Silver Quarter and Trespassers

I am always on the lookout for places to detect.  I found one and went through the land owners to get the proper permission.  Showed up at the site later that day and there are two guys detecting on it.  I didn't talk to them, but they left right after I got there.  I guess they saw an opportunity to detect a newly mowed lot where an old house used to be and decided to see if they could get away with it.  It was also obvious that the site had been detected before, but I still managed to pull two good coins.  A 1919s wheat cent and a 1934 Washington Quarter.   

First Frankin Half

Got out out for a few hours the other day and freestyled.  I didn't have a site to go so I headed to an area that I have always wanted to detect around. I drove around until I found a site, saw some folks to talk to, and got permission to dig.  I guy I talked to said the area had been detected before so I concentrated in areas that they might have missed.  The strategy paid off.  I found my first Franklin 1/2 Dollar.  It is a 1951 with no mint mark.

I also found a 1943 Mercury Dime.

 

My better finds also include:

• 3 1950s wheat cents
• 17 modern cents
• $2.00 in clad quarters
• 1964 nickel
• A ring (not silver)
• A old fuse
• 7 clad dimes
• Glasses
• A key (I always seem to find keys)
• I also found lots of iron rings, a reigns guide, lots of iron chunks, and foil/aluminum.

The Franklin 1/2 and the Merc.

Finds from recent metal detecting hunts

1897 Nickle

1941  Quarter, Wheat Cents, clad change, a token, a couple of keys, and some jewelry.

1894 Indian Head Cent, 1956 Wheat Cent, Tokens (1 generic and 1 from the 1968 Mardi Gras), a key, and clad change.

Cool Padlock and Coins

This is the good stuff from a couple of recent hunts.  Found a great old padlock with about 2 feet of chain still attached.  I also found an 1897 Indian Heat Cent, 1916/1918/1919/1939 wheat cents, a 1920 walking liberty 1/2 dollar, a token from the 1894 San Francisco Exhibition (I would love to know how that got to East TN), some clad change, several keys, a stirrup, a small metal duck, and a couple of shotgun shells. 

1920 Walker

Lock just after I dug it out of the ground

Looking for sites that we can metal detect

We are looking for sites to metal detect in the East TN/SW VA area.  If you have some land, an old house, or an old house site that you would allow us to access we would appreciate it.  Email me at outdoorswithbill@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Bill

Metal Detected in An Old Trash Pit Area

Metal detected in an old trash pit area the other day and picked out some good targets.  We fond 4 tokens, a 1948 rabies vaccination tag, a 308 round, 4 buttons, 3 mercury dimes (1945, 2 - 1942), two wheat cents (1919, 1927), and some clad change.

Two of the larger tokens.  The one on the left says "Joe Leonard Pea Wee" and the other says "Keep Me and you will have Good Luck" .

The 1948 Vaccination tag

The wheat cents and mercury dimes

The 308 round and the buttons

CHARGA-PLATE CREDIT TOKEN

Found this metal plate at an old house site. It was engraved and I thought it was a dog tag at first.  It has a name and address on it and on the back and around the edges it has "CHARGA-PLATE CREDIT TOKEN" and "Farr(something) Product".  The edges are also folded over and look like they should hold something.  It also looks like it has teeth that would require it to fit into a machine a certain way (See the top picture).

I researched "Charga-Plate" and found this article ((Wikipedia article - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card).)

The Charga-Plate bookkeeping system, a precursor of the credit card issued by Charga-Plate Group, Inc. New York, was utilized from 1935 to 1950, and somewhat later.  "It was a 2 1/2" x 1 1/4" rectangle of sheet metal, similar to a military dog tag, that was embossed with the customer's name, city and state (no address). It held a small paper card for a signature. It was laid in the imprinter first, then a charge slip on top of it, onto which an inked ribbon was pressed. Charga-Plate was a trademark of Farrington Manufacturing Co. Charga-Plates were issued by large-scale merchants to their regular customers, much like department store credit cards of today. In some cases, the plates were kept in the issuing store rather than held by customers. When an authorized user made a purchase, a clerk retrieved the plate from the store's files and then processed the purchase. Charga-Plates speeded back-office bookkeeping that was done manually in paper ledgers in each store, before computers"

It does look like the article is a bit wrong.  The one I found has an address included.  I also found this picture showing the insert that goes on the back.  It has an address also.

Relics from early 1800s, 1860s, and 1900s from the same site.

Went metal detecting at a place I have been to over and over.  The site was inhabited from the early 1800s until the early 2000s when it burned.  It still produces relics and a whole lot of trash

From the top to bottom it looks like I found items from three different time periods:

1) Round ball and flat button - Early 1800s
2) 3 ringer mini-ball and canister shot - 1860s
3) 1951 Wheat Cent and lipstick case - 1940s/50s

I can't date the buckle.  I am thinking it is a piece of horse related tack.  I found it near, and at the same depth, as the 3 ringer mini-ball.


The round ball and flat button.  The flat button still has the loop on it.

The mini-ball and canister shot.  I know both sides passed through the area many times during the Civil War.

The brass buckle.  It looks like there would have been a piece on the back where a belt or harness would have fed through it. 

The Wheat Cent and Lipstick Case:

1945 Walking Liberty 1/2 Dollar

Found a 1945 Walking Liberty 1/2 Dollar:

Cool Token - 5 Cents in Trade at Perry Gastineau's Bar & Barber Shop

Found a cool token the other day for 5 Cents of Trade at Perry Gastineau's  Bar and Barber Shop.  Sounds like a cool place to me.

1923 D Peace Dollar

Found a 1923 Peace Dollar today!

Got a great hit and when I turned the plug over I saw the edge of a big coin!

 Here is me getting it out of the plug.

 Once I got it out of the plug I saw it was a Peace Dollar

 1923 D Peace Dollar!

I also found a silver nickel - 1943 P, several wheat cents, a nice knife, ball bearing, lead soldier,  religious medal, a dog tag, and a bunch of change.

 

More 2015 Metal Detecting Finds

The first good find of the day - 1943 Quarter:

The next good find - a Mercury Dime:

The third good find - Another Mercury Dime. I kind of missed when I dug, but if you look closely you can see it near the middle top of the picture.

The finds for the day were:  One large gaming token,  one silver quarter, two mercury dimes, one silver Roosevelt dime, one buffalo nickel, seven wheat cents, about $2 dollars in clad change, one 7mm - 08 round, two bullets, a button, one broken watch, two cars, and one shotgun shell.

1942 Silver Quarter

One of my favorite coin finds is a 1942 Silver Quarter.  I just think it is a neat coin and I like how it came out of the ground.

It also cleaned up really nice and has some good detail.

Metal Detecting Finds from Recent Hunts

From a 1930s/40s House:

Hand Made Key

1893 Liberty Head Nickle

From a 1910 House:

1943 Liberty/Mercury Dime

From a 1917 House:

1906 Barber Dime

Group of Coins from the 1910 and 1917 houses.  The two items on the far right are tokens.  The wheat cents range from 1916 to 1958.