It's a Wheat(ie) Field!!!

Well, today was a day of firsts!  I can now check off TWO more fun coin finds!

I started out heading to our local Metroparks.  This is a VAST array of parks made up of thousands of acres.  I stopped at an old barn and figured I would give it a shot.  Long story short, I found nothing more than a cave full of bottles and cans and weed emblems (as in marijuana, yes) and some weird contraption that beats me.  It was a dismal start, and I didn't stay long.  Seriously, I would guess well over 30 bottles and cans were in this tiny little cave...so gross.  The only saving grace was a beautiful waterfall found on the way back that was quite pleasant to listen to.

We have the best parks!

I hopped back in the truck and headed for the hills from yesterday.  I figured I might as well do the woods before the foliage starts growing.  It's just a wide-open playground for detecting right now!  The weather was shooting up into the 50's, and I gladly took off my jacket.  What a day to get lost in the woods!

I picked up a broken bottle with the date 1910 emblazened on the side.  Ooooooh, come on!  Let's find some coins from then, too!  I also appreciated one tree offering me some frozen sap.  I passed.

Rose Bottling Works, 1910, Cleveland, OH

A nice offering of frozen sap.

I picked up where I left off from yesterday...with more bullet shells!  I would end up finding five .22 shells before the day was over...and one shotgun shell.  I'm guessing all of this took place before the houses were built here, but I can't be sure.  A rifle going off this close to the homes would probably not sit well with neighbors.  But who knows?!

After walking up one hill, I ended up finding what appears to be the base of an old house.  I found six concrete supports in the ground, and I think it's either to a house or a shed.  I dug up the area a little, but I was getting trash.  So I headed to what I thought would be the backyard...and stared at what I thought would be original trees with that house (the really old ones!).  I could see myself going back to a tree and sitting down overlooking the water, so that's where I headed.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!

I dug.  I dug right next to the tree, and I was hoping that someone had sat down there and lost some money.  Boy, sometimes a guy can get so lucky!  I found my first coin of the day!!!  But what was it?!  It was soooooo dirty!  I tried cleaning it with spit, but it was just caked with mud.  I tried again and again and again and finally just said I'd rub it on my clothes!  (I will now take a damp rag with me!).  And much to my surprise AND satisfaction, I was staring at my first WHEAT PENNY!!!  I couldn't make out the date, but after much scrubbing, I recognized that tell-tale print on the back:  ONE CENT.  I was thrilled!  I had found my first elusive wheatie!

My first wheat penny!

I would recognize that anywhere!

The location of the wheatie.

Of course, I headed back to the hole.  My pinpointer gave me another solid signal.  Could it be?!  It could!  I pulled out another wheatie!!!  Again, I couldn't read the date even after much rubbing, but I recognized that back!  So back to the hole!  Another beep!  And wouldn't ya know it, I pulled out my third wheatie!!!  All from the same hole!  Someone had indeed sat down here and lost his change out of his pocket!!!  The date was unlegible on these two, as well, though!  Agh!!!

My second coin in the same hole!

Another wheatie!!!  Woo hoo!

But needless to say, I was thrilled.  What a neat hobby.  I knew these coins had to be at least from the early 1950's or earlier.  I was thrilled.  The day had started about pretty lousy, and then all of a sudden, I get one of the best finds.  My first wheaties!!!  I couldn't wait to clean them up.

The three pennies were at the base of this large tree.

I wouldn't find anything more exciting in the woods, and I must say finding coins makes one spoiled.  I wholeheartedly expected every tree from there on out to give me coins!  And I checked 'em, trust me!  But none of the trees obliged but that first one.

I headed back for home.  Eager to enjoy the day a bit more, though, I decided to head over to a park close to my house for some "easy" money.  Hunting modern parks has proven to be a bit more lucrative, so I figured I would go find some coins for a half-hour or so.

My first hit was a dime.  Sweet!  I then detected along the third-base line where parents would watch their kids play baseball.  BEEP!  I dug up a huge coin!  And I didn't even recognize it!  It had Martin Van Buren on the front in perfect condition!  WHAT?!

This is what I first saw!  I had NO idea what I had found!

I flipped it over...it said United States of America on it! WHAT?! What had I found?!

It cleaned up so easily, and then I made out the unmistakable $1 on the coin. What was this?! I did recognize the side with the Statue of Liberty, but I still didn't know what I had. I then noticed some lettering on the side of the coin. It read, E PLURIBUS UNUM IN GOD WE TRUST 2008 P. Ha! I thought I actually had something here, and it ended up only being five years old! Oh well, a $1 coin is a first for me!!! I was happy! I would find three more dimes in the same area, most likely from the same coin spill.

But flipped over, I saw it was a real American coin!

I detected a little bit more and found what appears to be part of a spoon or somethin' but decided to call it a day after that.  I was pretty content.

Once back at home, I was eager to clean the pennies.  Each of them is dated 1942.  WOW!!!  Of course, I don't know when these pennies were dropped, but I picture these shiny new pennies being picked up recent from the bank.  It's quite possible a father learned of his son's death in World War II and just went out and sat against this tree to cry away from his wife.  It's possible a child dropped them while climbing what would have been a much smaller tree!  It's possible two lovers made out behind the tree!  It's possible little Johnny was taken out back to have his butt whooped and had to bend over and hold the tree!  Anything is possible, and that's why I love finding history like this is the soil.  The brain just wanders where it may!

So from today the most interesting finds were a shotgun shell, five .22 shells, a spoon handle (maybe), some sort of metal that I feel like I should know what it is (I don't), three 1940's wheatie pennies, four dimes, and one $1 coin!  A fine day if you ask me!

Lots o' junk...and some interesting finds, too.

The items of value...or interest anyway.

I took the three pennies back outside where the sun made the words shine through a bit more.

I'm so new to this hobby, this being just my sixth or seventh time out.  But how satisfying to find coins from the 1940's!  We were a nation at war, and if these pennies could talk, oh the stories they could tell.  The $1 coin was an absolute delight, too.  I would learn after research that the coin is actually gold in color!  So I found my first gold (colored) coin!  ha!  Also for fun, today marked my 100th coin!  I am actually up to 102 coins now...worth $5.33 in face value.  I've never had a hobby that rewards me for enjoying it!  It's kind of crazy!

I also learned another important lesson from today.  I was quite terrified for a bit during the penny digs.  A dog had chased another dog out into the woods, and I just happened to see them at a distance.  But it looked like a territorial move, and this dog was huge...not looking too friendly, either.  I hunkered down and just lay low for a few minutes until the dog sniffed its way back towards the homes.  But believe you me, I already had a large log picked out and had already sacrificed the metal detector for the sake of staying alive.  All I could picture was me being mauled out here in the woods!  So I need to carry a damp cloth...and a knife!

Oh, the lessons you'll learn!  What a fun day.