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First Relic Hunt Brings Gold Moral Test #2


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Bob - I wouldn't worry too much about rigid rules for legitimate membership in "the club".  It's kind of silly if you think about the fact that it's a fictional "club" at the end of the day that's basically in the eye of the beholder.  No one is actually keeping score but you.  No Guiness world record verification necessary.  It's a find, it's gold, it's "real" and you have a pic and a good story to tell and a happy landowner and the potential for additional permissions, which these days is probably more valuable than any single gold coin find for us detectorists.  That's all that matters. Enjoy the moment.

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6 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

I showed up right after Bob found that coin.  Glad that mystery is solved after almost 3 years of looking. I thought it was going to be a harbinger of a productive day at this site.  I enjoy hunting it because of its easy access, level, and the variety of the types and age of targets going all the way back to pre-1700's Virginia.  I found a Royal Navy Officer's button here from the War of 1812 era, silvers, campaign tokens, numerous buttons.  But it was tough day for me with my finds pouch basically looking like Bob's junk pic above.  I did manage about 4 brass keepers (a small D buckle, a barrel tap, and two pieces of Colonial shoe buckle - finally broke my button string at this site - I usually walk away with at least a couple).  But it was a great day weather wise and it was great to know that coin actually existed and was finally found.  Not a bad kickoff for the 2024-25 Fall/Winter relic season.  Thanks Mr. G! And congrats on that golden find.

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Thanks Chase, 

I hope it is a harbinger of things to come, It's been a great year so far. I'm glad to be back in the fields again. 👍 

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5 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

Bob - I wouldn't worry too much about rigid rules for legitimate membership in "the club".  It's kind of silly if you think about the fact that it's a fictional "club" at the end of the day that's basically in the eye of the beholder.  No one is actually keeping score but you.  No Guiness world record verification necessary.  It's a find, it's gold, it's "real" and you have a pic and a good story to tell and a happy landowner and the potential for additional permissions, which these days is probably more valuable than any single gold coin find for us detectorists.  That's all that matters. Enjoy the moment.

Meh, moving on. Shame I had to inspire a dissenting/disparaging comment, I guess I'll have to start the Draped Bust Half Dime Club, and hang my own sign on the treehouse 🤣 Wait - that was worn as jewelry some 200 years ago! 🤯 

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Thanks to all for the encouraging comments and praise. 🙂🍀

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I think a big congratulations is in order for finding that coin after such along time. I'll bet the permission is telling everyone he knows what a stellar guy you are and can be trusted above all. Someone...somewhere... will have you looking for something else exquisite.

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Thanks Okara, 

Where I hunt you have to have high standards, one mistake and you're out. We're taking counties, not towns, with less than 20,000 residents. Trust is everything here along with honor and discretion. Word travels fast.

13 minutes ago, okara gold said:

Someone...somewhere... will have you looking for something else exquisite.

Heh, that already happened, can't really discuss that one 😬 for now. While I prefer the "easy" permissions, this one worked out well. 🙂

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50 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

Thanks Okara, 

Where I hunt you have to have high standards, one mistake and you're out. We're taking counties, not towns, with less than 20,000 residents. Trust is everything here along with honor and discretion. Word travels fast.

 

Back in the 80's I had permission from a nice old gentleman in Goldvein, VA to camp and dredge for gold on his property. We could stay as long as we wanted (that turned into a month), and just had to keep the area clean. I had to laugh as the only requirement he set for us was to hide my license plate on our vehicles as we were from NY and some of the local boys were still fighting the Civil War there. We never had any problems, but I do recall a group of 3 - wheelers pulling up pretty close to take a look! We went to his local church on Sunday and even had us stand up and introduced us to the congregation. I think my face is still red from that.

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8 minutes ago, okara gold said:

Back in the 80's I had permission from a nice old gentleman in Goldvein, VA to camp and dredge for gold on his property. We could stay as long as we wanted (that turned into a month), and just had to keep the area clean. I had to laugh as the only requirement he set for us was to hide my license plate on our vehicles as we were from NY and some of the local boys were still fighting the Civil War there. We never had any problems, but I do recall a group of 3 - wheelers pulling up pretty close to take a look! We went to his local church on Sunday and even had us stand up and introduced us to the congregation. I think my face is still red from that.

It's been a bit tough for me here, I am originally from CT, although I lived in Richmond for a time when I was young.

The people here are a gracious lot with a long history, respecting that history (gracefully) is key, as well as being careful to not attract too much attention. Finding that coin was a blessing but often such things can be a double-edged sword. 🤔

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23 hours ago, Tom_in_CA said:

Great story.   Thanx for bringing us along.  

 

And to answer your question :  In the case of a commissioned hunt ("tame" hunt), I would not count that the same as a wild find.   I've found several caches (commissioned by the next-of-kin, where they suspected a family patriarch had buried stuff in the yard), but never counted them as "found caches".  

 

I also don't count gold coins mounted in jewelry as "coins" either.  I count them in the jewelry category.   Since those could have  been lost yesterday.   As opposed to finding a circulated coin from back-in-the-day when they were being used as money.

Coin was found more than a decade ago and wasn't even close to where the owner had dropped it. To make that hunt even more difficult is it had a bezel which changes the id range. Odds of finding that coin is pretty slim for any seasoned detectorist. Having a bit of knowledge of knowing a coin was out there almost meant nothing due to all the variables in play. I'd call that one a wild catch.

We can all joke about being a member of the Gold Coin Club and have fun but it shouldn't take away from the find and return of such a fantastic coin.

Hats off Bob well done!

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