Back To The Honey Hole? Why Not?

It's funny how things work out when you least expect it. Yesterday I had only a couple hours before dinner so I went back to the honey hole to see if it had more silver to give. So earlier in the day I was talking with Gerry from Gerry's Detectors about smaller coils! He's great and has 35+ years of experience so if you need anything! Gerry is your guy! I mentioned to Gerry how I haven't found many silver quarters. Well low and behold I go out last night and manage to score a 1942 Washington. It was in an area that I had previously been over and I realized my finds were coming very close to the curb. I was wondering why I missed it the first time but then I realized it was because all the cars were parked close to the curb and were interfering with my large coil. The little 8x6 coils was perfect for it and allowed me to get right up close without hearing the cars. Also scored a silver earring which makes 17 silvers (16 coins, 1 jewelry) at this one location.

Benefits of a small coil! Get right up close to the curb!

Here's my attempt at a live dig!

Total finds for the night! 1 silver quarter (1942), 1 silver earring, 2 tax tokens, and 6 wheat pennies (1918,20,34,45,57,58)

Chasing Pre Civil War Relics

Last week I had the opportunity to search for some pre Civil War relics with a couple of good friends (Shot out to PB, Jason, Ben, Duane, and Matt). We targeted a remote location for several hours and we all came away with some very good finds! It's amazing to pull something from the ground that has been there for 160 years! Most of these finds predate the civil war and are from US soldiers that would eventually fight on both the north and the south. I love this hobby for the stories I get to see and tell!

Here are my bullets! I found all the different calibers of bullets from the time period. The largest one being a perfect dropped .69 cal. I also found .58, .54., and .52 cal sharps.



Here are the best buttons I found! One on the left is a Eagle A meaning Artillery unit. The one on the right is a tin back (As you can tell by the rust) General Service Eagle button.



Here are the other relics found that day!

Lost Gold Ring Returned!!!

Received a call while I was golfing today from a couple who let me metal detect thier house last year! Anthony was playing flag football and put his ring in his bag on the sidelines. Unfortunately his bag was kicked and the ring came out. He noticed it was gone when he got to his car. His wife Kira called me and explained the situation! We met up at the field and I focused on the area he mentioned. Needless to say, the ring is now back with its owner!!!

9/9 Silver Keeps Flowing! Honey Hole Keeps Producing!

So last week I talked with one of the prettiest girls around as I saw on Instagram that her and her sister had moved into an old house. I met McKenzie in Lake Powell earlier this year and captured her heart by catching her a lizard. Well captured her heart is not true but I did catch her a lizard haha. I told her what I wanted to do and she informed the landowner and he was cool with it. The house was build early 1900's but the yard had been redone and we didn't find anything old. That was okay because the landowner had two other properties he said we could try out. Ben and I headed that way on Saturday and we covered both places in a short period of time.

Here are my finds for the two houses! I found 70+ coins at the two locations. I found 7 wheat pennies from 1935,37,37,39,44,45,52. One Utah Tax Token and one 1923 Mercury dime!



Ben had a good day as well! First location he scored a nice little silver ring along with a two wheat pennies from 1926 and 1935. Second location he found his 2nd silver ring as well as 1953 silver Rosie.



2nd location



Also this weekend spent some time at a 1891 home that had previously been metal detected. I've been by twice now and all finds are deep scratchy signals. All finds are also usually pretty good old as well. Here are the finds from my two trips! 3 silvers, 2 buffalo nickels, and 26 wheats! Some of the relics are pretty cool as well, like the skeleton key and lead soldier

 

Week of Labor Day

The week leading up to Labor Day was great! I didn't know how I would recover after a 10 silver day. Started with a 1919 with home with Ben. Only came with two buffalo nickels as Ben found the silver.

Thursday before the long weekend I headed back to the honey hole! It's amazing that place keeps producing. Came away with two more silvers (13 in total)! Also a cool vintage ring that was in the hole with a1944 wheat. 

Over Labor Day weekend I spent time at a house where the owner told me three guys came by two weeks before and only found a few coins because of the iron nails every where. I uses two tone ferrous and went extremely slow! I cleaned the yard of every signal and at the end I had a pile of coins! Over a hundred clad coins, one silver Rosie, one 1896 Indian right next to a thimble, and a token from Eureka Utah! It was an awesome day!

Here is a close up of the Indian and the thimble.

1935 Home = Honey Hole!!!

Thanks to my good friend Katie, I was able to secure two homes from her brother that have been very good! The first house was built in 1935. I started working the from tree strip and my first signal was a wheat! I just knew it was going to be a good spot to get VT Mining back on track for the year!

Well the targets just kept on coming! I focused on all non conductive signals and before I knew it the time flew by. When it was all said and done, I found 161 total coins! I set a new bench mark for silvers in one day of 10 silver coins! Along with the silvers, I found 35 wheat pennies (oldest 1913), 1928 buffalo, and 2 Utah state tax tokens. What a honey hole!!!

It's Been Too Long

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get a new post up! Life has been crazy in 2014 but that doesn't mean VT Mining hasn't had his coil to the ground. In fact I've been around the world doing it! I finally find myself sitting on a plane 40,000 miles up and with enough service to get a new post. Instead of telling stories I'm going to let the pictures do the talking so I can catch up! Enjoy!!!

Trip to Utah Territory

Back in the 1850's the US government commission General Johnston to lead an army of about 3000 men to Utah to monitor the Mormons. It is a piece of US history that even I know very little about. It has however been a part of history that I have had the pleasure to search out and find relics. My good friend Jame aka PB on most forums and YouTube has done extensive research on Johnston's army and has aloud me to join him on some of his hunts. This past weekend was one of those opportunities.

I  met James at 6:30am and we were metal detecting by 7:45am. It was cold and windy but we went after it pulling find after find out of the ground. It is amazing to hold a piece of history that is over 160 years old in your hand. The thought that right under feet just a couple inches are rare glimpses of the past. It was so much fun to go out there and find such relics. Here are my finds!

First are the Eagle buttons from the military uniforms. I found a total of 14 eagle buttons. These are by far my favorite thing to find!

 I found 4 general service buttone, 1 Eagle A for artillery unit, and a total of 9 Eagle I's for Infantry unit. The bottom left 4 buttons are made from pewter and are older then the others. They were made in the 1820's 

 Found several bullets from the time. The 3 .69 cal that were all over 12" deep.

 Civil war spencer bullets

 A couple of shoulder scale pieces and some random mystery items

 Plenty of cool old glass

 This was my find of the day! I dug down and found some trash but then I noticed this guys in the hole. It is for sure my oldest find of the trip!

In total we were out there for ten hours. James found even more stuff then me but it was a good time! If you would like to see the live hunt, here is the link http://youtu.be/_Zx_mZYc0cQ. Happy Hunting!!!

9/25 Saturday Hunt with Jason Yields Silver and One Token Far From Home

My buddy Jason, a fellow Idahoan came down to Provo to metal detect last Saturday. I had three houses line up for us. The first house was a 1929 home with a small front yard, the second was a 1890 home that had been previously metal detected, and the third was a 1919 home with a good size yard. Here are all three!!! Thanks again to the owners for allowing us to come metal detect!

The 1929 house didn't a ton of finds. I found 3 wheat pennies from 1925, 1927, and 1940 all in the same hole. In the tree strip I found a Utah Tax Token and pretty much just the general clad. Jason had found a couple of wheat pennies as well. Also Jason found a silver CTR ring in a tree strip just down the street prior to getting to the house. After that we focused on the 1890 home and once again it was a few wheat pennies followed by some clad.

The final stop of the day was the 1919 home. After talking with the owner we got started. The first old find was another Utah Tax Token followed by a wheat and then FINALLY a 1946 Silver Rosie. I was on the board and the day was looking promising.

The next signal was a general 12:34 on the machine so I was thinking penny but when I pulled the plug I imediately realized it was too large to be a penny. I cleaned off as best as I could and could make out Missouri. I thought that it could not be a Missouri Tax Token but it sure was! That coin had travel. They were minted in 1935. My grandma Meme who still lives in Missouri told me she remember having to carry them around in order to buy things. The also go my the name Mill. Needless to say I was thrilled.

In total, I found 1 silver rosie, 8 wheat pennies, 3 tax tokens, and $3.15 in clad. Some of the relics included bullets, necklaces and an old shirt cuff. Great day!!!

3 Tax Tokens from Utah and Missouri

 Here are my relic finds for the day!

1900 Home Pays Out Grand Slam

I know it's been over a month since my last post. I have been traveling for work but I have been able to get out a number of times. Instead of going back, I am going to start with the most recent. Saturday I met Ben at a house he got permission to hunt. The house was built in 1900 and had been metal detected a couple of times. Ben started off killing it with wheat after wheat. I knew quickly the house had not been hit very hard. I went really slow getting every signal. I used two tone ferrous setting since there was alot of iron. Two tone ferrous is a setting used to pick out conductive or non-ferrous metals from the ground. This picture explains it! I was able to find this small penny surrounded by all these iron nails.

I started finding a few nickels and thought to myself that there are going to be some buffalo and V nickels here. Shortly after that Ben found a buffalo followed by a V nickel. Since we usually find the same stuff, I was quietly confident I would find some too. Shortly after that I found a buffalo and then on my next pass, a V nickel. Also had a 6 wheat penny drop which is the most I have ever found in one hole and a 2 tax token drop as well!

I can barely make out 13 on the date making it a 1913-S. I looked it up and it is a type 2 so in good condition it could be worth $229. It probably wouldn't get that grade so I would say it's worth no more then $40.

 When I pulled my V nickel from the ground, Ben couldn't believe it. Ben's V nickel was 1902, mine was 1899.

 6 wheat pennies in one hole! One of the pennies is a steal penny that is all corroded.

 Tax token drop!!! Love these token.

 At the end of the day, I was passing over an area where Ben had pass. I was hoping for one more good find when I got another nickel signal. I immediately thought to myself, could it be another V nickel? It wasn't deep but I pulled back the plug and found a very smooth nickel size object. I knew it was old but when I started cleaning it off, I noticed a shield!!! I couldn't believe it, I had found my first shield nickel. When I got home I discovered it was a 1867!!! My oldest coin to date. You can't get much older then this in Utah, the town I was in had been established in 1850, just 17 years prior. You can see the lines of shield in the picture which made me shout for joy!

Here's a picture of the house back in the day! Thanks again to the nice family that let us search for history

Some of finds freshly pulled from the earth!!!

 Cleaned up looking nice after many years in the dirt!

Here are my relic finds from the day! I found some costume jewelry, bullets, buttons, harmonica reed, and a key to a organ.

 

 

 My beautiful grand slam!!! In one day, in one yard I found every type of nickel ever produced!!!

 Backside view

Also special thanks to this guy for helping me dig!