Super Fun Christmas Day Hunt With Family

[Tony Two-Cent]

Every time I go to southern Illinois to visit my family, I kind of half jokingly suggest to my brother that he's supposed to be finding places for me to metal detect down there. His father-in-law owns about a million acres of farmland down there (or so it seems) including many sites where 1800s farm houses once stood. Well, it just happened that we had some time to kill on Christmas Day after opening gifts and having dinner, so my brother suggested that we take my metal detector to a spot that is now a cow pasture but was known to be a popular picnic area starting in the late 1800s.

My dad and my nephew decided to tag along, so we all piled in my dad's extended cab pickup truck and headed to the site. We made a quick phone call to my brother's father-in-law just to make sure it was OK, and he said that we could hunt there any time unless the cows were in there.

I must admit that I was skeptical about finding anything at this site, I guess because it's out in the middle of nowhere. It's a fairly large wooded area that is fenced and gated, and the grass is kept close-cropped by the cows who inhabit it part of the year. My doubts were soon put to rest though, as I found a 1914 Barber Dime after being there for only ten minutes. :loveit:

We only had about an hour and a half to hunt before it got dark, but we made good use of the time. It soon became apparent that there were old coins to be found at this site, as I started finding Indian Head cents and Barber Dimes on a fairly regular basis. I was the only one with a detector, but every time I got a good signal all four of us would gather around to see what popped out of the hole. I think I impressed the others with my ability to predict what the target would be, Indian Head, Wheat Cent, Barber Dime, etc., but the E-Trac should get all the credit for that. These were very clean signals and the numbers were right on target every time.

By the time it got too dark to hunt any more we had 4 Indian Heads, 2 wheat cents, 3 Barber Dimes, and one Rosie. The remarkable thing about this site is the average age of the finds. This place has the potential to be a terrific honey hole, as I have only hunted a tiny portion of it so far. Could my first Seated Liberty coin be waiting there for me? Only time will tell.

The only minor down side to this site is that the soil is not kind to copper coins. The Indian Heads and wheat cents are pretty toasted, it took some work and a good magnifying glass to get dates off of them. Also, two of the Barber Dimes were very worn, now I know how the saying one thin dime originated. lol

Mostly it was just a lot of fun to hunt with my family, especially my dad just like the old days. My brother was very happy and proud that he was able to find this incredible site for me that has a ton of potential. :drool:

Here are the finds for the day:
62551

Not the prettiest Indian Heads, but it was a blast finding them!
6255262553


Two of the Barber Dimes were really worn:
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Thanks for looking and I hope everyone is having a great holiday season! thumbsup01

[serega]

Tony
Nice coins
indian аnd silver :clapping:
:clapping: :perfect10:

[milco]

That is just awesome Tony! Really sounds like you are on to a very sweet spot, I hope it is not too far from home so you can make many return trips. That type of hunt is always fun, to predict the coin and then sure enough it comes out just like you said, people think you're a genius!

Have you looked this site up on the 1930's Illinois aerial imagery site? I think that would help you determine the best potential spots, and you don't even have to take a lawn mower with you. If I can help you with the aerials, send me a pm and I'll be glad to help you with the research.

[randy]

Sweet hunt. 3 barber dimes in one day is amazing. As for the copper, welcome to my world -- they all come out of the ground like that around here.

[Mudder]

Great day Tony, and I would worry much about the copper, when you found all that silver. The ground is never kind to copper, but it does seem to hate it at that site. :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

[z118]

What an awesome hunt, and on Christmas day no less! Santa was good to you for sure.

[Full Metal Digger]

Nice finds Tony! Barber coins were common in circulation right up to the 1930s (that's when they pretty much wore out). Your 3 dimes are like a time sequence on how the coins wore down as they were exchanged from hand to hand. I hope you can get back there when you have a full day to hunt. Probably bunches of big silver waiting for you. But don't take IllDigger, he'll find all the silver spills! rofl

[Hook]

wow what a hunt! and to have family with you as well..priceless! good digs and a good time i bet..congrats!!

[jkress]

Awesome post Tony. :clapping:

This story certainly has all of the components that dreams are made of. :drool: Three Barbers, four IH's, two early Wheat cents and a bonus Rosie is a stellar 1.5 hour hunt. |:confused:) You are on to something quite beautiful here. :yes: :->

The copper coins might not hold up well (still look good to me) from this site... but the silver will definitely hold it's own. :loveit:

I'll bet this site has found it's way to your list of 'places to hunt next year'. :thinkingabout: lol

Great way to top off the holiday. :beerbuddy:

[starman2]

Wow!!, What a spot! If you need any help, covering this ground. Let me know. Awesome coins! Congrats!

[Cheap Thrills]

Awesome Christmas hunt Tony !! You did extremely well gathering a nice bunch of mementos from a hunt you will never forget . :perfect10: |:cheering: :cool:

[Viking]

That's a great story. How could Christmas get any better than it already is:huh:...by finding some awesome keepers at a new site with your family. Dang, what a way to enjoy the holidays! Great job! :perfect10:

[CODY]

Nice finds Tony. That is one place I would be returning to. WTG thumbsup01

[aloldstuff]

Sooooo, I'm assuming that you will be going back. Great site with huge potential. Can't wait for the post with the 1st seated whatever. Congrats on a great hour and a half hunt

[Tony Two-Cent]

Tony
Nice coins
indian аnd silver
Thanks, Serge! It was a lot of fun!



That is just awesome Tony! Really sounds like you are on to a very sweet spot, I hope it is not too far from home so you can make many return trips. That type of hunt is always fun, to predict the coin and then sure enough it comes out just like you said, people think you're a genius!

Have you looked this site up on the 1930's Illinois aerial imagery site? I think that would help you determine the best potential spots, and you don't even have to take a lawn mower with you. If I can help you with the aerials, send me a pm and I'll be glad to help you with the research.

It is a bit of a drive for me, but I'll make it work somehow. lol There really isn't anything to see in the 1930s aerial photos except the tops of trees. It is a heavily wooded area and was so back in the late 1930s also.



Sweet hunt. 3 barber dimes in one day is amazing. As for the copper, welcome to my world -- they all come out of the ground like that around here.

Here in central Illinois it depends on the site, sometimes copper coins look nice, sometimes they are toasted. But in southern Illinois they are often in bad shape, maybe because the ground has a lot more clay down there? :dontknow:



Great day Tony, and I would worry much about the copper, when you found all that silver. The ground is never kind to copper, but it does seem to hate it at that site. :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

Yeah, I'm not too disappointed. ;)



What an awesome hunt, and on Christmas day no less! Santa was good to you for sure.

To my recollection, it's the only time I've ever hunted on Christmas Day, and it was definitely a day to remember!



Nice finds Tony! Barber coins were common in circulation right up to the 1930s (that's when they pretty much wore out). Your 3 dimes are like a time sequence on how the coins wore down as they were exchanged from hand to hand. I hope you can get back there when you have a full day to hunt. Probably bunches of big silver waiting for you. But don't take IllDigger, he'll find all the silver spills! rofl

Thanks, Dave! Yeah, these Barber Dimes were definitely in circulation for a long while! I just hope there is a spill there to be found, or at least some silver quarters. If not, I won't have a problem settling for more Indian Heads and Barber Dimes! :grin:




wow what a hunt! and to have family with you as well..priceless! good digs and a good time i bet..congrats!!

The best part was that my dad, brother and nephew got to share in the excitement! :happydance01:




Awesome post Tony. :clapping:

This story certainly has all of the components that dreams are made of. :drool: Three Barbers, four IH's, two early Wheat cents and a bonus Rosie is a stellar 1.5 hour hunt. |:confused:) You are on to something quite beautiful here. :yes: :->

The copper coins might not hold up well (still look good to me) from this site... but the silver will definitely hold it's own. :loveit:

I'll bet this site has found it's way to your list of 'places to hunt next year'. :thinkingabout: lol

Great way to top off the holiday. :beerbuddy:

Thanks, Joe! Not only has this site found its way to my list of places to hunt next year, it's currently at the top of the list! (And I can't stop thinking about it!) Oh well, good things come to those who wait, patience is a virtue, etc. I just hope the site ends up being as good as I've built it up to be in my mind! lol



Wow!!, What a spot! If you need any help, covering this ground. Let me know. Awesome coins! Congrats!

Thanks! Who knows, maybe I already found everything in that 1.5 hour hunt! :dontknow: lol



Awesome Christmas hunt Tony !! You did extremely well gathering a nice bunch of mementos from a hunt you will never forget . :perfect10: |:cheering: :cool:

The coins are secondary, the memory of the fun day with my family is priceless!



That's a great story. How could Christmas get any better than it already is:huh:...by finding some awesome keepers at a new site with your family. Dang, what a way to enjoy the holidays! Great job! :perfect10:

I must confess that it was more fun than falling asleep in front of the TV! thumbsup01



Nice finds Tony. That is one place I would be returning to. WTG thumbsup01

Without a doubt, I will be going back at the earliest opportunity! thumbsup01



Sooooo, I'm assuming that you will be going back. Great site with huge potential. Can't wait for the post with the 1st seated whatever. Congrats on a great hour and a half hunt

Thanks, Al! I can't wait to go back! I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but given what we found in that first hour and a half, there should definitely be more there. I'm not 100% sure when I can return though, as it is a bit of a drive. It also depends on the weather and if my brother is available, because I want him to be with me when I go back to the property. We'll see.