2016-Luck of the draw?

[Digger_O'Dell]

Hi all,
I've been reading a lot of yearly recaps and seen on lot of great recoveries from the year. So I began to wonder what makes some hunts better than others in an effort to improve the next year of hunts.
This past year had a lot of firsts for me. For example I got my first seated. In my region they are a rare find. I know folks who have hunted for decades who have none of them. Then when I found my second not long after finding the first one, I was amazed! Was is just luck, or a change in hunting tactics? I think it was a bit of both.
This summer I had my goals set to find a seated coin. So I traveled all over my state and even went as far as 6 hours south into Illinois. I later found the park I went to had been hunted heavily for years as well. But sure enough, that's where I hit an 1853 seated dime! Then later on during a street tearouts locally I get another seated dime. Was I starting to see a pattern?

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I began to search in earnest for that elusive gold. I hit every lake Michigan beach and water from mid Wisconsin to Chicago, along with numerous inland waters without luck. But I was persistent and worked on learning my machine better, and horse to search more efficiently. After a big storm tore out a huge swarm of sand at my local beach I hit the thick bands of submerged newly exposed rocks and gravel. Sure enough, hit a long lost 14k band!

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With that in hand I was able to experiment with my machine to get the best settings and a better feel for gold hits. It wasn't very long that at another nearby beach I was able to locate a very tiny 10k gold band!

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Yes, it's often just luck of the draw, but obtaining the skills, doing the work, researching, persistence, and setting goals really can pay off. Here's a few more firsts from 2016.

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Fatty Indian
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Items still not identified
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First skeleton key
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Only example I've ever seen posted of a lead bottle cap
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The silver napkin ring, waiting on 2nd restoration. 57342

Handmade copper bracelet
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First Walker
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[Bucknut]

Awesome finds DOD! I think persistence and research pays off the most for me. Researching old towns and maps for places to detect has paid off huge for me. Finding old parks on maps or areas of an old town to door knock in or finding old homesites in farm fields and asking permission to detect them has produced some of my best finds! Knowing your machine is also a must.

BTW fatty Indians were minted from 1859 to 1864. So the pic of the 1865 indian is a nice example of the bronze version.

Hope your 2017 is filled with more firsts!

[Full Metal Digger]

Those are all great finds! I think those bell covers are related to old wagons. I think Digger Don has found them and someone on this forum ID'd them for him. Best wishes for 2017. Maybe the next time we are in N. Illinois/S. Wisconsin you can meet us. Dave.

[Tony Two-Cent]

If I remember correctly, you found that 1853 Seated Dime in a park that both myself and Digger Don had hunted previously. :thumbsup01:

You had a great year with some terrific bucket list finds. :clapping:

[Digger_O'Dell]

If I remember correctly, you found that 1853 Seated Dime in a park that both myself and Digger Don had hunted previously. :thumbsup01:

You had a great year with some terrific bucket list finds. :clapping:

That's is quite correct! In that same park I also found a silver Washington and a huge Victorian buckle. No idea how you guys could have missed those, but sure glad you left them for me! :thumbsup02:

[Digger_O'Dell]

Nice catch, apparently in my haste I uploaded the wrong photo. Here's the REAL fatty from 1863! Can't seem to locate the solo pic of it clean. Hmmm

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[milco]

Great finds! I'm sure I'll see ya out there again in the spring.

[aloldstuff]

Those are some fantastic finds for 2016. So many bucket list items. Looking forward to seeing your 2017 finds. Getting that seated after Tony and Don had been to that park.....priceless.

[Digger_O'Dell]

Those are some fantastic finds for 2016. So many bucket list items. Looking forward to seeing your 2017 finds. Getting that seated after Tony and Don had been to that park.....priceless.

Thanks Al! Honestly, if I had known before hand that Tony and Don had swept that park I probably wouldn't have made the 3 day trip out that way as the odds were that nothing would be left to find. Just goes to show, even the best hunters sometimes miss things.

[Digger Don]

Those are all great finds! I think those bell covers are related to old wagons. I think Digger Don has found them and someone on this forum ID'd them for him. Best wishes for 2017. Maybe the next time we are in N. Illinois/S. Wisconsin you can meet us. Dave. That sounds like a plan to me