It Doesn't Get Any Better...

[goldbrick]

It had been a year since I had a chance to hunt with my friend Strick. We finally were able to  get together for 4 days of relic/coin/ring detecting.

On day 1 we went to an old standby location (ghost town) we had visited many times in the past. Strick found 2 silver coins, an 1876 and 1877 Seated Liberty dimes in the space of 1 hour. I found a few buttons.

Day 2 we took his boat up the Delta to a party beach where I hunted in the water for the first time ever. I had a blast using my CTX 3030 just wading up to my waist. I found 2 silver rings which beat the costume jewelry Strick got so I was the king that day.

On day 3 of my visit with him, we were off to a private property in the low Sierra foothills of California to meet up with Strick's friend, the ranch owner, and detect an early gold camp. We have been hunting this area for a few years when our schedules will allow. The last time I was here with Strick he had found a Quarter Eagle and some seated coins while I had only found buttons.
On this day things were not looking so great for me as I had only found one nice button and the usual assortment of period trash while Strick had scored a nice cast buckle wreath. We had just taken a break and had compared finds with the ranch owner, discussing the "whatizits" we had found. It was getting later in the day so we went back to detecting. I had earlier got into an area with quite a bit of scattered iron which developed into a nail bed which was obviously the remains of an old structure. So I returned to the heaviest area of nails which was about 250' away from the location of Strick's gold coin, and was carefully searching through the machine gun iron signals when I hear a definite signal but scratchy signal on my Deus. It was jumping around depending on which direction I swung but was repeatable. Just another bullet or cartridge I think as I pop the plug. Then I see about a quarter of a gold coin sticking out of the plug as it crumbles. I didn't stop to savor the moment or reflect on my find like you hear so many times. I started screaming like a 14 year old Valley Girl, " I found a gold coin" and waving my arms at my friends who were a short distance away. The coin was an 1849 Half Eagle. It has been my fondest detecting desire to find a gold coin and now I had realized it.
On the journey back to Stricks I looked up the value of the coin as people always ask. I didn't much care as I did not plan to sell it but that is usually the first question from family and friends. I had not cleaned it well or looked at it too closely but I knew it had some wear so I figured a ball park figure of $500?
It wasn't until we returned to Strick's place that he was looking at it through a low power microscope and he says" Her headband doesn't say liberty it says Moffat". I had never in a million years ever dreamed I may find a Territorial coin but I knew in an instant that I had just scored the find of my life.

On Day 4 we went to a location of an old military base. Strick has taken buckets of military paraphernalia from there and  he scored again. I found 2 pieces but they were severely corroded. 
I would say this has been the best detecting trip I have ever been on due to finding the Territorial Half Eagle. All the thanks go to my buddy, Strick and the ranch owner for getting me on that location.

I will ask Strick to post his pics of his finds.

[Goldpick]

Congratulations on a fantastic find and another bucket lister.  Am yet to join the gold coin club myself, hopefully there is a gold sovereign out there with my name on it (wishful thinking)!  

[Tom Slick]

Been looking since 1975 for my first gold coin. I've still got some years left in me so who knows. Your's is a fabulous find! Congratulations! 

[abenson]

Nice find and California Gold to boot! Which makes it even better.

[Steve Herschbach]

That’s just fabulous Merton, congratulations!

[Jeff McClendon]

Absolutely beautiful find and in fantastic condition.

 

[Denny]

Awesome find!  Congrats 

Still have the tarsacci?

[klunker]

 STRICK! STRICK! You must find a rare double eagle very quickly before Mr. Goldbrick becomes unbearable.

[GB_Amateur]

'Wow' doesn't do this justice, but that's the best word I can come up with!  I have Donald H. Kagin's Private Gold Coins and Patterns of the United States and you've inspired me to read up on this private California mint.  You can see a fairly substantial excerpt here.

I sometimes try and grade coins from photos posted here, but I'll forego such an attempt other than to say the condition is obviously high (not news to anyone...).  Apparently these coins circulated quite a bit on average, but yours didn't.  Easily a 4 figure coin.  Territorial issues aren't as widely collected as official US mint coins but that doesn't take away from its rarity nor the pride in finding one.

It's great to have metal detecting friendships and yours and Strick's must be one of the best.  At least it was until this showed up.  😅

 

 

[Steve Herschbach]

It’s almost a perfect find as far as I am concerned if a person is also a prospector. A coin that says it is made of mined California gold right on the coin, and from 1849, the first year of the gold rush and why people call them the 49ers.

We all talk about finds of a lifetime, and this truly qualifies. That calls for another congratulations!