 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Still, a digital TID of 26 is way up there. 

Goldpick has worked it out.. it's not a half-sovereign, it's a silver shilling.. that'd nicely explains the very high target ID.. 

 

[GB_Amateur]

5 minutes ago, Erik Oostra said:

Goldpick has worked it out.. it's not a half-sovereign, it's a silver shilling.. that'd nicely explains the very high target ID.. 

 

Oh, I missed that.  I'm taking an Australian language class and we haven't quite gotten to the advanced part yet. 

1887 silver coin is still a nice find, but obviously gold is preferable.  Keep after the goal!

[Erik Oostra]

Talking to an old timer at the pub last night, it turns out that the little patch near the old boat ramp was the site of the island's first hostel.. he recons that in the old days this was one of the more popular bays.. funny how perceptions change as to what makes a nice bay.. these days only the locals walk along it and all the action is just down the road at Alma Bay.. i'll widen my search around this patch to include the actual site of the first hostel.. there's a sovereign somewhere there just waiting for me to find it.. 

[Erik Oostra]

55 minutes ago, phrunt said:

My Aussie half sovereign reads as 15 and full's read an 18/19

thanks again for all your advice there Phrunt.. i'll keep those target IDs in mind when i go back there on Monday morning.. i'm gathering more info on what that bay looked like a hundred years ago and where the first buildings were.. finding out about the local history has been just as much fun as finding these old coins.. shame about the sovereign this time, i really thought i'd finally found one.. but i'll find one yet!   

[geof_junk]

Erik my photo was taken before I retired in 2003 maybe 1 to 3 years earlier. Check up the price of your shilling/half sovereign they do have a good value in fair condition (NB English coin)

You might find this site .......LINK......  about cleaning coins of some help.

[Goldpick]

On the bright side, at least you still have another bucket lister coin to chase after, and be twice as excited when you do find one.  Took me forever to detect a gold ring at the beach, ended find two within a few metres of each other in the rocks at low tide.  Call it chance or just good luck, you never know what's going to come out of the scoop on your next outing.  Best of luck Erik.

[Hunterjunk]

Still good results Erik , a real Sovereign could still be lurking there . I have found two Sovereigns and both read 17-18 in ground , and a solid 18 out , on the Nox . They also look like gold before any cleaning . I suggest if you do find one that you be very careful about cleaning as a lot of value can be scrubbed away . A running tap with a very gentle brush with a soft tooth brush was it for me , some would say that even that is too much . The full Sovereign is about the size of a thin 10 cent piece . The half is more like a 5 cent , Aussie coins i mean . Good luck .

[Erik Oostra]

7 hours ago, Hunterjunk said:

a real Sovereign could still be lurking there

Thanks Hunterjunk.. I went back to the patch yesterday morning, found a few more pennies and 6 & 3-pence.. I've yet to get off the beach itself and onto the grassy area that runs along side it.. i'll leave that until i find no more coins in this patch.. i'm sure there's more silver there and hopefully a sovereign.. i'm digging every faint bleep, even if there's no target ID number on the display.. there's very little metal rubbish on this beach compared to the others, so digging is usually rewarded..