Silver & Gold

S FIND COINS, GOLD, JEWELRY & MORE WITH A METAL DETECTOR I Western & Eastern Treasures Presents 2015 Annual L V E R & G O L D

&

FOUND: Silver & Gold American Style • Birthday Silver & Gold

• A Family Legend • Hidden Gold: The “Rust” Of The Story • Gold Metal Detectors– Which One Is Best • Capturing My White Whale • Right Place! Right Time! • Gold Is Where You Find It! • Keep It Low And Swing It Slow +More!

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I NTRODUCTION

Even in ancient times, silver and gold were prized, traded, and hoarded worldwide. Today, they remain as treasured as ever, and in fact our very lives often depend on them. Once they were mainly the stuff of money, jewelry, and ostentatious ornamentation, but now they’re in nearly everything: phones, appliances, computers, cars, cosmetics, medicines, vital chemicals... the list isn’t just long, it’s practically endless.

You may not always see them, but you are quite literally surrounded by silver and gold!

There’s another sense in which that’s true, too— and that’s what this Silver & Gold annual is all about. Of course, if you’re already a subscriber to our monthly magazine, Western & Eastern Treasures, then you know what I mean. If not, well, you’re in for an incredible surprise! The truth is, you’ve probably walked right over at least a real silver coin or two today, maybe even in your own yard.

There’s likely a gold ring lost somewhere right there in your own neighborhood as well, and several more around town or just down the road at your favorite beach or swimming hole.

Don’t believe it? Look through a few of the articles, and especially at all those photos of finds, that you’re holding.

People really do find old silver and gold coins... gorgeous rings and all sorts of bling... even big gold nuggets and buried treasure! There’s just one catch.

You’ll never get your share until you’re convinced that they’re out there, and learn how and where to search for them. No one else can do it for you, but rest easy. We’re here to make sure you get off to a great start!

The best and often the only way to learn is by example, and in this edition of Silver & Gold we’ve lined up some amazing role models. Let their success stories lay the groundwork for your own. See what they’ve found, read how they found it, dig deep for secret tips & techniques hidden between the lines, and then begin connecting the dots that will lead you to adventure and treasure!

Sometimes the learning curve can be a lengthy one. Other times there can be a rush of beginner’s luck beyond anything you’d ever imagine.

Either way, as long as you keep believing and working to make those dreams come true, you’re on the right road to treasure— and you’re going to have an awful lot of fun along the way!

Remember what we said: it’s out there. This annual is, very simply, your invitation to get out there, too. One of these days someone is going to find it. Why shouldn’t that someone be you? Let this be the year you say Yes! to the restless allure of the quest... Yes! to Silver & Gold!

Happy Hunting,

Rosemary Anderson

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 Clevenger’s (pg 19)

 Depth Master (pgs 17, 47)  Fisher (pg 35)

 Garrett (pg 64)

 Gold Digger Metal Det (pg 55)  Ground EFX (pg 37)  J.W. Fishers (pg 43)  Kellyco (pg 27)  Minelab (pg )

 Outdoor Outfitters (pg 21)  Simmons (pg 13)  Tesoro (pg 63)

 White’s Electronics (pg 2)

 White’s Of The SE (pg 41) Name ____________________________ Addr _____________________________ City ______________________________

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SILVER & GOLD 2015 3

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Silver & Gold Summer 2015

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H.S. BURDETTE Publisher In Memoriam

WESTERN & EASTERN TREASURES Presents Silver & Gold is published annually by People’s Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 37, Sausalito, CA 94965. Phone (415) 339-0124.

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FEATURES

6 Keep It Low And Swing It Slow

By Brandon Neice

8 Hidden Gold: The “Rust” Of The Story

By Tim Myers

16 Silver & Gold

American Style

By Gary B. Speck

Top It All Off 25 To

By Charles Morrison

28 Gold Metal

Detectors— Which One Is Best

By Gerry McMullen

34 Detecting: More Than An

Adventure— A Way Of Life

By Bruce W. Langbein

38 Birthday Silver & Gold

Family Legend 47 A

By Benjamin Simpson

49 Right Place!

Right Time!

By Mike Tiemann

By John Steele

39 Capturing My White Whale

By Abraham Harrington

Red page numbers denote a Western & Eastern Treasures’ magazine Best Finds feature article. (April 2015 W&E Treasures was the Best Finds issue)

Favorite Place 53 A

By Ben Slaybaugh

60 Gold Is Where You Find It!

By Ron Swenson

“Finding a silver quarter is always fun— especially one worth thousands!”

Keep It Low And Swing It Slow

When Brandon checked out his find in current coin books, the prices started above $5,000 and quickly soared into tens of thousands!

Certified as genuine with XF details, the rare Barber quarter brought $6,251 at auction, and only an unlucky scratch kept it from fetching far more.

an understatement. It’s not uncommon to see the temperature dip below zero. Last December was the exception.

Call it El Nino... call it whatever you want. On 12/14/14 the temperature rose to a blistering 35°, and my buddy Bill and I decided that we wanted to get out and work on our tan! The previous

By Brandon Neice term, a key date coin is one that Most of us in this hobby is considered a rarity. Things never expect to dig anything of like the year, number of coins great value. Sure, we occasionproduced, and mintally score a nice ring or a key mark (where the coin date coin worth a few hundred was made) play a huge bucks. But for the most part, role in determining we’re in it for the thrill of the what coins are worth. hunt and because we love the For instance, in 1901 feeling of being connected to the Philadelphia mint the past. If you’ve ever seen my produced 8,892,000 YouTube videos chronicling the Barber quarters. That adventures of team “Dirt Fishin’ same year the San America,” you know that I’m Francisco mint proconstantly complaining about duced 72,664 Barber how hard it is to find old coins quarters, making the (Seated Liberty and beyond) in 1901-S Barber quarter Idaho. Last December, howevone of the rarest and er, my outlook on our geographmost desirable silver ical location changed dramaticoins of the 20th cencally. It wasn’t until then that I tury. realized how great an area we To say that Known on the ’net as Dr. Tones, Brandon Neice are in for key date coins. If December in Idaho invites readers to check out team Dirt Fishin’ you’re not familiar with the can be cold would be America’s adventures in his YouTube videos.

6 SILVER & GOLD 2015

Every treasure hunter lives for moments like this, when suddenly a key date coin comes to light!

cold snap had kept me locked indoors, researching new places to go detecting, and now this break in the weather gave us the opportunity we had been waiting for to get out and hunt. We spent the better part of the day driving to locations that I had researched. Of course, finding locations is only half the battle.

Getting there and trying to get permission to hunt is another ball of wax. Most of the property owners were either not home or not answering. It’s for this reason that I always have multiple locations mapped and cued up in the GPS. When we go out, we try to find at least ten locations within a 30-mile radius.

On this particular day we had exhausted our resources and were forced to hunt at a location that we’d hit twice before, in the high desert of southwest Idaho.

The air was thick was the pungent odor of sage. Volcanic rock canyons and outcroppings silhouetted against the skyline served as a stern reminder: This is beautiful... but it’s not a place to get stranded in. It’s hard to imagine that anyone could have lived out here, but they did. If you listen closely you can almost hear the wagon train pulling through to the next stop.

Homesteads in these parts popped up along the stage

The rare 1901-S Barber quarter was honored by Western & Eastern Treasures magazine as one of the Best Finds of 2014.

routes and provided livestock to the nearby stage stops. This particular homestead was a blip on a map that first appeared in 1878 and was gone by 1920.

The invention of the automobile and construction of the interstate left the stage line obsolete, and thus everything along the way. This site was one of very few truly untouched gems that I have had the pleasure of hunting— a virtual time capsule tucked within the folds of the Idaho mountains. Our previous hunts had yielded coins ranging from 1890 to 1917, and a multitude of time period relics. Did I mention time period garbage? Yeah... there was plenty of that too.

I was using a White’s V3i on this outing. It was a relatively new machine to me, and once we arrived on site I was curious to see if it was capable of finding some items that I had previously missed. The stock DD coil provided great coverage without compromising separation. My favorite feature of this particular machine is its ability to use multiple frequencies at once, or one at a time. Couple this with a visual reference of how each frequency is responding to a target in real time, and you’ve got a ton of useful infor-

mation.

When I get out to older sites like this with only time period coins/artifacts, I generally dig everything nonferrous.

Typically, the hardest part is finding those nonferrous targets among all the ferrous ones. I decided to hunt the outskirts of the site in hopes of finding some stray coins off the beaten path.

The outskirts typically have fewer targets overall, making it easier to separate the good from the bad. The downside to that is, the good targets can be few and far between. I’m a typical lazy dude. I had already hit the easy stuff at this site, so this time I focused on doing what lazy people don’t... getting up under sage, moving rocks out of the way, side hilling, and generally just getting into those hard to reach spots.

Underneath a very large sage bush I hit a screaming high tone. This bush was next to a pathway leading to where the house once stood. We had walked by it and hunted around it numerous times, but apparently none of us had bothered to take the extra second to shove a coil up under that sage... until “Keep It Low” Continues On Page 13.

SILVER & GOLD 2015 7

“It looked like just a hunk of junk, but inside was a golden surprise!”

This handsome 1910 Indian Head $2-1/2 quarter eagle was Tim’s ticket to the Gold Coin Club!

Hidden Gold: The “Rust” Of The Story

By Tim Myers My detecting buddy, Angelo, and I got bored this year. Has this ever happened to you in your metal detecting “life”? I tell members of our club, the Empire State Metal Detector Association, never to give up, because there are good finds everywhere! Don’t give up! That’s a good lesson for all we do in life, not just for our

A $2-1/2 gold piece was hidden within the rusted tin.

A heavily silver plated Victorian lady’s faux buckle sash pin or brooch.

8 SILVER & GOLD 2015

A souvenir badge from the 1909 Hudson-Fulton Celebration.

hobby. I have found over the years that this is especially true for metal detecting here in upstate New York. Because of the history of the area, and because the winter frost moves things in the ground each year, this leads to our finding items at

An early Colonial brass buckle that Angelo found at the gold coin site.

Renne’s Magic Oil bottle, c. 1880s. The once popular nostrum supposedly relieved everything from colds and seasickness to toothache and frostbite.

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Angelo explores an area dominated by huge black locust trees.

sites that we did not find last year. In fact, many of us have detected the same sites year after year— and made nice finds every time.

We use antique maps along with modern ones, comparing roads and property locations.

We also read histories and any other records or documents we can find written by the people who used to occupy the properties on the maps or even travel through them. The thing is that while traveling to the homesteads shown on old maps, we also find places that while trav-

eling to the homesteads shown on old maps, we also find places that are not shown on the maps. They were either there before the maps were drawn, or maybe even between maps. In

A variety of civilian and military buttons came to light at the site as well.

The little balm tin that the gold coin was in looked like just a ball of rust when Tim dug it.

our area, official maps were drawn in 1829, 1854, 1861, 1876, 1903, and later.

Nearby Albany, NY was settled about 1624, as one of the original Dutch manors in the New World, Beverwyck, and was occupied continuously thereafter. There were homesteaders in this area after each of our country’s pre-20th century wars as well. The French were here as missionaries during the 1500s and after. French SILVER & GOLD 2015 9

taking cannons from Ticonderoga to Boston, traveled through this area.

Saratoga is about 30 minutes away... the list goes on and on.

All of this has led us to make great finds each year. This year I found a Revolutionary War cannonball at an old cellar hole miles out on an abandoned road, was a couple of miles from where

as detectorists we just need a change. If you are at all like us, sometimes you just get bored with returning to the same sites year after year. I’m talking about getting bored even though you still make cool finds at these sites— sometimes really cool finds. So, despite all that I just said about where we usually detect, this year we made a decision to travel more than an hour to another area that we had never been to. Again, this was as much out of boredom as anything else. Now don’t get me wrong, we still hit

John Stark’s army traveled.

Angelo found a wonderful brass powder flask the same day at the same site. We had searched this site several times, beginning about eight years ago.

So it goes. As I once wrote in another article, they are never detected out.

We really believe this because our finds have borne it out.

However, despite all of this, sometimes

Foundation stones were discovered a little way off the old road.

Angelo checks out the cellar hole during a return trip.

& Indian War sites exist locally within an hour’s drive, and numerous Revolutionary War battles and skirmishes took place within 20-45 minutes or so. Revolutionary War armies traveled locally. John Stark’s army heading to the Battle of Bennington, and Henry Knox

Author Tim Myers at the gold coin cellar hole.

10 SILVER & GOLD 2015

our old sites, mostly because they are quicker to get to.

Nevertheless, boredom causes all of us to do strange things sometimes! Anyway, Angelo scouted around and did some detecting at a few sites about over an hour away, and found a couple of King George coppers; so, we decided to spend some time in that new area.

Checking area maps, we discovered that there were numerous old home locations, just the type we like. After detecting around a few of the old cellars in this new area, we

ered what looked like an older road going off perpendicular to that one and decided to walk out on it.

There were huge black locust trees along the road, so we knew there had to be an old cellar there somewhere. On the right side of this road, which turned out to be only a couple of hundred yards long, we first came to a very old barn location.

Soon we found old pieces of metal piled on the foundation Stirrups, batwing buckles, buttons, and other relics rocks.

Well, you recovered in the area of the old barn. know what that reluctantly came to the same means, just as we did: it had conclusion that many of you already been detected. We have come to when you have spent some time there anyway, gone to a new area or even a and about 50 yards farther down new site in your home territory: the road, behind some of the it was obvious that most had enormous locust trees on the already been well hunted. left, I saw a foundation. I called Coinshooters had been detectback to Angelo, who came ing at those cellars years before, along. Same thing: old pieces using detectors with technology of metal on the cellar foundathat only allowed them to go a tion walls, or what was left of few inches or so into the them. This never has deterred ground. Working these sites, us in the past, and it didn’t this they tried to clean out all of the time either! coins—many times ignoring the Angelo went to one side of other artifacts. I am sure that the foundation, I went to the many of you have run into simother, and we began to find lots ilar situations where you detect. of pieces of cast iron, steel, and This never stops us from other odds and ends. I did find searching any site, so we went a nice cast iron sadiron trivet at it. In all, we detected around that was heavy with rust.

Eventually, using the knowl6-8 old cellar locations during a edge of how to detect that we couple of trips to this new area. have acquired over years of One cellar surprised us, turning detecting, we both started makout to be loaded with stuff, ing better finds, including a including some coins. number of nice relics. We On one trip we both brought found Colonial buttons, a couour XP Deus 3.2 wireless metal ple of coppers, a couple of Hard detectors and were excited to Times tokens, and I dug a nice use them at “new” cellars in a 1810 large cent. Angelo found new area. As we drove out the batwing buckles— a couple seasonal use road, we discov-

Angelo found this stirrup near the old barn foundation.

from the Revolutionary War period, and a couple from the War of 1812—so, it was obvious that this site had seen activity for at least a couple of 100 years. Angelo also pulled up a nice old tin & brass finger lamp and a small musket trigger guard. We found lots of “whatsits” and other relics at the cellar, too, among them tack buckles, spoons, and heel or toe guards and so on. Make sure that you always pull all of the iron stuff out of the ground, so that it will be a little easier to locate good items on your next trip to the site.

I also found a brass escutcheon plate off a musket, a lady’s faux buckle sash pin or brooch, with thick silver plating, and a souvenir badge from the Hudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909. Angelo came up with a couple of nice early stirrups, and we both found lots of old buttons. I even found an intact Renne’s Magic Oil bottle!

About 20 yards on my side of the cellar, next to an old tree that had fallen down, I got a weird signal. I knew it wasn’t cast iron, steel, or galvanized tin, but it wasn’t a “keeper” signal, either. It was just weird. I dug about 10'' down and found a rusty ball of tin. I put it in my SILVER & GOLD 2015 11

pouch and basically forgot about it.

We had a great time at this old cellar, and the old adage that they are never detected out held true. We never know who was there detecting before us, their detecting skills, how recently the site was searched, what metal detectors they used— or, most importantly, what they left behind. Our most recent trip to that old home site was after a light snowfall. Hey, the ground wasn’t frozen, so out we went!

Oh, I almost forgot the little round ball of rust that I found!

Whenever we get back to the truck, we always sort through our finds, pick out the keepers, take photos, and throw the rest in a “junk bucket.” Just as we finished, I found the little rust ball in my pouch. I noticed that it looked like a tin so encrusted

with rust that it was actually like a ball. I knocked off as much of the rust as I could, and it just felt weird to me. As I said earlier, it gave a weird signal, and now a weird feeling. I held it up to my ear and shook it. I couldn’t hear anything but could “feel” something moving inside. I handed it to Angelo, and he did the same thing. He immediately insisted that there was a coin inside, adding, “I’ll bet it’s a gold coin!”

I was dumbfounded and asked what he was talking about. He replied that he had read or heard somewhere that some old-timers had placed gold coins in little tins that they kept in their pockets. What? He went on to explain that this was so the coins would not be lost as quickly if they were dropped, because the tin would be easier

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to see on the ground than a coin.

I replied that it had been dropped anyway, and that there was just no way it had a coin in it. “Let’s open it up,” I said.

Angelo talked me into waiting until I got home so that I could take my time opening the tin. When I arrived, I brought the tin in to my 86-year-old dad and told him what Angelo had said. He waited while I got a small knife and carefully pried along the edge of the tin apart.

Finally it came apart with a pop, a gold coin fell out onto the carpet, and I almost fell onto the carpet, too! Wow! My dad was really excited... he just could not believe it. It was a 1910 Indian Head $2-1/2 gold coin, a quarter eagle. When I got on the phone to call Angelo, I was shaking. It was still hard to believe that a gold piece really had been hidden in that little tin! All he kept saying was, “I told you so! I told you so!”

There was still some black balm in there, too, which I carefully cleaned off.

I guess the moral of the story is what Angelo and I always tell every one who will listen, and now I’ll say it again: Sites are never detected out.

There is always something still in the ground. The other important point is to make sure that you look at everything you find instead of just throwing it in the scrap box. I know I will from now on! Check it out and look at it carefully. If Angelo hadn’t been with me, I probably would have tossed that ball of rust with the other junk when I got home.

Now whenever we go out and I ask Angelo how much I owe for gas or whatever, he always says, “Just $2-1/2 will cover it!” 

now. I instantly knew this target was going to be a coin. The signal had all the right things going for it: high tone, moderate size, responding great to all frequencies, and appropriate depth.

“Bill! Get over here!” I yelled.

“I’ve got my Seated quarter!”

Given the date range of the site, I figured there had to be at least one Seated Liberty coin in there! Bill arrived at my side right as I flipped back the plug.

“Ah! BIGish SILVER!” I screamed in Bill’s face, not quite realizing how close he was. I shoved my pinpointer into the hole. What? A big rivet? Are you kidding me!

Right then a little voice in my head whispered, “Brandon... recheck the hole.” I fired up the pinpointer, circled the hole, and Bam! It was at this very moment that a piece of dirt fell out of the side wall, exposing a silver coin. Scrrraaaatch! My pinpointer slid right across the face of the coin. “Coin!” I yelled in Bill’s face again.

Jokingly, Bill looked at me and replied, “Sweet! There’s your Barber quarter.” He knew how badly I wanted this coin to be a Seated Liberty and this was his way of poking fun.

I took my gloves off and reached down to grab the coin.

As I saw the face of the now revealed Barber, a rush of disappointment washed over me. Bill laughed... and that didn’t help, either. “1901,” I said almost grimly. Any other day this would be a great find, but we can get Barbers in town all day long. We’d come all the way out here so that we could have a shot at the older stuff. Again that voice popped back into my head. “Brandon... check the mintmark.” I flipped the coin over to reveal an “S.” “Bill! I yelled, “I think I got a key date

“Keep It Low” Continued From Page 7.

here, man!” I was 90% certain that this coin was a major key date of the series, but I couldn’t confirm it because we were out of cell range. So, I pulled out the old pill bottle that I keep stuffed with cotton balls and gingerly placed the coin inside for safe keeping.

Resisting the urge to wipe a coin clean in the field is difficult, and I typically give in.

This was different, though. A single grain of sand on the end of my pinpointer had already left my signature on the face of the coin, and I didn’t want to cause any more damage.

For another hour we checked under every single bush. Finally, the sun disappeared, and the temperature began to drop drastically. We called it a day and headed for town. When we got back into cell range, I eagerly fired up my iPhone and went straight for Google. I typed “1901-S Barber quarter” in the search bar, and what I saw next just about made me cry. “Bill! Bill! Pull over man! It’s a huge key date! The coins that I began to thumb through ranged from $2,000 on up into five figures. Bill pulled over so that I could dance on the side of the highway!

What should I do now? I’d never found anything even

remotely close to what this could be worth. The next day I took the coin to several shops around town. The value ranged greatly, depending on whether I got the coin certified or if it was sold as a “raw,” ungraded coin.

Some had doubts as to its authenticity because apparently there are more counterfeits of this coin than real ones. The consensus was to send it to PCGS for grading and then try to get it to the auction floor.

After a ton of deliberation I ended up sending it to Ian at Great Collections, an online numismatic auction house.

The final hour of the auction was intense! In the end I walked away with $6,251. Let me leave you with one thought: Dig everything as though it could be worth $20,000... because it just might be! There is no doubt in my mind that had I not scratched that coin, I would have seen at least $5,000 more. Accidents happen. I’m just thankful to have received what I did. A lot of people out there will give me a hard time about selling it, but you know what? Dr. Tones needs to fund some adventures for Dirt Fishin’ America so that we can get out and scour the world for more coins, relics, and gold.

It’s out there... I promise!  SILVER & GOLD 2015 13

Q. I had to relocate due to my job status and now have a chance to detect for gold nuggets. I have a good detector. Do you think it would find gold nuggets?

A. You can find gold nuggets with any detector if the unit is properly tuned for that task, although a detector designed to find gold would probably be best. If you choose to use your current detector, you should tune the controls for maximum depth and, if required, reduce the sensitivity control to facilitate quite smooth operation.

If you choose to use a detector that is not specifically built for hunting nuggets, you should consider some, if not all, of the following suggestions. Some detectors do not reach all-metal detecting capabilities when the discrimination control is set for minimum discriminate. If your detector is this type, you should hunt for nuggets in the all-metal mode.

Since nuggets seem to hide in locations that are high in mineral content, precise ground balance is extremely desirable, and you must listen for the slightest increase in signals. A big nugget would likely be easy to detect, but unfortunately not all nuggets are large.

Successful nugget finding takes a lot of patience and practice.

14 SILVER & GOLD 2015

Don’t have gold nuggets to practice with? The use of some irregular shaped lead targets should mimic the conductive properties of a gold nugget. To begin, be sure to bury the lead targets at a depth your detector can easily attain. As you become more attuned to how the signals sound, you can begin to increase the depth of the targets.

Once you feel that you can, in fact, detect small nuggets, I would also suggest that you carry those small lead target substitutes with you to the site you intend to search. If the minerals there are different from those at your practice site, your detector should be readjusted to compensate for the mineral content of the soil at your hunt site.

Many of the sites that are accessible to nugget hunters have been pounded for years.

There are still nuggets there, but they will be harder to find due to fewer targets and more trash.

I list the trash because the first nugget hunters at the site likely left a lot of trash, and some of the later hunters will have added to it. If you hunt in the all-metal mode, be prepared to dig a lot of false targets before your first nugget find.

As proof that a so-called all purpose detector can find gold, the largest nugget I’ve ever held

in my hands was found by such a detector. The person using that detector was a seasoned nugget hunter.

When the nugget was detected, he thought that it was most likely a tin can.

He made the decision to dig it anyway and was rewarded with a 5.6 oz. chunk of gold! Don’t discount any signal when hunting gold nuggets.

Q. When I take my detector to the beach, it goes totally berserk. I’ve tried just about every control setting combination I can think of, even all metal. Can you help me?

A. Many detectors can’t handle the combination of salt water and minerals. The detector is being affected by the salt content of the wet sand and the minerals that are present in the sand. The salt water is conductive, and the minerals are conductive— much more so than the salt. The usual results are chatter and various other sounds in the headphones. It is possible that the location where you tried to detect is near to some cell phone, radio, or television transmitters that could be affecting operation. If you’ve tried the detector at more than one location with the same result, you can be reasonably sure that it’s a fault of the detector.

With some detectors that display this condition in salt and mineral conditions, you can use the discriminate control to reject the conductivity of the wet salt. However, keep in mind that rejecting the wet salt can also reject some of the gold targets you intend to find. If you can tolerate the junk targets, the detector should be used in all-metal mode with the sensitivity reduced to make it as

stable as possible. Adjusted as indicated, it will reduce the overall detection depth. My choice for hunting in such conditions would be a PI detector.

Q. There are close to a dozen coils in several sizes and shapes available for my detector. What benefit could I expect from one or more of these coils?

A. The general consensus is that the coils smaller than your standard coil will enable the detector to search places where your standard coil could not go.

The larger coils would detect a coin-size target a little deeper than the standard coil. Small coils don’t detect a coin as deep. While this may or may not be absolute fact, it is the prevailing theory.

The two types of coils readily available today are either concentric or wide-scan (DD).

The coils are elliptical or round and can be either type, but most elliptical coils are the DD type.

The same criterion as above applies to the DD coils. Small size detects at less depth but fits into small spaces.

I have read and heard that a concentric or DD coil that is the same size and shape as its counterpart will detect at the approximate same depth, and I’ve confirmed this to be true in field tests. My theory is that the use of a small coil will force the user to concentrate more on area coverage, and its smaller footprint (target response area) will find targets that have been

missed by other coils.

The DD coils derived their name from the transmit and receive windings of the coil overlapping in the center of the coil, with a footprint of narrow width but extending from front to back of the coil. The DD coil is said to be less affected by the soil minerals. You should be aware that its pinpoint area is usually not the exact center of the coil, as is that of the concentric coil.  Please send questions directly to Ty Brook. Ty will try to answer as many questions as possible in this column.

1324 Union Academy Road Ramer, AL 36069 email: kenoty@att.net (334) 281-1806

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“Centuries of our history are boldly written in letters of silver & gold!”

Silver & Gold American Style

Mined material at an open pit gold mine is heaped into layered piles and a cyanide solution is slowly leached through it to remove all traces of gold.

By Gary B. Speck The United States is flush precious metals. with silver and gold, and the The American silver and mining industry has been findgold mining industry is one of ing and digging it for a tad over ups and downs, and right now it half our history. With the price is still hot with the prices of of silver (in early March 2015) those two metals high, yet down just under $16/oz. and gold just from their historic, non-manipuunder $1,200/oz., there is great lated highs in September 2011. incentive to search for these two (See accompanying table.)

The massive milling complex at the Hecla Mine in Burke, Idaho is now idle.

16 SILVER & GOLD 2015

Before the massive run up in mineral prices in the 1970s, most silver and gold mining took place underground.

Not only are silver and gold intrinsically valuable and used for jewelry, but they are also highly valued industrial metals.

As a result, the need for each will not decline, even though they are no longer used for circulating coinage.

The Western Hemisphere’s silver and gold mining industry got started just a few short decades after Columbus landed in 1492. By the mid-1500s the Spanish were working rich silver mines in Central and South America. For the next 250 years or so, those mines pumped out their wealth, eventually supplying around $4 billion to the treasury of Spain, who ruled most of the New World until 1820. Half of this wealth was in minted coins, and the other half ingots. All were shipped to the mother country, unintentionally supplying English (and other) pirates, as well as today’s treasure hunters, with the goodies that never made it to Spain.

The English hoped the same

The mothballed Kelly Silver Mine and mill complex at Red Mountain, California, a picturesque ruin of past glory, c. 1984.

As the price of silver and gold has increased over the last 30 years, the industry is being reborn.

Lost memories of the glory days when mining headframes were common sights across the American West.

success that the Spanish obtained would rub off on them, allowing duplication of their rival’s luck in Central and South America with the English colonial empire in eastern North America. When Jamestown was

In Tombstone, Arizona more “silver” comes from the pockets of tourists today than the mines produced.

SILVER & GOLD 2015 17

Part of the milling of gold and silver ore included crushing the mineralbearing rock. This was often performed by stamp mills like this fivestamp battery in Randsburg, California.

one thought to see if it might have some value. In 1803, that 2-1/2 lb. rock was determined to be a large gold nugget. News rippled along the East Coast, catapulting the Reed family into national prominence with the

Average Silver & Gold Prices (1792-2015) continues next page.

founded in 1607, the settlers sought, but didn’t find silver or gold. Survival became a more important commodity for them, and the golden dreams of English colonies of North America soon gave way to reality. Indeed, in February 1766, Benjamin Franklin, the Pennsylvania colonial agent then in England, testified to the English House of Commons regarding the inability of the American Colonies to pay a 18 SILVER & GOLD 2015

stamp duty (tax), “In my opinion there is not gold and silver enough in the Colonies to pay the stamp duty for one year.”

Just over 30 years later, in the new country now freed of English shackles, the foundation for changing that perception changed drastically. In 1799, a young boy found a small, but quite heavy rock in a creek on his family’s North Carolina farm. It was used for a doorstop for several years before some-

Most of these older “desert skyscrapers” are being reclaimed by time and ravaged by vandals.

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In 1995, the Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota was still open. It closed in 2002, after producing 40 million ounces of gold. At that time it was the largest and deepest gold mine in North America.

first commercial gold mine in the country on their property.

Wannabe miners flooded the Piedmont area of North

Carolina, creating the first American gold rush. By the 1820s, prospectors had discovered more deposits along the

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strip of Piedmont running north up through Virginia. Despite the fact that there was mining activity way off in the northwestern reaches of the Spanish/Mexican territories in the future states of California, Arizona, and New Mexico, it was really the Reed Mine that was the key to unlock the mining door in the United States. From the Reed and other extensive mines up into Virginia, a flurry of gold fever spread all the way down to northern Georgia and Alabama by 1830.

A decade later, gold mining was a major industry in the southeastern region of the United States.

As mentioned, by the time that 12-year-old Conrad John

Mine headframes peek out from behind the now-closed brick office buildings at the Hecla Mine in Burke, Idaho.

Reed found his pretty rock in 1799, the Spanish had over a half century of silver and gold mining experience in the American Southwest. As an

As underground mines got richer, their mills got larger and more complex in order to extract as much silver or gold as possible. This is the Standard Mine Milling complex at Bodie, California.

This diagram shows the surface workings of the Reed Gold Mine in North Carolina, the first large scale gold mine in the country, dating to the discovery of gold in 1799. Upper Hill ca. 1880.

20 SILVER & GOLD 2015

outgrowth of their mission and presidio development, they were also inveterate seekers of fortune, especially silver and gold.

Records are a bit sketchy on some of their early activities; so, as a result, the timeframes and areas shown below are guestimates based on various sources: • 1736— Silver mines at Planchas de Plata about a mile south of the US/Mexico border west of Nogales, Arizona.

• Prior to 1751, after mid 1770s-early 1820s - Silver and gold mining in the Santa Rita Mountains, near La Mision de San Gabriel de Guevavi, which is near Tumacacori, Arizona.

• 1774— in the Quijotoa Mountains of Pima County, Arizona.

• 1775-1776— placer gold mining at Potholes (north of Yuma, Arizona), along both sides of the Colorado River.

This also extended into the Cargo Muchacho and Chocolate Mountains of eastern Imperial County, California, where placering was done, as well as some lode mining. This all ended in 1781, but started up again after 1823. The largest lode mine was the Padre y Madre mine in the Cargo Muchachos.

• 1828— East of San Diego, California, as well as the Ortiz Mountains of New Mexico.

•1835— San Fransiquito Canyon, Los Angeles County, California.

• 1842—Placerita Canyon, Los Angeles County, California.

From the 1820s on, the eastern U.S. mines and the northwestern Mexican territory mines were all plugging along quite well, until James Marshall chanced upon a pea-sized gold nugget in the raceway of a sawmill he had just built along a river on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada range in California. Neither he, his crew, nor his boss, John Sutter, had any idea that they had just tossed rocket fuel onto the flames keeping the pots of national and international gold fever simmering. The resultant explosion changed world history.

Once word spread, within a year all roads and ships were heading toward California, and the world’s greatest treasure

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In Mogollon, New Mexico, this large underground mine has been idled, and the onsite structures have been scavenged for usable building material.

hunt was underway! Nearly all the other mines in North America were quickly forgotten as the world rushed to California. The U.S. government wasted no time, quickly adding California to its collection of states. America was centered-staged in the world’s gold production.

From January 1848, until the door was slammed shut on most

824 N. Hartwell Ave Waukesha, WI 53186

of the American mining industry in October 1942, the United States had experienced nearly a century as one of the largest silver and gold producing countries in the world. World War II and its necessary reallocation of physical and human resources put an effective end to that.

After World War II and America’s war-mode economic drive ended, eyes again focused

SILVER & GOLD 2015 21

In the dry, dusty Quijotoa Mountains of Arizona, the Spanish mined silver and gold long ago.

This Mojave Desert hillside milling complex has been removed, and the site has been re-mined open-pit style.

The decaying remains of a forgotten silver mine and mill complex in California’s Mojave Desert, as they appeared 30 years ago.

Much of the crushed silver and gold ore was further processed in chemical baths, often in large wooden vats like these at Bodie, California.

22 SILVER & GOLD 2015

on the vast silver and gold treasure lying underground. By the late 1940s, the mining rebirth got off to a shaky start because of the low fixed price of gold, post war inflation, and mines that had lain dormant for several years. In many cases mills and mining equipment had been scrapped out for the war effort, and mines had flooded or suffered structural failures due to lack of maintenance. The economic toll involved in getting many of these properties back up and running took many of the smaller and middle-sized mines out of the rebirthing process.

Even so, as the economy improved through the 1950s and into the 1970s, enough old mines reopened and new ones were established so that by the time gold prices were unfixed in 1971, enough mines were poised on the edge of boom.

In 1970, world gold production was 47.5 million ounces, broken down thusly: • South Africa — 32m oz.

• USSR — 6.5m oz.

• Canada — 2.4m oz.

• USA — 1.7m oz.

• Australia — 0.6m oz.

Through the early 1970s, uncertainty gripped the economy, but by 1974 American gold began to move, seeking a truer international price level. As a result, both silver and gold prices rapidly escalated, and American’s precious metals mining industries finally boomed again.

Since that time, most of the silver and gold mines have switched from underground working of high-grade ore to open-pit mining of lower grade deposits, which can now be profitably worked by chemical means as well as traditional methods.

As I stated in the 1994 Silver & Gold, “In the beginning there was gold, and today there is gold. The Great American Mining Adventure isn’t over yet. It’s just slumbering, awaiting the right spark.”

The following year, in 1995, world production was 73.2m oz., with the leading producers being: • South Africa — 16.8m oz.

• USA — 10+m oz.

• Australia — 8.2m oz.

• Chile, Ghana, Peru & Indonesia — 2m oz. each.

Since that article appeared, over the past 21 years, that spark has relit, igniting a wildfire not just in the U.S. but around the world. As the prices of silver and gold increased from those 1994 levels of $4.77 for silver and $384 for gold, production has boomed, although lately gold has trended slightly down.

In 2013, the United States was the third largest gold producing nation in the world.

These flywheels and other equipment are all that remain of a high mountain mining complex.

Most towns and camps associated with silver and gold strikes became forgotten ghost towns when the mines closed.

• Note: (1 metric ton = 32,150.7 troy oz.)

• China — 420 metric tons • Australia — 255 tons

Sometimes names on a window are all that remain from a proud and prosperous past.

• USA — 227 tons • Russia — 220 tons • Peru — 150 tons • South Africa — 145 tons In 2013 the United States produced about 8% of the world’s total gold, with the five largest gold mines in the northcentral part of Nevada. (See Silver & Gold 2014 for more details on Nevada mining.)

Those five mines and their total and (2013) production figures are: • Hycroft Mine (owner Allied Nevada Gold) • Total - 31.2 million oz.

(2013 – 190,831 oz.)

• Turquoise (Barrick/Newmont)

SILVER & GOLD 2015 23

WORLD SILVER

USA SILVER

WORLD GOLD

USA GOLD

2006

20,800 20,100

1230 1160

2470 2370

256 252

2009

22,200

YEAR 2005 2007 2008 2010 2011

2012 2013 2014 oz.) oz.) oz.)

Metric Tons

20,800 21,400 23,800 23,300 25,500 26,000 26,100

Metric Tons

1280 1250 1250 1280 1120

1060 1040 1170

Metric Tons

2350 2280 2460 2560 2660 2690 2870 2860

Metric Tons

238 233 223 231 234 235 227 211

One Metric Ton is equivalent to 32,150.7 Troy ounces.

• 26.8m oz. (223,000 • Carlin (Newmont) • 21.8m oz. (1,025,000 • Discovered 1961.

• Cortez (Barrick) • 15.1m oz. (892,000

• Adjoins the Carlin mine.

Alaska is also a large gold mining state, having three undeveloped mines with the potential of producing 180 million oz. of gold. These are:

• Pebble Deposit (Northern Dynasty) • 107m oz. reserves at 0.31 oz./ton • Donlin Creek (Barrick/NovaGold) • 44.9m oz. reserve @ 2.2 oz./ton • Livengood (Int’l Tower Hill Mines) • 23.8m oz. reserve @ 0.49 oz./ton As much press and glory as the American gold mining industry receives, silver mining is no slouch either! Silver min-

20-Virginia City, Nevada capitalizes on its role in American history as the home of the first major silver strike in the country— the infamous Comstock Lode.

24 SILVER & GOLD 2015

ing in the U.S. has taken a similar path to that of gold mining except there were no large Eastern silver deposits that sent folks into a frenzy.

The Spanish/Mexicans did their thing in the West, until that region became American territory after 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase of 1853.

Silver mining never became an important industry until 1858 and the big rush to Nevada’s Comstock. That billion-dollar venture opened the eyes of the mining industry to the possibilities. Unlike gold, silver never had a fixed price, but did suffer a lot from the economic ups and downs that created rushes and busts.

Even so, the United States is a major silver producer, averaging five times as much silver (by weight) as the amount of gold it produces. In 2007, the USA produced 1,200 metric tons of the world’s 20,800 metric ton total. This came from 36 mines.

Nevada ranked number two in American silver production, only behind Alaska.

So how does American silver and gold production compare to that of other nations? An accompanying chart shows production figures from the last 10 years.

This is silver & gold American style! Who knows what the future holds? 

GARY SPECK has been researching and exploring ghost towns since 1968. Read all about those adventures in his Ghost Town USA column, appearing monthly since 1984 in Western & Eastern Treasures.

“Out of the murky water came a solid gold cane head as big as a doorknob!”

To Top It All Off

Charles found over a pound of gold rings, most from the same small beach, in one year.

By Charles Morrison believing it actually happened.

My approach to metal detecting is simple. Do the research.

Follow the tide charts. Keep a Of the many rewards and constant eye on the weather forethrills the hobby of metal cast, and most importantly, put in detecting has to offer, finding the time. Last year I logged gold is at the top of my list. over 150 trips and 600 hours This shiny metal has the in the surf. The majority of ability to instantly transform this time was spent in places an otherwise forgettable that I would not describe as afternoon into a cherished typical Cape Cod beach setmemory. In late June of tings. My tendency is to 2014, off the shores of Cape avoid the crowds and conCod, I had the good fortune centrate my efforts in the of making my most impressmaller coves and inlets. sive gold recovery to date.

Many of these have never This find was over 120 years been detected, and a lot of old, was not jewelry, and them contain gold. was almost passed over as a In late January, a converjunk signal. The circumsation with a stranger led me stances that led up to this to the discovery of a dream “once in a lifetime” find site. The rocky nature of this were so random that even now I have a hard time A Morgan dollar gives a good comparison for size. area made every signal a

SILVER & GOLD 2015 25

The bottom of the gold-topped ebony cane was missing from an old break.

challenge, but the place was full of old coins and jewelry.

Over the next four months my rock-turning was uncovering an average of one gold ring per trip. By June the ring count was over 50, and I was on cloud nine.

On June 19 I made plans to go on a hunt with a friend named Wayne, whom I’d met at work. I didn’t want to give up the location of my hotspot, so we agreed to try our luck at a popular tourist beach that has produced some spectacu-

The inscription on top reads, “C.A. Brooks, 1892.”

British hallmarks are visible within the lower design.

lar finds in the past. The day was warm, with a strong minus tide, but as often is the case in June on Cape Cod, the finds were few and far between. After four hours we had found less than a dollar between us, and no jewelry. Boy, was I missing my hotspot.

We needed a change of scenery, so when Wayne suggested a spot that he had tried previously, I was eager to go. We could still make the

High karat gold found by author Charles Morrison in 2014. All of these were above 18K. 26 SILVER & GOLD 2015

tide there, and our luck could only improve. As we drove along the shoreline, Wayne mentioned that the road no longer looked familiar. We had taken a wrong turn and now had to backtrack. Still wearing our wetsuits, both of us were starting to overheat. To be honest, I had begun to get discouraged, too. The day was slipping by with little to show for it. Pulling up to a stop sign, I noticed a tiny cove with a lone parking spot. “This looks better than nothing,” I growled as Wayne pulled into the space. We grabbed our gear and quietly entered the water.

The first two signals were older clad quarters. Ten minutes of hunting here had already produced more than I had found all day. The bottom was firm, with a gravelly base that could easily support a gold target. My next target was a tarnished silver religious medallion, always a good “To Top It All Off” Continues On Page 43.

SILVER & GOLD 2015 27

“Effective detection begins with selection. Learn how to choose the right units for you.”

Mark found these almost identical twins not far apart in the Nevada desert at depth, an area where a PI is preferred. Gus has a golden grin as he proudly displays his 1 pounder.

Gold Metal Detectors— Which One Is Best?

Oh, if only that question were so easy to answer! My job of selling metal detectors, offering field training, and testing a vari-

By Gerry McMullen ety of new products would be so much easier, too. The material and manuals my staff members burn into their heads, to later

This thin “foil” type gold nugget, missed by the old-timers, was found in a handdug placer pile.

28 SILVER & GOLD 2015

explain and show our customers, would make life much more enjoyable and simple. We’d only have to sell and train customers on the one that is best.

Six of the major metal detector manufacturers sell units specifically designed to find gold nuggets. At least three of those brands offer many different models for gold prospectors and varying prices for the consumer.

Many people ask, “Why do they make things so complicated for us if they all find gold? Better yet, what is with the pricing variance and the global span from $500 to over $5,000.” If one tries to use common sense or wisdom, you would think that the higher priced detectors must find more gold, right?

Let’s try to break things down to help identify the kinds of detectors we typically see. First off, the majority of gold detectors are run on two differing platforms of technology: PI, meaning Pulse Induction; and VLF, for Very Low Frequency.

Travis found these quartz “cocoon” crystalline nuggets with a high kHz VLF detector.

The author found these three nuggets recently that other detectorists had missed.

A closer look at a wire gold specimen. Search for these beauties in ore dump piles left by hardrock miners.

Do you know which one is better?

Can you be certain that PI is deeper than VLF? Which one is the best at finding gold? Is it the more expensive PI versions or the more affordable VLF detectors? Now that leads to another question I get asked all the time.

What is the difference between a VLF gold detector and a PI one?

If they are all made to find gold, why would it matter?

Hopefully, with my 35+ years metal detecting experience I can help some of you folks try to find the best gold detector for you. First, please realize that just because a metal detector will respond to gold rings, that does not make it a great gold nugget detector.

These are two totally separate types of targets that are usually found in different soil conditions. I also want you to realize there are always exceptions to the rule,

Idaho dredge tailing piles usually yield some nice nuggets.

but my information is for most general situations and ground types that I have experienced in the areas where I detect.

Let’s go over the Pulse Induction detectors and their pros & cons. The more popular gold detectors in these categories are the White’s TDI, Garrett Infinium or ATX, and the Minelab GPX series.

Pros: • Ignores “hot rocks” and “cold stones” better than VLF. • Detector can cancel out mineralized ground and run smoother than a VLF in the same conditions.

• Ground Balance is usually easier on a PI machine.

• Depth of detection is better on larger targets in mineralized soils.

• Most PI gold detectors are more forgiving and easier to operate for a beginner.

Cons: • Usually, PI units are more expensive than their VLF counterparts.

• Not as sensitive to smaller nuggets, specimens, and wire gold.

• Weights of most PI detectors are usually more than those of most VLF’s.

SILVER & GOLD 2015 29

Chuck scores his first gold nugget.

• With many PI’s, you need more power and batteries.

• Not as good iron discrimination on nonferrous targets.

Now let’s review the pros & cons of the VLF gold detectors.

In actuality, the VLF’s fall into two categories as well: true gold detectors with a higher kHz, and the popular multipurpose units that run a mediCrystalline gold found in ore dump piles, using a um kHz in the teens.

The most popular Fisher Gold Bug-2.

Chris found this 4 lb. boulder containing almost 9 oz. of gold— a $10,000 payday!

Author Gerry McMullen is all smiles after finding nuggets with the new Minelab GPZ-7000.

A specific gravity test showed this 1 pounder has over 3.7 ounces of gold.

30 SILVER & GOLD 2015

These Nevada desert placer nuggets and a surface find made for a great hunt.

These Arizona placer nuggets were found using PI detectors, at depth.

gold units are the Fisher Gold Bug-2, Garrett AT Gold, Minelab Eureka Gold, and White’s GMT.

Steve’s largest nugget to date was over 2' down.

When searching for sponge-type or crystallized gold, using a small coil on a high kHz VLF gold detector will give best results.

Pros: • Most are around $1,000 or less.

• More sensitive to smaller gold nuggets and specimens.

• Lighter in weight and can be used for longer periods of time.

• Fewer batteries, so overall cost and weight are appropriate.

• Better iron discrimination on manmade ferrous targets.

• Depth on tiny nuggets is better than that of PI.

Cons: • Hears many more “hot rocks” and “cold stones.”

• The extra sensitivity is hard to use in mineralized soils.

• Ground Balancing is not as easy in Wade found all these nuggets with a VLF detector most gold-bearing after they were missed by the big PI machines.

ground.

• Depth on large gold is less and in mineralized soils can be really bad.

• Many beginners easily get frustrated hearing all the sounds of a high kHz VLF detector in most areas where we detect.

• Field training from an expert is highly recommended, but usually involves additional cost. (Very well worth it if you find the right expert.)

Now you have a general idea of the pros & cons for the majority of popular gold detectors, either VLF or PI. As mentioned above in the VLF section, there are the higher kHz units which are designed strictly for gold, and then the medium kHz ones which usually are what I consider true multipurpose detectors. Why do I use the phrase “true multipurpose” and not just “multipurpose”? To me, some detector advertising is not as accurate as I would like.

Sometimes, too, the engineers will put a program such as

SILVER & GOLD 2015 31

When your detector sounds off loud and clear, don’t always assume that it’s only a can.

Another dredge tailing find made with a multipurpose VLF detector, with medium kHz operating frequency in the teens.

Spencer is understandably proud of this 1 oz.+ nugget recovered over 2' deep from alluvial placers.

32 SILVER & GOLD 2015

“Prospecting Mode” into a detector, and so the average Joe just assumes that the detector is a great nugget machine. Little does he realize that the prospecting mode of a detector running at a low kHz is not as good as a lesser priced unit that has a higher kHz. Here are some very popular true multipurpose detectors that can be used for a variety of hunting and do find gold: Fisher Gold Bug-Pro, Garrett AT Gold & Pro, Deus, Minelab X-Terra 705, Tesoro Lobo Super Trac, and White’s MXT series. Yes, there are others, but these are the more popular ones; so, please don’t get upset if I did not mention your detector.

I do realize that a gold nugget, if big enough and not in mineralized soil, can be detected by most metal detectors— if the discrimination is set correctly.

Scott recovered these tiny nuggets while sniping bedrock. VLF detectors are best for these “bread & butter nuggets.”

So, now you have seen a list of my favorite gold detectors.

And yes, I own almost every one that I mentioned, plus more. Let me explain why I use so many, and for which occasions.

Detecting in the alluvial gold fields of Nevada, California, Arizona, and Eastern Oregon in virgin ground, I prefer to use a Pulse Induction detector. Most of the areas that folks go to have been detected many times before, so I need the extra depth to get down below what most VLF machines can produce. The ground is usually more mineralized, and many areas have “hot rocks” and “cold stones.” I prefer to cover more ground with larger coils to get the extra depth of those who might also have a PI machine and hunt the same area.

We find heavier gold nuggets using Pulse Induction detectors.

I use different detectors for sniping in exposed bedrock and detecting in decomposed granite, clay layers, and hardrock dump piles. When searching these sites, I am trying to recover tiny gold nuggets, small specimens, and high-grade ore with thin veins of wiry gold. The higher kHz VLF “Gold Detectors” Continues On Page 44.

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SILVER & GOLD 2015 33

“On this trip to England I struck gold, unearthing a Henry VIII angel!”

Author Bruce Langbein’s Henry VIII gold angel after professional restoration.

St. George is pictured on the obverse.

Detecting: More Than An Adventure A Way Of Life

By Bruce W. Langbein This was my 12th trip to been a customer since 1996, and since I retired four years ago England with the England I’ve been going twice a year on Detecting Adventure tour. I’ve

A lead torso of Christ found in 2013.

A few years after Henry VIII died, many religious images like this one were destroyed.

34 SILVER & GOLD 2015

When found, the gold angel had some serious condition issues.

the spring and fall tours.

Most of the people who fill up the tours are repeat customers.

There’s just something alluring about detecting where so much history has happened. And once you’re hooked, you just keep on going year after year.

The field we started on that morning was sparse in coins and artifacts, so after lunch we were offered a different field. As frequently happens in situations like this, a lot of the hunters scatter to the far corners of the field to try to make up for lost time after being skunked earlier. I had already found an 1802 cartwheel penny, so I started in the nearest corner and soon dug a fibula, an ancient Roman brooch or clasp. I had a good feeling after that, and about halfway up the hill I found an Edward I farthing. At the top of the hill I ran into someone else’s grid, so I started back down, working parallel to my path up. A deep hit turned out to be an Edward I penny.

I continued down about 3/4 of the way before starting back up the rise. Maybe it was a premonition, but the first signal I

This Celtic gold quarter stater is Bruce’s most recent gold find.

dug on the third pass was a Celtic gold quarter stater of the Snettisham variety, from about 50 B.C.! It was barely under the dirt, and I was the first person to touch it in at least 2,000 years.

What a thrill!

I had a story called “The Streets of Gold” published in the 2012 Silver & Gold annual.

In it I detailed finding two gold coins about ten years apart near my hometown. The first was an 1838 British sovereign found The Celtic gold quarter stater moments after being unearthed.

“Mine was the first human hand to hold it in over 2,000 years!” notes the author.

Gold angel and Celtic gold quarter stater together. The angel is 96% fine; but the Celtic coin is of unknown purity.

A seal matrix depicting a pig, and a crudely made lead die (dice), both from the Medieval era.

An Elizabeth I halfpenny, Henry III voided long cross penny, and Edward I penny.

36 SILVER & GOLD 2015

An Elizabeth I sixpence dated 1582, and a Medieval pendant depicting two cockerels.

where a house burned down. I thought that it might have been brought over by an immigrant sometime later in the 1800s.

The second gold coin was a 1911 $5 Indian Head. My conjecture was that its loss was “A Way Of Life” Continues On Page 45.

“Digging three silver dollars and three $20 gold double eagles—now that’s a happy birthday!”

From stubbled, furrowed fields to rugged, remote hillsides... from the U.S. to the U. K. and back again...

John Steele is always ready for a new treasure hunting challenge!

Turning 70 and turning up treasure, too, author John Steele definitely had reason to celebrate! The three $20 double eagles later earned him a place in W&ET’s prestigious Gold Coin Club. On the flip side! The double eagles’ golden glow offers an eye-catching contrast to the Morgan dollars’ dark gunmetal and charcoal toning.

Birthday Silver & Gold!

By John Steele July 24 is my birthday, and was feeling pretty good about in 2014 I turned 70. Honestly, I that, and just the week before I never thought I would get that had found a 10 pesos gold coin. far, but thankfully I did. My Man, was I on a roll! daughter had given me a metal For me, Sunday is generally a day spent at home, but since it detecting trip to England, so I 38 SILVER & GOLD 2015

John’s relic hunting track record is an impressive one. Here he holds a pair of “US” cartridge box plates.

“Birthday Silver & Gold” Continues On Page 46.

“A treasure hunter’s quest seemed only a dream— but now it’s a dream come true!”

Capturing My White Whale

For author Abraham Harrington, this 1652 Massachusetts Pine Tree shilling represented a true find of a lifetime... “My holy grail! My unicorn! My white whale!”

By Abraham Harrington Photos by Brendan Bullock Lifetime Wish List!

Other Tree Coin I put a circle around that last Written in bold letters on a line, as those eight words represheet of yellow lined paper, sented the holy grail of discoverthese were the words that started ies for this Northeast treasure it all. Below that I scribbled hunter. Just think— a silver coin three separate long-range objecthat was minted before the tives, all preceded by a simple Salem Witch Trials. A coin that dash. circulated a century before - Horde of Gold or Silver Thomas Jefferson’s quill pen George Washington wrote the Declaration of Inaugural Button Independence and a new country - 1652 Silver Pine Tree or

Another prized find is this Spanish colonial cob struck at the mint in Potosi, Bolivia in 1664.

As soon as the clinging soil fell away and the coin’s telltale pine tree was revealed, Abraham knew that what once seemed only a far-fetched wish had come true!

was born. It’s difficult to wrap your head around such an incredibly historic artifact. Yet it bears nothing more than a skinny little pine tree with crooked limbs encircled by the word MASATHVSETS on the obverse; and on the reverse, a date of 1652, along with the Roman numeral XII boldly struck inside the legend NEW ENGLAND. Here in midcoast Maine, this coin is the ultimate symbol of early Colonial settlement.

Admittedly, I knew my chance

SILVER & GOLD 2015 39

of ever finding Massachusetts silver coinage was close to zero.

There are just not many of them out there, and to be among the lucky few who ever get their searchcoil over one was very unlikely to say the least.

Remember, that title on the yellow lined paper said “Wish List.” It did not say “Goals List,” which would imply that with hard work such a discovery was actually attainable.

This story begins on September 4th, 2013, my 37th birthday— the day my girlfriend, Kim, handed me a box that contained a shiny new metal detector. I had been researching them for months, and there in that box was exactly what I wanted... a deepseeking Teknetics T2 SE. From that day forward I spent all of my spare time mastering this new machine. At night I would research the rich local history until I fell asleep, then wake up with the iPad on my chest and continue reading until my eyes slowly closed again. I took screen shots, wrote notes, studied old maps, and spent countless hours at the library. This dedicated research led me to some great early sites, and 40 SILVER & GOLD 2015

before I knew it, I had a nice little collection of early copper coins and a few relics.

Soon afterward, I finally found my first Spanish silver coin, a beautiful 1782 - 2 reales!

On this same hunt I recovered an 1877 Seated Liberty dime (also a first), an 1821 large cent, and a brass pistol barrel. This particular site was located after a great deal of research, and couldn’t be found with a simple online search. I really had to dig deep to find the information that led me to it. The area was very difficult to reach as well, as it required a long canoe trip across some very rough water. I remember the incredible feeling of satisfaction when I pulled that beautiful 18th century coin from the dirt. I had put in the research time and the physical effort to get to this site, and was rewarded with some great finds. This was a very important day for me. It made me believe that I was capable of reaching the pinnacle of this great hobby. I now knew that I had the passion and skills needed to locate great Colonial sites and recover amazing pieces of history.

Now fast foward to the first week of November 2014. I had

been detecting for just over a year and had already amassed a great little collection of Colonial coins and relics. In fact, this first year had far exceeded my limited expectations. I had discovered that I loved anything to do with the Colonial period. I loved to read about it, study the early maps, and above all else, I really enjoyed finding Colonial treasures—the earlier, the better. So, I decided to focus all of my attention on 17th century history.

One weekend early that November my mother came to my house for dinner. She brought two books with her, both written about the early settlement of midcoast Maine. My mom loved the fact that I had fallen in love with history and found so much joy in metal detecting. She shares my passion for history and has been tracing the genealogy for our family for the better part of two decades; and, interestingly, our research often intersects. She had discovered these books in the dark depths of a small used book store while hunting for some family history. Little did I know that one of those books would be the key to a discovery I would never forget.

I sat down that evening and began to read, until my eyes got heavy and finally closed. I woke up later and continued to scan the pages. That’s when I came to a few simple sentences that described where an early plantation existed. A geographical feature was mentioned that seemed very familiar to me. In fact, I had read about this 17th century settlement on several occasions, but nobody seemed to know exactly where it was. Suddenly I was wide awake. I grabbed my Maine Atlas and stared at the area that I believed was being described. This had to be it.

The morning of November 9th started like any typical detecting day. I was up at 5:08 and on the road at 6:08. For those who know me, these times won’t sound odd. I am extremely superstitious, and 8 has always been my lucky number. I stopped at a local store to pick up a battery for my pinpointer, parking my truck beside a police car. I looked over and saw the number 8 on the side of the cruiser. I’m a big believer in signs and thought this to be a good one.

After a short drive I arrived at the site, grabbed my gear, and headed off into the thick forest. I immediately faced a large swamp that separated me from the area I hoped to explore. Not wanting to lose any hunting time to skirt the swamp, I decided to tiptoe over the blown-down trees that lay in the mucky water.

About halfway across... snap!

Down I went into the stinky mud. Once I finally managed to get out and reach dry ground, I pressed on despite being wet and cold. Not knowing my exact location, I reached for my phone, swiped the Google Earth icon, and waited— nothing. Great! I have no service and I’m at a new site that I’m unfamiliar with.

At this point I decided that I would just turn on my machine and start swinging, hoping to stumble upon an iron patch or some indication of early settlement. I quickly dug a couple of round balls and thought perhaps I was zeroing in on a productive area. Unfortunately, the site was barren— no trash, no treasure, no signals at all. At this point I was basically wandering around aimlessly and decided that my strategy (or lack thereof) was not going to be a successful one.

However, I knew a river was close by and decided it would be a good area to search, as the

banks of historic waterways had been very productive for me in the past.

I walked downgrade until I came to the edge of a large river, where I encountered a great looking spot with fertile soil and beautiful scenery. I began scanning the top of the bank that fell steeply to the flowing water below. Within minutes the top edge of the bank gave way, and down I went, tumbling 20' or so to the water’s edge. This hunt had not started well! I gathered up my gear and clawed my way back up the steep grade.

Taking a quick inventory of my equipment, I noticed that my settings had been changed during the fall. I quickly dialed my machine back in and started scanning again. I immediately got a high tone and could tell that the target was deep. The signal wasn’t great but certainly

worthy of further investigation.

I dig everything at these early sites! I removed an inch or two of the sandy soil and rescanned.

This time the signal was solid and repeatable from both directions. I said to myself, “Please be a keeper.” I did not want to go home empty-handed after being so excited about this new site. I dug a 7-8'' plug, carefully removed it, and scanned it with my pinpointer. There was no signal. As I lowered the pinpointer to the bottom of the hole, it began beeping rapidly, and I knew I was close.

I reached in, pressed my fingers down into the soil, and felt a small disc. As I lifted this mystery object, a small clump of dirt fell off its surface, my heart skipped a beat, I gasped for breath, and my eyes lit up! “No way!” I said repeatedly as the sun glistened off the little silver

SILVER & GOLD 2015 41

tree branches that were revealed.

Then I looked up at the sky and said softly, “I did it.” Suddenly it hit me— I had just found my holy grail! My unicorn! My white whale! That one little coin that I had hoped just maybe, if I continued detecting for 20 or 30 more years, I might be lucky enough to find.

I was in complete and utter shock. It was just 14 short months ago that I had opened that Teknetics box. Now I was standing next to a beautiful and historic river in the Maine woods, holding a 1652 Pine Tree shilling. My dream had just come true!

After gathering my thoughts I packed this rare treasure into a seldom-used, small padded container that was reserved for the best of the best. As I began scanning the area again, I quickly got another high tone. It was a weird and choppy signal about 4' from where I’d dug the tree coin. The signal was poor, but I knew it was a deep one. As before, I removed a bit of soil from the top of the ground and rescanned, and once again the signal cleared up nicely. I started to dig a plug but quickly hit a large root surrounded by a few smaller ones. I was able to maneuver my pinpointer into a small gap between the roots, and sure enough, the item was hiding in a small crevice down below. I tried to contort my hand and squeeze my fingers through the narrow gap, but these attempts proved unsuccessful. Finally, I was able to break a few of the smaller roots, get my hand inside the hole, and pull out a strange looking item.

It was not round and seemed much too thin to be a coin, but as I looked at the surface intently I thought I could see some sort of design. I decided to pack this mystery object into a separate 42 SILVER & GOLD 2015

container for later identification, and then continued detecting.

After a few more finds it was time to leave.

On my ride home I called George, a fellow treasure hunter.

He was so happy for me, a true friend indeed. We laughed hysterically, recalling a conversation we’d had just the day before. I had told him about wanting to check out this site, and he’d replied that although I might find some great old relics, this particular site would be completely devoid of period coins. “They didn’t use coins during that time,” he stated.

“Had no use for them at all.

They just bartered for everything.” I told him that I assumed they would have used coins at the trading post and to pay the local blacksmith. We continue to laugh about that conversation to this day.

When I arrived home Kim took one look at me and knew something special had happened.

I told her about the find, and she wrapped me in a bear hug and kissed me on the cheek. She understood just how much that small silver coin meant to me.

Things had truly come full circle. She had bought me that wonderful gift, and with it I had found my “Wish List” coin.

Now I found myself standing in our living room, with this incredible piece of history— a treasure hunter’s dream come true!

I had no idea what the condition of this coin would be, but I was careful to do only enough cleaning to permit detailed pics so that I could get an accurate identification of my find. I first sent an e-mail to a trusted friend and experienced treasure hunter, who advised me on how he would go about cleaning the coin while attempting to maintain the

nice dark toning that centuries in the earth had left on this piece of silver. The last thing I wanted was a bright and shiny 350-yearold silver coin with its value destroyed. I nervously rinsed the coin to remove as much loose dirt as possible. After this I placed it gently into a small container of lemon juice for a short period. Next, I dabbed a soft mascara brush against the face of the coin, then I rinsed it with water and laid it on a soft cloth. I was blown away by the incredible detail, and pleased to see that the wonderful dark toning had been maintained. The same friend who had advised me on the cleaning also nailed the variety as being NOE-29. Later, I used this same cleaning method on the mystery piece and was psyched to see that it was a 1664 Potosi mint Spanish colonial cob.

These were my first ever 17th century coins, and an incredible way to join the 1600s club. As for the Pine Tree shilling, I am so honored to be the caretaker of this incredible piece of history, and will cherish it for the rest of my life. This find proved to me that if you put in the long hours researching, and continuously put yourself on great early sites, anything is possible. This coin also has taught me that some things are much more valuable than what somebody will pay you for it. To have a coin in my collection that was last touched by the hand of a colonist more than 300 years ago is incredible. I hope by the end of my detecting journey I will be fortunate enough to add another Massachusetts silver coin to my collection. But regardless of what the future may hold for this midcoast Maine treasure hunter, I will always remember that incredible November day. It was truly a dream come true. 

sign. Scanning my surroundings, I headed out into deeper water.

Working my way among the mooring balls, I got a strong signal— larger than ring sized, but very conductive. After four scoops I was surprised that the target had failed to surface.

Reaching into the hole with my foot, I felt my boot slide over a long object. My first thought was that it was the butt end of a fishing rod, with the signal coming from the reel seat. Being well offshore, I wasn’t looking forward to dragging a fishing pole all the way in, and actually debated abandoning the target.

Then it happened. At this moment an uneventful day of metal detecting was changed by the find of a lifetime. I slipped my foot under the object, reached down, and brought it to the surface. Out of the murky water flashed a shimmer of gold, but surely this was too large to be real. I turned my back to the shoreline and stared down at a heavy, ornate cane top the size of a doorknob. It was solid and obviously real. The bottom was missing from an old break, but after two minutes of searching for it, my concentration was shot.

Hurriedly wading back into the shallows, I walked over to Wyne and told him that I had just made an incredible find and wanted to leave. One look at what I was holding was all the convincing he needed. It wasn’t until we were back in the car that I noticed the inscription on the top of the cane: “C.A. Brooks, 1892.”

It was my oldest inscribed gold item by over 20 years! Other than a break in the ebony wood, there was no damage. The top looked as if it had just been delivered by the goldsmith.

More than seven months have passed since that memorable afternoon. So far my research has

failed to provide the identity of the former owner.

Brooks was a prominent Cape Cod family name during the 19th century, but birth and death records have not produced a match.

The gold hallmark is English, so the cane could have been brought over by a vacationer from Europe.

How it came to rest where it did is also a mystery. Perhaps it was lost in the Portland Gale of 1898, which destroyed hundreds of boats, leaving their contents scattered along the ocean floor.

As far as value goes, my jeweler had a difficult time with the appraisal. He stated that many hours of labor were required to shave more than half an ounce of gold from the blank during creation of the design. After two hours of research and calculations, he came up with a conservative estimate of $4,500 for replacement. And to think that I almost left it behind!

Thanks to this and other recoveries, 2014 proved to be the most successful of my more than 20 years of detecting. I found over 90 gold rings, whose total weight exceeded one pound troy.

Yet of the countless holes that were dug (and filled back in!) and thousands of targets recovered, this one stands out above the rest. On a day when it seemed as if my only luck was going to be bad, one signal

“To Top It All Off” Continued From Page 26.

changed its outcome forever.

If I hadn’t agreed to meet up with Wayne, I would have spent the day at the honey hole. If our luck at the first beach had been better, we wouldn’t have left.

Had Wayne found his beach, then we would have finished our hunt there, not stopping at the inlet.

Most importantly, had I been lazy and decided to leave that “trash” target behind, I would not be writing this story.

Every day I am thankful for the time I spend afield. The friends and memories I’ve made are more valuable than any find.

I am fortunate to live in an area that has hundreds of miles of detectable coastline within an hour’s drive. Most of all, I am blessed to have a wife and family who not only put up with all of my metal detecting adventures, but encourage me to continue my pursuit of the unknown. 

SILVER & GOLD 2015 43

detectors work best for me, and my personal top three choices would be the Fisher Gold Bug-2 at 71 kHz, the White’s GMT at 48 kHz and the Minelab Eureka Gold in the 60 kHz setting.

Dredge tailing piles are one of my favorites to detect. Even though I own the high-end GPX Minelabs and the higher kHz VLF gold detectors, I use the “multipurpose” detectors for this task. These choices are based on trial and error, along with the amount of energy used to find the gold.

My high kHz VLF machines do not get the depth I prefer in tailing piles for the size of gold I am trying to recover.

When I decide to detect the tailing piles, I realize that the tiny nuggets are still in the heaps, but at what depth and how many?

Also, the majority of the material on most tailing piles in my region ranges from marble-sized gravel to softball-size rocks and even small boulders. Toss 100 small BB-sized targets into a pile of apples, and eventually the tiny targets will work their way to the bottom and out of reach of the higher kHz detectors.

Why do I not use an extremely deep and powerful pulse induction detector in tailing piles?

Well, actually I will use one in hand-dug placers and small piles, but the big piles from a dredge are very deep, and mixed in among the tons of material are all the discarded iron bits, broken parts, and other trash, much of it coming from the dredge itself. I have learned that the guys working these mammoth machines must have tossed all scrap metal and odd bits off the dredge after a repair. My PI detector has responded on a really weak signal, and after what seemed like an hour, at the bottom of a 3' hole, I find an iron bolt the size of a golf ball. Even on a trip to Alaska a

few years back, I spent a few days working one signal in some highly productive tailing piles, eventually exhuming a 55-gallon metal drum. If that does not kill a man’s spirits for a few days, I don’t know what will.

My lesson learned on dredge tailing piles is that there is more trash in the piles than most prospectors realize. The time and energy it takes to remove targets 2-3' and even 4' deep is exhausting. PI machines have the depth and power to get beyond all other detectors, but in this case I have learned that less is more. I prefer the lighter and faster coil sweep of the medium kHz multipurpose detectors for such nugget hunting. Some of my favorite detectors that have produced golden results in such piles are the Minelab X-Terra 705, White’s MXT, Fisher Gold Bug-Pro, and Garrett AT Gold. Even the AT Pro is capable of scoring some nice pieces from rock tailings.

Hopefully the information and field experience that I am sharing in this article will be put to good use. The reality is that no one detector is the overall “best,” but more importantly, it is you who need to do some additional research and find out what kinds of gold you are after, the terrain and soils you’ll be exploring for gold, and the kind of gold that is most prevalent in the areas you plan on detecting most often.

Gold comes in a variety of shapes, densities, purities, size, and terrains. Educate yourself on the gold found in the areas where you plan to prospect, and then match a proven detector to it.

Those of us who travel to different states and hunt a variety of gold-producing terrains for different kinds of gold have a selection of detectors best suited for each task.

The best metal detector to

“Gold Detectors” Continued From Page 32.

44 SILVER & GOLD 2015

find all kinds of gold, in different shapes, textures, depths, sizes, and densities, in varying ground minerals, is still to be made. Yes, I too have more than a couple of gold detectors, and I do use them at their strengths. On occasion, I might change detectors just after driving down the road from detecting an alluvial fan to prospect at an ore dump pile.

If the area you plan to detect is mostly known for mainly flour gold and tiny pickers, I recommend a higher kHz VLF gold detector. If history shows that larger nuggets came from the rich placers and you can afford it, step up and get a PI— but be prepared to dig deeper holes. Realize that you’ll miss a certain percentage of tiny nuggets, but when you do find gold it will be worth the wait.

If there are tailing piles with known larger nuggets and specimen gold, I prefer the multipurpose detectors with great iron identification so that I can be more selective on my targets. I want to make sure that most of the signals I am digging have a good chance of being gold. As I tell friends and customers who detect tailings with me, “He who digs 100 targets a day gets plenty of exercise. He who only digs nonferrous targets that day goes home with more gold.”

I have yet to find the gold detector that is best for all gold, so I’ll keep prospecting for it.

The reality is, you can’t find it all with just one gold detector.  GERRY McMULLEN grew up in Idaho with a metal detector in hand. He enjoys prospecting for gold nuggets and researching old sites. His website is www.gerrysdetectors.com You can view his metal detecting instruction videos and finds on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/Ge rrysDetectors

related to an old looking storefront nearby. At that time I’d been detecting for about 30 years, and I thought it rather remarkable that I’d recovered two gold coins in all that time.

But whoa! In the two years since then, I’ve found two more!

As I said, all along I’d been taking these England trips every year or so until retirement, when I increased it to two trips a year. Our tour guide, Roy, is always searching for new farms for us. There are some fields where we’ve been detecting yearly for over 15 years, yet they still yield finds. We also have more recently acquired fields. One we visited during the fall 2012 trip was so littered with Victorian-era “rubbish,” as Roy put it, that it became known as the button field.

It was on this field that we spent a good part of our tour.

The weather had been hot and dry, and ours was the first of the three fall tours. Although Roy had plenty of fields at his disposal, unfortunately Mother Nature wasn’t cooperating. The farmers were holding back on plowing the spent crops under, until the soil got replenished with some much needed moisture. The other fields we tried were either in stubble or roughly plowed and hard to walk on.

If a field was too “quiet” (light on finds), we’d bounce back to the button field because at least we’d be digging targets, even though most of them were modern or Victorian. “It was a blast to me, just like home,” I later wrote in my diary.

Every now and then, though, good finds were made amid all the “modern” targets.

Some hammered coins were found along with all the “gree-

nies” (early coppers) and buttons. My hunting partner on the trip, Susannah, walked up to me one afternoon with her hand outstretched. As I looked at the coin she’d found, I noticed that it had a rose on one side and a thistle on the other. I knew at once that it was Scottish, and we later learned that it was a James I silver farthing. A while later she called me over to help dig a target she had located.

One good shovelful and it was out— pilgrim’s lead ampulla (a tiny container for holy water or oil) from the 1100s which pictured Christ’s crucifixion on one side and the resurrection on the other. She left it with Roy to be donated to one of the museums.

Two days later we again found ourselves in the button field for the third time.

Susannah wanted to go back to the site where she found the ampulla. Here’s my diary entry from that day: “Two days ago she [Susannah] got her James I penny and ampulla. This time it was my turn. We kept a distance between us so our detectors wouldn’t chatter. I was about 30' behind her and to the right. I dug a good but crackly signal (caused by the dry ground), figuring it was more junk, and I held the target in my

“A Way Of Life” Continued From Page 36.

hand. I wiped the dirt away and was puzzled by the item’s appearance. It looked like junk folded over on itself, but had a gold color. Then it hit me! It was a folded-over gold coin! I had called Susannah over without knowing for sure that’s what it was, but it appeared to be a hammered gold coin. It had some heft— I couldn’t be making this up. Wow! What a thrill. Found at 3:20.”

As it turned out, it was a Henry VIII gold angel. Later, I had it professionally restored by a goldsmith in London. It took a year to get the coin back.

So what have I found between these newest two gold coins? Plenty of junk and a few gems, too, as attested by the photos accompanying this article. Detecting in England is similar to detecting here. You have to dig plenty of junk to get rewarded.

I’ve always used the “beep and dig” machines for the best results. I want to dig everything except large iron. In extremely dry conditions there is a loss of depth as well as clear, crisp signals. So, I usually dig crackly, broken signals just to make sure that I’m not missing any good targets. After all, that crackly signal could very well be another gold coin! 

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“Birthday Silver & Gold” Continued From Page 38. was my birthday week I had pergood news. mission to go detecting. I’d “Be down in a little while,” arranged to meet one of my was his response. detecting partners and head to a Kind of lukewarm, I spot we had searched before thought. with so-so results. It takes a Just as I was about to fill in while to get there, so neither of the hole, something told me to us swung a coil until about recheck it. To my surprise, I got 10:00 a.m. Once we were on another good signal. One scoop, site, I decided to head downhill, and another silver dollar fell out and my partner went uphill. We of the hole. Now I was psyched had found some “stuff” here to the limit! Back on the phone before, but this time I decided to to my partner, this time I got a, slow down and try clearing “Be right down!” some of the trash and vegetation Once again it was time to out of the way. Working along check and fill the hotel— and the side of a small hill, I got a sure enough, I got another good good signal. I can’t tell you signal! Back to the shovel, “I what the display of my White’s have to find out what is in Spectra V3i said because I there,” I thought. One shovelalways hunt in relic mode and ful, nothing... two shovelfuls, usually go by the sound. And of nothing. Then, just as I was course I wasn’t really expecting about to recheck, right in front anything good anyway. Well, I of me I saw three big, golden dug into the side of the hill, and coins! To say I was stunned out fell a big silver coin! At first would be the understatement of I didn’t know what it was, but as the year. Dropping to the soon as I picked it up I knew it ground, I picked up the coins was a silver dollar. In all my and knew right away they were years of detecting this was the indeed gold, just by the weight. first silver dollar that I had ever I picked them up and put them found. Needless to say, it was down about three or four times, pretty exciting! Immediately I not knowing what to do. Then called my partner to share the the strangest feeling came over me as I realized what had just happened. Every dream I had MAIL ORDER DETECTORS ever had about finding gold ARE EXPENSIVE! coins had just come true!

“We meet people every day who bought their mail order detector over a year By this time my partner had ago, and still don’t understand how to use it!” Who knows what priceless tarmade it down and said, “Let me gets they’ve missed... see the coins!” Dropping three Paying a little more to a local dealer is a real $20 gold double eagles into his bargain. In Michigan, your local dealer is: outstretched hand was quite a Pro/Stock Detectors feeling.

When he saw them, he Since (269) 685-1776 1968! couldn’t speak for about a whole Plainwell, MI minute— and believe me, that is •Between Grandrapids & Kalamazoo• an accomplishment. (You will www.prostockdetectors.com notice the lack of a name, by the way.)

TOKENS - MEDALS I didn’t dare clean the coins, CASH for your finds! Chauffeur’s badges, “good for” tokens, dog tags, tokens, medals, fobs, pins, so into the box they went. After badges, etc. Ship for top offer. Send SASE with that, we talked for about 15 minbrief list for “FREE Buying Guide”.

Rich Hartzog - World Exonumia utes and took some pictures. We POB 4143BOW Rockford IL 61110 were about to move on when I 46 SILVER & GOLD 2015

decided to check the hole again, and that’s when the third silver dollar fell out! Excited, we spent a couple more hours right there, detecting and digging, but never found another thing.

Evidently someone had hidden these coins under their floor, now long gone, and never recovered them. The gold coins were dated 1880s, ’80, and ’88, the silver dollars 1878, ’81, and ’88. The ones that had mint marks were “S.” On the long drive home that afternoon we talked about how I should handle the find.

Naturally, at first there is the impulse to tell everyone you know. Then you think maybe you shouldn’t tell anyone, but just keep it to yourself. We agreed that we shouldn’t tell anyone except our spouses.

Scouts honor.

Well, since then we have told all the club members the whole story, except maybe where the coins were found.

That’s still a secret, although a lot of people think they know.

Only six people really know exactly where I found the coins.

After a day like that, I thought my luck would likely run out, but happily that didn’t happen. On my trip to England, the birthday present, I found rare 2nd century Roman artifacts.

Let’s hope this year is as good! 

JOHN STEELE and his wife, Charlotte, live in Aurora, Colorado. They have three grown daughters. John is a retired Air Force colonel who has been detecting since 1970.

Charlotte works for a national non-profit organization. Both are active members of the Denver area Eureka Treasure Hunters Club.

“Sometimes those old tales really do turn out to be true!”

A Family Legend

An 1811 French 5 francs (left) and 1799 Spanish colonial 8 reales... prizes that would fill any treasure hunter’s heart with pride!

By Benjamin Simpson

It was the time of year when the leaves were off the trees and the air was getting crisp. For many of us treasure hunters, it was the time of year when we start searching for that new hotspot to try our luck. One particular week in October, I decided I would put a little extra effort into finding a spot that had great potential. When the long awaited day arrived, I carefully gath-

ered my gear with hopes of capitalizing on my limited free time.

My plan was fairly well thought out. In the days prior I had mapped a spot in a thickly wooded area that seemed to be scattered with remnants of old stone homes and barns. It was located only about a 3/4 mile from my house, and since it was a beautiful day I decided to hike to it.

When I was about half a mile

Hefting the huge coin in his hand, Ben now knew that those old tales just might be true!

into the woods and a quartermile away from my target spot, I noticed a familiar site. It was an old house where I had detected a few years earlier. This site was especially significant because my great uncle, a longtime local, identified it as the original home of his grandfather, Frank. In other words, this was my greatgreat grandfather’s house! I had almost forgotten about its existence, but as soon as I saw it again, memories of “Frank tales” returned to my mind.

You see, at nearly every family gathering, my uncle, knowing that I had a metal detector, would tell me about how his grandfather used to bury money around his house “up on the hill.”

Knowing my uncle, I was never entirely sure of the validity of his stories. I had ventured

SILVER & GOLD 2015 47

some of the trashy signals. So, because I was so far from the house, the signals were few and far between.

During the first ten minutes of the search I only came up with a few oil lamp pieces and some scrap iron.

Then, about 15 minutes into the hunt, I got a screaming 93 vdi signal on my Teknetics T2. Such a high number on this machine can mean just two things: a large piece of silver or a Author Benjamin Simpson holds a 216-year-old sil- lovely sounding piece ver coin! of junk. I knew there was a good chance that it was into the woods on more than one trash, due to the nature of the occasion, but after digging only site. Even so, I couldn’t help trash I decided that his stories mentally replaying the stories were just that, stories, and I that my uncle had told me so never returned— until now. many times. I hit my knees and After reminiscing about all started to dig. After tossing the of those stories that my uncle first shovelful of rocky forest told me, I decided to give it soil to the side, I spied a big silanother try. It seemed more than ver disk at the bottom of the just chance that had brought me hole! Words couldn’t have back to the site once again. explained how excited I was but I decided to start by working even at that point, I didn’t know the trail leading up to the house. truly how lucky I was. All I Without locating any “diggable” knew was that I had a massive targets there, I made my way up piece of cold silver in my hand. closer to the home site. I did, After closer examination and however, stay about 25 yards a little bit of rubbing (which I away from the house itself, with probably shouldn’t have done), I the thought that I could avoid

Pulling a second big silver coin from the same spot, Ben then hurried to a nearby stream to rinse away the clinging soil.

48 SILVER & GOLD 2015

discovered that I had a holed Spanish colonial 8 reales! After a little more cleaning the date was revealed— 1799! Having never found any other denominations of reales, this was hard to believe! This was a type of find that I had only seen in YouTube videos and online forums. After gathering myself, I decided that it would be a good idea to check the hole again. To my surprise, I had another signal in the hole, and it sounded just as sweet as the first! Using a pinpointer, I zeroed in on its location. As I swept away the soil from the bottom of the hole, another big silver disk flopped into view! I could not identify this second massive coin at first, but after a little cleaning I was able to read 5 Francs and 1811.

This was a coin that I knew very little about at the time, but after some research I found out that it was a high denomination coin made in France. Thoroughly rescanning the hole and not hearing any more beeps, I then walked down to a nearby stream to rinse off these beautiful pieces of early silver. After a light wash, their full detail came in to view. Apart from the 8 reales hole, they were in excellent condition!

After pulling myself together once again and sharing a few pictures on my cell phone, I made my way back home.

The day after my discovery, I went to my uncle’s house to show him what I had found. His excitement was surpassed only by mine the day before. That day both he and I became believers of the legend of “Frank”! 

BEN “COILCRAZY” SIMPSON is 19 years old and currently employed as an orchard worker.

This is his first freelance article.

“We pulled 265 coins out of that parking lot... and 64 were silver!”

Mike Tiemann uncovers another Barber quarter.

Right Place!

Right Time!

By Mike Tiemann

It all started as just a normal Saturday morning. Weather permitting, I would meet up with my hunting buddy and fellow club member, Dan Forth, and pick out some new sites to try

for the day. Our goal? Enjoy a fun day of detecting and hopefully come home with some silver coins in our pouches.

But something had been sticking in the back of my mind

The dozen Barber coins that Mike dug ranged from 1898 to 1911.

Dan’s 1823 Capped Bust dime was the oldest coin found.

from the previous week. While detecting at a favorite local park that dates from the 1870s, I had noticed something peculiar.

After deciding to call it a day, I put my detector away and was leaving the park for home when something caught my eye. Two pieces of construction equipment, a bulldozer and a backhoe, were sitting next to a very large parking lot in the center of the park. Why were they there?

That was the question that kept popping up as Dan and I discussed potential sites. After recounting what I had seen the week before, I suggested it was something that might be worth checking out before we decided to hunt somewhere else. Dan agreed, so off we went to see what was going on at the old park. As we all know with this hobby, being in the right place at the right time can be tricky— but when you are, and everything

SILVER & GOLD 2015 49

“Even though we knew it couldn’t go on forever, it was a lot of fun while it lasted.

The total count was 265 coins, 64 of them silver.

In addition, we each found at least one gold ring.”

Mike’s rewards included 24 silver coins.

falls into place, good things can happen!

As we arrived at the old park, we instantly knew that something big was going on.

Now there was even more con-

struction equipment and huge piles of what looked like dirt in the distance. So, we got out our detectors, geared up, and prepared to climb the hill where the parking lot sits.

As we

An assortment of the author’s favorite non-coin finds.

50 SILVER & GOLD 2015

approached the top of the hill, we both stopped in our tracks and stared in amazement.

Before our eyes was the approximately 10-11 acre parking lot, which we knew has been covered in asphalt for at least 74 years, with the paving completely removed!

Right place! Right time!

Quickly, we started detecting and found ourselves swinging our coils faster than normal, as coins were literally lying everywhere, some even right on the surface. A Wheat cent here, an

Dan Forth carefully works a section of the old parking lot.

Although time had taken its toll on some of the coins, this 1900 Barber quarter came out of the ground as beautiful as the day it was lost.

Indian Head there, Shield nickels, “V” nickels, Buffaloes... you name it, and it was there.

Then the silver started to pop up: a Barber dime, a Barber quarter, three Seated Liberty dimes in one hole!

After a couple frenzied hours of hunting, A.J. Phillips, another club member who was joining us for the day, showed up and instantly started to make great finds just as the two of us had. We finally calmed down a bit and spent the entire day there without seeing any other detectorists. The total for the hunt was impressive: 20-25 silver coins among the three of us, along with dozens of Indian

Heads, Shield and “V” nickels, and assorted other items such as tokens, rights, and buttons. The only problem was that 74 years under asphalt had taken its toll on the nickels, and few were in good condition.

Of course, we returned early the next morning to pick up where we had left off the day before. A.J. was able to bring his son, Zach, along, and the smile on his face told us that he was enjoying himself as much as we were. All four of us continued to make amazing finds all day long. As the hunt came to an end, we were already itching to get back to the site the following weekend. Hunting during

A.J. Philips (right) and son Zach had plenty to smile about while hunting this site.

Combing the top of the mound, Zach Phillips hopes to find something unearthed by the excavation.

An artistically altered coin, the love token that Dan found is unusually elaborate.

SILVER & GOLD 2015 51

A.J.’s best find was this beautiful Victorian gold ring.

Other “keepers” included an antique whistle and an Egyptian-motif watch fob.

the week was not possible, since the construction crews were still working.

The parking lot we were hunting was a vast, flat piece of ground with no distinguishing features at all. When you are faced with searching such a large area, a trick I have learned is to bring some marking flags, available at your local hardware store, to section off the area.

This allows you to hunt one smaller piece of ground at a time. Place flags at the four corners of an area you want to hunt, put more around the perimeter,

and then slowly grid the area with your detector to make sure that you cover the ground thoroughly. Once you have worked in one direction, turn 90° and work from the opposite direction or even diagonally to properly cover the area. You will be surprised at how many coins you pass over on your first sweep. If you can’t find any flags, using something as simple as rocks or sticks to mark the area can work just as well.

Just remember to slow down. Even though it is exciting to find silver coins, going too fast will only leave you with fewer coins than the detectorist who takes his time. When I first started out in this hobby I would zoom around and cover large areas of ground, only to discover that at the end of the day, the guys who picked out an area and worked it slowly always came up with better finds.

As we returned to the parking lot over the next few week“Why was this counterfeit Morgan dollar cut in ends, all four of us continued to make half?” Mike wonders.

52 SILVER & GOLD 2015

great finds. Dan dug an 1823 Capped Bust dime (the oldest coin found) and a Seated Liberty quarter, A.J. recovered a beautiful Victorian gold ring, Zach scored his first Shield nickel, and I came away with six Seated Liberty dimes and a dozen Barber coins. One of my more unusual finds was half of a counterfeit Morgan dollar!

But as we know, all good things must come to an end. As the construction crew continued their work, more and more dirt got moved around, and our finds slowed to a trickle. On the last day of hunting, the lot only yielded three silver coins and not much else. Even though we knew it couldn’t go on forever, it was a lot of fun while it lasted.

The total count was 265 coins, 64 of them silver. In addition, we each found at least one gold ring. Most of the coins dated from the late 1800s to around the turn of the last century.

Sometimes a hunch pays off big in this hobby, and I hope that you, too, can find your own “Right Place! Right Time!” 

MIKE TIEMANN, 45, is a steelworker who resides in Maryville, Illinois with his wife Heather. He is an avid detectorist and member of the Midwest Coinshooters & Historical Club in St. Louis, Missouri.

“Loaded with old coins— some silver, and one of them gold!— this site’s out of sight!”

A Favorite Place

Found years apart, these both looked great in the dirt but Ben’s reaction to the one on the right definitely wasn’t the same.

By Ben Slaybaugh

We all have a favorite place, full of memories. Some of them we still hunt even though we seldom find anything anymore; others are under concrete and steel now, but you still smile as you go by. You think of the great finds you made there and wonder if you will ever find another place is going to knock it off the top of the list, it is going to have to be incredible

for sure.

The three city lots owned by the county had stood empty for as long as I knew they were there. I had hunted them a few times before, but never found much besides a few modern coins. Last June the county began construction on a new parking lot for their buildings in the area. They dug up the driveways and sidewalks, and I

“This just might be my favorite coin,” says author Ben Slaybaugh, adding, “The scratches on the rim are from the construction machinery, not me!”

There’s nowhere left to search except around the sidewalks, but Ben’s still hoping to find something good.

promptly pulled up a 1902 Barber dime and 1884 Indian Head cent. A week later my two friends Harold and Scotty came down from Oklahoma to hunt with me. I was very disappointed to note that the construction folks had carried off over 2' of dirt from most of the three lots. I was sure they had removed all the good targets and left only sterile ground behind, I didn’t think anything would be that deep. We hunted around the edges and on the one lot they had not dug out yet, but did not find more than a few Wheat cents. Thirty minutes before it got too hot, my friend Harold moved into the deeper areas and promptly began finding a lot of old metal,

SILVER & GOLD 2015 53

my detector gave me another low “cent” signal that might indicate an old, worn Wheat or (I hoped) another Indian Head cent. It pinpointed on top of the ground, and I am ashamed to say that I did not dig it out, I kicked the loose dirt, and a coin-shaped object The oldest nickel found at the lot has encased in dirt flew Ben says, “I look worried because I am sure a 100About Uncirculated detail under all out. I could tell it was year-old person is going to appear and ask if I that pitting. too large to be a cent, found the $5 gold piece he lost!” hinges, key plates, and a Buffalo under the eagle. Still waiting but it did not sound like a nickel nickel. He shouldn’t have menso I thought it might be a token. for it to turn into a Reader’s tioned those to me...

When I picked it up it was really Digest $5 million grand prize The following weekend it heavy, though, so I was a little token (if you haven’t dug one of rained. On Sunday a week later confused. Then I turned it over. those yet, just wait!), I turned it it was well over 100° until late I wish I could describe better over and gently removed the dirt in the afternoon, and I did not how it clicked into place. First I from the front to reveal the get to the site until close to 7:00. noticed that the object was a beautiful head of Liberty and a Still not really believing that the bright golden brass color. Next, date 1905 under it. deeper areas could have much, I I noticed that there was an eagle I really can’t describe the hunted the sidewalks again and on it looking to its right, and next couple of minutes because I found a 1907 Indian Head. then I saw the writing around don’t know what happens durThen I stepped down into the the coin... UNITED STATES OF ing a “blur.” Eventually, I dugout area and after three steps AMERICA FIVE D with an S remembered to breathe, and then I finally realized that I was standing alone in the middle of downtown Wichita Falls, Texas late on a Sunday evening, with a gold coin in my hand. I tried to hunt some more. Normally after digging a neat coin like a Walking Liberty half dollar, I pull up so much trash for the next few hours because I dig every scratchy target. After this coin, I found that when I could move again I swung the coil five or six more times, dug up one trash target, and then had to leave because I had the willies!

Someone was going to come and take it from me if I stayed any longer. (I actually took it out of my pouch and hid it in my sock for the walk across the A number of the older silver coins looked as if they’d been in a fire.

54 SILVER & GOLD 2015

A semi-key date, this 1922-D Wheat cent is in surprisingly nice condition, compared to others recovered at the site.

street to my car!) If there had been a cache of them there, I would have walked off and left the rest. I did manage to call my two metal detecting buddies once I was locked safely in the car— only to share, not to brag, of course!

One thing that does happen, though, is that you keep going back. I have hunted this lot 29 more times so far, and even if it had not given up the gold coin it would probably be one of my favorite areas. Barbers and Indian Heads are hard to find in north Texas, and this lot had more of them than I’d ever found in an area before. The total amount of money I have found there so far is $11.14, and $7.98 worth of those coins were keepers. The total is 69 Wheat cents, 38 from the teens and ’20s, including a really nice 1922-D, and only ten from the ’50s; four Indian Heads (1884, 1898, 1906, and 1907); three “V” nickels (1897, 1898, 1901); eight Buffaloes, all from the teens except one I cannot get a date on; an 1890 Seated Liberty dime, my third Seated coin ever; six Barber dimes from 1899 to

1907; a 1905-O Barber quarter, and of course a 1905-S $5 gold coin.

I also found three Mercury dimes from the teens, a silver Roosevelt, a 1943-S Washington quarter, and two “war” nickels. Almost all of these coins are in bad shape.

Harold found an 1887 Seated Liberty dime and a 1905 Indian Head when he joined me for a followup hunt.

I also found over a pound of old style pulltabs and a lot of charred wood. I suspect that there was a bar on the lot that burned down, and a county deputy later confirmed that’s what happened, sometime in the mid ’20s. They then covered the lot with dirt, and three houses were built there during World War II. Those houses were torn down in the ’90s, when the land became county property.

I have noticed one other thing that happens after you find a gold coin. You are never allowed to whine during a hunt ever again. I have a reputation for possibly letting go of my shovel in the direction of Harold (the general direction... it didn’t even come close!) when he cut across me and then found a Barber half dollar one day many years ago. In my defense, after 16 years I still haven’t found one of those— but as I said before, I am no longer allowed to whine about it.

It’s really hard, you know... 

SILVER & GOLD 2015 55

NEWS RELEASE

IN MEMORY OF CHARLES LEWIS GARRETT 1932-2015

Charles L. Garrett— inventor, entrepreneur, treasure hunter, patriot, husband, and father— died on April 3, 2015.

A native Texan and resident of Garland, Dr. Garrett and his wife Eleanor in 1964 founded Garrett Electronics which grew to become the world’s largest manufacturer of metal detection equipment.

Garrett detectors have discovered some of the world’s most valuable buried treasures, and its security equipment has protected millions of travelers and others, including Olympic athletes and spectators at the Games since 1984. Dr. Garrett was born in Houston on April 1, 1932, and grew up in Lufkin.

After four years of service in the U.S. Navy during the Korean conflict on board the USS Bottineau (APA-235), he graduated from Lamar University in Beaumont with a degree in electrical engineering. A lifelong treasure hunting hobbyist, Dr. Garrett first developed a metal detector for his own use and because it was so much superior to others, he and his wife founded a company to sell it.

He discovered treasure with 56 SILVER & GOLD 2015

metal detectors of his own design on every continent except Antarctica, and he also scanned under lakes, seas and oceans of the world. Many of the treasures and relics he discovered are displayed in the Garrett Museum at the company’s factory in Garland. In 1984 the company also began to manufacture walkthrough and hand-held security detectors, including the famed Super Scanner, the world’s most popular hand-held detectors, and revolutionary new walk-through units. As a patriotic American, Dr. Garrett generously donated his company’s equipment for numerous projects where metal detection equipment was required, including many of the Olympic Games.

He authored some 20 books and wrote literally scores of articles about metal detectors, treasure hunting on both land and under water and security. Many of his books remain in print.

Today, the name Garrett stands as a worldwide synonym for treasure hunting and security metal detectors. Charles himself has been called the Grand Master Hunter. Along the way, he also became recognized as an unofficial spokesman for the hobby of treasure hunting and the metal detecting industry

through a long list of honors, personal appearances, books and articles. U.S. Representative Sam Johnson visited the Garrett factory in February 2010 to read and present to Dr. Garrett a copy of the Congressional Record in which he acknowledged the quality and determination of Garrett’s American-made products.

Charles and Eleanor Garrett have been generous contributors to Lamar University and her alma mater, Sam Houston State University. Both have been granted honorary doctor’s degrees from these schools.

Charles Garrett was presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during Lamar’s spring commencement ceremonies in May 2011. The Charles and Eleanor Garrett Engineering Center was dedicated at Lamar University in April 2012.

Survivors include his wife of almost 60 years, Eleanor; three children, Charles Lewis Garrett, Jr., Deirdre Lynne Garrett Hasselbach and her husband Timothy of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Vaughan Lamar Garrett, his wife, Angela, and their two children, David and Sydney.

In lieu of flowers, anyone desiring to make a donation can do so in memory of Charles Garrett to: Lamar University Foundation, P.O. Box 11500, Beaumont, Texas 77710.

MINELAB USER LOCATES 87-OUNCE GOLD NUGGET

LISLE, IL— Minelab, a world leader in providing metal detecting technologies for consumer, humanitarian demining, and military needs, today announced that Australian gold prospector Michael Brown has uncovered an astonishing 87-

DIVERS RECOVER 2,000 ANCIENT GOLD COINS

This 87 oz., solid gold monster was found with a Minelab metal detector in Inglewood, Victoria, Australia.

ounce solid gold nugget during a prospecting expedition in Inglewood, a town located in the state of Victoria, Australia.

Discovered in 6'' of ground with a state-of-the-art Minelab detector, Brown’s find is estimated to be worth over $130,000 (AUD), based on Australia’s current gold price per ounce.

“I’m still in absolute shock about finding a gold nugget of this magnitude!” said Brown.

“As a professional gold prospector, this find is a monumental accomplishment in my career.

I’ve been using Minelab detectors for years, and the invest-

Professional prospector Michael Brown proudly holds the huge gold nugget valued at over $130,000 (AUD).

ment has more than paid off.”

“We build our products with the goal of changing people’s fortunes,” responded Gary Schafer, Minelab’s general manager of worldwide consumer markets. “We are so pleased that our detector was an essential part of Michael’s incredible find.”

Brown’s discovery follows on the heels of Minelab’s newest product release, the GPZ 7000.

“Equipped with Minelab’s exclusive groundbreaking Zero Voltage Transmission (ZVT) technology and state-of-the-art features, the GPZ 7000 offers the deepest ground penetration and represents the most significant advancement in gold detecting technologies in years,” a company spokesperson noted.

“With its ‘Super-D’ coil configuration, the detector has proven to provide up to 40% depth improvement, compared to other detector models on the market.”

The GPZ 14 coil is also fully submersible up to one meter in water, and the unit is powered with a high-capacity lithium battery that can last over eight hours on a single charge. The detector also contains embedded, stateof-the-art anti-counterfeit technology.

To learn more about Minelab, visit minelab.com

Scuba divers have found the largest cache of gold coins ever discovered in Israel, working on a wreck site in the ancient harbor of Caesarea on the country’s Mediterranean coast, according to the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA). The treasure trove of 2,000 coins weighs more than 20 lbs. and dates back more than 1,000 years to the Fatimid Caliphate, which ruled much of the Middle East and North Africa from 909 to 1171.

The coins are described as “priceless.”

“It is probably the shipwreck of an official treasury boat which was on its way to the central government in Egypt with collected taxes,” said IAA director of marine archaeology, Kobi Sharvit. “Perhaps the treasure was meant to pay the salaries of the Fatimid military that was stationed in Caesarea to protect the city.”

Also commenting on the discovery was Bridget Buxton, the University of Rhode Island’s Associate Professor of Ancient History and Mediterranean Archeology.

“In 2011 we received a small grant to purchase a J.W.Fishers Pulse 8X metal detector to assist in archaeological work I was doing with the Israel Antiquities Authority.” Buxton, an accomplished scuba diver, worked with IAA’s Jacob Sharvit to investigate several of the country’s known shipwrecks, and to locate undiscovered sites. One wreck that was uncovered appeared to be the remains of a famous lost warship from the Napoleonic siege of Acre in 1799, a wreck that historians have been trying to find for the last 50 years.

Using their Pulse 8X metal

SILVER & GOLD 2015 57

Dr. Bridget Buxton with the Pulse 8X detector. Insets: Some of the 2,000 gold coins found off the Israeli coast.

detector, the team located large copper nails, cannonballs, grapples, 18th century muskets, and other artifacts in concretions.

“When the project ended, I left the detector with the antiquities authority,” said Buxton.

“When IAA divers got on the scene of this most recent discovery, they were using the Pulse 8X to locate and recover the bulk of the 2,000 gold coins. This July I’m going back to Caesarea to put together an expedition to find more shipwrecks and a neolithic buried city that we believe to be in the same area where the gold coins were found.”

“Finding shipwrecks is much easier than securing funding for projects,” commented Buxton.

“Going out looking for extremely rare and valuable things, that may or may not be there, is the riskiest thing you can do in archaeology. It’s too risky for most grant giving agencies. So, we’re dependent on donors with long term vision and an entrepreneurial mindset.

“One thing is for certain: the URI students who shared this experience were transformed by it. Some of them have already 58 SILVER & GOLD 2015

used their projects in Israel to compete successfully for national scholarships and take the first big steps in their academic careers. I hope to find a way to bring all of them back to continue their research with our Crusades field school students this year. Last year we found Crusader gold at Akko with the help of the Pulse 8X.” Another university with an active underwater archaeology program is Indiana University (IU) Bloomington. They have one of the oldest academic diving programs in the county.

Professor Charles Beeker is the director of the school’s Office of Underwater Science & Educational Resources (USER) and also a member of the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee, part of NOAA. He has directed numerous shipwreck projects in the U.S. and Caribbean and is a pioneer in preserving wreck sites as underwater museums. In addition to his extensive knowledge and experience in the history behind these submerged time capsules, he is also an accomplished diver.

One of the more recent proj-

ects in Indiana’s archaeology program is the wreck of the Quedagh Merchant. The ship was reportedly captained by the pirate William Kidd as he raced to New York in an ill-fated attempt to clear his name. The ship went down in 1669 off the coast of the Dominican Republic, and the wreckage now lies in 10' of warm, clear Caribbean water, with cannons and anchors scattered about in plain view.

According to Beeker, it is a unique example of 17th century ship construction.

The location makes it ideal for in-depth archaeological study and the perfect place for students to put into practice the methods and techniques learned in the classroom. “How you put a name on a shipwreck is through scientific research, analysis of wood samples, determining composition of the ballast stones, and the type of ship construction,” says the professor.

USER follows a multi-disciplinary approach to underwater research, drawing in students from six university departments.

Their facility has a 1,000 square foot lab with numerous waterfilled tubs holding recovered artifacts, including 19th century china that was on its way to the California gold rush from Hong Kong, and hand-blown ale bottles from Germany. Two key pieces of equipment the group relies on to assist in locating artifacts are J.W. Fishers’ Pulse 8X hand-held underwater metal detector and PT-1 pinpointing magnetometer.

For more information on J.W. Fishers’ underwater search systems, go to  www.jwfishers.com

“I was hoping for a Gold Rush relic, and up came a 2-1/2 oz. nugget!”

Gold Is Where You Find It!

Author Ron Swenson holds the 2-1/2 oz. gold nugget that came as a complete surprise during a recent relic hunt.

By Ron Swenson Of course, we as detectorists don’t “Hey, where did you find that usually just give away our good silver coin?” sites except to very good friends “Where did you get that gold or trustworthy hunting partners. ring?”

But there is a very easy answer to “Wow! That is a huge gold these questions— the answer that nugget! Where did you find it?”

These are some of the typical questions you will hear when showing friends and family some of your better finds. Not too often do you hear it from a fellow detectorist because they know better!

Nothing beats the thrill of unearthing a nugget like this one!

Ron’s big gold nugget is shown here with a Seated Liberty dime found at the same time.

I recently gave after finding a very nice gold nugget: “Gold is where you find it!”

Let’s face it, sometimes things turn up in the most unlikely of places. Not everything in our hobby makes sense, and sometimes the greatest finds are those that pop up when you are not even looking for that type of treasure.

For example, let’s say that you are coinshooting in a park, looking for silver coins, and you get a deep low conductor. You are hoping for a Buffalo or “V” nickel, but then out pops a gold ring! Wow!

Indian Head cents and silver coins turn up at relic sites, too.

SILVER & GOLD 2015 59

Prospecting & Detecting Maps

GOLDMAPS www.

.com

Eastern States & CA (321) 783-4595

What a surprise and what a great find. Part of the thrill is the fact that you simply were not expecting it. But that gold ring was where you found it! Or maybe you are beach hunting, deliberately looking for a gold ring, and instead up comes an old military button. Again, such a thrill was not something you expected, but that relic was where you found it!

My hunting buddy, Mark Dayton, and I have both had recent experiences with the unexpected. Specifically, we have both been fortunate to find some nice gold nuggets when least expecting it.

Recently, Mark and I have been videoing many of our “California Relic Adventures”

Additional nuggets dug after the discovery of the 2-1/2 oz. nugget at Ron and Mark’s first official gold patch!

and sharing them on YouTube, letting everyone experience the same thrill as we did during our hunt.

That means we have several hours

of us digging square nails, shotgun shells, modern bullets, and a whole pile of other junk. But every now and then we get a fan-

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A sampling of the larger gold nuggets that Ron and Mark have unearthed while searching for relics.

tastic dig on video. This article is about one of those rare moments in which we captured a great discovery.

Mark and I have been researching several Gold Rush era home sites and stage stops, and have been having some success finding some really great relics.

After searching one of these for several weeks, we decide to move to another location not too far away. Once again we found the iron laden areas and started to pull up some nice relics. First I scored a crusty Seated Liberty dime that was in pretty bad shape. It looked as if it had been through a fire, but after a little cleaning I discovered it was my very first “CC” Carson City minted dime. Go figure. Of all the Seated Liberty coins I had dug in the recent past, this has to

be the ugliest of them all.

Although she is not very pretty, she holds a prestigious place in my collection as my first “CC” coin.

Not 10' away, Mark had just unearthed another coin. It, too, was hard to recognize but it had a square hole right in the center, so we figured that it was a Chinese coin. However, after a little rubbing we saw the glint of silver and discovered it was a Barber dime with a square nail hole right through the middle! This site was beginning to pan out. We’d already recovered two older silver coins in the first 30 minutes or so, and now visions of silver coins flashed through our minds.

About two hours later and no silver coins later, I decided to broaden my search area, drifting out to the fringe areas where rapid-fire iron signals didn’t fill my headphones. So, I had a nice threshold again, and not too many targets. I kind of appreciated the smooth threshold and enjoyed giving my ears a break, but then I got a very sweet signal on my Minelab CTX 3030. It was hitting higher, and I thought it might have a good chance of being a coin.

Not only that, but it was reading about 6'' deep. I really like it when I get a nice coin signal at depth.

Mark was still pounding it out in the iron, so I went ahead and started to dig.

As I was digging, I remem-

At 51.1 pennyweight, or 2.55 oz., Ron’s prize secured him a place in the MultiOunce Gold Nugget Club!

Nailed it! Mark’s Barber dime with a square nail hole in the middle.

bered a couple of gold nuggets that I’d recently found. They had weighed in at 1 oz. and 1.3 oz., and given similar readings on the CTX. Mark’s monster nugget of nearly 4 oz. had also done the same. At that point, I started to slow my retrieval process and just scratch at the target, constantly checking it with a probe to see how close I was getting. About 6'' down I saw the first gleam of gold! I immediately stopped digging, and on went the video camera. “Holy cow, dude!” I yelled to

This “toasted” Seated Liberty dime was Ron’s first with a “CC” (Carson City) mintmark.

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Among the relics that Ron and Mark have recovered is a prized Gold Rush brass tongue buckle depicting a Federal eagle.

Mark. “Get over here!”

With Mark now at my side, we continued to roll with the video. I knew I’d found gold as its natural glow is hard to mistake, and seeing the glint of a natural gold nugget is an incredible feeling. I was getting pretty excited. I did not know how big the nugget was, as I could only see a few millimeters of it at this point, but from past experience we knew that a nugget hit in the 39/40 range on the CTX usually meant BIG! Mark took control of the video while I slowly chipped away at the hard, dry dirt that held this nugget hostage. He encouraged me as I began to dig. “Come on, be a monster!”

A few chips and a few rubs, and another edge popped up at least an inch away from the first edge. “It’s getting bigger!” I exclaimed as my excitement level began to build. I felt like a 6-yearold on Christmas morning!

Moments later, I got some leverage with my Lesche digging tool, and out popped the nugget!

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Hefting that hunk of gold, I immediately felt the weight and just dropped it back in the hole. I started rambling that it was at least a couple of ounces, and I knew right then that this was the biggest gold nugget I’d ever found. What a rush! Mark was telling me to grab it, and when I did we could see that it was a nugget with a lot of character. The neat thing was that we’d captured this entire episode live on video, and now the raw excitement of that moment was ours forever.

After settling down a bit we rinsed off the nugget and shot some additional footage as we knew this was going to be a stellar live dig video and one that friends and relatives would get a kick out of. My Ma and Pops (Margene and Ron, Sr.) would really appreciate this as they live in Oakland, Nebraska and enjoy a little prospecting when they visit us in California. We usually only find a few flakes in a gold pan, so there was no doubt that they would enjoy seeing me

find this whopper!

We continued our relic hunt, which had now turned into a nugget hunt, but sadly, no more monsters were to be found. After that, we headed back to Mark’s to get a weight on the chunky nugget. As I set it on the scale, I was hoping for at least 2 oz. of gold so that I could claim a spot in the Multi-Ounce Nugget Club.

Mark had already joined a few weeks earlier with his big gold nugget, but that is another story in itself.

I set the nugget on the scale, and the blue LED screen flashed up the final weight: 51.1 pennyweight— 2.55 oz. of gold! Yes! I got to join Mark in the MultiOunce Gold Nugget Club.

What a thrilling hunt! We had started out looking for Gold Rush relics, without even a thought of actual gold on our mind. We knew we were in a great site from the early finds, and then out of nowhere out pops a nice nugget.

You simply have to love this hobby! For me it is not really about monetary value, but the thrill and excitement I get when I find a great relic, an old coin, or a gold nugget like this one. It is even more exciting when you are least expecting it. So, keep your coil to the soil, and who knows what might pop up in your next plug!

“Hey, Ron, where do you think I can find a nice gold nugget?” you ask.

My simple answer: “Gold is where you find it!” 

RON SWENSON has been metal detecting since 1997. He primarily relic hunts or nugget hunts but enjoys all aspects of the hobby.

He and Mark Dayton have a few videos on YouTube.

Search “California Relic Adventures” and join them in their quest!