Humid/Hot Hunt in the Woods - 1st Shield Nickel & Old IH

Today was a very muggy near 90 degree day, so what did I decide to do? Put on my jeans and long sleeve shirt and coat myself in bug dope and head for the woods. Started out intending to do some bottle digging at an old home site I have found bottles at before, but after awhile I just could not resist the urge to do some MDing. No whole bottles today.

This site is a very old home site that I have been to many times in the past and recovered some nice relics, but no coins. The only coin out this site so far is an 1864 2 cent piece my uncle got there last fall. So I decided to grid off an area about 20x20, which we have gone over before. I decided to disc out iron, because there is so much here. After about 20 minutes I get a fairly repeatable signal in the nickel range at 6 inches. I am thinking shotgun shell. I pull it out and realize right away its a coin, and realize I just dug my first shield nickel when I see the stars and 5 clear as day. :happydance01: I try to compose myself and keep going slowly over the area gridding it back and forth, and at this point I turn all my disc off because I'm digging everything. About 10 minutes later I pass about two feet from where I found the nickel and get an a very weird signal, dig down and find a square nail in the hole. I stick my pinpointer in the pile and I get a hit, I brush the dirt away to expose a small greenish disc. Another coin, whew hoo! An 1865 Indianhead penny. I went around the area for another 15-20 minutes and then packed it up for the day. Just a little over two hours and was drenched in sweat and super stoked to find two old coins from this trashy cellar hole. I couldn't see the 1867 date on the nickel until I got home and cleaned it up.

Thanks for lookin'!

Big congrats on your first Shield nickel :clapping: and that nice IH. Great short hunt. WTG!!! Best of luck on your next hunt and HH. Mike

Nice hunt! I recently found a similar shotgun shell, with U.M.C. written on it. I believe Remington bought U.M.C. in 1911, so it's pretty old relic!

A big congrats on the shield nickel :beerbuddy: That coin is on my bucket list :grin:

lol Yep... your weather was about the same, but actually a tad hotter.
It looks like it was worth the sweat. :yes: You must have been very thrilled when you
realized a Shield nickel was resting comfortably in your hand. That moment is an exciting time for us treasure hunters. A big congrats to you for finding it. The IH is obviously a nice early one. :smitten: I learned earlier this spring how tough it is cellar hole hunting. Hats off to you.
As many have proven it is very well worth the effort.
I am curious... what do you attribute finding those two coins to in an area you guys have hit several times before?
Great job Darren.

jkress link=topic=6445.msg75302#msg75302 date=1310876848 said:

I am curious... what do you attribute finding those two coins to in an area you guys have hit several times before?

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Thanks Joe! I wonder the same thing sometimes, but like any trashy site, on each hunt a little more trash gets removed and changes the character of the site and exposes new targets. Also, I was very focused today on a small area and intent on covering it and it paid off for me. I also went very slowly today which I think helped pull these out of the dirt.

WTG Darren. :clapping:
Sounds like a rewarding hunt under very difficult conditions.

Amazing hunt - I can't wait to experience something like this - continued good luck to you thumbsup01

Those are some sweet old coins! :clapping: The nickel sure is nice, as is the 1865 IH. :yes:

Congrats on some beautiful old coins. Bet there's more at that site -- grid off the next section -- and pound it 'til it stops giving up the keepers.

milco link=topic=6445.msg75304#msg75304 date=1310877187 said:

I also went very slowly today which I think helped pull these out of the dirt.

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That's kind of what I figured. It's good to hear what the extra effort can do. thumbsup01

Congrats on the shield(with date) and that 1865 IH. Fantastic hunt