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z118
06-23-2013, 07:38 PM
It was a hot weekend in Upstate NY and I only had limited time for detecting but I had some real nice hunts regardless.

Saturday I had to head a ways south to pick up a sheep from my farmer. While I was in the area I hit an old school in a small town. Things started slow before I realized that the contours of the property were clearly artificial and seemingly modern. So I moved to an edge of the property that looked to be untouched. Right away I hit a wheat penny, and a few swings later a nice '39 Merc that was nestled between pulltabs. I figured I might be on to something but several more hours of hunting resulted in 6 old Jeffersons, a Buffalo, and 14 more wheat pennies and no more silver! 21 old coins to 1 silver didn't seem like a good ratio. Regardless it was a very enjoyable hunt and I'm very happy that I have a new spot on my list to head back to at some point.

Sunday morning I was up early and headed to a small local spot I have never hunted before. My first target was a 1912 wheat, followed by a another wheat, a '47 nickel, and two more wheats in that order. At that point I was thinking I was on virgin ground and that silver was a near certainty. But I hunted for another two hours and other than two more wheats, and old hinge, an odd corroded Elks Lodge item, I got absolutely nothing.

I left a bit disappointed and headed to another new spot for me. Things started very slow and I thought about heading home. But I kept swinging, scoring sparse targets here and there, and then finally a '59 Rosie. It's not much but it made my day. I kept digging, getting an increasing number of tagerts including a few wheats and a decent amount of clad. At one point I got a signal that didn't seem like anything special only to find a big old worn silver disk at the bottom of the hole. It was a Walking Liberty Half! It is by far the most worn of the few that I've dug... no date even. But my oh my do I love her all the same. This shiny sweetheart will make my whole week.

Happy hunting!

tech125
06-23-2013, 08:04 PM
Congrats on all your finds, the walking liberty half is a nice coin despite the wear....

aloldstuff
06-24-2013, 05:33 AM
I think that the WLH is still a beauty despite the condition. :congrats: on all those keepers

bob_e99
06-24-2013, 06:20 AM
:congrats: on the silver. I don't think that I have ever seen a half worn quite as much as that one but it still is one to :smitten: It is quite a rush to see that big silver in the ground especially in dark soil.

Sweet hunts for sure. |:cheering:

Tony Two-Cent
06-24-2013, 07:17 AM
Once again, your persistence has paid off with some nice finds! |:cheering:

I have never seen a Walking Liberty Half worn as much as that one. I wonder if someone carried it for years as a good luck piece? Either way, it's a great find! It appears to have an S mint mark.

:congrats:

Hook
06-24-2013, 06:14 PM
nice job plugging away amd not quitting Zman!! lots of wheats and hardly any silver, reminds me of one of my hunts lol. lots of old nickels shows us all you are really thorough while hunting.

that old worn walker is still a great dig! its still in better shape than the first one i ever dug, and ugly or not we always love seeing those in the hole. congrats on a fine bag goodies !

coinnut
06-24-2013, 07:11 PM
3 Pieces of silver ain't bad. A half is a half no matter what...still looks good coming out of the ground, :clapping: Either that elks club item is huge :shocked03: or you shrunk that half lol Nice digs.

z118
06-24-2013, 09:26 PM
Thanks for the comments all! The half is becoming one of my favorite finds. An old coin in great shape is always nice, but there really is something to an old worn coin like this. It has a feel between the fingers that a mint coin can't touch. And it's tired look betrays a lost history of passing from hand to hand and place to place though the years. I'm not sure what it is exactly... but I'm sure I like it.



I have never seen a Walking Liberty Half worn as much as that one. I wonder if someone carried it for years as a good luck piece? Either way, it's a great find! It appears to have an S mint mark.


Good eye Tony, and I was thinking the same think about it being a good luck piece like that. I used to work with a guy who carried three Kennedy halves in his pocket every day. One was from the year he married his wife, and the other two were from the years his two kids were born. They were worn almost completely flat.

It is an S mint mark. There is just a hint of the date left, to me it looks like the last digit is a 7 and the second lo last digit is a 4 or a 1. There were no S halves in 47 so that would make it a 17. But I can't be sure, that 3rd digit is anyone's guess.