7/31 Pioneer Day Finds

On Pioneer day, Ben and I got out to a house in Springville that was built in 1900. Ben had sent me a picture of the house and told me to get permission. He thinks because I am in sales it's a walk in the park for me. I did some research and track down the owner and got permission. Ben beat me down to the house and decided to take the side where the weeds weren't such a problem. I think he was kicking himself after the hunt. Check out the finds!!!

The house had 3" weeds everywhere which made it very hard to get close to the ground. I had go real slow and work my way around them.

 Ben took the side that had the grass. He came away with some good finds as well! Ben's Blog

 The day started out slow but picked up quickly. Found 2 1946 Rosie very close to each other.

 The third silver of the day was a 1945 Merc!!!

 Total finds were 3 silvers, 7 wheat pennies and 1 Utah Tax Token

 Other relics include bullets, jewelry and buttons. Also a pin the says "Made from Beaver"

 Large relics included the biggest spoon I have ever found and a ring to tie up your horse.

7/10 Johnston's Army Relics

One of the biggest things I love about metal detecting is the chance to find history and understand it. I watch a lot of forums and videos on relics being found back east from the civil war era and just marvel at the interesting pieces they find. I have always wanted to find something from the civil war because of how important that time is in our history. I must admit that I don't know a lot about my own history and especailly the history of Utah outside the stories of the pioneers. This last week I got a chance to dig history that effects every person here in Utah and their heritage. If you have pioneer history in Utah then this effects you as well.

Last week I joined by buddy James as we chased after Johnson's army. Back in 1850's Johnson's army was commissioned to come west to monitor the Mormon population. This encounter was also known as the Utah War and predates the civil war. There has been a number of camps found through Utah and it was a privilege to go with James who is extremely knowledgeable about it.  We metal detected for 7 hours in the hot sun. I drank 5 gatorades and 6 half liter bottles of water. It was so amazing to pull 160 year old history from the ground and especially since it was from our US arm forces. Here are the finds!!!

First the buttons! I found 5 eagle buttons worn by US military back in the 1850's. I found a number of pewter buttons as well.

 Here is a close up of the Eagle buttons. You can see on some of them they have a shield which means general service and some have an I which stands for infantry. The coolest button in my opinion is the US great coat button!!! I always wanted something that had US on it!

 The bullets!!! I found a couple of 69 cal bullets, 44 cal, round balls and pistol bullets from the era

 These three are from the late 1800's

 Some of the other relics I found. It was amazing to see this history come back to the surface.

7/9 Week Of 4th Of July Is The Week Of Wheat Pennies

Over the past week I have been hunting a number of houses from the 40's. Wheat pennies are a good sign that the ground has not been metal detected. When I find a bunch of wheat pennies, I'm going to find some silver coins. Unfortunately that was not the case for this last week. It started with a small home next to a house I used to rent. I only found 4 wheat pennies from the 40's there, no silver. I got word from a my buddy Mike that 5 houses were going to be demolished to make way for a parking lot for a church. Ben and I decided to hit the houses. Between the two of us we have pulled out close to 50 wheat pennies. Last night was the first night either of us came away with silver. I found a 1958 rosie and a 1945 war nickel. Ben found a 1954 rosie. Here are some pics from last weeks hunts.

Anthony and his family lives right next to my buddy Zeke. I went over there last week and found a couple good items. I found 9 wheat pennies and a couple pieces of junk jewelry.

I found 29 wheat pennies, 2 silvers, and 1 buffalo from the 5 houses that are being demolished. Everything was just a couple inches down. Ben found 20+ as well. We were both shocked we didn't find as many silver coins in those yards.

 Last night's hunt was the first for silver. 38 wheat pennies for the week is not bad!

Buffalo, Buffalo, and More Buffalo

Went back to my buddy Zeke's place before he finished moving out. His house produced some good finds last year including a beautiful gold ring. I was digging every iffy signal I could find and I came away with some good stuff. Last year I was always on the look out for buffalo nickels since I hadn't ever found one. I came away with all but 2 buffalo nickels last year. I started detecting around and before I knew it, I had a real iffy signal that was bouncing all over the place. I cut the plug and at the bottom was a beautiful buffalo nickel. I always check the plug and sure enough there was another one. Both from 1916! Made a couple other finds and ended the day with a third buffalo nickel from 1919.

First time finding multiply buffalo nickels in one hole.

 During the hunt I was visited by this little guy. I thought he was one of the coolest cats I have ever seen.

 One of my favorite coins! Found only 2 last year and now have 9 for this year!

 Other side

 Old finds of the short hunt were the 3 buffalo nickels and 1929 wheat penny. Also managed a small coin from Spain.