Hey diggers,
I decided to head over to St. Louis and hit some hammered parks today. These parks date back to before the Civil War but have been pounded to death over the years. I pretty much just stay in the trashiest areas and try to find deeper targets. It is not uncommon to go 1-2 hours without a decent signal. At the first park I found a 1939 mercury dime and 6 or 7 wheat pennies but after 3 hours I was ready to move elsewhere.
I arrived at the second park and immediately got a nice 12-44 at 7-8 inches deep. Cut my plug and popped out a freaking memorial cent!! How could it get that deep I wondered? A few minutes later I got a real solid 12-47 at 6-7 inches deep and thought to myself "probably a clad quarter." Imagine my surprise when a dark coin slightly smaller than a quarter popped out. I could see a wreath and the word "cent" on the back. But it was way too small to be a large cent. I rubbed some dirt off and could now see the word "half!" Holy cow, a half cent! I had found my first ever half cent and it is dated 1851. Thanks for looking and HH, Dave.