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Managed to get out there today, only for about 6 hours but it was worth it as usual. This field is still producing, just not coins or jewelry very often. For a relic fan like me however, it has been a blast. It's so nice to have a place to go that stuff turns up every time you go there, but relic fields are finite. Each visit requires more finesse. Another great fall day, no wind and ended up about 56 degrees. I really only hunted a small portion here, and turned up quite a pile of finds: Got a couple of spur pieces, a few buckle fragments, one of which is Tombac. 6 buttons, two are Tombacs and again one was larger than a quarter: The bottom two button looking things are studs. I don't know what the flange was used for, it appears to be square threaded inside. I wonder if anyone can tell me what this thing is or is a part of? It's brass. Next, 3 of the buttons have backmarks, love that. This one is in the museum of American History: https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1452437 One other curiosity, the octagon thing with the "K" on it, I'm not able to find, it's an aluminum cap for a tube, I usually call it "butt cream" 🤣 The spurs are old but as yet I can't identify them specifically. This hunt was not as spectacular as other days, but the mystery items caused me to post. I'm thrilled with the D2 program I'm using here, it's really accurate and keeps me from digging too much trash. No more than a handful again.

Cold Sunday. Got out early, it was 37 and windy. 😵 I had to dress warm, if my hands and feet get cold I'm done. Reynaud's Syndrome is a detectorist's nightmare. Went back to the farm I've found so much good stuff at this week, I usually don't hunt on the weekends but had a social cancellation and nothing to do. This area is fairly sheltered in some places, so I figured I could warm up there. Luckily there were no hunters. Turned out to be pretty good, my hands and feet didn't get too cold because it was sunny and I was moving around and digging. I don't think it ever got above 41, but I was ok. I wore electric heated socks and brought heated gloves, from experience the Equinox can't handle the EMI from the gloves' pulse heat. I hoped the Deus 2 would be better. It was. 🥳 The socks didn't bother it at all, and I was able to tune out the gloves with one press of the frequency button. Ended up not needing either but it was nice to know! I don't think winter is going to be too warm. I was out there for 7 hours today, scouted around a lot. Wasn't finding much, but at random I got all this: Another half spectacle buckle, some small button bits including a lead one and a broken Tombac, and some farm/animal brass. Even got .27 in modern coins. 😀 That big D buckle was a 95. 🤬 Not that I minded getting a big buckle but the silver alternative would have been a bonus. 🤔 The big half circle is some sort of old snap ring, and the curve with prongs I've never seen before. Extreme right is a fancy buckle fragment. I was detecting across the field to a different spot, and on the way got a solid 73, I thought "cool, another fancy button". Nope. Size 5.5 or 6 14K wedding band, a little over 6mm wide or 1/4 inch. It weighs 4.1g. I'm trying to find the maker's mark, could be a sideways W or M, or an "Epsilon". As usual it fits my wife's finger perfectly, she prefers white gold but never turns down a gift. This is the 4th gold ring I've found this year, two at a beach in one hole, one at a campground, and now this totally unexpected one in a farm. It might be old, it might be new. 🤪 Only a small handful of trash again: What a great week it's been! I might get out next week but the holidays are upon us.

I was a bit worried after my last hunt that the field was planted with winter wheat, so I spent the morning checking out some of my other places. Looked like they were down with wheat, so I came back to the place I have been getting a lot of great stuff lately, but first I stopped by the landowner's house and gave him this: It's a 3x5 Riker case with a wide array of finds from his fields, stuff I've got over the last couple of years. I gave him a list of what everything was and where I found it. There's a bit of everything in that box, from a half/half Reale to a Tombac button. I even gave him one of the rare Virginia buttons I've found. The center object is a dog tag with his name on it and the name of a dog he had long ago. Kinda bittersweet. He couldn't have been more thrilled, and told me the current "crop" is just field cover grass. He said I was welcome to dig the hell out of it. 🥳 Went out to the field and the next 4 hours were pretty good. It was cold and windy today but sunny enough to stay warm. I don't think it got over 50. No coins today, here's the random stuff: Found that drawer pull way out in the middle of nowhere🤔, looks like a lock box escutcheon and a couple small fancy bits. Got one small bit of flatware. I was in one area where I got a couple of Tombacs, and leaving I dug a Tombac cufflink. The large convex one was over 10" down, the upside down one is concave. At first I thought the cuff button was a rivet but it occurred to me that they wouldn't make them out of Tombac. 😀 Also got some newer buttons, two flats and one ball with the back inside it. It's the third one I've found in this area, the other two don't have backs and one is much bigger. I also dug another spectacle buckle in 3 pieces, sadly not all of it: It was all in the same place. Really old. My favorite find of the day was this tiny two piece Navy button, it has backmarks but I can't read them. Also can't find it's age or use, but I'm thinking later 1800s Only a handful of trash again, the Deus 2 program I'm using is pretty accurate. I knew what the aluminum was, just dug it to get rid of it. Buck balls too, but some of the buttons are in the high 50s to low 60s, so you have to dig them all. The buckshot sounds a bit different and disappears after you dig it. Always keep your landowners happy!

Haven't posted in a bit! Hope everyone has been well,lucky and or productive in life/detecting! I've been out less then I'd like over the last 3,4 months! I have been out just short hunts here and there with 1,2 decent finds per 7/10 outings! Example like 1 bullet,1 button,1 100yr old coin nothing amazing but those kinda outings which are great if it's all ya got! Huh Today,same ol'union outpost I've hit many times and swung hundreds of hours no bull but facts! D2 setup with pitch,notch like a tnsquirellslayerwould! He's spot on as I've ran it getting the 07,08,09 and did great but today with squirrel slayers notch I liked what I saw! Last few trips maybe 5hrs seemed like I was starting to struggle whether from 07,pitch hitting thousands of swarps or just digging moronic idk but for sure struggled at this site! As you can see it has the carpet o nail,metal bits. Of course I was fooled on a few bigs,the big ass bolt and the bent 90° nails as I run it open with notch no silencer. When she locks on and I don't anxiously dig shitty signals on anticipation the D2 is king dingaling for sure! I saw some of those one fellers banging up they're tehons brand in iron and another talking of a explorer and boy if they have good sights I'd sure go out of my way to follow em around with this dues! Since getting this unit I've hunted same ol places I've hit from atpro,multikruzer and pounded with my eq800 and I've absolutely killed it this year since getting the D2! Luck,difference of 9" to 11" idk the correlation as absolute but I'm gonna land on D2 is a bad ass machine if one knows how to caress her properly! Yall take care and enjoy life,family and the upcoming holidays!

Well the weather sure changed! Two days ago it was almost 80 here, this morning started out at 40 and only made it to 50. Looks like Fall has finally settled in. Went to the big field today, had to wear heavier gloves for a while due to Reynaud's and a pretty stiff wind. Today I used the Deus 2 with a centering device on the 11" coil, it made it much more comfortable to use. In the first 30 minutes I got a faint 81/82, as I dug deeper it got better and better and settled in at 91 at about 10" down, and out came this Civil War Cavalry Bridle rosette, a total shocker for this field which dates back to the 1700s. It had a back plate or tabs, but all that is gone now. Probably popped off. Didn't get anything else but buckshot and bits of metal for quite a while so I changed spots, and stuff started coming up. Got quite a few buttons, the most interesting being the small jeweled button with a green stone: The stone is faceted but is probably glass or paste, it is heavily scratched. The lobed one may not be a button. Two of the above buttons have a basket weave pattern, are thin two piece, and say something about "superfine", but neither has any gilt left. I've found one or two of these here before. The next two were a surprise, although I'm on a streak of finding gold plated buttons with a lot of plating still there. One has a shank, the other does not. They both say "Scovill Superfine" on the back, and have an identical pattern on them. They are cast. And finally, my possibly second best find of the day due to the rosette: An 1857 Seated half dime, the second one I have found here. It was way out in the back. All this pretty much validates my thought that horse racing or some kind of exhibitions took place here. There is a spot in the front field where we have found many old buttons, and a place in the back where spectators or groups of people attended. Trash was pretty heavy today, a lot of lead 😀 I will have to speak to the owner, what I thought was just random grass may be winter wheat. 😵 Might not be able to come back for a while.

Got my 11" Deus 2 coil Friday after my hunt. Had a lot to do over the weekend, but got out today to give it a run for my money 😀 Got an early start thanks to the time change. At first it seemed like the extra weight and "nose heavy" orientation wasn't much of a problem, but as the day wore on, my arm got really tired, I've been using the 9" my detector came with, and the 10x5 on my other detector so they both run light. While I appreciate the extra coverage a larger coil gives, the edge falsing and slower swing speed and less accurate centering are a distraction. Reminds me of the 11" coil on my other detector, and why I don't use it anymore. 😀 I honestly believe that I am not getting much extra depth, but that's because there really isn't anything deep in my fields but large iron. I think the deepest target today was about 6 or 7 inches. I would easily have found everything today with the 9" coil and saved my arm from fatigue. Got a larger amount of trash today, the falsing was much greater, but I got used to it. Some larger pieces of iron, lots of buck balls (you have to dig them if you want buttons), and copper junk. One piece I got in pieces, and they didn't really add up to anything interesting. I got a lot more iron due to false signals, this field is loaded with it. It seems the 9" is better in this regard, and with separation. I was running my modified general program, and using a modified relic program to verify iron. I had both set to reactivity 0 for max depth. I tend to run the detector hot so it's a bit chatty, it keeps me focused. Battery lasted 7 hours and had one bar left on the coil. Ended up with some relics, a very old key and some unidentifiable but brass stuff. Might be a drawer pull, I think people gathered here and bought stuff from vendors, I've found a lot of them in this field. I got 4 buttons today, two with gold still on them, I almost had a heart attack with this one: It even has gold on the edges, I thought it was a coin. Solid 90. Will I continue to use the 11" FMF for relic hunting? Uhhh, no. It beats the heck out of me like my other detector's 11", and for sure the 9" is going to be better in heavier trash. Will I keep it and get a second shaft (carbon fiber) to use it for beach hunting? Yep. The extra depth and wider coverage will help there, and it won't feel wobbly on carbon fiber. It will also come in handy if anything happens with the 9" coil. 👍 I really wanted to get the 11x13, but yikes, as heavy and unwieldy as this is, I couldn't be more thrilled to have bought the 9" D2 package up front. 😀 Saw this not so little guy today, and let it be. Got the coil nice and dirty!

Looks like everybody had a good weekend! I really appreciate the folks who post finds from this fascinating hobby. Being one of the more prolific, it's nice to see others. 🙂 Some of you are tough acts to follow. 😀 Detected Friday and today, two different places. Friday I went to my oldest permission, only got to spend about 4 hours there. Didn't get much but got another huge Dandy button, always a thrill for me. Couple of wheats, drawer pulls, a thimble and a very tiny two hole button. The Dandy has a sun pattern, didn't notice it until I cleaned it up. Today, I invited a friend along, he wasn't feeling well but managed to get a few cool things. I, on the other hand, was on fire. Yikes! All small stuff but couldn't be more thrilled with the day. Got there early, it was kinda cold and cloudy. Part of my "luck" if you will is learned land reading, having detected in this area for a couple of years. Today I decided to start at the very edge of this field, and walk along it moving inward, the theory being that in early times when plowing, the farmer would turn at the edges, popping buttons and dropping stuff. It paid off. Got about 3 buttons, a Buffalo nickel (no date), and a small pierced medal exactly the size of a nickel that has a scene on it: Not sure what it is, nothing on the back. Could have some religious significance, but it's very old. One of the buttons looks like Tombac and has "Standard" on the back. Got a very tiny cuff button with a pattern: And a mangled flat button. Next we went to a previously searched area that turned up some cool really old stuff, last week I found a Civil War era button and a small Masonic medal. Thought we'd find a few more items. There is a lot of iron, so I switched to Silver Slayer for a bit, and got an 1875 IHP. Here I also dug this button: It says "Wellington London Made". Nothing on the front. Using Silver Slayer I got the strange object that I think is a rein guide, it seems to allow a rein to be drawn through but cinches it should it be pulled back or the reverse. The "Flapper" in the center appears to have been plated, either silver or nickel: I'm only assuming the use of this device. Any other ideas? We took a lunch break, and then headed over to the other side of the farm where the finds are more mid to late 1800s, buttons and such. I got a Cavalry "C" button and a Trime there not too long ago. Got a lock slide, a concave button, and an 1879 IHP: The concave button is odd, never seen one like this before. Right after I dug the lock slide I was going up the side of the hill to where the barn was, and got a solid 85, my best find of the day: Hollow back shankless Virginia button, probably pre-Civil War. I found two of these last spring, one was Civil War, the other like this one but badly corroded. This one is incredible. Edit: forgot to post the trash. Stuff like this doesn't come easy.

Another beautiful day here, pre-Nicole. Went back to the field I've been hunting lately to finish it up, got a couple of cuff buttons, a couple of odd ball shaped objects, one of which may be a half of a bell. There really wasn't much left to cover here, just about 20 yard strip. The next field I went to is huge, and we've found everything from Spanish cobs to dandy buttons, it's a very old farm. The first field is part of it but it's almost 3/4 of a mile away. I believe there were events in this field in the fallow months, possibly horse racing. Buttons and coins at each end kind of bear that out. There is very little in the middle. Heading out to the far end along the high ridge, I dug this magnificent but sadly broken spectacle buckle: That's as old as it gets here. Coming back I got one of the biggest Tombac buttons I've ever seen, in great shape, it's bigger than a quarter, it was a 63: I love the waxy feel of these and was amazed to find one this big that wasn't broken. Today I had the Deus 2 with the 9" coil, this field is so clean again I could run General at reactivity = 0 for max depth. I also turned discrimination to 0, and turned up iron volume. I really didn't have to use my Relic program at all. The trick with reactivity so low is to "grab" a target, while swinging if you hear anything, you stop and analyze. That is how I found the tiniest button I've ever found. It's the one near the half circle. It was about 6" down, a weak 42. Also got an 1882 IHP, and an object that may be a button, an English Farthing, or a shield nickel. 😀 It weighs 4.5g, is 20mm wide, and 2.5mm thick. Usually buttons are thinner than that, but the circle around the inside makes me think it's a button: It appears to be a bit melted. The other side is smooth: Got some other bits but not sure what any of them are. Really like finding those spectacle buckles! The trash was about average, if you're not digging buck balls, you're not getting buttons.

Today was supposed to be nice, started out at 53 and foggy. I went to a field not far from my house where I got a lot of nice relics and a half of a half reale back in the spring. This field was cleared and turbo tilled in two directions, wow! Really easy to detect. The other nice thing is it doesn't have a lot of modern trash, just iron bits. This is all the trash I got today, fits in my hand. Just some buck balls, percussion caps and odd junk. Hunted for 6 hours, ended up with 6 buttons and some other surprises. Two have visible gold plating, one is silverwash. 3 medium and 3 small. As I was detecting back to my truck, I got this nice 1903 IHP: One of the biggest surprises (well the biggest) was a large cent. Can't quite make out the date but it is there, and can't really determine which bust it is. I was once able to see the wreath on the back and "ONE". it's pretty worn. I also got a couple relics, a thimble and a whatzit. A couple days ago I did a scouting hunt and got these: My favorite is the small decorated concave button. Saved the best for last, got a solid 77 and dug this, I knew there was more Spanish silver here: 1/4 of a 1 or 2 Reale coin. Worn thin, but still heavy. Only got through half this field, I'm sure there is more.

It's been raining for the last 3 days, it was supposed to clear up but this pesky low has been sitting off the coast for far too long. Today I wanted to test something, I took my Tesoro Vaquero to the latest place I've been hunting, there is an iron patch there that hasn't yielded much but from what I've seen testing with the Vaquero, discriminating most iron will make even targets under iron jump out. Got out there to try, looked for quite a while and really didn't get anything but 2 "D" buckles. I was happy enough with those but sad the iron wasn't masking anything really great. Next I grabbed the Deus 2, and went off to find a barn that was way out back, I've seen it in aerials but never located it. I was determined to find it this time. On the way there I got a nice small button, very old cuff button with the word "Gilt" on the back. The barn is not visible at all from the field, an impenetrable hedge blocks it. The only way in is a deer path about 200 feet away, you have to walk in through that to get behind the hedge. A whole new world opens up. The first thing you see is this old iron hulk that looks like an early combine, it has a big chain on it and a lot of levers to operate different parts of it. Iron wheels date it as "very old" 😀 A little further in there is another one, a little more modern. Mind you these woods are pretty thick so you really can't swing a detector around. This one has pneumatic tires so it's a little newer. Finally, on top of a rise I saw the barn. Going inside, it looked like it had "good bones". A fairly large central stall with a smaller stall on each side. I started scanning the ground and immediately got a 94. 1964 silver quarter! Not two feet away from it I got a 91. 1960 D silver Roosevelt, my second. 🥳 These coins are crusty, I have no idea why but they've been sitting in the dry dirt for 50 years so who knows. Not the usual shape I find silver in, I'm not sure what to do to clean them up. Hacked around the rest of the barn and found nothing else, I'll have to spend some more time here when the leaves are down, and it's too cold for most creatures. But my day was made, or so I thought. Next I wanted to find a pond on the property to see if it was ever used as a swimming hole. Found it, had to use deer trails again, and when I got there I found the ground very untrustworthy. Most was simply bent over marsh grass. I searched around and found nothing but beer cans. 😵 I would imagine anything good sunk deep. On the way back I dug the rest of the items below: A broken Ford emblem, a brass tool of some sort, and the best two relics of the day: Small Gold plated Masonic pin, and the best one, albeit not one I can find anywhere: old two piece Scovill button with a Roman-esque head. If anyone knows what it is I'd be grateful. Long day, but good finds. 🙂

Gotta say CPT_GhostLight got me really interested in Rattleheads' Silver Slayer for the Deus 2. I mostly hunt old farms this time of year, we don't have parks in my county, but we do have one beach with a parking lot. 😀 Went there this morning, wasn't feeling too good but decided to power through. 😵 Stayed there about 2 hours, checked the beach for grins and only got one Zincoln, I was surprised to get that. Came back up to this little parking lot that only holds about 15 cars at best, it's full of pull tabs and flattened aluminum bottle caps. It also has lots of bottle caps. 🤬 I thought the SS program would be perfect here, I'd maybe even find some lost jewelry. Got 54 cents in modern coins, and relished the accuracy of the program. It really works well, had I put it back to original with the upper disc at 87 or 88 I probably would have missed those annoying flat aluminum caps. They came in from 86-88. The memorials were coming up in the low 90s today for some reason. I now see the value of that setting in public places! It was so nice to not hear all that crap, and not have to dig any falsing iron. Next I went to the farm I've been hunting to hit an iron patch. I was hoping to eke something out of it. The patch is about the size of a small barn, iron everywhere, I think Chase managed to get one silver out but that has been it. I went back and forth over the patch for a couple hours, it sure was a beautiful day. Had I felt better it would have been a joy. Silver Slayer allows iron to sound somewhat, and it's always accurate. Aluminum is almost not an issue, except that I still didn't expand disc as mentioned. 🤬 I dug some, and any time I tried another setting, which wasn't much, I immediately got more. Here's my take for today, illustrative as opposed to impressive. I did manage to get two "D" buckles, probably the most exciting but boring find you can get relic hunting. You get a high tone and an ID in the 90s, and go "aww" when you dig it up. Got one saddle rein guide with a bit of decoration on it. Trash was very light, except for the heavy zinc padlock and the odd brass thingy that both were in the 90s, as well as the twisted copper or brass. Large can bits still made it there now and again, but no false iron. Wow! I think this is a very valid and worthwhile program to set up on the Deus 2.

Went back to the permission Chase and I hunted a few days ago. Started out a cold morning, 38 degrees. I had set up the Deus 2 with the Silver Slayer program, and intended to swap it with the "Nero" program I got from Gary Blackwell. Got out there fairly early, it had warmed up a bit. I wanted to cover a small iron patch with the SS program hoping it might sniff out some coins. First I randomly walked around, enjoying how quiet the machine was. Ended up getting a token and a round flat lead weight with holes, I've seen these before but forget what they are. The token is aluminum, but was an 88 on the Deus. Pretty cool! The lead weight was high 80s too. I had backed off the SS notch to 84 as I didn't want to miss wheats and an occasional IHP. Well I didn't find anything else, as I was heading to the iron patch, I noticed the coil was almost discharged. 🤬 I went back to my truck and returned with the Equinox. Went to the area where Chase and I got buttons, it's a site that a barn stood on which has been moved. My first successful dig was a "D" buckle, I thought well better than nothing. My next target was a shocker, I got a 16/17/18, and thought I found a Merc... Nope. 1851 Trime! That's about as clean as I dare get it. This is my second and a half. 😀 Ended up with a small amount of cool stuff: Nice gold plated two piece button with shank still on it it has backmarks, I've found one here like this before, but not with as much plating on it. I dug two pieces of an extremely old buckle within 3 feet of each other, two pieces of a very old silver plated spoon, a colonial button with "B ST. X" for a backmark, a buffalo nickel with no date and a 1911 V nickel. This is as good as they get here. 😵 Also dug these 2 levers, not sure what they are for. The Trime is an 86 on the Silver Slayer program, so you'd need to back down the Disc notch a bit like I did if you want to find them. I would not have found it today if I didn't second guess that (maybe), so I'm glad I had the Equinox 600 and 10x5 in Park 1, 5 tones, 23 sensitivity, F2=3. If it's there, the Equinox will find it. The Trime was in the hole with a piece of perforated junk metal and an iron blob nearby. The 10x5 picked it right out. 🙂 I would be remiss if I didn't include the trash:

I drove by one of my permissions a couple days ago, noticed it had been cleared of corn and at least bush hogged. 🥳 Got in touch with Chase, and invited him down to hunt part of the place that was largely unexplored. For most of the morning we found nothing but aluminum and bits of cans. My trash was ridiculous: The baseball was a sight pick. 😀 We were both using the Deus 2, aluminum was unmercifully coming up anywhere from the 50s to the 80s. 🤬 Brutal! Got some steel and aluminum that even hit the 90s. 😵 I was switching between a modified general program and using a modified relic program to verify iron, so I didn't get too much of that. On aluminum I did it the other way. Still dug a lot of it. Here are most of the finds, a giant dandy button, an unusual rein guide, the toes of a bronze statue (hollow), two dimes, both modern, an unidentifiable large stud still attached to the leather, and some sort of whatzit that seems to be pewter: I have no idea what this is. The Dandy button is huge, shown with a dime for scale: Sadly no backmarks. Ok I put you through all this to get to my find of the day, I was walking up to talk with Chase, and got a 75. I don't find Civil war relics much, so this was a shock, and the justification for digging all that aluminum: Civil war lined "C" Cavalry button, no backmarks: Still has the shank anyway. Chase told me these are rare and a serious find, when I looked it up I found this page: I'm sure it's only worth a fraction of that due to its condition, but it sure made the day along with the big dandy. It's always fun to hunt with a friend, Chase got some good stuff too!

I was with my family on vacation in the Sierras in a town called Downieville. I brought my detector, but quickly found out almost every bit of the Yuba River is a claim. I met a guy in town they called "Too Tall Tim", and he told me to go ahead and tell the guys I was his guest. The local area was claimed by a group called Comstock. I didn't really want to detect the river, as I could see that the guest pass didn't fly with everyone. I tried to communicate that I was actually looking for dropped jewelry, or coins, and relics, but swinging an Equinox 800 with a small coil, had people doubting that truth. We took a day trip up to a place with two lakes, and plenty of swimming. I detected around the swimming area for a while, and besides clad change, came up with a small lead toy soldier. I decided to try around the edge of the second lake, and found this gold crown for a tooth. I was in Gold 1, Recovery Speed 7, Iron Bias 0, and manually ground balanced. It came up like an older pulltab between 16-18 on the VDI, and was only about an inch down. So I did find some gold, but it wasn't what I expected by a long shot. I showed Tim, and the other fellas in town, who were greatly amused that the guy who wasn't a prospector, came up with a bit of gold. I'll definitely be joining the club so I can do a little more searching around the river, and hopefully recover some more cool finds. I'd love to get into prospecting at some point, so a membership with them, as well as the GPAA may be a good start! I wonder how that crown ended up there without the tooth. It looks old, but I'm no expert on dental history.

Military Relic hunting is probably my favorite type of metal detecting. The thrill of doing the research and then actually finding the long lost camps gives me a felling I just can't explain. But I thought I would share a few pictures and thoughts about a few relics hunts I did this year. I have kind of held off with a public post and will not be able to share any video at this time as we are still doing a bunch of research and don't want to chance giving away the location. Although the main part of this camp location is known, many smaller unit camps have not been located until now. The fact that these camps are located on farm fields only allow us to hunt during certain times of the year, Spring and Fall. Also, many years of hunting deer, elk, rabbits, etc. make it even more challenging sifting through all the generations of modern spent cartridges. First hunt in the Spring of this year was in the infantry camp and we are probably only on the edge with the whole camp still left to hunt. The $2 1/2 gold coin was found 30 minutes into the hunt down by a small creek. Here are a few of my pictures from the 5 hour hunt this Spring. First Hunt this Fall gave up some more good relics. This time in the Dragoons Camp. The $1 gold coin was actually the first signal I dug and was 20 feet from my truck on a freshly graded road. We will be hunting more in the coming weeks until the weather turns and ground is frozen. By November we will have to give it up until Spring. I will be doing a bunch more research through the Winter and hopefully be able to find the location of more camps they used for the few weeks they were camped in this location. I will be giving the landowner $1 gold coin next week in a display case we make up for them. I feel like it's the least I can do for them allowing us to hunt the property.

A club member at last night's meeting showed me this relic and asked what it could possible be or used for. Any suggestions?

Hello. First of all, nothing of value or special was found. The weather was nice and I was in the mood for detecting. So I grabbed the gear and started detecting the farmland. Sorry about the sound, but at that time the SpectraSound didn't have a mic-bracket (wich it now has) so there is no detectorsound available in the vid. The coin is a 2€uro one from 2002. Think one of the harvest hands lost it. Good Luck & Happy Hunting

Last fall, I sold my E-trac to a gentleman who comes down to FL for 6 months and returns north for the next 6. He had never done any detecting and was interested to see what he could find on his land in NY. I asked if he wanted to buy a pinpointer as well. He agreed, and I threw in a Lesche digger as well. He mentioned that he owns some property in upstate NY and that I should come and stay in one of his cabins in spring or summer and detect in the area which is rich in history from the French and Indian War. I didn't think much of it, but this year my wife and I were going to celebrate our 25th. The dates happened to work for all of us, so off we went to NY in June for a week. We detected his property, but found only modern coins and lots of bottle caps. He took us to a number of places around the area at which we found just a wheat penny and a silver Roosevelt dime. I was really hoping for some colonial coins, but that was not to be. He had work to do while we were on vacation enjoying the surrounding Adirondack Mountains. When he was able to get away, we went to another property that he knows well. He detected with my wife and me for a while, but he had to get back to work. We didn't find anything of immense value, but the Deus II was great picking through the iron-littered soil. We found some interesting items, but there was one that made the entire trip worth it. The signal was strong and the TID was 85. I dug down for a while on the hillside close to a river, and about 12-15" down was a heavy object that last saw daylight over 250 years ago. The best part about pulling the cannonball from the ground was that my wife was right by side when it came out of the ground, one day before our anniversary. It was a special time that we will remember for many years to come. Upon getting back to our cabin, I arranged the finds on a table and called the other gentleman to come and take a look at what we had found. He was excited for us, but when he saw the cannonball, he had a smile from ear to ear. He knew that find had made the trip worth it. The following day (our anniversary) was rainy, so when we went back to the same spot with him, I offered that he use my Equinox as his E-trac was not waterproof. He hunted with the 10x5 in all metal and dug some amazingly deep iron nails. He had probably detected a total of 2 hours in his lifetime at this point. He dug a hole and was working it for about 20 minutes when we came over by him because we needed to leave so we could go out to eat on our anniversary. I told him that it might be okay to just fill the hole back up at this point. He said there was still something down there. As we were just about ready to leave, he pulled up something that put an instant smile on his face...a cannonball! We had each found one of the same size on the same property a day apart and about 20 feet away from the other. I believe he is now hooked on detecting for life. After researching if a cannonball could be taken on a plane, we decided it was best if we didn't find out that it wasn't. A Google search result mentioned a diver in FL attempting to take one on as a carry-on after he had found it while diving. I think his was 12 pounds and still live, however. That didn't end well for him. I believe the one we found, with 99.9% certainty, is a solid iron cannonball The gentleman agreed to bring the 3-pounder down when he drives to FL in the fall. The picks show the relics that were worth showing. Two of the pics show a lead bar that was folded and an ingot that looks like it was melted in a shovel. Not sure if those may have been used for making musket balls.

This one has me stumped. At first it appears like just a brass dome that covered the hub of a small wheel that got crushed. However, the rim around the underside still contains enough iron to be attracted to a strong magnet. Additionally, and maybe coincidentally, there looks to be a man's head looking to the left. Anyone have a guess as to if it could be a button or just a piece of trash? I found this on a local baseball field in FL that has given up some coins from over 100 years ago.

I was recently invited to detect at a 1903 house in eastern Massachusetts. The detectable area of the yard was the size of a dish towel and yielded only one find. Thankfully, it was a good one! The coin is an 1806/07 George III half penny.

Awesome fathers day hunt. Dug some ox shoes, horse shoes, then switched to my small coil and started fishing through the iron... Nice old thimble, sadly broken. Small musket ball. And the top find, a bizzare Haitian military button. I think this is incredibly rare for my area. The button dates to around 1800 to 1820 I think. Exact same button here with the history. Crazy. https://www.icollector.com/FRENCH-PHOENIX-INDIAN-TRADE-BUTTON_i20183505

Tough morning today, got out only for a half hour before some thunderstorms rolled in. The deer flies were ravenous, it must be getting close to the end of them for the summer. 😵 It was another day for the Equinox. I started out in the tent sites and found a few coins and the first key of the day, this solid brass modern Fossil skeleton key. These keys come with purses from Fossil. Had to leave because lightning was cracking all over the place, I could hear it in my headphones. Next place I went was this field, I got some interesting brass objects and one Indian head penny (I think) it's penny sized and so corroded it's hard to discern anything. It rained a bit then the sun came out. Here's the take today, 32 coins, $2.30, and some keys. After hunting this field I went back to the tent sites and got a lot more coins. Here's a really good point to make for having a detectorist visit a campground and giving them carte blanche. The two .35 Remington cartridges were about 5" down right next to a fire pit. Should anyone have moved the ring over these bullets and started a fire, I can only imagine the explosion. 😬 Here's some info on this ammunition: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/.35_Remington And here is a picture of the semiautomatic Remington Model 8 they were used in: It could also have been used in this one: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlin_Model_336 Seriously powerful rifles. I found one casing that had a hole in the side and no bullet but the primer was still there. Got a really big solid brass ring, and this interesting object I hope someone can identify: There is also an aluminum cap for something with text on it but it I can't read it at the moment. Before this place became a campground it was a major hunting lodge, and possibly a military drill area.

Today was the kind of day you hope for detecting. Breezy and in the 70s this morning, never got above 82. There is a pond in the remote area of this park next to the farmhouse site. I wanted to hunt this area again with the Equinox and the 10x5 coil that I didn't have last year. This small spot produced a bunch of modern coins in the fire pit, one of them was melted somewhat, but it I think it's negotiable. This spot must have been a target area, there are hundreds of bullets here, all giving a a 15-17 or 19-21 ID. 😵 Had to restrict myself to 23 and above here. Next I went to this spot east of the farmhouse, I found an Indian head or two and a large cent (smooth) here last year. I dug one IHP, a bunch of newer coins, and a very old medal in 3 pieces, all joined by rings that fell off - they were rust. After finishing up that field I hit the tent campsites which are all empty. Hoped I'd find some jewelry and ended up with a sterling wave toe ring and a bunch of modern coins - they just kept popping. 🥳 Here's the loot, 29 coins, I thought the IHP was an 1867 but it may be a 1907. Again I got at least 1 of everything, and a 1975 Canadian penny. Zincolns on the bottom. $3.00 in spendy change, the IHP goes on display. Also got a rose bush tag. I never knew they had serial numbers. 😀 The medal on the right is 3 pieces, the bottom piece is turned upside down to display "1667" I think. It had something on the other side as well, looks like maybe a cannon. Each piece has some sort of scene cast on both sides, but they have so much bronze disease it's going to take some work and maybe some chemicals. It was 10"+ down, and each piece was a 25 ID. Here's the IHP: Your guess is as good as mine. 😵 Last is the toe ring, it's really small. Matches other wave rings I've found. It doesn't have a hallmark, that's the reason for the question mark on the title but I'm pretty sure it's sterling. I think the Equinox is king here, but I'll try the Deus again, I've extended my stay 3 more days. 🙂 I'm also going to give a third detector a go... 🤔

No Hey fellas, Hope everyone is getting along well and stumbling across a few happiness finds! I'm still learning the D2 every chance I get. If fulltones hit targets in the thickest co located messes equal to pitch or 2,3 tones to me it'd damn near be perfect! Still have work to do as the brain behind the unit when it comes to silencer,iffy and broken signal chasing when I know better the excitement gets the best of me! Recently I've made a handful of stops by the field of dreams with blessed every trip success and very fortunate blessing by landowners of permanent permission! Original permission died with the owner but the gentleman being downright amazing coupled the land gift with my permission to swing! I feel very lucky and grateful for this is why it must be told! I tell the lady what I find and possible value and that I will pay her for half value of things I may find that are 100% in this ground! She chuckles and says "you do all the work why would i get rewarded!? And maybe you'll be finding stuff when your old with a beard like previous owner!". So as I've said in previous post I've been stopping by this place for 4,5 years now atleast 20+ trips now and up until last august with my detecting,work buddy and long time friend which has to be up toward 300 hours at this point! 5 hour trip yesterday like all other trips pass with a blink and darkness falls on me still hustling for 1 more find! After all those trips bullets,buttons and at 1 time seemingly no more quality signals left I've come to the conclusion that was ignorance on my behalf. Lately I've found box plate,scabbard parts,buttons never before dug,bullets of varieties not seen,poker chips and other things over 100+ personal hours never seen at this site. All that said added with the fact every target is co-located with the nails scraps in these pics I have no doubt more amazing top tier finds will come up sooner or later! Some of y'all would undoubtedly call bs if you saw the small areas I stumble around for 4-8hrs at a time over and over always finding something good! Its mind blowing to me and areas I havent even swung until yesterday took a line around every quadrant and found something cw everywhr! Poker chip is awesome I love it. Tip and finial where 1ft apart cleaned up nice,officer button is awesome my first,burnside bullets are my first and first from site after so many others withing ft I've had to walk over many many times,rivets,cleaners bullets are welcome finds and add to the collection. Pin fire cartridge is cool wish it was in better shape but hey beggars can't be choosers! Like I said and I'm dead honest no good find comes with a clean hole not 1 and my pinpointer frustrates me so bad sometimes I feel they are broken because it's tough as hell when it beeps everywhere you stick it. I think the big round iron is from a cooking wood stove? Oh what say you about the tiny buckle I like it! Cute! Lol I'm certain the triangle sliver is cut one cent it is copper! So D2 has done me well on same sites I've found more in 3 months then 5 years and I've taken the nox to check virgin targets at this site. The nox as we all know a top notch unit and if I'm using fulltones mostly equal but pitch and 2,3 tone pull away from the nox both machines opened up all the way no silencer or iron bias! I was using pitch with great success for unknown reasons I've caused myself unnecessary struggle for parts of recent trips pushing buttons I should leave be but I reckon wasting prime time experimenting in the wild also gains oneself knowledge right!? Lol or looses valuable time not easy to come by one of the 2 or both are true! Have had amazing success with fast pitch filters off descrim factory reactivity 1.5-2.5,deephc descrim factory,everything factory but sensitivity up a few,audio up 1 on all programs and iron audio to 1 on all programs. I use sensitive the most I'd say and something about sensft with the tweaks stated above and silencer to 0-2 depending on my confidence levels I love the here everything of descrim -6.4 but I'm almost sure it doesn't hit in the thick stuff anything close to fast/deephc on pitch of 2 tones and if any arguement is relevant or close to true is the audio of ft and swing speed needed to hit thick iron co-located targets are widely different from pitch or 3 n under tones! That's what I think anyway and I want to use fulltones alone and it be as good it's just not in the every hole has pieces of iron situations! Having a damn good n fun year of detecting though and I hope everyone finds some happiness in swinging,family and stays strong in these strange times of America and her seemingly sabotagers! Until the next time dont let your meat loaf! Oh I'm almost 100% that is a rifle barrel ring of a Enfield of some sort but could be wrong let me know please!? Happy days,I'm buzzin oh no that's said I'm joe!