4/26 Pioneer Park Pays Out First Silver

Ben called me the other day and was determined to find a half dime in Pioneer park. It is the oldest park in town and he was going to hit it hard. He sent me a picture of the gutter all tore up. Anytime you see fresh dirt that has been untouched for years it's a must hit spot. He came away with his first silver and a couple other cool relics.

I went to Pioneer Park last night hoping to follow his example. When I got there I noticed a man working to dig up his yard. The house looked like it could be from the 1800's so I stopped and talked to him and his wife. They gave me permission and so I started on the dug up area of the yard. The first coin was a 1919 wheat penny followed by an old square nail from the 1800's. I thought it was going to pay out some old silver but in the end I found 6 wheats from 1915, 1919, 1927, 1940, 1947, and 1952. Also found some cool relics as well.

I told them I would love to come back and then I went back over the park to hit the gutter that was ripped out. The first coin I found was a 1944 Mercury dime and I thought I was going to get a couple silver for the day. After that I seemed only to find old buttons, the most I have ever found in one outing. The last thing I found was a 1913 Wheat penny.

 I love finding old square nails. It gives me hope of some older silver in the ground.

 Here's a close up of Pioneer Park and the gutter where I found the buttons and Mercury dime. The buttons made me think of my grandma Van Tassell. When I was little kid she would play this game called Button, Button, Who Has The Button? I sure do love and miss her!

4/23 Mexico Trip, New Locations, and 100 Coins on Saturday

The last few weeks have been very busy. I was in Mexico for a company retreat that allowed me to spend some time metal detecting the beaches. The resort was all inclusive and I quickly realized that there was not a lot on the beach besides nails and bolts. The three days I went out I picked up over a hundred pieces of iron and only 2 coins. It was disappointing.

Last week Ben and I got back out there and started hitting a few houses I go permission to hunt. I have been optimistic on finding some older coins since these homes are all from the late 1800's. Here are some of the finds from the last couple outings.

First house is a 1897 home with a big yard. All the tree strips have huge trees still there so I thought it would be a good area. Ben found one silver dime and I found a silver ring. I ended with 7 wheats all from the 40's so it didn't pay out as good as we thought it would.

 The next spot was a late 1800's home that owner told me used to be a polygamist home back in the day. The first outing yielded very little for myself. I only found a bunch of clad and 2 wheat pennies. Ben came away with a silver dime, silver ring, and silver war nickel. I went back twice this last week and started finding some good stuff.

 My first trip back yielded some interesting items. The coolest being the old school key from the 1800's. I also came way with a 1924 mercury dime and 4 wheat. The oldest wheat penny was 1916.

 The second outing last week was not as profitable. I found a bunch of clad pennies and some relics. One of the relics was a license plate cover that read San Francisco. The coolest find was the 1982 Austrian coin that is aluminum. This was my first stop on Saturday.

 After moving locations, Ben and I got permission to hunt this old home what was building a play ground. Lots of surface coins. Ben found a buffalo nickel on the surface and shortly after that I found a 1917 buffalo nickel as well. Once again no silver though.

 Ben had to leave so I headed over to another house that I got permission to hunt. Another late 1800's home. I found a total of 7 wheat pennies from the 40's and 50's. Some of the other finds included a old lipstick container and a 1976 calendar. When it was all said and done I ended Saturday with over 100 coins.

4/8 Trip to Weiser Yields Barber

 Over the weekend I went up to help my dad move in Idaho. the plans quickly change so while I was waiting for things to get started, I spent some time with my good friend Tyler Beams. He has got the addiction and has done pretty well for himself. We decided to hit a few spots around Weiser where I grew up. Check out the finds.

First thing I found right next to a previous dig was the 1900 Indian. After that a guy came up and asked if we wanted to metal detect his house that was built in 1900. We agreed and went over there. I found the 1901 Barber dime right next to the sidewalk.

 We headed out to an old homestead in search of more items. The house as you can see is gone but we hit the outside pretty good. I focused on what I thought would be high traffic areas and it paid off with a couple wheats.

 Here is a picture of the best finds for the weekend. the military button could be from either world war 2 or Korea war. It was right under a tree where Tyler had pasted over and dug a brass .22 shell right next to it. He was pretty mad that he didn't find that but I am sure he will get his fair share of finds as he continues to learn his machine.

 The only good thing I found on Saturday when I got back to Utah was this silver necklace piece that reads "He who holds they key can unlock my heart"

4/2 Riding The Silver Mercury Streak

I really appreciate everyone who went out and read the article yesterday! I have been out several times this last week and wanted to get caught up on all the finds. While the newspaper was doing the article, I started to hunt a new property on the corner of 400N in Provo. The landowner was kind enough to let me hunt the property that was built in 1915. I met the photographer from the newspaper and showed her what I do. I spent the next two night there and down the street. Just a couple of wheats to so for the effort.

 Found a total of 4 wheats from 1927, 2-1944, and 1945

The weekend started to roll around and Friday night I had about 45 minutes to hunt after work before I was heading off to my good friend Chad Ahearn's birthday dinner. With limited time I went to my old trusted spot in Pleasant Grove. Between me and Benhere we have found more then ten silver coins, couple indians, and even a gun at this location. I thought it would be a good chance to use two tone ferrous setting since I have been trying to get use to it. I turned it on and the first coin was a deep wheat from 1920 then followed another one. A couple feet more and hit a 1928 Mercury dime. I was blown away because I knew I had it that area several times. I ended the short hunt with a Saudi Arabian 5 piece from 1979. It was my third Saudi Arabian coin from the yard.

Saturday was my birthday so I wanted to get out there. I met up with Ben and we hunted three houses in Provo right next to each other. Special thanks to Jo and Al for letting us hunt those places. Here is what the houses could have looked like back in the day.

We started at Al's place that was built in late 1800's. The yard didn't produce much for me. I found 2 wheats from 1919 and 1944, one Canadian quarter, and 2 military buttons. I think Ben also found a couple wheats. I then moved over to one of Jo's houses and right in the corner was a 1941 Mercury dime. After that found a lot of clad and one more wheat.

The picture includes Friday's hunt as well.

Yesterday I got out after work and went back to the house in PG. Found one more wheat from 1919 but not much more. I then headed back to Provo where I went back to an old tree strip that paid out well last year. Good place to try 2 tone ferrous again. Once again paid out a 1942 Mercury dime and a part of a tax token. Three days in a row of silver!!!

4/1 Hot Off The Press!!! VT Mining Makes Front Page Of Daily Herold

This last week I was contacted by the Daily Herold after submitting a story about a lost ring I found. The newspaper found my story to be interesting and wanted to do a piece on me and my metal detecting. I never thought I would make the front page of a newspaper and especially not for metal detecting. I had a photographer follow me around while I search an old yard and then continued with in depth interview about it.

Here is the link if you want to read about it!  Daily Herold Article