BMc Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 I happen to live in the Southern NM (desert), and during Library Research, I ran across a news article from the 1950s that mentioned a remote picnic site that was popular for weekend and holiday gatherings. A faded black and white photograph showed several concrete tables, benches, and stone bar-b-que pits on a secluded hilltop outside of town. I couldn't find anything else to go on and everyone I talked to had never heard of it, so I explored the back-roads until I located it by a process of elimination. Nothing was left of the concrete and stone that was functionally intact, and the, (4x4 only), inaccessibility of the rocky washed out road made the location an ideal lover's lane, beer drinking - high school hideaway. After several trips to the site and a modest clean-up effort, I managed to unearth a few nice surprises: Wheaties, rosies, Jeffersons, a buffalo/Indian head, a girls 10k gold ring with a tiny "diamond" setting, and a singed (partially burned), 1961 Ben Franklin half dollar. The biggest surprise though, was the improvised "black-jack" made from a gym sock filled with (217) clad pennies, hidden under a pile of rocks. Another strange surprise was a 1961 Washington Quarter that had a hole shot through it! Kind of gives a new meaning to the term, "Coin Shooting" To me, that's what makes metal detecting and coin shooting so interesting. You just never know what you might find next! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mn90403 Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 Very interesting and good research. You never know where you are going to find clues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valens Legacy Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 Great research with a nice hunt for your hard work. I find that if I talk to the old people from the area they know where all the hot spots are from earlier days. Whether it be a old lovers lane or swimming hole that nobody ever goes to anymore. They have shown me where old wrecks were that has thrown quarters all over the place from a man who had a vending machine in the men's room in all the bars. Once the weather turns a little better I plan to hit up some of those places when I have some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick N. MI Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 What a great spot you found. Sounds like a fun hunt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPT_GhostLight Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 What a great payoff for your research, well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB_Amateur Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 Excellent payout to your research. 18 hours ago, BMc said: The biggest surprise though, was the improvised "black-jack" made from a gym sock filled with (217) clad pennies.... I'm curious as to what you mean by "clad pennies". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim tn Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 Good research and glad it paid off with some nice treasures. Neat looking spot. That loaded sock gives new meaning to "knocking some cents/sense into ones head." HH jim tn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMc Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 2 hours ago, GB_Amateur said: Excellent payout to your research. I'm curious as to what you mean by "clad pennies". If a Lincoln Memorial penny has a date before 1982, it is made of 95% copper. If the date is 1983 or later, it is made of 97.5% zinc and plated with a thin copper coating. A plated coin is commonly referred to as a "clad", especially among coin shooters, in my experience. If others differ, please chime in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMc Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 2 hours ago, jim tn said: Good research and glad it paid off with some nice treasures. Neat looking spot. That loaded sock gives new meaning to "knocking some cents/sense into ones head." HH jim tn Good one Jim! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB_Amateur Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 59 minutes ago, BMc said: A plated coin is commonly referred to as a "clad", especially among coin shooters, in my experience. If others differ, please chime in. Got it. I don't think it's universally accepted that cladding and plating are the same thing. Below I attach a web post that emphasizes the distinction. Admittedly this can be considered merely semantic. I've seen some here use 'clad' to mean everything minted in the last several decades, including Jefferson 5 cent pieces (aka 'nickels') which definitely aren't clad. That ambiguity can lead to the question of whether or not 95% copper coins, particluarly the Memorials of 1959-82, are considered clad by those who use this loose usage of the word. That is what led to my question -- whether your sock black-jack was completely loaded with zinc cents as opposed to Memorial cents of all kinds. Maybe its maker hated zinc cents (aka Zincolns) as much as I do and separated them out for this use. 😁 Following can be found here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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