Paul (CA)

Two terrific finds Kac!

        Two cent pieces are extremely rare on west coast, the metal plate is another spectacular find I’d take that over a coin any day.

Congratulations!

Paul

On 3/14/2020 at 4:54 AM, calabash digger said:

Very Nice!

Thanks Cal,

Hopefully get out there later this Afternoon,  got to be more in there have a good feeling this may be a small cache. Thanks again,

Paul

14 hours ago, Cal_Cobra said:

HI Paul,

Nice going on the seated halves Paul.  That's odd that those are the only coins you guys have dug there.  Do you think their part of a cache?

BTW as long as you've been in this hobby, I'm curious, have you ever had the pleasure to recover a cache?

HH,
Brian

     

Hello Brian,
 

I’ve been thinking well hoping they are from a cache,  three from same area.  Area is plowed yearly, good chance part of remaining cache are nearby.  
 

Never dug a cache,  had several silvers in same hole but those were probably from pocket spillage with someone laying on park grass long ago.

Going to hit this area again this weekend, see if another half surfaces. 
 

Good to hear from you,  hope all is well over your way.

HH, Paul

Congratulations Tom!  
 

You definitely deserve this 16th gold coin, Wow truly amazing!

Well done Tom!

Paul

7 hours ago, Rick Kempf said:

Paul, I was looking for data on US army pay rates in the 1850’s and ran out of time. I did find this however and I think it’s pretty splendid!

https://history.army.mil/html/books/075/75-1/CMH_Pub_75-1.pdf

Hello Rick,

     This is great reading material, definitely going to read this weekend.  During my lunch hour this early evening,  skimmed through most of it and found camels used in California.  Our Fort Tejon used camels, plenty of reading material on this subject.  Our State of California is rich with history, we are very fortunate. Especially those who enjoy research,  plenty of historical sites waiting to be found. 
 

Thank you for sharing, I’ve saved it to my favorites.  I’ll share something not too many local treasure hunters are aware of,  in my area not to far from these recent seated half’s is an 1850 old fort location,  I’ve been searching for it past 10 years. It’s definitely in an area we’re bound to eventually find its location. Within a 1/2 mile radius from this recent town we discovered, the material you posted encourages me to press forward.

Thanks again Rick👍
Paul

5 hours ago, Tom_in_CA said:

Paul, you never cease to amaze me.   You definitely earned those seated halves !   Congratz.  

This wouldn't happen to be the same location, as the picnic site we were asking you to look into, would it ?   Nearby, but not the exact same site, right ?

Also:  Did you see the 1881 P $10 gold I just found this last weekend ?  It's on FMDF now.  

Hello Tom,

Congratulations with the $10 gold piece,  first I heard of this spectacular find.  
 

This current site is from the next river south of the area you and Anthony discussed with me, it’s a property Denny and I have been hunting pass 11 years. Totally off the charts from yours and Anthony’s,  about one mile south.  That area of yours and Anthony’s, is an area I will not discuss with anyone including local friends. You guys have my trust,  I respect this site as yours and Anthony’s.

As with permission from Anthony,  I’ve made contact with one of the property’s owners,  he is to meet with me soon on his property.  That’s were you and Anthony feel the bulk of the area is located, I’ll keep in touch. I’m going to give this property owner copies of the materials you gave me. Plus a 1892 map copy of his property, this is the only area I have not hunted.  Pretty sure what you and Anthony are searching for is in this area. 
 

 Congratulations again on your 15th gold coin?  It is 15 now right?  Outstanding!

Paul

9 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Thanks GB-Amateur,

Appreciate the information, very well put and  encouraging us to press forward.  Eventually, I’m sure other seated maybe be bust will surface from this particular area.  Just up the river on same property is another site, same property owner this particular site has gave up 1/2 dimes one was a Bust, one 1846 $5 gold coin surfaced two years ago, That coin went to the property owner.  Most of the remaining coins, went to our local museum. Getting another batch of finds together to hand over to the museum, another Bust and three seated coins along with relics.

Will keep the forum posted when additional finds surface, Especially anything other than 1/2 halves that will be great 😊

Thanks again,

Paul

9 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

The small coins may be tougher to find.  During and after the California Gold Rush (late 1840's and first half of 1850's), coins of any denomination were very scarce in the far west.  That's what led to the minting of private gold coins, along with the reluctance of the federal government to create a mint in California.  Further, everything was so expensive that small coins wouldn't buy much (oh, kinda like our US 1 cent pieces today...).  When the San Francisco Mint was finally built they cranked out 20$ gold pieces and half dollars at a much greater rate than other denominations.  Even during the 1860's, there were about 5 to 10 times as many half dollars (ditto the $20 'double eagles') minted in SF than either half dimes or dimes (or quarters).

Now, the good news is there may be a gold coin or two waiting for you and Denny.

Thank you 2Valen, GB-Amateur, Strick, Beat up, Denny and Steve,

Yesterday’s seated half find has more wear than the just dug picture shows, same with the first 1861 seated half find from here and it has plow damage. I nicked yesterday’s 1862 half with the shovel, David’s 1863 seated half is in much better condition from my two seated half’s from this area. 
 
Denny,  That’s what I keep saying to myself,  surely a seated 1/2 dime or seated dime should surface. Although The town is short lived, it’s old enough and was off the main Fremont trail.  Next time you come down,  let’s focus in that particular area surely more coins in there.

Going to add pieces of the puzzle, how the second town of Woodsville finally surfaced. Took 11 years to finally find this lost 1853-1869) town,  Denny is a great contributor and has helped enormously with my research. He’s no stranger to this area,  he too has permission from the property owner to detect this enormous property which has three historical sites hidden from history. Our finds are in our Country historical museum, a big thanks to Denny for being there. 
 

The clues to finding this second town of Woodsville, mentions it was 1/2 mile East of the original Woodsville cabin.  Well,  it wasn’t a 1/2 mile East which I finally figured out last year. And with the other pieces of puzzle, we found it. 
 

Thanks again everyone, and Steve a big thank you for providing us a great clean forum. And Denny,  Thank you for your continuous support!
 

All the best,  

Paul

Definitely a musket ball,  with it being so close to Washington and only a 1/4 mile from camp improves the odds it’s related. 
 

Terrific find,  Congratulations!

Paul

Starting to think may be a cache of silver half’s in a general area, that’s three (1861-1862-1863) from same area. 

Two months ago,  I dig an 1861 1/2 dollar, a week later a local buddy digs an 1863 1/2 dollar. Today, I dig the third an 1862 1/2 dollar from same general area.

From previous hunts, Plenty of musket balls have surfaced, some 1850-1860 era finds as well. But no other coins have surfaced,  just these three seated half’s. A town short lived, 1853 to late 1860’s based from history books. Based from one of the books, Late 1860’s  a row of six wooden cabins facing the river still stood. Took me about 11 years to find these row of cabins, wasn’t until a few months ago finally found the town settlement. It’s located in an orchard, with permission from property owner, I’ve been searching for this settlement pass 11 years. 

It’s an area I use different top end detectors, enjoy switching things up a bit and happy as a lark what ever I swing. Today,  it was the Blisstool V6 (Beast) that nailed the seated half. Running the V6 with Ore mode, but with a higher fine setting to bring back depth loss yet retain fast recovery speed. These settings work well in this area, the town area is laced with old iron. Square nails, large spike nails, etc. Ore mode turns the Blisstool V6 into a fast recovery unit, enhances separation in areas with iron. 

Hopefully, The owner plows here soon the area surely needs it. Maybe more will surface?  
 

Thanks for looking,

Paul

Very productive hunt,  overall you did well. Please Continue to share future your Tarsacci finds, Beach hunts are always fun to hunt, wish I lived near the ocean. 
 

Congratulations 

Paul

Outstanding Daniel,

I agree,  Tarsacci has an edge in poor soil over an Equniox.  I run both Equniox and Tarsacci,  here on west coast inland hunts. 

We find pistol and musket balls, definitely Tarsacci has a stronger Audio ID with deeper targets in poor soil.  Most hunters using an Equniox would have passed that deep target sounding like iron, Equniox is a good unit though.
 

Thanks for sharing,

Paul

Hello Kac,

This particular area, is both slightly higher in mineralization and in some areas full of old iron.    
 

I agree,  strongly feel a Vaquero with the 12”x10”DD coil will do extremely well here.  I’ll probably get one,  owned one before but failed to try a DD coil.  Have tried Concentric here but every time suffer stability, DD is my best option.

Appreciate your input, Vaquero is definitely on my list.  Tejon is a a little too hot for this particular area, Vaquero is perfect!
 

Thank you,

Paul

Hello Monte,

Thank you for taking to time to share information with the Cortes, Deleon and both Lobo models, that’s good to know especially with the original Lobos manual GB ties in with both modes.  Because of our soil in my area,  I’d probably stay with a DD to help stability a concentric may sway the opposite due to our mineralization.

You’re doing well keeping your equipment count down,  18 at present yes that’s quite a bit hopefully you can hit yourself target of 10.

      I had planned on selling the bulk of my top end, been saying that for years hopefully this year will make time to list them. As for the vintage models, probably keep those including all the modified ones.  
 

Yesterday,  tooK out four ID models to the same site.  Tekentics Mark III, CoinScanner 2 Pro, GoldScanner Pro and a Whites 5900 with manual GB. Only three pistol balls surfaced, and a pouch full of trash. Still, a fun day. Peaceful surroundings, an orchard with shade trees. Owner drove by and we waved to each other, he let’s me detect here.  Land is an 1850 settlement, now an orchard.
 

The Tekentics Mark III, is a 1&2 filter detector. It’ll adjust itself based from mineralization, overall a good detector even for relic hunting.  Use a fisher DD coil with the Modded Mark III, good depth and good coverage and surprisingly very good separation.

Someday when I get close to retirement,  will join one of your ghost town hunts. Probably bring a few vintage models for the hunt, Just thinking of the hunt brings a smile ear to ear 😊

Thanks again Monte!

Paul

6 hours ago, Rick N. MI said:

Paul,

The Lobo ST I had worked better with concentric coils and was hot with the gb negative.

Does the Lobo w/ gb work as well as Lobo ST w/ gb turned negative inside?

Rick

 

Hello Rick,

I never tried a Lobo ST,  only owned a couple of original lobo models with manual GB. I do run a little negative with most of my GB models, including the original lobo.

I’ve read that before,  Lobo ST runs hotter with concentric coils.  That’s probably the case in my area providing soil isn’t too mineralized, I may try and search for a used larger coil for my original Lobo. Really like the Original Lobo, if I can get another inch or two that would be great.

Thanks for bringing that up, encourages me to search for another coil for my Lobo.
 

Take care,

Paul

Hello GB-Amateur,

The Lobo is an original model, with manual GB.  Unfortunately,  the stock elliptical coil and a smaller piglet coil are the only 4-pin coils I have. I’m sure a much bigger coil will enhance depth, but at present trying to not invest further in the hobby.  

I’ve forgotten so much especially with older technology, can’t remember if GB carriers over onto disc mode with Cortes or Deleon.    I feel, the reason the Deleon wasn’t doing well with the 12”x10” DD was probably due to discrimination mode not tuned with the larger DD coil. I like the Deleon, would prefer using a Deleon especially for it’s larger screen but for some reason in tougher soil conditions the Cortes fares a lot better. The Cortes impresses me,  gets good depth with the 12”x10” DD coil and very good coverage. In my soil,  the Tesoro Stock coils can’t penetrate very deep with any of my Tesoro lineup.  Which is my reasoning for using the 12”x10” DD, gains a good 1”-2” inches in poor soil.  Plus,  the DD coverage is great.

Many years ago,  probably at least a decade ago tried both the Tejon and Vaquero at this same particular site. They had very good depth out in clearer areas with low mineralization, even with stock coils.  But,  In poor soil they suffered with stability issues especially in areas with iron. 
 

I’d like to try a Vaquero again with a larger DD, I feel the DD will help. 

Hopefully,  get out there again this afternoon.  This round will use four different analog ID model’s, for now have my top end parked for a while and will enjoy using these older tech model’s.

Thank you for your interest,

HH, Paul

Deleon

These past few weeks,  been using various analog models at an old farmstead. Although we’ve hit this area numerous times, hardly anything good surfaces but it’s a fun site to hunt and a good site to test equipment. 
 

Between the seven Tesoro models I’ve been using here these past few week’s, the Cortes was probably the best of the bunch and thats with using the 12”x10” DD coil and with full sensitivity. The 12”x10” spoked concentric coil was okay with a lower sensitivity, but it suffered some stability with increasing sens and that’s due to our West Coast inland soil. So, pretty much stuck with the larger widescan.

Second best was the Lobo,  Although it lacked depth it was great in areas thick with iron. Next, The Outlaw and modified Mohave ran equal, good depth with using the 12”x10” DD. The Mojave has a manual GB, which is needed for my soil. 
 

The Pantera did well,  but tough soil prevented the extra depth needed. The Deleon just couldn’t get rid of the falsing, even with the large DD Deleon can’t handle our soil with high sensitivity. The Golden uMax did okay, but our soil is tough on the Golden. 
 

The 12”x10” DD improved depth with all these models with the exception of 4-pin Lobo, using stock coils with the other models in my soil were useless.  The larger widescan coil is definitely deeper, eliminates most if not all ground noise, and still very sensitive to smaller targets. 
 

My favorite out of this Tesoro bunch is now the Cortes, for farm land hunting and definitely running the 12”x10” DD.  One 1951 silver dime surfaced, one wheat penny and 1959 copper penny. Two musket 1/2 balls,  few saddle snaps.  Site has potential,  We’ve pulled numerous seated coin’s, Couple of Bust and one gold coin from here on previous hunts. 

Going back today, this round will use a Teknetics Mark III, Compass CoinScanner Pro II, GoldScanner Pro and a Whites 5900 Di-Pro. Can’t wait,  older technology makes the hunt more challenging and fun.

HH, Paul

Very nice,  Deus and Tarsacci what a nice combo!  
The last finds made with the Tarsacci,  it’ll definitely punch deeper in mineralized soil.  
Congratulations!  
 

Paul

 Nice finds Dew!
 

MDT has done well for you,  definitely a good gold jewelry finder.

i know you have good success with the xcal,  that is a good oldie.  Here in my area,  BBS doesn’t do so well in our fresh water black sand.  It does do well with out west coast wet sand though, unfortunately inland rivers or lakes black sand effects depth.

Thats were the Tarsacci does well, probably our best west coast water detector both fresh water and ocean wet sand.

Congratulations, hope the new year brings your continuous success.

Paul

2 hours ago, Carolina said:

Paul, I am more interested in a 12” coil for relic and coin as well as the damp and wet salt sand. Any help would sure make many people happy. 
 

Thomas

Hello Thomas,

     I’ll definitely ask Dimitar,  if the future brings us a larger or smaller coil.  I could use both, for the type of hunting I do.  

Dimitar lives close to gold county, fortunately I have a couple of friends owning large acreage properties up in gold county.  Both historical areas, haven’t tried the MDT there and since I’m going there soon felt it would be a great area for Dimitar to test his equipment. 

I know Dimitar is doing his best,  And very grateful having an MDT as it’s definitely deeper than my other top end models. If other coils do come out, that’s great. If not, I understand and greatly appreciate what he has accomplished.

if I hear anything,  will definitely keep you posted.  Hope the year brings you good health and terrific finds.

Paul

3 hours ago, Carolina said:

Sadly it appears that Dimitar is more interested in turning out another MDT model than  offering additional accessories for the MDT 8000 that is already on the market. I wish he could see the need for a six inch and twelve inch coil for the existing MDT. My fingers are crossed.

The more I’m using the MDT in iron laced sites, learning its audio language it’s auctully a good unit with very fast recovery speed. I’m starting to see separation as fast as a Deus, didn’t at first but after a long period of learning the MDT audio language it’s extremely fast with separation up there with a Deus. 
 

Can see a need for a smaller coil in areas needing better separation,   Not too small.  Smaller elliptical would be nice, plan on visiting Dimitar soon. We had discussed going on a relic hunt up in gold county, maybe a little nugget hunting as well. I’ll ask about a smaller coil, hopefully he’s got something for us in the works.

Paul

Thanks for sharing your recent Cortes purchase Mike,  I knew you were looking for one from a recent post of yours.

Was going to contact you,  have a nice one just haven’t had time to post it.  Also have a Deleon,  I’m still up in the air which one I’ll keep. Both have positives and negatives, like the larger Deleon screen.

Will try the Cleansweep coil, I’ve never tried one but have one from a recent Tesoro purchase from last year.  It came with a Golden uMax,  Will definitely be swinging both Cortes and Deleon soon.  I’m looking so forward to using both, havent used them in a few years.

looking forward to reviewing your views on the Cortes.

Congrats!

Paul

True, even if it never makes it to market. The seed is planted, maybe encourage what’s out there to be improved.  MDT 8000 2?

Paul

Hello Steve,

Seen this this morning,  Good of Tom to share what he can.

Reading between the lines, sounds like a deep model in good soil with audio ID.  But yet to be tested in tough soil, And recovery speed seems slower than Tarsacci. That’s what I’m reading between the lines, could be wrong.

I like the fact this prototype will discriminate iron (audio) at great depths, something the Tarsacci and a GPX lack. 
 

Tarsacci is and will still be a main contender, it’s quick recovery speed in iron and great depth in poor soil is amazing. 

Looking forward to hearing more on this prototype, is it a Pi/VLF?  Let’s hope so, our hobby continues to be interesting.

Paul

Very nice Moe,  finds like these encourages me to detect iron laced sites more often.  Deus is hard to beat in thick iron,  congratulations!

Paul