AD Contest Best or Most Memorable Find

[coinnut]

It has taken me a while to try and come up with one find that is most memorable. I've been lucky over the years to have an opportunity to get out and detect some nice places. Although those places were fun, they were not as memorable as hunting for Native American points. As soon as Del and I signed on to hunt along side Archaeologists at a project with the Peqout Museum, I felt this feeling that we were about to be challenged in these hunts more then ever before. The level of excitement and determination reminded me of when I first started detecting. After many good finds there, this find is the one I pick. I can still feel the shock of digging that ratty nickel type signal, slowly peeling away the scruff of grass and roots, only to see the most beautiful conical Native point staring up at me. It was late in the day, and I was beat, but determined to find something that day. Other than cutting the plug, I did nothing else to retrieve the target...it was just there looking up at me less that 3" in the hole. It will be a long time before I can beat this find physically, emotionally and spiritually.

 

[Tony Two-Cent]

It's a tough decision for me too, but I guess when all things are considered my most memorable find would be my 1808 Spanish 1 Real that I found in 1985. The find was made even more special by the fact that I was detecting with my dad that day. One of my dad's co-workers gave us permission to hunt his yard. The property is an old farm house that is on the outskirts of the town my dad grew up in. The town was founded in 1834 but has history dating back to the 1700s. It is documented that George Rogers Clark and his men passed directly through this spot in 1779.

Below is a photo of the farm as it appears today. The highway you see in the photo was once a historic trail that went from Vincennes, Indiana to St. Louis, Missouri in the 1700s. I found the 1808 Spanish 1 Real in the middle of the circle drive. That circle drive can also be seen clearly in the 1938 aerial photos.

Here is the coin. It is still the oldest coin I have ever found.

 

[midas]

The most memorable for myself was back in the days when my Dad and I would go out metal detecting at parks and beaches. Getting up before the break of dawn and heading out to find those treasures. It was not so much the great stuff we found but the time we spent together. For his birthday in 1982, I wrote an article for this magazine and what a thrill to get cover billing. That was a memorable "find".

 

[Mr. Digger]

I had dabbled in detecting years ago but never put the time or effort in that was necessary to make any decent finds. My interest faded and I got away from the hobby for a long time. Last year I decided to recommit and I got a new detector, got some permissions and practiced the hobby and of course now I'm totally hooked. So, it's been 18 months of "firsts", but my top find of which I am most proud would have to be the 1888 Seated Quarter. I can still picture that baby in the hole. I had hunted for three hours in the heat that day and only found that one coin....not even clad or a wheat....but boy was I happy! My other top finds for 2013 included my oldest coin (1701 William III halfpenny) and a 3 coin pocket spill that included my first Shield Nickel and an 1864 L IH penny (shown with some other finds).

 

[del]

I got back into this hobby again over twelve years ago and was now living in a very history rich part of the country (transplanted Arizona native) . For the first year I was detecting schools and parks and finding lots of clad with some silver and jewelry thrown in the mix. I wanted to find older coins , colonial coins in particular and after a bit of trial and error I did indeed start finding coins form the 1600's and 1700's . I found out that other items I was finding along side these coins were far more interesting . It was the buttons , buckles and other relics that made this more personally connecting to these early people and how they lived their lives and struggles they may have faced. So it was early on that I longed to find an early military hat plate , a tall order as they were made of very thin and fragile stamped brass or pewter. They are almost never seen found and when they are they're usually crumpled up and or broken in many pieces. Since that time I have found very few small pieces of some hat plates or hat badges but in 2011 I found one of the best examples of an early plate and a sense of connection with the site it came from . This is an officer's hat plate because of the border of laurel leaves around its edge and dates from 1814 to about 1825 and is one of my most memorable finds.

Dan

 

[Epi-hunter]

Great stories and posts! Thanks so much everyone and good luck! First drawing is in 3 days

 

[Timewarpdigger]

I have only been detecting since the end of May so may not have too many great finds to consider, but if I had to choose one in particular it would have to be the first hunt that I found silver coins. I need to explain why and I will try to keep it brief.
My wife and I have been married for 27 years and we have always found hobbies and put our time and efforts into doing things together and as a family. So when I took up metal detecting I did hope that I could convince her to join me on the hunts so that she could enjoy the finds, being out and enjoying the fresh air.
Well I finally convinced her to come with me on a hunt on one of the locale beaches and I was really happy she agreed to go. Well while she was enjoying walking the beach and me looking for pull tabs and bottle caps, her things were stolen. Needless to say she was emotionally distraught, and she refused to go with me again.
It took several months of me asking her to go with me again and finally she said yes. So we went to a park that she wanted to tour around and I agreed. Well needless to say she brought me luck when she said that I should check out a certain area of the park. At first I wasn't finding much until she returned.
I hit this great target and she knew that I had something good by my reaction so she came over and said what is it, I said by the tone and the vdi numbers I think it has to be silver, I had never heard that tone before or saw those numbers either. Well as I dug the hole she knelt down and we saw a silver coin in the hole and before I knew it she had it in her hand. The look and smile on her face told me that it was something good. She began to tease me to guess what it was. When she finally told me that it was a 1908 Barber dime I was in shock. I then did my form of a happy dance and she just stood there shaking her head. LOL
After that not 5 feet away I had a target that had an even better tone and numbers and as I dug the plug I saw silver again but this time I beat her to the coin, it turned out to be a 1920 SLQ..:shocked03:
Why is it so special, because now she wants to go with me every chance she gets to detect with me, this means more to me than any coin or relic I could find. Priceless!!!
Here are the pictures of those finds. Thanks Safe & HH

 

[TundraDigger]

My best find was an 1865 2 Cent coin. This was my first coin breaking into the 1800's. It was found in a park that has been hunted for years. The only part visible when it came out of the ground was the year and part of the shield. Also this was my first attempt at coin cleaning. Came out pretty good after soaking in mineral oil for 2 months.

 

[chief5709]

I'll have to go with my 1818 US Capped Bust Quarter.

May 2013, at the time there weren't many fields available to detect so I asked my cousin if he wanted to meet me at this small park. He wasn't to excited about it, he had detected there years ago and the power lines interferred with his detector and he didnt have too much luck there. So, at my insistance he met me there. He was right this park was bad, a lot of inteference and trash everywhere. As we were getting ready to pack up I spotted a small mowed clearing adjacent to the park. I made a quick inquiry with the property keeper and he said go ahead just don't leave me a mess. After about an hour and just a few keepers I was working my way back to the truck and got a strong 12-47 on the ET and had to dig it. As I turned over my plug out popped this beauty of a coin.

It was an honor to be voted coin of the month in May and it also made the cover of the Sept-Oct American Digger!

 

[z118]

Best find made in parts

My most memorable find came in pieces back in 2009 which would have been my 3rd year detecting. I had gotten out for a nice evening hunt at a location that had been very good to me around that time. I was hoping for a silver coin but instead came away with a very nice silver cross marked "Sterling Chapel" on the back. It was very ornate and larger than any others I had found to that point. I was quite pleased with it, and spent some time that night poking around the internet to see if I could find anything similar and maybe figure out an likely age or any other info. I did wind up finding a picture of what seemed to be an identical item, except the picture on the internet also showed a small Jesus figure on the cross. Looking at the one I had found, I could see a bit of discoloration in center where the Jesus figure likely would have been attached. This really got me going; I tried to remember if I had rescanned the hole when I dug the cross but couldn't. I became convinced that the Jesus figure had fallen off in the ground and that I had failed to recover it when I dug the cross.

The next day at work I could think of nothing else but getting back to this spot and looking for the missing piece. Fortunately, it was something of a slow day so I stepped out for lunch and headed back to the location. It was a big spot, and I knew finding the exact place where I had dug the cross would be tough. I was also worried that being as obsessed as I was I would wind up stuck there all afternoon looking for it. It was a tricky sort of hunt as I wandered around looking for replaced plugs and scanning over them. I got lucky though, and after a short while found one that gave up a small, middle tone that seemed right for a small piece of silver. I pulled the plug back out and sure enough, there it was - the missing Jesus! I can't describe how excited and how pleased I was. I cleaned up both pieces and had them reattached by a jeweler. To this day this remains one of my favorite finds.

More than anything else, this experience drove home the lesson of always rescanning holes more than anything else could have. I can't tell you how many additional items I have found since by rescanning holes and plugs after recovering one target. Every time it happens I think back on the cross and the missing Jesus figure.

Perhaps even more incredible, 3 years later I found the very same item in a tot lot, except this time all in one piece and stamped "Chapel 14KT." I can't even begin to fathom the chances of this. In my mind it is concrete evidence that you just never know what kind of amazing treasure you may find.

 

[ODA 226]

I'm new here, but I'm a serious metal detectorist and hope that my post will be accepted for this contest. These are definitely my most memorable finds of this year and they are, by coincidence, my LAST finds of 2013. I found these items on a hill on which stands a 400 year old church and on which a decisive battle was fought in 1613. This medallion has the potential to be at 400 years old or more and I'm trying to ID the two Saints pictured on the front and back.

Happy New Year to all of my new friends at American Detectorist!

 

[aloldstuff]

Well over the years I have made some good finds. Some military items including a militia belt plate (WE&T 2008 Best Finds), a militia eagle hat plate, a rev war era shoulder belt plate, some great coins but the following story is my most memorable find.

This happened in May of 2011 and I still remember it like it was yesterday. I have tried to find my picture of myself returning the ring to Barbara but I can't. Our local paper also ran the story.


Gold Ring Returned

If you happened to read my post from yesterday then you know that I recovered a wedding band. Today I got to return that wedding band to the widow of the man that wore it.. On the inside of the band were some initial B.E.C to A.G.C 12-21-81. While at work I decided to call The Westfield City Hall Town Clerk, told here that I was a metal detectorist and that I had recovered a wedding band and was trying to locate the owner. She thought that was the coolest thing she had heard in a very long time. Well I gave here the info on the inside of the band and she said that she would have to call me back. Well around noon I get her call (totally shocked me). She said that she thinks she has the info that I am looking for. Albert and Barbara Carrington were married on 12-21-81. She said that Albert was from Huntington and that Barbara was from Russell. I thanked her for her time and then Googled Albert Carrington. I found him but no info on Barbara. Searched a little deeper, found her. I got there phone number and called, Barbara answered the phone. I said is this Barbara and she says yes(very guarded), then I asked if she was married to Albert. She says oh my god, Albert passed away 19 years ago. I proceeded to tell her that I have something of his that I thought she should have. I told her who I was and that I think I have Albert's wedding band. Dead silence.....She asks what makes me think that the wedding band is Albert's. So I start to describe the engraving and she cannot believe it. Yes that would be her late husbands wedding ring and she remembered yelling at him for losing it. I told her that I would like to return the ring and she says that most people would have just sold it. I then had to tell her as a md'er if we find a ring, and the owner can be identified, that we make every effort to return the ring. I then make arrangements to meet with her at her house in Huntington, so my wife and I took a little trip to the hilltowns. She was a very nice lady, tried to offer me gas money. I told her no way, but if there was an organization in town that could use it please give it to them. I have posted a picture of the two of us. She also mentioned that she had told a lot of people of what was happening and everyone told her that it also was the coolest thing that they had heard of.

My first gold with my v3i is now back with it's rightful owner. More importantly I was able to put a smile on her face.

Thanks for reading and keep digging
​

 

[Epi-hunter]

Thanks everyone for your kind words and understanding!!!

My daughter wrote everyone's name on a slip of paper last night (we both double-checked to make sure everyone who qualified was represented) and I put them all into a bowl (actually white plastic strainer - limited dishes here in the residence inn :cheesysmile: )



Kali then drew two names - the first name was to be the winner of the Garrett ProPointer and the second name the winner of the Garrett AT Pro.

Here are the names!



For this first round:

The winner of the Garrett ProPointer is freemindstuck

The winner of the Garrett AT Pro is longhair

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who participated! There is still one drawing left for identical prizes, which will occur in about 3 weeks or the end of January.

Winners please contact me with your address, thanks!

 

[ODA 226]

Congrats Freemindstuck and Longhair!

 

[Ronandari]

Congrats to the winners and thanks Angie and Bart for putting such a great contest.

 

[giant056]

A big congrats to the winners!!!!!!!

..................:congrats:

 

[Tony Two-Cent]

Congrats to freemindstuck and longhair and thanks to Angie for the great contest! :clapping:

 

[coinnut]

Congrats Freemindstuck and Longhair on your winning the contest and for helping us make our forum a better place. :clapping:

 

[Fire Fighter 43]

Congrats to the winners!!!

 

[Digger Don]

Congrats Freemindstuck and Longhair!
Thanks to Angie for running this contest & and thanks to Bart for helping with the prizes.