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We spent a few hours at the camp today. The easy targets are gone so now it’s low and slow. I still managed a few good finds. I think I have spotted a few more stacked rock foundations to check out but they are obscured by some thick brush. I’ll keep plugging along. I would appreciate any good info on the coin. The gold gilt button looks much better in person.

Warm enough to hunt in a T-shirt today. Farmhouse Grid search day 2. Dug a couple of buckles and what I thought were cufflinks, but yeah that's just a rivet. 😵 Little gear or saw blade, some sort of brass bead but it's not hollow. Really fancy spoon handle says Sterling on the bent piece. The large rectangle may be silver, it sure sounds like it and it's heavy. Two more of those aluminum buttons flanking a really heavy colonial brass button that appears to have been silverplated, it has a backmark but it's obliterated. I think I found the clothesline, kept turning up Indian Head after Indian head, and then one wheat penny. Dates: 1864, 18?5 (who would drill a coin through the date), 1887, 1890, 1901, 1907. The wheat is 1910. I really like the green color Indian heads have when they come out of the ground. Spoon reverse in the second photo. Fancy!

Went back to the farmhouse site I scouted yesterday and set up a grid search. Dug a very odd button, no backmark. Appears to have had some sort of second piece but it's stamped on the back so the images show on the front. Crossed muskets or swords, a horn with an arrow coming out of it on the bottom, a sword that morphs into what looks like a snake, and I can distinctly make out the letter "B", but little else. Looks like there was another letter but it's obliterated. Found what I guess is a newer two-hole Scovill button, circle of dots on the front but nothing else. Small two hole button may be aluminum but it was a 23. Small shoe buckle, snap, D buckle, pewter piece (does anyone ever find a complete candlestick?), Harmonica reed. Then the good stuff, 1857 Trime (solid 17), 1917 mercury dime, and 1907 Indian head - 3 7s again...Just got to the well, there is a lot more ground to cover! Dug a lot of trash today, you know you're on a home site when you fill your bag with stuff that sounds good but isn't.

Beautiful day today. Didn't get out until 10, but by then it was already warm, about 47. It was 25 when I first got up. Headed out to the old farmhouse site to run a couple of passes I felt I could have done better, surprised a large Coyote hunting at the woods edge. Coyotes migrated to this area in the last 5 years or so, this one has wiped out all of the foxes and many of the rabbits around my house. I get photos of him now and again on my deer cameras. Today he was stalking a groundhog that I saw go in the woods where he was a day before. All I found at the old site was a cutlery handle like one I found not too far from it previously. This one says "Sterling 925" on it, well maybe the plating was 😀 Last night I set up a new plot for another farmhouse in Tect-O-Trak using some historic aerials I found. Went there and saw brick and heard lots of iron so I knew I found the house. The well was filled in but not a great job. I have fallen in a well before, not something I would wish on anyone. Shown in the photo: The cutlery handle, a large adjusting wheel of some sort (at first I thought I found another KG Copper😵), another very heavy piece of cutlery with an odd tab. Belt buckle might be animal tack, it's heavy but still managed to get twisted. Four Wheat Pennies from 1913 to 1944. Two buttons, one seems to be aluminum, the other is the front of a two piece. I can't make out the design so below is a close up if anyone recognizes it. Toy wheel, and my most stunning find of the day, a .58 caliber Gardner ball, dropped not fired. I'm surprised to have found one in such great condition and even more surprised to find one at all. 🤔 Tomorrow I'm going back to grid search.

Finished up the farmhouse site today, made a few more passes and found nothing. I went to a new site that I previously plotted using old maps where a building was up to the 60s, and first known in 1917 on a USGS map. Hacked around a bit and found the objects in the photo. I'm not sure if I should grid this spot, I didn't hear a lot of iron. Great way to kill an afternoon. At least this field was out of the annoying March wind. The disc is lead, could be a bale seal, or possibly a weight or game piece. 1 1/4 inches in diameter. It was weird to find a sinker in a farm field about a mile from the river, but there it was. Some kind of point, it is brass or bronze. It is fashioned to be aerodynamic at any rate, but could be a finial. Large heavy buckle, most likely work animal tack. I think the wheat penny is a 1909, but not an S or VDB, it is so corroded it doesn't matter. 😀 Best find of the day, the brass plate. It's 2 1/2" by 2, has a naked woman on each side, and a man and an animal in the center embraced by the arms of the face on top. Better detail in the bottom photo. Image search returned nothing, but I may have this very object in one of my artifact books. Don't know whether it was a buckle, mounted on furniture (it has a flange on the back but no holes or guides), or some sort of breastplate. Not much time left before spring planting.

I'd have named this "Just the Artifacts #5", but again I found some coins (thanks GB 😁) Today was a decent day for March but the wind was unpredictable. At least it got warm enough that I didn't have to wear heavy or electric clothes. I think I found my first "Zincoln", it's the heavily corroded memorial to the right of the unidentifiable penny. Got another handle, again probably a razor. The large disc is gold plated, one side smooth and one has concentric circles. I'm thinking it was on a pocketbook or something. Small knurled ring that at first i thought was an Asian coin, but it is some sort of adjustment wheel. Much too small to be a coin. Odd lead "egg", a snap, another knurled knob. Big brass padlock I can't find the manufacturer of. The artful logo brings no result on image search. Heavy spoon handle, two buckles, one appears to be plated. Penny, probably a wheatie, and the corroded penny. This field isn't too good for copper or Zinc! Best for last again, a two piece button with the back missing says "Metropolitan Police DC". The small version of the Marine Corps buttons I've been finding, and the second four hole button I have ever found, "Lamm Baltimore". It's about ~1910, from a Baltimore company that made men's trousers and raincoats. Hope this crazy stuff is still interesting! Anyone identifying the anchor over rope button in my previous post is welcome to visit. 😀

Was out for two hours today to a local football field after a rain. I have detected the field and surrounding area many, many times in the past. However, today there were many more interesting finds than normal! The only problem is, I have no idea what some of them are. The coin, which had an ID of 21, looks like it could be a colonial copper of some sort. I have circled what I think is the word "et"... assuming the meaning is "and." The brass item has glass windows, and was easy to take apart. Maybe a drip feed oiler? It was down about a foot. If you could lend your insight, that would be awesome 👍. The knife was crusty, but a bit of hitting helped break the sandy rust off. The handle appears to be plastic/ bakelite. I am along the west coast of FL around Tampa. Equinox, 15", park 1, 6 recovery

Second day in this site. It never got over 42 today, the wind was around 20-30 mph all day. I went out dressed like I was yesterday and had to go back for a heavy hoodie and heated socks. Got Reynauds in my hands and feet, unbelievable pain if they get too cold. The reason I went right back is because the first coin I found is either an early American penny or a King George, or not... 🤔 It's 1 1/8 inches in diameter and weighs 9.7 grams. No really identifiable lettering, just the bust facing right. Big coin. The only way to "read" it is the good old flashlight trick. Left to right: small crude button signaled a whopping 22. Might be silver. I didn't know it was a button until I cleaned it a bit. Small Great Seal button, backmark "New York Button", might be WW1. Second Marine button, this one in much better shape. 1860s. 1800s button marked Treble Gilt. Two wheat pennies, a 1919 and a 1937. Heart shaped locket, brass that may have been gold plated. I'm afraid to try and open it! Two aluminum geegaws marked HOLLY US PAT'S. At first I thought they were pull tabs. 😀 Next is a heavy silverplated handle, possibly razor or magnifying glass. Honestly the bust on the coin looks like Lincoln, but they never made a penny or half penny that big with him on it! 🙂

Great day but windy, 20 with gusts to 30. I could hardly hear my headphones sometimes and the wind kept blowing my spade around. Went to the site of an old farmhouse in my permission, at first I just scouted about but then switched to grid search using my flag sticks. It's not a huge area but will take a few days to search completely. Gotta say I was surprised to find any military objects at all. If you read my other posts your know this area never really saw war except for 1812, and that was only a very short skirmish that occurred nearly in my backyard. But find militaria I did! The site is as trashy as the other one I went to yesterday but just in the small area where the house stood. Found a decorated cutlery handle, looks like it might be a small teaspoon. There are marks and decorations, but nothing legible. The oval plate has a coin like border around it but also has nothing stamped or engraved other than the border. Next is some sort of part maybe to a machine or gun. The broken circular object seems to be tin. Large buckle is probably silverplated, it may be military. Two knurled knobs I found far apart that may be for holding a military device but I haven't found it yet! Some weird geegaw and a 1918 wheat penny. It was the last thing I found, It dates the finds somewhat. Saved the best for last, a colonial era button, and two military buttons. The left one I cannot identify but the right one is possibly 1864 to 1866 Marines. I did reverse image search on Goog. Anyone with an id for the other? Last is a shotgun shell , the UMC Union star primer is 1901-1912.

Another day out in the farm. I am grid searching about 100 acres, only going about 36 feet at a time per day laterally. Every day doing this I have dug interesting relics. Today was no exception, this stuff is as old as America, in some cases older. I wish I could regale everyone with fabulous coin finds and gold, but I find very few coins here. Some are cool though, and again very old. I'm hoping I can piece together some kind of picture as to what was going on here, it will take some historical research. Usually button finds dominate the day. Today I found only one, a two-piece 1800s-ish round button with the shank still intact. It blasted in at a very loud and solid 23 on my Equinox. It is the third such button of it's kind I dug out here. From the top left: Shoe buckle, found in two different places. These are very rare to find in one piece on a farm. Some sort of pin with a hook on it, a spoon handle - weighs 7.1 grams (quite heavy for its size), and rings when dropped. It was a 25. No identifying marks. I don't think it's silver, but it is mildly magnetic. I test most everything with a really strong neodymium magnet. The small object was a very strong and solid 15, but it really doesn't have any identifying characteristics. Next is a leaf shaped piece of metal that decorated something, again mildly magnetic. 2 buckle fragments, one may be silverplated. Bottom row is a piece of non magnetic metal that is not lead but is very heavy, and what I believe is a modern black powder slug. All in all nothing really exciting, but it does make digging all the pull tabs, can slaw, shotgun shells, tacks and buckshot more tolerable. Unfortunately I can't notch anything out because I wouldn't find what I keep. It's going to rain for the next 3 days so that's it for a bit! Ya get a break. 😀

Got up to 60 today, one of those insane days where it starts out cold (35) and a warm front comes through. Just coins and relics today, but some firsts. Of interest is the smallest button I have found yet, I have dug about 100 of them in the last 4 months in this field. It's only 3/8 inch! Third one from the left in the photo. Testament to the Equinox ability to find really small stuff, but the tiny thing next to the wheat penny came in at a strong 18, I have no idea what it is. 3 Tombacs, one is concave and one is the first cast one I have found. Wheat penny is a 1941. The large bullet is a .45-70 bullet probably fired from an 1873 Springfield "Trapdoor". At first I thought it was Civil war era, but it isn't. I found a .45-70 shell a while back. I think the item second from left top row is a Schrader valve wrench, I remember them when I was young. You could also use it as a valve stem cap. Small square nut made of copper and a watch crown. It was great to get out in some "decent" February weather!

Enjoy! Aaron

Enjoy! Aaron

Had another good day detecting a rather large hay field. I was using the new superfly coil on the MK, and most of my finds were all ammo related. I found 12 keepers which means no plastic. They range in age from 1920's to the 1940's. the best one, which I have never found before was a Winchester Nublack made from 1905 to 1938. The others were REM UMC 1915 to 1942, Winchester repeater 1896 to 1938, Winchester Leader 1933, Sears unknown 1920's to 1940's, Western Xpert 1914 to 1932. If you ever want to find the head stamp dates (Cartridge-corner.com) is the place to go. I hit up on some buckshot and a older rifled slug, AKA Pumpkin ball or as my dad would say Punkin ball. The rifled slug was developed by Wilhelm Brenneke in 1898, Karl Foster designed a similar slug in 1937 and patented in 1947. They are the ones you find in most brands today. Of course I found the wonderful 22. This round was developed in 1845 by Louis Nicolas Flobert and introduced in 1887. This was the first rimfire it was in 6mm. Union Metallic Cartridge Co. perfected the 22 in 1884, And "Voila" we have the best selling cartridge in the world. I saved the best for last because they have a great history. Finding three colonial musket balls in one field for me just does not happen. Two of them look fired the other was a drop. That ball is in beautiful shape, you can clearly see the sprue and the casting marks around the middle. I believe they are for the old and well distributed Brown Bess. It was produced from 1722 to 1838. Over 4,000,000 were made. This gun was used in every major conflict from the American Revolution to the American civil war. So the next time your out and find some boring old ammo, You just might find some cool history in your hand.

The last few weekends have been very productive as I have been fortunate enough to get on a few good sites that have produced some amazing Colonial and Civil War relics. Check out the pics below. Hope everyone is having a great week and is ready for a good weekend of getting out !

The past two days were nasty, 20s to low 30s with wind gusts to 40. Couldn't get out. Today it calmed down a bit with a forecast high of 36 and light wind, so I took the Equinox out for a test run with the new carbon fiber shaft and a new $39 pair of Aksonic BT-80 headphones. They are Apt-X LL and are way more comfortable and tight than the TronD headphones I have been using. Almost no wind noise because they truly fit over my ears. The ground was a bit frozen in spots but not too bad. First pass was uneventful. I'm thinking of calling my metal detectors "tac(k)ometers" for all the buckshot and furniture tacks I find in this field. On the way back (each pass is about 300 yards) I dug the wheat penny, date unknown, and suddenly got a solid 20 hit. The silver coin is a 1778 Spanish Half Real, in fair shape with a ribbon hole cut with a knife. Got a watch key, and another of those strange ferrous back buttons with a brass front cap. There is lettering on it but it is indecipherable at this point. The hook looking thing almost looks like it is a tusk! It is solid brass. Only 6 passes today up and back. Fun!

Got a break in the weather today, it has rained for the past two. The last two days before it rained I found very little, I thought the field was "drying up". Today I realized why - it had been a week or more since it rained, so I think the ground lost conductance - it dried up! I should probably revisit my last couple of grid walking days. I have been averaging 3-4 buttons a day, and today was no exception. I also find a lot of shoe buckle parts. There was a lot of foot traffic here from the 1700s on, I am trying to find out why. Also learned today to follow more faint signals, especially those that go up in tone which may or may not give an initial VDI. I am using field 2, 50 tones with the horseshoe on. I found the large ornate piece about 12" down, one of the deepest holes I have dug. It started out as a faint 13, and ended up a solid 19. Same with the 1884 Indian head, it was faint probably due to being on edge. The rising tone above all prompted me to dig. The smallest button is stamped GILT off center and appears to have some of its plating still. It was a solid 14, the same VDI my wedding ring gives. The biggest mystery is the heavily corroded button, it has lettering on it, and shows some brass or gilt, but it is so far unreadable. Fun day and a great learning experience! There were hunters all around me rabbit hunting, gunfire and dogs everywhere. Another thing of interest is the very large furniture tack next to the twisted copper ring. The field is full of them, all sizes and some with very sharp pins. Copper boat nails are common as well.

Finally finished a grid search of an 1800s house site on the farm in front of my house. Yesterday was in the 50s, but there was a cold 20mph wind blowing the whole time. I had set up the coordinates in Tect-O-Trak based on some stakes in the field that were really old, and searched around it before beginning to verify, literally found nothing outside the plot I set. I was kinda disappointed that I didn't find more stuff but what I did find was pretty cool for someone new to this. As seen in the photo I only found two coins, a Buffalo Nickel with no date, and a 1930 wheat penny. The Eagle D button (not shown) and the bulb-shaped object were the most interesting, as is the horse rein guide (thanks to Georgiadigger who identified it for someone in another post). I had a guest who may identify himself at some point, he found some interesting things too. Mostly I found roof metal and steel, and some tin cans. It was a very trashy site. The bottle cap is from a bottle of Phenobarbital ca. 1941. Yikes! Strong contrast to the 16/1700s finds on the other side of the road. Headed back there soon. Oh, and I found a LOT of those brass grommets 😀

All found on private property with permission. All relics found with the Nokta Anfibio. Except for the Harrison campaign pin found with Equinox 800 just prior to selling detector. I did well in quality but, actually a slow year! Getting old and back issues but, sure is better than the alternative! HH, The Georgiadigger

Got out 2 days before everything froze up around here. Actually surprised at the amount of stuff I found. Couple of good buttons found too, like a great coat cuff size, a few kepi buttons, Eagle D cuff and coat buttons.

Not great but ok for an hour out. 1 Wheatie 1930 1 Indian head 1891 1 Musketball

Hi everybody, I wanted to thank you all for welcoming us to this forum last year. Thanks for the info, the advice and the support. It helped me create an amazing bond with my son. I am grateful to you all. Here’s a little video of some of our favorite moments of the crazy year. Best to you all!

Backyard Treasure Hunt - UK

I'm betting that most of you detectorists have found a large number tobacco tags, just as I have. Up here the most prevalent tags are "stars", but from time to time others pop up as well. As a Museum manager I get almost as excited with a tag as a nugget. So, I started a collection of this chewing tobacco advertisement. Most 19th century miners smoked either a pipe, a cigar or chewed. I liked to hear from you guysabout your tag finds, if you care to. I've attached some examples and an ad from the 1890's. Oh, and a little poem from the era: When weary I are, I smokes my cigar. And as the smoke rises, Up into my eyes, I thinks of my true love And Oh, How I sighes!

Earlier last month I attended Diggin in Virginia. It's an invitational relic hunt that takes place around Culpeper, VA that about 200 people attend. The ground is very hot there, as many know, so the detectors of choice are usually PI machines like the TDI, ATX and GPX. Some VLF's work but get significantly less depth than the PI's. I have taken my Deus, Equinox and Tarsacci and found stuff with all of them. This time around I used the GPX most of the time but did pull out the Tarsacci on a rainy day for about 7 hours. I'll give a more detailed report about the Tarsacci in the Tarsacci section at a later date. I also meet up with forum member Hugh Campbell so maybe he'll add some details when he has time. Some of the highlights of the hunt you will see in the pics below were shell frags, an 1863 IHP, complete 3 piece Shaler bullet, star based .58 minie from the Washington arsenal, Schenkl combintion fuse and Eagle I cuff button.