F350Platinum

I agree SD, it seems that gold rings may have always been a problem, and it may be because of the alloys used to strengthen it or enhance its beauty. Silver content probably is what pushes rings into a higher number range. Here is a memorable one for me, a ~200 year old 14k ring I found in a field. It was a 79. Our new 1 cent coins -well, new since 1983 - the ones we call "Zincolns" because they are mostly zinc with copper plating are notoriously in the high 70s. When one tires of finding so many of them it could definitely cost one a gold ring. I totally understand your frustration when time is limited by life giving air, my time is mostly limited by when my wife wants me to get back from treasure hunting 🙄 This may be a problem with little solution. Looking forward to any comments you have on the RCDIGS mount! I always read your posts.

Thanks VL, Did a little more research, and found out about "Smallswords": https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_sword They were very popular in the 1700s. This may be from a captured item, or may have been presented to an individual in the family. I hoped I find more of it, that may be tough because of the overwhelming iron, but if there is a "long" iron signal I'll be digging it, figuratively and literally 😎

It might be a one-of-a-kind, who knows? The examples were both from the 1700s, the 18th century was when they started with the fancy crossguards from what I've seen. 🤔 It definitely has nautical references.

In an early house owned by the Lee family (Stratford Hall) not too far away, there is an original painting of Marquis De Lafayette painted by Thomas Sully. Quite the place to see.

Nice ring! You even got some Pacifico in the Atlantico. 🤣 Quite interesting to see the AQ performing like the GPX. Great hunt! 🏆

Did some research using Navy sword and Neptune and Poseidon who both had tridents, came across this French sword that has a crossguard of similar design. Hope I find the rest of the hilt at least. Thanks @HardPack! Here's one made in Toledo Spain:

The possibilities are almost endless, this area was established in the 1640s officially, and for many years remained rather difficult to get to other than from the Northwest or by ship. It wasn't until the 1920s that major access was built across the rivers. Lots of British colonists called this an early home, and it has remained largely undeveloped. Thanks for the clues as to where to look!

Yeah, I find a lot of those, usually so far gone they're not worth restoring. I do have a sword minus hilt that I'll get looked at someday, and I hope to rescue a cannonball if it's not dangerous. A lot of the musket balls are chewed by animals, it's like old chewing gum 😀 You're also right about this being a sandbox, the soil is very often sandy making it both easy to dig, and sort of frustrating when the chemicals used on it don't leach out fast enough. 400 years takes its toll regardless.

I'm looking forward to that as well, while I'm happy to just use the Deus in any form, it was cool to see another machine at play. Sure looked light. 👍 It's amusing that the D2, even in its heaviest form with the 11x13" coil, is lighter than the near lightest Equinox with the 10x5". Both find the good stuff well, when you get down to the 9" it's like waving a stick of Balsa at the targets with the D2, much appreciated on a 9 hour hunt like yesterday. But when the going gets big, it's better to use the 13", it's not going to miss much if there isn't much.

Well, no silver this time, but I still had a fun day with Chase. Invited him down again for another shot at a really old place, he wanted to try out a new detector, I hope he will post his impressions. Another warm day, sun was bright and it got into the 50s. Had great conditions for another relic dig. It's getting a little dry now but weekend rain will help. I got there really early, hunted around for a long time, reminded me of my last post, 🙄 "Looking For Stuff In all the Wrong Places". By the time Chase showed up I really hadn't found much, so we went to a known hotspot, I switched to the 9" coil because there is a lot of iron there, and the relics started popping. Ended up with some nice Tombacs with shanks, a watch key, a really nice button with gold still on it imported from England - W&G Chance, a great small rein guide and other bits. At one point I got a 91 and thought "yay, Silver!" Nope. Instead I dug what I believe to be a sword crossguard. It has two different scenes on each side, and it's curved. One side appears to depict a person with an animal, the other a person with either a farm implement or trident. It's about 2.5 inches wide, so it was possibly a knife. Couldn't find the rest of it. And last, the real surprise of the day, an extremely old and corroded button with shank that appears to have the number "28" on it, could be from the Revolution or an earlier conflict: Huge shank, probably for a coat. This is all I dug for trash, a little more than a handful. We went to check another field before we left, it had slightly more modern stuff and added a lot of stuff to my trash pouch. I was surprised to only dig one buck ball.

'fraid so, RVP, not quite as common but common enough. Some of them even sound like pull tabs. 🤬 Which of course is why I dig pull tabs 🙄 The places I have permission to are generally centers of entertainment and/or commerce from that period. When you find evidence of horses which were quite the property of the wealthy, you find old coins and jewelry.

Thanks RVP, I usual don't ding 'em but a large cent is a bigger target. Glad it was toast anyway 😬

Yup, I don't think depth is a big consideration in a trashy spot anyway, too many signals to spoil a good one, and particularly a faint one. High reactivity will at least give you a fighting chance. 🤔 I generally don't go much over 3 on the Deus, it's so fast.

Yep, that's why Chase and I are using it. It's all blips and then a "rrrrraaaoowww" when it finds something. Best I can describe it. That was a fairly low mintage year, what does the reverse look like? You probably won't want to sell it but look at the value. 🙂

With the 10x5, recovery speed is essential, on my 600 the highest it will go is 3, equal to 6 on the 800.

It would be a Maravedis rather than a Reale, they were minted in 2,4, and 8. They're big, heavy, and copper. Got this one of all places on a beach, a Ferdinand VII. It's an 8 Maravedis.

No worries man, the Nox may be sidelined sometimes, but I'll still be using it. 🙂

Thanks JCR, It still has some kind of wood embedded in it, maybe redwood or mahogany could stand the test of time. It appears to be some sort of articulated device, I don't know if bracelets were a thing back then, but it has evidence of being connected by pins to more. 🤷‍♂️ The brass escutcheon looking thing and the yoke next to it are also some of the oddest things I've found. That came as the only good sounding stuff in another hotspot with a lot of iron.

Interesting Mark, Oddly enough I came across a piece of coke that was giving me a lovely 75 on the Deus, and if course one means more. The area was all nails as well. What JCR posted above is pure gospel. 🙂 Keep hunting smart!

Thanks Colonel, I may be overstating its coolness, but it is remarkable. 🙂 Thought I'd take some hits about the large cent, but y'all are too kind. 😎 At least I owned up to it. 🤣

GKman knocks it out of the park! That may not be a fake, Spain minted some copper Carolus Maravedis coins dating to the 1700s. Check it out and let us know! A flying eagle still evades me, so congrats on that one too. Your last pic looks like a King George of some sort 🤔 A fantastic opportunity. Well done. 👍

Wow NC! Now that's a "Hell Yeah" place if I ever saw one, congrats on taking the opportunity! 🏆 Did your coworkers see you out there? 😅 I hope the weather holds out for more. There's gotta be some gold in there 🤔 If you're not in your 60s yet just wait, unless you keep working out the leg cramps will get ya, get some Bragg Apple cider Vinegar on hand at that point, a capful or two in 4 ounces of water will taste like crap but cures them instantly. 🙄

Thanks NC, At first I thought it was some sort of tribute to William and Mary, I dug a 1694 twopence with that sort of scroll work on it, and Lens couldn't find anything similar. If you see a bit of gold plating swab it with a Q-tip dipped in real lemon juice, it really brings the gold out. Got that here. 🙂

Thought I'd post yesterday's hunt, got out for a brisk 5.5 mile hike in about 5.5 hours. 😀 The title came to me from a country song, for the first 3 hours or so I found literally nothing but buckshot and other junk, I had to laugh. While I'm never tired of being skunked, I do appreciate a few finds especially if I'm covering a lot of ground. 😅 Anyway, it ended up well: First thing I dug was the odd link thing on the top left, it still has wood in it. It's very old but I have no idea what it could be. In the last two hours I got a bunch of buttons and some weird bits, what I think is a bowl from a small pewter spoon, and a 1965 dime. 🤬 Coolest button I've ever found, I thought it was a pin at first but it only has one attachment in the center that was probably a shank: Man lemon juice works wonders. And the star of the hunt, an incredibly toasted large cent that I dinged with my shovel: Sadly no date or obverse detail but enough on the back to at least know what I trashed 😅 I was using the 11" D2 coil all day, I think my centering was off because I usually use the 13x11. 😏 Speaking of trash: Yeah, lots of buck, and a couple of large brass whatzits I dug just before I actually started finding stuff.

Excellent results, winter is my season here in eastern VA. 👍 Glad you can get out and hit the good stuff, and I hope the weather holds out for you. 👍 Great pics by the way 🏆