Best Day With The Equinox So Far...

[Tometusns]

Steve,  thanks for sharing. It was an awesome day. She can be very convincing to dig and I've shook my head several times when a coin pops out of a hole. 

[steveg]

Thanks, everyone!  I appreciate the kind words.

GB_Amateur -- thanks for the info.  I was vaguely aware of what you are saying, based on some initial reading I did after talking to one of my hunting buddies post-hunt.  What happened was, when I pulled that coin from the dirt, I was wondering if perhaps I had a "fatty" (because while couldn't remember which specific years the "fatties" were made, I thought I remembered it was roughly around the Civil War era).  And I seemed to recall that the "fatties" read much lower, ID-wise, than a regular Indian, due to different metal compositions.  And since the signal I got from the machine pre-dig was a little "funky," but was generally in the upper teens, my thought when I pulled BOTH of those coins from the hole (and the older one OBVIOUSLY being the 95% copper variety), was whether maybe the older one was a "fatty," and that THAT may have been why the ID was a bit "funky."  But, when I ran it over the coil to check, it read "19."  So at that point I concluded that it was a "regular" Indian, and not a "fatty."  

Later in the day though, when I talked to a hunting buddy about the hunt, he congratulated me on the "fatty."  So, it got me wondering, again -- and so I decided to look it up, and that's when I found the info that 1864 was in fact the "transition" year, and that they changed from copper/nickel to 95% copper, during the year, as you said in your post.  And then based on that knowledge, and the fact that the coin read "19" when air tested, I then was certain I had the "non-fatty" variety, but could now understand why my buddy thought it WAS one.  After that, I didn't give it any more thought...until your post!  That "L" thing is interesting, and now I'm curious about the coin again.  Time for some more research, and a closer look at that coin...

Thanks!

Steve

[Cabin Fever]

They call them fatties because they are actually a little thicker.

2.33 mm vs 1.55 mm

Bryan

 

[steveg]

I thought that was the case, but wasn't sure if the additional thickness would be plainly obvious.  However, it looks like from your post, the difference is roughly 3/4 of a mm...which should be pretty obvious, I'd think...

Steve