April 27 th - what a great day, full of surprises.

Got out for a few hours and tried out a new area - which really turned up some good coins, apart from the old decimal ones of which there were about 45 - mostly 1, 2 and 5cent ones but had a number of 10, 20 and 50 cents as well. I now have quite a box full of these coins after detecting for approx 2 months. People must have had lots of holes in their pockets years ago!
Also found over $8.00 spendable which the grandchildren claimed!
Dug so much that the old wrists are aching quite a bit tonite, even tho' the soil is nice and soft after all the rain.  Must go to the gym to get them stronger.

Anyhow the good coin finds were as follows:-

1918 Siver Winged Mercury Dime

There is a small D on mine at the foot of the vine (as the Google Image below shows ) - it means it was minted in Denver.



1939 Silver 3d  

 1982 USA Liberty Quarter



1967 USA 1 Cent

Finding such an old 1918 silver coin from America was a real surprise, as was the 1939 silver 3d.
They were all found a long way apart, at about 5 inches depth.
I wonder what was happening on this site years ago?
Metal detecting is full of surprises.
Cheers
Kevin

25th April - an unusual find !

April 25th
Visited the school field today - found $4.00 spendable, 19 old decimal coins, moved onto French Bay, lots of false signals, two lead weights , a 2009 Fijian 20cent piece and an old NZ 20 cent coin. Left after about 30 minutes as it was quite hard going.

Went to a small park nearby and found two old brass objects, in separate target holes about 2 foot apart and 7 inches deep.
When they cleaned up they fitted together to form - a Pot pipe! I did not have a clue what it was but was informed that it could be one of those, and Google Images confirmed it. Was very well made tho'!

April 13th - quick hunt with Grandchildren

At the park again, for a short hunt. Had a great start , the first three of four targets were spendable - $2 coin, two $1.00 and then a Head Prefect badge, which still had the pin attached to the back.
Then came the ring pulls and scrap until I came to another area which yielded quite a few old decimal coins and a silver - a 1943 Sixpence.
I checked another area on my way back to the car and quickly found $3.90 in spendable.
This detecting lark is quite amazing, you just never know whats around the corner.

Total for the hour - $7.90 spendable, $1.38 in old decimal,a nice 1943 silver sixpence and a Head Prefect Badge! Plus a bag of old can scrap, ring pulls etc. The spendable pile in the photo is minus $4.00 - two of my grandchildren received $2.00 each.
The sixpence was in great condition, however the photo was not quite in focus, and does not do it justice.

Footnote:
Was approached by an interesting character who had done some gold panning in the South Island. Showed him how the Xterra 705 discrimated between iron and coins etc.
He said he was going to call in to see Chris at Detect NZ and check out the range of Minelab products.
Maybe another detectorist in the making?
Till next time:-

Cheers
Kevin

Auckland Park - 5th April 2013 - Minelab Xterra 705

Had a night hunt 7pm - 8.30pm.
Moral of this story - never give up!
Spent the first hour finding Pull tabs, bits of aluminium cans and the odd 1 and 2 cent coins.
Had a target signal very much like a bit of scrap, thought I would pass it over, but changed my mind and dug it..
Pleased I did as there was a 1933 silver shilling at about 5 ". I then placed the turf back, pressed it down and ran the machine over the area and had another signal. So up came the turf plug and down went the Pro-Pointer which immediatley indicated another target in the hole, in the side wall. Out came a 1939 silver 3d coin, wow two silvers in one hole!
In the next 20 mins I found a few old decimal 10 cent and 20 cent coins plus a $1.00 spendable coin, and no scrap. Had to leave at 8.30pm but will be back.

Thought I would post a couple of other items I found a few weeks before I started this blog.

First is a Silver Spoon (E.S.P.N), Stamped Martin.Hall & Co Ltd. The anchor indicates it was made in Birmingham , U.K. Think about about 1925. Found 5 inches down alongside a sports field. That's my reflection on the spoon bowl!

The second is an antique broach, which is still wearable. The photo does not do it justice, it looks very nice in natural light. It is about the size of a new 10 cent piece.

Till next time, enjoy your detecting,

Regards

Kevin

Auckland Park - Saturday March 30th 5pm to 7pm

Tried the Auckland Park again after finding a number of old pennys. As Chris (Metal Kiwi) said where there is copper, there will be silver.
He was right!

As well as finding quite a bit of scrap aluminium, copper wire and the dreaded pull tabs I also found NZ Pennys - 1 x 1950, 1 x 1960 a NZ Halfpenny 1963 and a 1963 sixpence which looked like copper?

Much to my delight the Xterra 705 also turned up two silvers:

1942 Silver Threepence (my first)

1933 Silver sixpence (my first)

Thanks Chris for your advice.