My First Buffalo Nickel

[Coilcop]

My wife and I set out for another day of coin shooting, and happened into an old farm site, that has now been open to the public, with trails. We went to see if we could dig up some goodies. We began walking on the new trails, and the beauty was there was no trash yet, so when the detector sounded, it was either old farm equipment remnents, or old coins. We were about a quarter mile into the woods, when we saw the remains of an old farm shed, certainly used to house farm equipment. We were excited that we found an area that was perhaps amid a lot of activity years ago. We were disappointed, to find out that lots of chicken wire had been buried just beneath the surface, so it became very difficult to get a good reading on anything that may have been of interest to us. I began to ignore the static from the wire, that seemed to permeate most of the small area under, and in front of the shed. Then, about a half hour into the search, came a signal that read +22, and as I continued to zero in, it fluxed in the 20s. Those signals, from my brief history, have never turned up well, especially when they were shallow. I pinpointed to a depth of 1.5", so we went in. It was within a few seconds, when pulling the shallow pjug from the ground, out popped a coin, and it tumbled on the towel. It looked like a penny at first, darkened by lying in the soil for decades. My wife picked it up, and as she was wiping it, to see what it was, I saw the buffalo and immediately knew we had found our first buffalo nickel! An exciting moment for us both, and how unbelievable that it was layed to rest just 1-1.5" beneath the surface. The area was rocky and hard, so coins have not gotten buried deep. I thought I'd share this story, because we are only 3 weeks into this, and there is undoubtedly a learning curve, of where to go, how to listen to what your detector is telling you. I would typically not of dug a shallow signal of +22, because it is 99% of the time junk, or foil from a gum wrapper. I also wanted to share this with anyone not having much luck finding some of the desired treasures out there awaiting us all. I wondered why we were not finding anything other than clad, and suddenly we have found a 1942 Mercury dime, followed by a 1939 quarter, followed by a 1923 Mercury Dime, and today a 1930 Buffalo Nickel. Although these treasures pale in contrast to some of the things found by others, we can say with certainty, we have come a long way in a short time. My message is simple, if your just starting out, patience is your virtue! We have come a long way in a short time, and we have a long way to go, so hang in there, you will be rewarded for carrying on!

[bigjohn]

nice find

[Dick from IA]

Great account of your Buffalo find, Coilcop. I started MDing just two years ago,and it's still fun to hear from the new folks and see the excitement they are experiencing.

I'm still looking for my first Buffalo, BTW, so I'd say you're doing well

[leelo]

hey colicop, my opinion is your finds are just as great as anyone elses, although as time goes along, it will get better and better. continued good luck to you and your wife, in 2007. very nice finds indeed.

[journeyoftheanimals]

Very nice story. I to have only been detecting like 3 weeks. It sure is nice to find something a bit different huh? Keep at it. My Ace 150 has already paid for itself with one thing I found.

WOW, great finds !!! Just goes to show that not all old coins are 5 or 6 inches deep !!!

You never know what it is until you have it in your hand.
I know someone who found a perfect IH just laying on top of the ground.