We got back yesterday from our annual beach vacation - hands down the best two weeks of the year. It was sad heading home and I'm already looking forward to next year. The beach is a great place and we swam, played, partied, and relaxed just about non stop.
Of course, the added perk for me and my dad on this vacation is the fun beach detecting. We were up before dawn just about every morning working the sand for treasure. We did alright in that regard this year. Hopefully my dad will post his finds as well. I scored three pieces of gold - a small 10k pendant, a 10k ring with a large cubic zirconia, and a nice 14k yellow and white gold band. The 10k ring was found in a spot that was giving up many cruddy green coins and even the ring came out with a green crust that flaked off with a toothpick. I also found 10 pieces of silver although they were all tiny. The majority were heavily tarnished toe rings. The best of the bunch is a cool log cabin charm that opens to reveal a hanging kettle inside.
The clad count was alright - 529 coins worth $42.95. Among them were 5 wheats and an older nickel - I suspect 2 of the wheats had been there for a while. I also dug a Canadian Toonie (which sounded exactly like a crown bottle cap) and a 1969 German 2 Deutsche Mark coin.
Beyond the finds, the sounds and sights of detecting on the beach were worth the trip by themselves. I like seeing the sun rise every day, and took some good pictures of the nicer ones. The beach is quiet and peaceful early in the day. I've also found there is something very relaxing about detecting barefoot.
We managed to meet up with Del who was at the same beach for a few mornings. It was a pleasure to chat with him, and be able to thank him in person for all of the info he provides on this forum! Hopefully we will be able to get together again someday either on the beach again or maybe at a cellar hole somewhere - I'd love to give the latter a try for sure. Del, if you ever head into upstate NY I hope you'll drop me a line!
As always, we saw many other detectorists on the beach daily - on average I would say 12 or more at time. With this in mind I am stunned by how many old style beaver tail pull tabs I dug. These things haven't been used in 30 years I think and yet I still left the beach every morning with a handful of them. Either the beach was once a mix of 50% sand and 50% pull tabs or most people aren't digging these things (which I would find hard to believe).
So now it's back to work tomorrow... not a happy prospect, but at least I have a few gold items to weigh on the scale there so that helps! And I have some fantastic pictures and memories to look back on throughout the year.
Happy Hunting...
Reply With Quote
I can see why you miss the place already 
Originally Posted by aloldstuff link=topic=14128.msg148713#msg148713 date=1378227355
