MN_Digger

Wondering if someone can help ID the two bullets I dug today? They were about 3 feet from each other and fairly deep...7-8".  They measure .510" in diameter. One weighs 433 grains, the other 435 grains. Would they possibly be .50-70 Government? Thanks in advance for any guidance...Jeff

28 minutes ago, kac said:

You show her zero mode on the AT Pro? She should much better with that than the boingy standard modes.

Nice shield, looks to be in fair shape as far as nickels go.

Her frustration this time was digging larger junk, kac.  On the way home I told her about how the Pro mode audio worked. We'll get her started with that on the next outing.

The dug nickels in my area vary alot in how corroded they are. I suspect that's the case in a lot of areas. This one is one of the better, older ones that I've found. Was a fun find to make!

1 hour ago, GB_Amateur said:

Excellent find!

Is that your first ever Shield Nickel?  1866 is the first year the USA ever minted a 25% Ni, 75% Cu 5-cent piece.  (That followed by one year their first ever coin of that composition -- the nickel 3-cent piece.)  Note the rays radially emanating from the numeral 5.  Only the first two years had that.  (My only Shield Nickel, found with the Fisher F75, is the 1867 with rays.)

There are several error varieties with designation 'repunched date'.  Here is one example:

Yours may be too worn to even show that, if it actually is one.  Although rare (estimated 200-300 still in existence) it doesn't carry much if any premium over the standard non-error version.

GB, I tried looking for the repunched date last night. You're correct...I believe it's a little too pitted to be able to determine. This one is my first shield nickel. Was fairly sure I was digging a nickel, but was not expecting one that old. You never know what's going to come out of the ground! 👍

Girlfriend and I headed back to this same place for a couple hours this afternoon.  She had a frustrating outing this time...didn't manage to raise any coins from the ground.  I managed a handful of clad and my oldest coin to date...an 1866 shield nickel from about 8" down. Really starting to get comfortable with the Equinox the past couple outings! Hope y'all got out today...Jeff

7 hours ago, Valens Legacy said:

Grandfather would have said that is not hooked.

I found a picture he sent me a couple of years ago that showed how grandmother got hooked on a hobby she liked.

They both liked fishing and she really got hooked.

Yikes!! Cool that they spent time together enjoying another great hobby! 🙂

Took a couple days off work to do some detecting...finally got back to this spot yesterday for a little longer hunt. The water is down about 4' from it's "normal" level, so there is strip of exposed lake bottom about 50-60' wide X 300' long. This trip I concentrated on getting the high conductors out of the way. There are a TON of low-mid conductors here...can't wait to start picking thru those. Ended up with the items in the picture and an ice cream pail of junk.

Ended up with three silver dimes, silver ring, couple 30's wheat cents, St Lawrence Seaway pendant and chain, and a cool old Evan Owen's barber shop trade token. The spoon says "PLATED WITH PURE SILVER", but most of the plating is gone. It was a very fun hunt and the weather was perfect! Looking forward to the next trip back here...

My girlfriend got us permission to detect an empty lot owned by her employer. They recently bought the lot and took the early 1900's house down. She's been wanting to learn how to detect, so today was her first lesson. We headed there with the Equinox and my old AT Pro. Set her up with the AT Pro in STD/Coins mode, and went over ground balancing and how the ID scale works. Explained and showed her the difference between solid, repeatable signals and the less repeatable signals with bouncing target ID numbers. All I can say is I wish I would've had someone to show me these few details when I first started. Below is what she dug while we were there...a pretty respectable junk to coin ratio. She's hooked! 😀

I managed a handful of modern coins, couple old Hot Wheels cars, another handful of junk, and the few keepers below. The cooler weather has been nice recently!

Hope y'all got out today...Jeff

1 hour ago, Hunterjunk said:

Great to see a powder flask posted up , they are one of my favorite finds no matter what condition . There never seems to be two the same and are art works in brass and copper . I have long wondered why there are so few posted here . I have thought about posting up a powder flask topic that everybody could contribute to but wonder if there would be any interest ? I hope your bridge / ford area continues to give up finds like this .

Thanks for the comments, HJ...much appreciated!  It would be interesting to see what may get posted up in a powder flask thread. I think it's a great idea!

22 hours ago, RickUK said:

Some outstanding images and a great story,we have some very interesting river crossing (fords) here in the UK,have one local to me about 1/2 mile away it was one of the main through roads into our village for herds of animals and travellers in general.But the biggest part of this river crossing is the history goes back to at least roman times and possibly beyond.

River crossing are/can be very interesting hunting grounds as the romans use to worship the water gods and throw votive offerings like coins and other items into the water at these crossing.Hence its good to use a detector like the Nox with a small coil and detect the area and have found some nice finds over the years,also about 250-300 years ago they built a small humpback bridge along the same location as the ford more for horse and carts,but over the years you can find some other interesting items like items from thefts over the last few hundred years folks have left the scene of the crime and they throw things like guns,safes and anything else that they dont want from these robberies.

So detecting and also magnet fishing can also provide some great finds from these river crossings both modern and also much older going back to roman times.

The river ford and bridge areas always amaze me at the age range of the things you find.  I can only imagine (and dream of) being able to find the age range that you're able to in the UK! Thanks for your comments, Rick...much appreciated!

Wow...great work, Allen! Thanks for sharing the story!

Thanks for the comments, Tom and Cal...appreciate you taking a look!

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/oz-silver-medal-mormon-joseph-hyrum-108883126

19 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

Yes, that looks like a match.  Appears to be a rabbit head, anyway, but not sure about the rest of the body.  Looks like you got most of the pieces.  Were they all found close together?  I wonder if it was complete when lost and broken up over time by nature, or if it was already in pieces and intentionally discarded.

That's a nice (and possibly rare) piece of history.  Excellent find!

GB, if you look at the complete flask as it would've hung (nipple up), the rabbit and pheasants are hanging from a lanyard. Hunters used to hang small game they had harvested over their shoulder to carry them home.

It all did end up coming out of the same hole. Really makes you wonder how it ended up there, doesn't it? It was right at the base of a large, old oak tree. Fun find!

3 minutes ago, TreasureHunter5 said:

Do you know what the pieces are with the animal picture?

The first two images are the flask items I dug today. The other two are just pictures for example of the complete flask as it would’ve been when in use. Apologize if that was confusing!!

I believe this one is a better match...supposedly mid-1800s.

13 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

I've noticed different attitudes depending upon typical weather.  For example, Arizonans and Aussies are willing to detect when many of us (well, at least I) would think we were going to die of the heat.  Northerners just the opposite -- cold, what cold?  But even after the ground freezes and piles up with snow you Northerners break out the skis, snowshoes, ice skates, lake fishing shanties, sleds, and snowmobiles (or whatever your favorite name is for that vehicle) and have a ball in the sub-zero (Fahrenheit) winter!

"Attitude is everything."

Very true, GB...when winter lasts ten months out of the year, a guy has to make the best of it!!! 🤣

Got out to another new permission along an area river today. I'm trying to zero in on an old river crossing spot that was used from the mid-1850s thru the late-1890s, and this property was my next step. Found quite a few old paper shotgun shell bases and a couple musket balls...then this old, brass black powder flask came out from under this old oak tree. Even though it's in poor condition, this was a really enjoyable find for me as it's proof that I'm getting closer to finding the area I'm looking for. I've included an image I found online of a complete flask. The write ups I looked at all put in the 1800s, but will try to hone in on a closer estimate for age.  Another absolutely beautiful day here in MN...hope y'all got out today too!

7 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Is the quarter on the left pre-1965 (silver)?  Sounds like you've found virgin ground -- dry part and wet.  Keep us updated on your finds.  And with September two days away I bet your detecting days for 2020 are getting in short supply in MN.

For those not familiar with (northern) North American freshwater fish, the northern pike is nicknamed "freshwater barracuda", and that illustration shows why.  Typically harmless (but don't try to remove a hook from a mouth using your bare hand!) although I've seen on River Monsters tv show they can bite humans who are swimming or wading, on rare occasions.

And I can hear you Australians:  "You call that a dangerous fish??..."  😁

Thanks for the reply, GB.  I thought for sure that quarter and the dime in the upper left were silver when I first saw them in the scoop, but no luck. Quarter is 1986 and the dime from the 1970s. As for detecting days left, it depends on mother nature. I'm one that would much rather detect when it's 40*F outside than when it's in the 90s like it has been so much this summer...I'll dig until the ground is frozen solid!!

What a hunt...congrats!

13 minutes ago, GaryC/Oregon Coast said:

I wonder if that's a Woodman of the World ring.  Nice!  GaryC/Oregon Coast

In researching the ring tonight, that is what I came up with, Gary. Couldn’t find a way to get a rough estimate on age though.

Jeff

Had a little time for a property tour and short initial water hunt at a new permission this afternoon...the place holds promise!  It's an old cabin/vacation spot that dates back to the early 1900s. I happened across the owner at the public access last week, and he offered free reign to detect it anytime. After running thru the water a bit, I realized it has likely not been detected in the past...or not detected very thoroughly. Dug a few nickels, including the no date buffalo...and numerous old pull tabs and ring tabs. The ring turned out to be just gold plate, but I believe it has some age to it.  The other pic is of the lower jaw from a northern pike...was an interesting item to see in the scoop! I still can't believe I stumbled across a site like this these days...will definitely be many future trips back to this place. The owner is super cool and friendly. Hope y'all got out today as well...beautiful, cooler weather today and tomorrow here in MN.

That's why we all do this crazy hobby. Huge congrats, dogodog...thanks for sharing this!!!

On 8/10/2020 at 6:52 AM, GB_Amateur said:

Welcome, MN_digger!  Sounds like you've already got the 'bug'.  Have you ever accidentally stumbled upon marbles or bottles worthy of your collection while out detecting?  I don't mean when you've intentionally gone to a dump site but rather were just detecting an old site, got a signal and while digging that out found some keeper glass.

Thanks for the welcome folks!

GB_Amateur, I haven't inadvertently dug keeper bottles but have dug numerous marbles up with adjacent detected items.  Had an arrowhead in my water scoop four or five years ago. That was pretty exciting!  

Been relic hunting and metal detecting for quite a few years...getting back into it after a hiatus for a few years (sometimes life gets in the way). What I like the most about the hobby is the historical research that goes into finding sites. Besides metal detecting, I also enjoy hunting for, and collecting, Native American artifacts as well as old bottles and marbles. Happy hunting!