My Favorite Find of 2011

[Tony Two-Cent]

I didn't post this when it occured because I wasn't sure how interesting it would be to everyone else. However, with the beginning of a new year I find myself in a reflective mood, so I'm going to post it anyway.

My first memory of metal detecting is from 1969 when I went with my parents to hunt at the Old Settlers Grounds in Iola, IL. I was six years old at the time and just went along to watch. I have related this story here before, and a shortened version of it appears in my bio. I remember sitting on a wooden bench and watching as my mom and dad dug a hole that was right in front of the bench. As my dad scooped out a pile of dirt I said, I see something that looks like a penny and pointed to the object. My mom picked the coin up and rubbed the dirt off of it, and I will never forget her excitement as she exclaimed, It's an Indian Head penny! It was dated 1903. My mom put it in a 2x2 some years later and I still have it in my coin collection.

Fast forward to November 24, 2011. We were all sitting in the family room at my parents' house after Thanksgiving Dinner, and I expressed an interest in maybe going metal detecting since I had brought my E-Trac along. My dad decided that he couldn't join us because he was having back troubles at the time, but my mom and I jumped in the car with no particular destination in mind. When I asked my mom if she had any ideas about where to hunt, she said, How about the Old Settlers grounds? I didn't know if the place still existed but she assured me that it did, so we made the drive to Iola, IL.

When we pulled up I couldn't believe it, the place looks exactly like I remember it with a couple of exceptions; the wooden bench was gone and there was a nice, new sign. I couldn't resist taking some photos.









My mom said that they still have the Old Settlers Reunion once a year on this site. This place has been well-known amongst detectorists for decades and has been hunted to death. Nevertheless, I couldn't resist trying my luck for nostalgia's sake. My mom sat at a picnic table and watched as I hunted for about an hour and a half. She suggested areas that looked promising to her, near the pavilion or by a big tree, etc. I ended up finding only one coin, a 1919-S Lincoln Cent. I put it in a 2x2 when I got home and put it in the album next to the 1903 Indian Head Cent that we found over four decades earlier.

Here is the 1919-S Lincoln Cent that I found on November 24, 2011:


And here are the two coins, found at the same site 42 years apart:


And that's my long-winded story. Thanks for indulging me. Have a Happy New Year, everyone!