A Little Door Knocking yields BIG SILVER

[Digger Don]

Al I went out for a couple hours after work tonight. We stopped and knocked on the door of an old Victorian home only to get a polite No. Good thing, because we went next door and got a yes. We were told the house was built in the 1890s. Alec hunted for a while and dug two nice wheaties. He asked if I wanted to use the e-trac for a while. Duh, what do you think. After about a buck in clad, I got a nice signal and dug a very nice .925 Sterling ring with a rose on it. Some more clad and then a bouncy 12-46, 12-47. First thing out of the hole was a rusty nail and then a little more digging and I saw that beautiful silver rim. An 1895 Barber Half. I got to tell you, it was a great feeling. By the way, I no longer have the ring. My Wife Does.!!

[Full Metal Digger]

Wow, You and Alec are really on a fast learning curve with that e-trac AND learning how to pick great spots to detect. Pretty soon I'll have to start hating you too! :lol:
Congrats on another great hunt. Dave.

[Digger Don]

Wow, You and Alec are really on a fast learning curve with that e-trac AND learning how to pick great spots to detect. Pretty soon I'll have to start hating you too! :lol:
Congrats on another great hunt. Dave.
Thanks Dave. It's partially your fault. I watch your videos and see how well you do on private properties. It really does pay off.
It definitely feels good to start finding some good coins.

[Cheap Thrills]

Congrats on an awesome hunt .That Barber Half must have given you a real jolt . I'm still looking for one of those .:congrats:

[giant056]

Fantastic score on that Barber half there Don :thumbsup02:

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

[don in ny]

Great find. A friend of mine who's been detecting for 35 years is still looking for his first Barber half and he is a heck of a detectorist having found 9 3 cent silvers in the last 2 years. Way to go!

[MangoAve]

That ring was all wrong for you anyway. :lol: Congrats on the finds. Do you just see the house and stop to ask, or do you plan ahead? A lot of times I notice the houses while driving somewhere, but I go and check assessor cards before I get out. Usually I can't stop when I see the houses so I have to come back when I have time. I only say this because I check assessor card to see the age of the house before I go, as well as check the old maps for the house. Some assessor cards say 1900, when clearly they were built before 1868. I think it's either rebuilt after a fire, or incomplete records for why they use 1900 build dates.

[aloldstuff]

Some very nice finds. A lot of the rings do end up on the wife's fingers. :congrats:on that Barber 1/2. How are coming along with the plans for that 2nd Etrac?

[Digger Don]

That ring was all wrong for you anyway. :lol: Congrats on the finds. Do you just see the house and stop to ask, or do you plan ahead? A lot of times I notice the houses while driving somewhere, but I go and check assessor cards before I get out. Usually I can't stop when I see the houses so I have to come back when I have time. I only say this because I check assessor card to see the age of the house before I go, as well as check the old maps for the house. Some assessor cards say 1900, when clearly they were built before 1868. I think it's either rebuilt after a fire, or incomplete records for why they use 1900 build dates.

We usually just drive around and look for houses with old limestone foundations and non-manicured lawns. We live in a town that has been around since the 1830s so it's not that hard to spot the old homes.

[Digger Don]

Some very nice finds. A lot of the rings do end up on the wife's fingers. :congrats:on that Barber 1/2. How are coming along with the plans for that 2nd Etrac?

The plans are coming along great. The cash a bit slower :lol:

[Tony Two-Cent]

What an awesome find, Don! I have never found a half dollar from the 1800s. Pretty soon I'm going to be taking E-Trac lessons from you!

Enjoy that great coin, they don't turn up often!

:congrats:

[Digger Don]

What an awesome find, Don! I have never found a half dollar from the 1800s. Pretty soon I'm going to be taking E-Trac lessons from you!

Enjoy that great coin, they don't turn up often!

:congrats:
Thanks for the compliment Tony. You were a big part of us learning the e-trac better. Thanks

[Otis Campbell]

Very nice Barber half. The team work seems to be paying off! I'm going to have to start door knocking!

[Tom]

Nice finds there Don! Congratulation and keep it up.

:wow:

[MangoAve]

We usually just drive around and look for houses with old limestone foundations and non-manicured lawns. We live in a town that has been around since the 1830s so it's not that hard to spot the old homes.

The reasoning, I spent the morning on google maps and assessor sites. I found one yesterday boarded up. When you see those situations you can't really do door knocking until you find the owner. It happenes to be an 1835 house owned by someone, not a bank or LLC. They live in a different town so the house is not occupied. As well, one just up the road I happened to noticeit was built in 1808, but it's owned by a company...I am thinking from the adjacent land. That one may be tough to actually find the right person to give the right answer, and not give me a 'No because it's a safe answer".

[Digger Don]

The reasoning, I spent the morning on google maps and assessor sites. I found one yesterday boarded up. When you see those situations you can't really do door knocking until you find the owner. It happenes to be an 1835 house owned by someone, not a bank or LLC. They live in a different town so the house is not occupied. As well, one just up the road I happened to noticeit was built in 1808, but it's owned by a company...I am thinking from the adjacent land. That one may be tough to actually find the right person to give the right answer, and not give me a 'No because it's a safe answer".
I bet the effort you put in will pay off BIG TIME. I have called Realtors that have an abandoned house for sale and they have almost always said yes.. Good Luck

[geodehunter]

Congrats on your Barber Half Don!!! No greater feeling then seeing big silver in the hole. :clapping:

[del]

:wow: Barber halves are very uncommon Don , especially the ones from the 1800's . congrats on a great coin :notworthy:

[Ronandari]

You are off to a great start this year Don. It won't be long before you can afford an Etrac for youself too. :rofl:

Ron

[Fire Fighter 43]

Congrats on the BIG silver, WTG.

[Timewarpdigger]

congrats on the barber. Nice find. Safe & HH

[freemindstuck]

I love the barber half! :congrats::perfect10:

[OxShoeDrew]

Don! Beautiful coin! It sounds as if it was deep? I found a '94 at only a few inches and thought it was large trash. I wasn't careful and nicked it :lol::shocked01: Coin-grats!

[jbolf6]

Great finds! Love that Barber half, congrats

[KCFindIt]

Very nice coin and ring. I'm envious. Congratulations.

[wisconsin digger]

Now that is a great coin. I haven't seen one of those come out of the ground in over 40 years (for me). The silver keeps on rolling. Wisconsin Digger

[tanacat]

:lol: yes I think it may suit your wife better... congrats on the Barber half! I've gotton many "No's" door knocking myself but this proves we should not get discouraged by occasional rejection :thumbsup02:

My worst case was when I called college apt rental owner when I saw a big "FOR RENT" sign. I gave my spiel and she didn't say anything. I said "Hello?" She said "Yeah I'm still here. I'm at a loss for words, totally baffled that you would even have the GALL to call anyone and ask if you can dig up their yard?!" :shocked01: OUCH! :lol:

[CTTodd]

Giving up the ring is just paying a bill that we all pay and worth it too.