Ed shared a really cool story about finding his first silver, and thought it would be interesting to hear about everyone's virgin silver find. Here's mine...
I only started seriously detecting about 10 years ago. I fooled around with a detector when I was a kid, but just to kill time before I started doing some other nonsense like kids do. Anywho...
After plunging into the hobby again as an adult and being bitten by the bug, I would detect any chance I got. However, it took me one year ~ yes, ONE YEAR ~ before I found my first silver. I didn't know what I was doing or the right places to go. Well...
One day I was reading something about an old grist mill. Detecting wasn't allowed there, as it is currently a landmark, BUT, I noticed that it was literally a stone's throw away from some woods. I figured that some of the workers and other people must've hiked in those woods, maybe worked there, etc., so I decided to give it a shot.
Lo and behold, my hunch paid off. I found my first merc there, one of my nicest suspender clips, and my first crotal bell.
It's a little embarrassing now that I think back about it, as I drove home more gleeful than a young schoolgirl who was just kissed by her secret crush. I felt like I won the Powerball or something.
Great day
Joe
Joe,
That one 44 Merc I mentioned was in a trashy park, in grass, next to a pull tab, that I had been over countless times before with the 8" concentric. Even with the Delta 4000, it showed me what a 5x10 coil really meant. That little 44 Merc was an eyeopener. And it opened a door of discovery. It said to me, "We're all over Ed, you just have to find us."
Since that day I've pulled about 12 silvers from that park. I never in the world thought they were there. Never! But I kept searching, even after having guys with their Etracs stop by and tell me I was wasting my time.
It's still out there guys. That little 44 Merc, Kajun's Rosie, Bigtony and the 27 SLQ. It's still out there! Just waiting for us.
ODF
Ed, the hunters of yesteryear left a LOT behind, yet some don't realize that. Some of it is masked, yet I believe most of it is very deep due to sinkage and fill. That's why so many detectorists are finding it now, because of the newer, deeper units with accurate I.D. capabilities at depth.
True, a common park located in the center of one's town might not have thousands of targets all sitting pretty on the surface just waiting to be dug, like 30+ years ago, but if one is savvy and has a technique, there are still loads of targets available. Hunting in iron will uncover the goodies, listening for the whispers, squeezing into out~of~the~way areas, etc. As you said, it takes a bit more creativity nowadays, but it's worth it.
Joe
First off, this is a great thread. Secondly, my first silver is kind of embarrassing.
The first detector I used was a Bounty Hunter Pioneer. I thought I had the best machine ever made, even though I had never used one.
I was so new to the hobby that every tone seemed the same to me. I was digging everything because I just couldn't tell what I was hearing. I still sort of do that to this day. Detect by tone. I just don't pay attention to what's on the screen because I know now what the different tones are on my ATP.
Anyway, I found the oldest park I could find in my neighborhood. 1920's. I'm out digging every signal. I look at every date on every quarter, dime and nickel. I specifically remember pulling a 1997 dime out, throwing it in my pouch, and going on my way. I still didn't really know to look at the edges of a coin. I thought they'd all just look the same. Rookie.
When I got home I just dumped everything in my bucket. A few days later I decided to clean everything up. I took everything to coinstar. The machine kept kicking out this 1997 dime. Upon further inspection it was a 1947 dime.
That was my first silver. I remember digging it, I just didn't know it was silver.
Should be some good stories to come. I still can't get over that there is only one park bench in the park I found mine. A single bench. There is one picnic table. A tot lot and a basketball court. However there is a very old slab that no longer has a structure on it. I must return.
I'm sure MRH and Big Tony along with the others have cool stories about their first silver amongst other things. I'm looking forward to this thread.
(07-06-2015 09:09 PM)SLCdigger Wrote: [ -> ]First off, this is a great thread. Secondly, my first silver is kind of embarrassing.
The first detector I used was a Bounty Hunter Pioneer. I thought I had the best machine ever made, even though I had never used one.
I was so new to the hobby that every tone seemed the same to me. I was digging everything because I just couldn't tell what I was hearing. I still sort of do that to this day. Detect by tone. I just don't pay attention to what's on the screen because I know now what the different tones are on my ATP.
Anyway, I found the oldest park I could find in my neighborhood. 1920's. I'm out digging every signal. I look at every date on every quarter, dime and nickel. I specifically remember pulling a 1997 dime out, throwing it in my pouch, and going on my way. I still didn't really know to look at the edges of a coin. I thought they'd all just look the same. Rookie.
When I got home I just dumped everything in my bucket. A few days later I decided to clean everything up. I took everything to coinstar. The machine kept kicking out this 1997 dime. Upon further inspection it was a 1947 dime.
That was my first silver. I remember digging it, I just didn't know it was silver.
Great story SLC! And a good learning experience for everyone.
ODF
My first silver was a 1950 quarter found on my friends farm where his dads old house was I had only been detecting for a few months. The mosquitoes were about to carry me off they were so bad, but after finding silver I stayed at it for another hour or so but only found junk where the house burned.
(07-06-2015 08:12 PM)NjNyDigger Wrote: [ -> ]Ed, the hunters of yesteryear left a LOT behind, yet some don't realize that. Some of it is masked, yet I believe most of it is very deep due to sinkage and fill. That's why so many detectorists are finding it now, because of the newer, deeper units with accurate I.D. capabilities at depth.
True, a common park located in the center of one's town might not have thousands of targets all sitting pretty on the surface just waiting to be dug, like 30+ years ago, but if one is savvy and has a technique, there are still loads of targets available. Hunting in iron will uncover the goodies, listening for the whispers, squeezing into out~of~the~way areas, etc. As you said, it takes a bit more creativity nowadays, but it's worth it.
Joe
Joe,
Well I for one would like to singularly congratulate you Joe on some of the finds you make out there. I mean a trifecta and a half in one hunt recently is simply outstanding. You know "You musta hava soma kinda ears to hear that tinny tone in all that iron.". And I know you dig one hell of a lot of iron, as I am starting to do as well. At first I thought your finds came from the long history of population levels in your area. Which is somewhat of a given as more people drop more coins over a longer time period. And I say that because until this year I had only found one 1895 coin and 2 IH's. I once said to you on a pm that I didn't think I would ever find any real old coins because the area isn't really as historic or as old as the East coast. But with these last two LC's and the Canadian half penny, I am going to change my tune. I now believe that those silver's of that era are here as well. But deep. Far deeper than what I originally surmised. This has turned my quest now. Like you, in some ways, I am rethinking things as far as search techniques and machine operation. I guess the "first coin" of any era presents a barrier broken and a new way to think things through. And thank you for recognizing my idea, but there are firsts in a number of things we find. All are important to all and they lead us to new ways of thinking about the hows and whys of the way we detect.
Seeing them here on this screen, though, and being able to participate in the romance, history and pure joy of the find is one of the most important.
And don't ever forget that Joe!
Bravo!
ODF
I honestly can't remember my first silver coin find, crazy I know. Must be in a log book somewhere....Bullet bob help me out - where is my log book from 1991?
What comes to mind is finding a silver ring at about 8 inches - it had a half type of moon stone - like a grayish white. The stone was probably plastic or glass , I can't remember but it feel out that night while I was cleaning it under water. I found it in a local park on the side of a small hill. I was so excited I didn't want to go to work that evening at a second job. Too funny - it was tough to shut off the detector and wash up for work....
(07-06-2015 10:02 PM)Ohio Dirt Fisher Wrote: [ -> ] (07-06-2015 08:12 PM)NjNyDigger Wrote: [ -> ]Ed, the hunters of yesteryear left a LOT behind, yet some don't realize that. Some of it is masked, yet I believe most of it is very deep due to sinkage and fill. That's why so many detectorists are finding it now, because of the newer, deeper units with accurate I.D. capabilities at depth.
True, a common park located in the center of one's town might not have thousands of targets all sitting pretty on the surface just waiting to be dug, like 30+ years ago, but if one is savvy and has a technique, there are still loads of targets available. Hunting in iron will uncover the goodies, listening for the whispers, squeezing into out~of~the~way areas, etc. As you said, it takes a bit more creativity nowadays, but it's worth it.
Joe
Joe,
Well I for one would like to singularly congratulate you Joe on some of the finds you make out there. I mean a trifecta and a half in one hunt recently is simply outstanding. You know "You musta hava soma kinda ears to hear that tinny tone in all that iron.". And I know you dig one hell of a lot of iron, as I am starting to do as well. At first I thought your finds came from the long history of population levels in your area. Which is somewhat of a given as more people drop more coins over a longer time period. And I say that because until this year I had only found one 1895 coin and 2 IH's. I once said to you on a pm that I didn't think I would ever find any real old coins because the area isn't really as historic or as old as the East coast. But with these last two LC's and the Canadian half penny, I am going to change my tune. I now believe that those silver's of that era are here as well. But deep. Far deeper than what I originally surmised. This has turned my quest now. Like you, in some ways, I am rethinking things as far as search techniques and machine operation. I guess the "first coin" of any era presents a barrier broken and a new way to think things through. And thank you for recognizing my idea, but there are firsts in a number of things we find. All are important to all and they lead us to new ways of thinking about the hows and whys of the way we detect.
Seeing them here on this screen, though, and being able to participate in the romance, history and pure joy of the find is one of the most important.
And don't ever forget that Joe!
Bravo!
ODF
Ed, yes, I do dig a $HITLOAD of iron, but that's mainly because I chase very deep, iffy signals. A real deep target - at least in my experience - can ring up as a broken, $hitty signal, and may even read like iron from certain directions. When stuff is deep, all bets are off, and it's an educated crapshoot to a certain degree whether it's trash or treasure. Admittedly...
I don't really hunt in many areas with heavy, "carpet of nails" types of junk/iron. Not because I don't want to, but because I just haven't come across many of those types of places. I would actually relish hunting in these areas to see what is hiding amongst the trash. I had an AT Gold a while back, which I used on maybe 2 or 3 HEAVY iron sites, and the machine was EXCELLENT for that specific task. Once I hunted those spots though, I had little use left for the unit, as the majority of my spots are depth critical.
Most of my hunting locales have a LOT of iron, but it's deeper and it's fairly spread out.
I'm normally EXHAUSTED after my hunts. Not so much just from the physical work, but also because of the mental fatigue. The old stuff in most places I hunt starts at around 5 or 6", so I've trained my ears to ignore most of the surface noise and to hone in on the little squeaks. You know the racket a Minelab can make with all that strange noise! I'm listening through all that waiting for a tiny peep. It's beyond taxing on the brain. Yes, we DO have spots where we can dig surface signals (almost anything) and it'll be old and good, but they're rare.
Ask Gerry F. next time he hops on here what type of finds usually (99 times out of 100) pop up from surface to 4 or 5". He'll tell you it's normally clad. So I don't even waste my time unless the dirt is all original, or I've never been there before and need to sample the area first. This is for coins, of course. I realize I'm probably walking over shallow gold rings and such, but, I'm not interested in killing myself for a long shot on the turf.
Joe