Tom_in_CA

You certainly paid your dues with the trash ratio.   Some of which is older age-indicators (ie.: "fun trash"). 

The utterly best sites are ones where all-human-influence stops by the late 1800s.  So then you're not bothered by aluminum, mechanical/automotive/electrical stuff, etc.....

Good job on the trime !   I think I've only ever found 2 of those on the west coast.

Holy smoke Andrew !  Correct me if I'm wrong but reales are very rare find in your part of the USA, right ?  And ... sheesk ... 1781 no less !   Congratz dude !!

Wow.  Love that new buckle and all the powder flasks.   Just dripping with history.  You haven't found the GPS device we planted on your vehicle yet, have you ?  😜

I never get tired of seeing those beach-kissed blackened silver coins in my scoop !

nice early seated.

1 hour ago, ChuckScrivener said:

.... Being new to this kind of detecting do you experienced coin hunters suggest sticking near the chimneys or do the coins tend to be any place particular? ....

I would fan out in all directions (from the ground-zero of a visible chimney), with my machine set to allow me to hear nails.  Ie.: as a low tone that I'm going to elect to pass, but at least I can get a feel for the target spread.   And as long as I'm still hearing iron (albeit rejected), that tells me I'm still in the sphere of human habitation/influence.   And as long as there's still iron, then there can be conductive targets too.

Perhaps the chimney indicates a lone structure, of a single individual(s).  Or perhaps it meant other were closeby (tent-city), yet didn't happen to have chimneys on their hobbles.  All you can do is wander around.  If the sounds go "sterile" (no iron grunts), then you'll know you've wandered outside the sphere of human habitation/influence.

This reads like how the UK posts (who have 2000 yrs. more history than us) sounds.   Where any/all fields have eventual finds.   Great play-by-play.

sweet

10 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

Very interesting story. At least in the UK you have a chance of getting a finder's fee....

Huh ?  In the USA you can make $$ too.   It's called "ebay".  So it's not only the UK guys that "have a chance of getting a finder's fee".    In fact, the system is better here, because you get to call-the-shots on whether you want to keep it, or sell it, and at what price.  So I don't see how the UK system is somehow better.    We can sell our stuff here as well, or elect to keep it, with no govt. intrusion.  

29 minutes ago, Tiftaaft said:

Tom, you say that like you and the rest of the CA hunters aren't already sick...haha.  Not to mention the rest of us non-CA guys.  

You're right !   If Chris finds one more, there might be an "unfortunate accident" there at his house, eh ?    We wouldn't want any accidents to happen, NOW WOULD WE ?  😲

11 minutes ago, CVISChris said:

.... Maybe I’ll find more soon?!?  ....  

If you do, you're going to make several of us CA guys sick.   We're going to come plant a GPS device on your vehicle.   (Pay no attention to the suspicious person you saw in your driveway last night ! 😝 )

1 hour ago, CVISChris said:

Oops duplicate post.  So should I have them graded and packaged?  What is the best way to do this?  I have never found anything worth this much.  

There's no need to slab or have them graded, if you are just keeping them for your own collection.  But if you want to have the "stellar" seal of merit (even if only in your own collection), then yes:  You can send off that private mint gold coin for slabbing.   There's coin dealers that can walk you through that process (and their memberships with the grading agencies afford them the grading hoops to jump through. Eg.: requires membership, shipping, a cost per coin that a dealer gets at a discount, vs a new member with only a single coin-to-grade, etc...).

Google PCGS (that's one of the two grading agencies), and I'm sure the instruction info. is there.   But unless you intend to do a lot of repeat business with them, then a singular grade/slab, with the cost of initial membership, etc..., you might be better off just entrusting it to a coin-collector, who already wheels/deals in these deals.  

Once they've given it a verified grade, then you are golden if you ever go to sell.  No one can banter you down on their opinion of grade, blah blah.  And even if you don't sell, you'll have the satisfaction of now knowing for-sure that it's worth such & such.

7 minutes ago, Dances With Doves said:

The best find i have seen found by a member here since i have been looking.The  private mint  gold coin club must be the toughest to get in.I think in Charles Garrett coin hunting book he said a man found one  at a horse track in   Washington  state worth   250,000 way back then(30 years plus).I can see Cal Cobra finding one since he has a knack for finding valuable coins.

Nope.  Not on my watch anyhow.  Cal Cobra knows it's my turn now, to find the next gold coin between us.   Right Brian ? 🤣

I know 3 guys that found them :  Here's one of them :  

https://coins.ha.com/itm/territorial-gold/1851-5-shultz-and-co-five-dollar-ms62-ngc-k-1-r7/a/1204-5439.s

Another private mint CA gold coin was found near Salinas (worth only about $3k).  And another private mint gold coin found at a park turf demolition in Santa Rosa years ago (not a super rare one, so perhaps $5k to $7k ?).  Strangely, 2 identical private mint gold coins came from that Santa Rosa demolition scrape, but I didn't know the other hunter.

8 minutes ago, Cal_Cobra said:

.... are as rare as finding a gold coin in the West.....

 

On coastal CA (our zone) this is no doubt true.   I've only found 2 LC's (in CA), yet found 16 gold coins.   And this statistic of more GC's than LC's seem to hold up in other CA hunter's tallies.   It might go more even (or favor LC's ?) in the G.R. sites.  Since that was attracting a lot of people from back east to head to CA.  Not sure.  

Contrast to the east coast where guy can get 100 LC's before they EVER have a chance at a gold coin.

Oh my gosh.  I am sick sick sick.  Is this the site that gave up the other buckles and the seated quarter , that you posted on 2/15 ?   And now a gold coin (private mint no less) and a large cent ??

Sheesk, are you SURE your wife won't allow you to invite others to your site ??  After all, I'm way overdue for my 17th gold coin !  🤣  And even though I've seen two CA private mint gold coins turn up within my circle of friends, I've never found a private mint gold coin myself.   Your heart bleeds for me, right ?  All of my 16 have been boring USA mints  🤪   

C'mon dude, the beers on me.  You're only 2 hours away.  We'll hog-swap site tips !  I'll scotch tape a zinc penny to the bottom of my coil to handicap myself.  Ok ?  😆

And if you're interested in selling, drop me a line. 

Chris, glad to hear that you've bought the book.   It's guys like that who do a lot for our hobby, and deserve support.   Whenever compendiums like that are made, it actually spurs the interest among buyers and sellers and hunters.   And in this day and age of the internet, it's hard to make $ off going through all the effort of compiling such info into a book.   Since, let's be honest, people will eventually get it digital somehow, which lowers book sales (one unfortunate aspect of the net, to any would-be-authors).   So thanks for getting his book, he deserves it.   Now go find some more so you can look up your future prizes !     And a shout out to anyone else @ finding G.R. buckles like this :  Get Max' book too !

Sorry, I don't know why my 2nd picture is upside down 😞

Yup.  The off-center shield is the tell-tale bust dime.  Congratz !   Not easy to find Bust coins in CA

Your buckle is rare and valuable.   Here you go, thanx to Max Bell's great book:  Here's the description of your buckle @ the 6th picture down :

I like ball buttons , @ the middle right of your first photo !

2 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

This thread is about the Minelab Equinox software upgrade version 3.x.  I assume that's what MM32KY means when he says V3...........

 

Doh !  My bad. I saw "V3" and assumed he was talking about the Whites.

6 minutes ago, MM32KY said:

Other than adding 4K what are the advantages or benefits of V3.  If you say stability enhancements please explain what that means.  Also is this the ONLY enhancement to V3.

Huh ?   "Enhancements" ?  " Advantages" ?  If these advantages are what you're after, then why are you looking at the Whites V3, in the first place ?  I don't understand 😞

I love that gilt button that simply says "Gilt" on the back.  Those are the absolute earliest of gilt buttons, where it almost seems the lettering was hand scrimshawed into it.   They  just drip with history.  Good show !

2 hours ago, CalReg said:

... I've researched some of the ghost towns on the internet and it doesn't look like they are MD friendly sites. ...

Cal-Reg, a couple of things :

1)  If you google "Ghost towns" + "CA", then ... sure ... you're going to get hits like Bodie, and other such colorful *obvious-to-the-history-books" type tourist trap spots.

2)  Then ... sure... none of them are going to be "MD friendly".

3)  But you have to realize that these are only the ones/types that are a) still standing b) colorful tourist traps

4)  But there are HUNDREDS of little burgs that faded to nothing, and are nothing more than a vacant cow pasture, and not a tourist-trap sensitive monument.  These can be singular stage stops, trading posts, short-lived miner tent cities, etc....

What ??  Did you just find that gold coin ??   That's the holy grail hole-in-one for every md'r !   Nice going dude !