A Couple Of Firsts For Me This Week!

[OregonGregg]

Well Cabin Fever since you started a "firsts" thread , Monte and I went out today and I found this: A 1926 State of Oregon Chauffeurs License (badge). Neat and kinda unique and a 1st for me.

So have you had a chance to get back and hit that park some more ?

gregg 

[Cabin Fever]

Awesome find Gregg!   That makes me want to go out and do some ghost town hunting.                  I haven't done any research to see what's in my area although I do know of one place about an hour and a half from here with good potential.   I hope to get down to Oregon some day for some relic and nugget hunting.  I live in eastern Washington so I'm not too far from there.        

I did go back for about 3 hours and could not even pull one wheat cent.  Real strange park. Very little clad too.  I'm thinking I just lucked out a stumbled upon a small area that had some extra activity or this small section was missed by past hunters.  I will go back again because there are other areas to check out. My city has had a very active detector club for a long time.  The Late and great Lucy Bowen probably pulled 90% of the coins out of this town! That's why I was shocked to pull quarters out of a public park.  

Bryan

[Cabin Fever]

9 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

That 1912-S Lincoln looks to be in nice shape.  Did you grade it?  I'm impressed at how good your coppers look after being in the ground for approaching a century.  My limited experience coin hunting around here got me thinking something in the soil eats away at the old Lincolns, taking away detail (more so than just the typical pocket wear they suffered before being lost).

 

The coins in this park seem to hold up well.  The Nickel was in great shape too                              It's not a real lush part of the park.  It's more dry and It probably doesn't get fertilized as heavy as some parks.  I notice the early wheats tend to hold up better no matter what area I find them compared to wheats dated in the 40s or later.   

I would say the 1912 s has at least F-12 details but does have some enviromental damage as you can see from my close ups here. 

[OregonGregg]

Hey Bryan,

What part E. Washington you in ?  If you ever get a chance to get down this way I could meet you South of Baker City , at a little town called Durkee along the freeway. ( exit 327) from there I could take you in to a few old Ghost Town/Old Mining Town sites and try our luck.

 I guess another first now that I think of it..my 1st Washington trade token came from your area. .  S.A. Ash, OK Saloon, Wallua, Wa.  Good For One Drink. It is a alum token and surprised it came out in good shape, most alum tokens come out of the ground in rough shape. I think that is out of Pasco towards Walla Walla by Wallua Junction.Found that a few weeks ago in my area. Was the day I took the new Racer 2 out for the first time ( lots of firsts going on here) and was a good day. Also found a nice 1898s Barber Half.

 But ya Ghost Towns can be rewarding and frustrating when dealing with all the ferrous and even non ferrous junk.  The nails I can deal with, the rusted tin flakes/small pieces is what drives you crazy at times. Rusted tin would be the equivalent of a park littered with pulltabs, except must rusted tin flakes read in the Coin range. So it really does come down to tones, a coin will most times give a smooth tone and the rusted tin a bit more scratchy tone etc.

Anyhow, when time allows, get down this way and we can go hit a few sites, and maybe you could give me a few pointers on detecting for gold.  

gregg

[Cabin Fever]

Nice!  Still looking for my first silver half.   I live near the Idaho border in the Spokane area.  I'm looking for a motor home right now so I hope to get over to Oregon this fall. I want to take the family over to do the Oregon coast trip, then maybe cross over and through your area on the way home.  Thanks for the offer. I would love to do some relic type hunting.  I don't have a lot to offer on gold hunting tips though.  I'm just an occasional gold hunter although I hope to increase my time spent nugget shooting this year.

Bryan

 

[GB_Amateur]

9 hours ago, Cabin Fever said:

I would say the 1912 s has at least F-12 details but does have some enviromental damage as you can see from my close ups here.

Not sure what you mean by 'environmental damage' unless it is the green(?) discoloration, which doesn't look bad in the photo.  Nice to see that you've graded this conservatively -- rare amongst most coin collectors.  This is an excellent case for why hunters shouldn't be rubbing coins when they pull them out of the ground.  Sure, if it's a common date and just valuable for the metal content (i.e. silver) or as a 'trophy' piece then it doesn't matter.  But occasionally (as you prove here) you get a scarce date with numismatic value.  A little patience taking the coin back home and soaking, etc. will maximize the equity.  I'm just flabbergasted watching YouTube videos where the searcher finds a coin and then just has to rub the heck out of it until he sees the date.

[beatup]

Congrats on a great hunt