Gold in 2008

[johnj45586]

I didn't post yesterday (Wed) because the hunt was somewhat less than spectacular. I went to Aliso Beach - mostly because of the free parking and possibility of finding something. I really just wanted an afternoon at the beach to walk my ACE 250. Actual finds weren't that important.
While there I was approached by several tourists asking about metal detecting. One was from North Dakota and one from Canada. I didn't catch where the others were from. That is a good sign though, having tourists at the beach. Unfortunately they were mostly on the benches, very few blankets on the sand.
I hunted Aliso and the beach to the south and back. On the way back I was below the erosion line where I bumped into some fishermen. One asked about the metal detector and mentioned he had just lost some change when he sat in the folding chair he was using. I moved the chair and found his change for him. He was suitably impressed.
The electricity is still out to the site so the parking lot is free. I didn't find much trash to pick up and as that might imply, not very much treasure. The finds for the day included 3 quarters, 4 dimes, 2 nickels and 11 pennies. It was just enough to prove that I was set up right and searching the right areas (below the erosion line). The finds were just where I expected, just not as many as I would have liked.
Today (Thursday) I headed for Huntington Beach with the thought of searching in areas not normally reached by detectors (further away from the pier). I took the 55, which turns into Newport Blvd. to the Coast Highway then went north. Just as I was leaving Newport Beach and before the Huntington Beach city line I saw a beach access sign, and a Newport Beach parking sign. I reconsidered where I wanted to hunt and did a U-turn.
There is a street that runs parallel to the coast highway. There is a small block of houses between this street and the sand of the beach. I saw that I could park for free and did so. First I checked out a playground with sand. I found a few pennies and a coke cap (good for 3 points at MYCOKEREWARDS, 33 of these gets a coupon for a free 12-pack).
I started to head for the beach, but my wife had to take a restroom break. While waiting I remembered the sign said there was Newport Beach city parking nearby. I walked down the street and saw a strip of parking. I crossed my fingers and approached until I could see the installation. There were two meters on a single pole. The pole was set in a concrete pad about 2X2 feet. All around this was sand and sand/dirt mix with some daisies and palm trees.
This was the setup I have been dreaming of ever since reading Portraitartist's posts. I went back to the restroom to pick up my wife, then back to the car to switch out to the sniper coil. I put away the scoop and got out the little steel knife I found at Salt Creek and the Bullseye II hand held pinpointer.
As soon as I sat the coil near the dirt I got a hit. I pinpointed with the ACE, then zeroed in with the Bullseye. The first coins were near to the surface so I could either just pick them out of the dirt or pry them out with the knife.
On and on I went, swing, kneel, search, dig, stand and pocket the "treasure". I found a fair number of bottle caps, pull tabs, hunks of foil and general litter, which I bagged.
Along the way I got what I recognized as a special hit. I found a silver band (or so I hoped). It turned out to be unmarked and silver plated - the silver plating was missing in spots and the base metal was corroded.
A little later I saw gold sticking out of the dirt. I ran the coil over it and got a good hit. I knelt and removed it with my fingers. It was my first gold ring for the year. I saw right away that it was really "gold filled", but that was good enough for me.
The stone looks like a semiprecious gemstone. It has the internal bands of light - similar to a star sapphire, but in parallel bands of light instead of a star. I'm not very cognizant of gemstones, precious or otherwise. If anyone can identify it from the pictures I have attached I would appreciate it.
Other things I found included two tokens. One was similar to the one Coldfeet found on a beach in England - with the eagle. The other is a carwash token. Both had exactly the same back (no cash value).
When I got home and was checking the quarters, dimes and nickels with the loop (looking for silver) I discovered one of the quarters was really a foreign coin. It is a 100 yuan from Korea.
I found a metalized plastic "copy" nickel in two pieces. I have no idea what it could have been made for. I just found it.
I found 3 pieces of what looks to be the same kind of coin or token. The 3 pieces are from the same area and have the same markings. Another puzzle. I don't know what they represent or why there would be 3 pieces from the same area on 3 coins. There were no other pieces to be found.
I found a back from a watch (Mark Nauner) and a big GM key (with the microchip inside).
There were 10 poles in the strip with 20 meters. The parking is at an angle so the strip is probably 100 feet long. It is taken up with the 2X2 foot pads, a light pole and its pad, and 6 palm trees. It is about 4 feet from the curb to the wall that separates the parking area from the sidewalk along the Coast Highway.
Besides the unusual treasures I found 3 quarters, 25 dimes, 18 nickels and 203 pennies. Too bad I didn't have more quarters than pennies like on Tuesday! But altogether that was quite a bit of treasure from such a little amount of sand/dirt. Thanks to Portraitartist for the idea to search by parking meters!!!
It took from 12:30 to 3 PM to search this little area, and completely wore me out. But still there was almost 2 hours to sunset so I switched to the standard coil, grabbed the scoop and headed for the beach. That was bad news. I forgot that the wind that kicked up last night was still blowing. Last night 80-90 mph winds blew down some power poles in Santiago Canyon (where the worst fires were in Orange County) trapping 30 motorists in their cars.
The wind was about 40 mph and cold. The beach is about 150 feet wide at this point on the coast. It was a long walk to the erosion line. I went about 150 feet down the erosion line and back. Then I headed to the car. I had found nothing and was very tired of the stinging sand in the face.
On the way out I found a couple more areas that looked as if they might have a small playground, restroom and parking meter strip like where I was today. I will go back tomorrow and explore.
Finding rings was totally unexpected but very welcome. I was wondering how I could break the gold barrier in this year before the summer golden hunting days.
Happy hunting to all!

[EPC Guy]

Nice day of hunting, John! I believe the stone in the ring is called a "tiger's eye"...not sure of the real name - but these are sold in abundance in Mexico.

[EBCIII]

Hey John that looks like a good day of hunting. The ring is very cool, not sure of the stone, Thanks for sharing, Beale.

[Lt1stone]

Good finds! Cool ring John! I agree with EPC and the Tiger Eye stone

[Dixieldy]

Very pretty ring John, looks like a Tigers Eye to me as well. Those 3 pieces there are very unusual. I am wondering what they are myself. Sounds like you have found a great place to pick up some clad. Thanks for sharing as always and wishing you much success on finding more gold!

[ERnurse]

Nice finds. Keep it up.


Rob

['E']

More cool finds yet again, John

[HaveFaith]

Lots of great finds you have there. The rings are sweet for sure! The eagle token is a freedom token. You can use them in an arcade. I found lots of them last summer. When they are brand new they have this beautiful gold color, gets your heart thumping. I like them. Reading your post I felt very tired, lol!! You had an awesome day, congrats big time. HH!!!

~HaveFaith~

[pris]

Great job in finding that area, John. It's so neat how you listen to that karma and it pays off time and time again. Great finds and some great exercise for you, too. You're probably pretty sore today, huh?

[cntrydncr1]

What a great hunt. I have found an area of parking meters that i plan to hunt next time I get out. I can't wait.