CPT_GhostLight Posted August 15, 2023 Share Posted August 15, 2023 A couple of weekends ago I got to go on a permission that according to the owner has never been metal detected. It was a gold mine from about 1876 to 1889 and has a small ghost town nearby. When we got there, I could see why it probably has never been hunted. Town site was completely covered with waist to chest high sage brush! There was really nothing visible that there had ever been anything there except for a small shack poking out of the brush. I had my Deus 2 with the 9"coil, but this place left me really wishing hard for a small D2 elliptical coil and a Bush Hog! Never the less, I did manage to squeeze out some cool finds and a couple of firsts for me. As I waded into the overgrowth, I remembered it was rattlesnake country and I tried to keep a watchful eye and ear out for slithery sentries guarding the possible treasure hoards. I never did see one, which is a little disconcerting, but never heard one either, which was somewhat comforting. I plowed away trying to find any hole in the brush to poke my coil into and began making finds right away, which was a good sign. The D2 did a good job sorting through the obligatory ghost town iron contamination, although I will dig anything that sounds interesting because there can also be cool iron artifacts. At one point I made it out of the brush and wandered up a hill above town following some trees next to a ravine and got a honking 84 tone and dug my first ever musket ball! I know most of you relic hunters probably throw those away, but they super rare around here and I like them. At the end of the day, I had pounds of iron and non-ferrous finds to clean and try to identify. One of my other firsts was an unusally large caliber rifle cartridge which one of my detecting club members IDed as a Sage Ammunition Works .56-50 caliber cartridge for a M1860 Spencer rifle. So it may be Civil War era and the fist of that kind I have found out here. So I ended up with some cool buttons, bits, bobs, and bullets, a pocket watch back, a small spoon that may be for a baby, and some kind of small medallion that has an old European looking lion on the front and some raised writing on the back that also looks foreign to me. One of the other fellows hunting there that day found a beautiful 1876 Seated Liberty quarter, so I feel like there are potentially more excellent finds hiding there. I'm hoping we can go back with a bulldozer and clear that land for the owner and open it up for some proper hunting. 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCR Posted August 15, 2023 Share Posted August 15, 2023 That's a nice assortment of relics. Hopefully you can get some brush cleared out. Maybe you could rent a walk behind DR Field & Brush mower. Mine has opened up many otherwise impossible sites. That site has real potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Bach Posted August 15, 2023 Share Posted August 15, 2023 That site looks to be loaded CPT.There could be a gold coin or two hiding somewhere in amongst all of that brush.You have your work cut out for you, but you could be rewarded handsomely for you efforts...Looking forward to further updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoPeg Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 Cool stuff and great write up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valens Legacy Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 Thanks for a great read and some nice pictures of the finds. Looks like you have hit the jackpot on a place to detect at. Can't wait to see some coins from that area in the future, and be safe from those snakes and ticks. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvpopeye Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 Great lookin' group of finds ! Go back after the tumble weeds tumble on down the line🤠... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick N. MI Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 Great stuff. I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColonelDan Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 Excellent report CPT! I can clearly see that was a lot of work. I'd go back there several times were I you. Potential abounds. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F350Platinum Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 Wow, as usual, the Cap'n gets the goods. Great photos, and your whole group of finds has that Western zip to it! You also spin a great story. 🙂 Your badge is intriguing, that looks like the Spanish lion found on their old currency. I'd take a pencil and do a rubbing to paper of the text on the back, might get a sure ID. Tried to get something out of Lens, and all I got was Spanish coins. Fascinating stuff! Heck of a dig. 👍 Were I you, I would bring my off road lawnmower out there. 😀 I've done that a few times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim tn Posted August 16, 2023 Share Posted August 16, 2023 Yeah, that spot appears to be a goodie and definitely has potential. Nice bag of relics. HH jim tn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.JPG.b46839319dc8de4aefe1f42407094dbd.JPG)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now