Well, I Didn’t Get Skunked

[Geologyhound]

It’s been below freezing here for weeks and we probably still have about 6 inches of snow on the ground. So of course I went out detecting.  It is not quite as crazy as it seems….

I have permission to hunt a property where new construction just started. They just dozed an area perhaps the size of a couple football fields. In doing so they took off the snow and between 0 to 12 inches of dirt.  So, in 22° weather dropping into the upper teens, I went out for a couple hours.  Even with the fresh dozing, most of the ground had refrozen. It was tough digging in all but the most recently scraped area, but at least it was possible.

This place has been a farm field for over 100 years according to the maps. The dirt tells a different tale. There’s a large black stained area with lots of iron which I suspect might’ve been a barn. There is at least one other iron patch, which might’ve been a house.

There was more can slaw, thicker chunks of aluminum, and a shotgun slug which are still in my pouch.  The pot metal was ringing up in the brass range.  With all this trash, the solid green drawer pull (?) was a welcome find.  The “hook“ thing appears to be a large square shank nail. I was afraid the penny would just be a memorial, but it is not.  I don’t know that I have been so happy to see a wheat penny in my life!  I am letting it dry out for a couple days prior to cleaning it for the date.

The forecast is for warmer weather this week with rain possible.  Hopefully, we can all get back out soon!

[F350Platinum]

Tough conditions, and the flip side of what I'm experiencing on the beach here in Florida. Congrats on finding anything!

The same results in different medium. Were I home, I'd be taking videos of my shovel skimming across the ice, and here, the oatmeal sand makes you not want to walk on it for fear of sinking up to your neck. 🙄 I'm happy to find a Zincoln. 😵

I guess it's not much different than a prospector who finds some tiny gold, enough small potatoes still fill a pound bag. Nice to see another "reality" post! 

🍀

[EL NINO77]

A challenging day... but also a terrain for detection... even one coin is a success... it's not unlike some of my days... when finding one coin among ferrous but also unwanted non-ferrous targets means a nice detection...

[Lodge Scent]

Glad you can get out and swing the coil Geohound and make a few finds. I am still snowbound. A lone crusty wheat would look good to me as well.

[rvpopeye]

Any chance in the middle of winter to actually be able to dig or even get a coil near the ground is a win Ghound !   A Wheatie is a respectable dig . Hope it turns out to be an older one 🤞 

 

[Geologyhound]

15 hours ago, rvpopeye said:

Any chance in the middle of winter to actually be able to dig or even get a coil near the ground is a win Ghound !   A Wheatie is a respectable dig . Hope it turns out to be an older one 🤞 

 

Well, I managed to clean it up, and it is a 1919. Anytime I break into the teens in wheats, I’m happy. For that matter, I’m even happy with anything in the 20s and 30s!

[Geologyhound]

On 2/10/2026 at 8:17 AM, Lodge Scent said:

Glad you can get out and swing the coil Geohound and make a few finds. I am still snowbound. A lone crusty wheat would look good to me as well.

Hopefully that snow is finally melting off for you! At least down here, it looks like it should be mostly melted off and the surface thawed by the end of the week.  It will be nice not to have to chisel my way into the ground…

[Geologyhound]

On 2/10/2026 at 3:09 AM, EL NINO77 said:

A challenging day... but also a terrain for detection... even one coin is a success... it's not unlike some of my days... when finding one coin among ferrous but also unwanted non-ferrous targets means a nice detection...

Even though they scraped off about a foot off the top, there are parts of that area that are just lousy with iron. There must be something else there, but I have to wonder what’s buried in the piles dozed off to the side.

[Geologyhound]

On 2/9/2026 at 5:04 AM, F350Platinum said:

Tough conditions, and the flip side of what I'm experiencing on the beach here in Florida. Congrats on finding anything!

The same results in different medium. Were I home, I'd be taking videos of my shovel skimming across the ice, and here, the oatmeal sand makes you not want to walk on it for fear of sinking up to your neck. 🙄 I'm happy to find a Zincoln. 😵

I guess it's not much different than a prospector who finds some tiny gold, enough small potatoes still fill a pound bag. Nice to see another "reality" post! 

🍀

I was digging through my trash and lead pockets and found two other interesting items. One looks like it might be an old musket ball. The other bears a striking resemblance to a horse’s head.  The ear is a bit too rounded, but the relief on the surface makes me wonder if somebody started carving this.  It is probably just a coincidental piece of melted lead, but I do have to wonder…. I posted pics of it up above.