11/29- Good Weather Leads to 50th Silver Coin

After the first week of November, I thought this year's season was over for VT Mining. After finding my oldest coin, the weather turned to winter and the snow started to fall. I figured I would not complete with my goal of getting to 50 silver coins. The nice thing about living in Utah is that the weather turns every 15 minutes. The last 3 weeks have been very nice and has allowed me to focus in on a spot I have wanted to search for a long time.

I usually follow the same route to work everyday and everyday I have passed this old blue house from the late 1800's. At time I have seen people metal detecting the location. I did some research and found that the house and the house next door are owned by a non-profit organization. I contacted the Executive Director and he gave me permission to hunt. Sharing this knowledge with my buddy Ben, we started to work the area.

At first glance I noticed the area had been searched before judging by the job the previous person had done. They did a poor job of  filling their digs. Not matter where you go, it is important to make sure you are careful and leave the area just has you found it. One of the great joys of metal detecting is following where someone else has been and just cleaning up all the good stuff they left behind. The sad part is when it happen to you. Ben is good at that haha. Here are some of the good finds from the last couple weeks.

This was a first for me! 1980 Chaparral High School class ring. It has some gold in it so that was a real find for me. I have done some research and have discovered the high school is in Las Vegas. Inside the ring is the initials KRB. I have located the potential person and I am trying to get in touch with him as we speak. Hopefully a good story comes out of it.

This toy truck was wrapped around a root of a tree. It was a pretty cool find.

 You can see that there are old and new items found all the time. The key was probably from the 1800's and the toy truck was probably from the 80's. One of the simple joys of metal detecting.

Now we get to the good stuff! I have found a total of 7 silver coins, 25 wheat pennies, and 2 tax tokens. The 1906 Barber Dime is my 50th SILVER COIN!!! I finally made it. Ben has done equally as well. He has found 3 coins from the 1800's including a 1896 V nickel. I am super jealous of that. I can tell the place has been hunted before so it's good to find all these old items.

 Here is my Christmas tree of coins. Happy Holidays!!!

 

I went back last night and was able to find my 5th barber. It was in an area that both Ben and I have been over a couple of time proving there is always more to find.

 This has to be one of the coolest finds from the location. It is a 1910 Boys Scout token that a shoe company made to promote their product. They made them from 1910-1914. The craziest thing is what is on the back.

 At first glance I thought the Boy Scouts were Nazi. I did some research and although the swastika has a negative feel to it now, it is also a universal symbol for good luck as expressed here. The Nazi swastika is also tilted. Between the swastika you can see a Wish Bone, Horse Shoe, 4 Leaf Clover, and some other symbol. All are associated with good luck. This has to be one of my favorite finds from this location.

11/5- 1892 Barber Dime

This weekend I went by the house in Salt Lake City that was built in 1890. I didn't have much luck the first time so I was looking forward to finding some older items. The grass was long and covered with leafs but I was able to get started with no problem. I didn't find a ton of stuff but I did come away with my oldest coin so far. Check it out!

First thing I found was a tax token so I was hopeful for some old silver. I thought it was an outside chance that I would find something from the 1800's but it happened. The 2nd item found was a 1892-O Barber Dime. My oldest coin ever found

This is the most exciting thing about metal detecting, uncovering something that has been lost for 100 years.

Here is a close up of this beauty

 Total old finds from the weekend include 1 barber dime, 1 tax token, and 4 wheat pennies.

 Total finds from the 1890 home. My favorites are the bullet slug, button, and thimble.

 Close up of the old button and thimble.

11/2- Foreign Silver

On Halloween, Ben and I hit up a tree strip in Provo. I thought it was going to be a great night when my first coin was a 1942 Mercury dime but after that I didn't find much. I ended the night with just the one silver dime and one wheat penny. Last night I called Ben and told him I was going to go back to the 1904 lot and continue working the area with my small coil. He said he would join and when He got there, his first coin was also a 1942 Mercury dime. Showing his experience, Ben ended up finding 4 wheats in an area where I had already been twice. I was happy for him but also disappointed they weren't in my pocket. Well done Ben, you are still the best in Utah Valley. I did happen to find 4 wheats of my own along with a record, 4 Utah tax tokens. Most of the items I found were in holes with nails and other junk items. I am always impressed with the little coil. The find of the night was my first foreign silver coin. It was in a hole with a 1925 wheat penny so I thought in could be a buffalo nickel but it turned out to be a very tarnished silver coin from Chile. It's from 1920. It was great find!

Total finds from the 1904 lot. I dug a lot of nails looking for the good stuff.

 Total finds from my two outings this week. The coin from Chile has to be my favorite.

 The front side is very tarnished but I was shocked to see the date and that it was silver. First foreign silver!