Daytona Beach metal detecting 2022

Day 1 – hunt #1

We arrived at Daytona Beach yesterday evening, but I didn’t make it out to the beach until 6am this morning. I got a late start, so I only had one hour, but I had a blast!

Day 1 hunt #1 finds Daytona Beach FL

One of the things I love about my White’s TDI Beachhunter is no VDI, it really makes metal detecting more exciting! Every signal and I was excited, you just never know what it is until you dig it!

In one hour of detecting I found 16 targets, which included 10 junk targets and 6 goods targets. That a 37.5% good to bad target ratio, that seems pretty good to me, for the beach at least. The good targets included two quarters, one dime and two pennies or 62 cents in clad.

The very last target I dug got my attention…I love digging jewelry on the beach. Unfortunately, upon closer inspection, there are no markings on it and it seems pretty light, so I think it’s a dud, but it was an exciting dud!

Day 2 – Hunt #2

When you’re hot, you’re hot and when you’re not, you’re not. Unfortunately, hunt #2 was very uneventful, in fact in the wet sand not a single target was uncovered.

However, the view was amazing!

View of the ocean on Daytona Beach day 2 hunt 2

My finds were not quite as nice as the view. Two dimes, two pennies and 15 junk targets. That’s a 25% good to bad target percentage for day 2 hunt 2 on Daytona Beach 2022

Oh, I almost forgot. I did score this cool die cast Jeep up in the dry sand:

die cast car found metal detecting Daytona Beach FL

Day 3 – hunt #3

Hunt #3 was a night hunt. I woke up around 4am and headed straight to the beach! The results of the hunt were 1 quarter and three dimes ($0.55) and 20 junk targets. That’s my worse good to bad target percentage at 16.7%, but my 2nd highest clad total. I was tired and ended the hunt before the sun came up.

Daytona Beach metal detecting finds day 3 hunt 3

Conclusion

I had a great week metal detecting Daytona beach FL. The weather was cool (50-70 degrees), so not a lot of swimmers, but I still made some decent finds! Here my total haul for the week:

Metal detecting finds for one week during spring break 2022 using White’s TDI beachhunter

I didn’t find anything fantastic, but I did see some amazing views of the ocean and had a blast! Now it’s your turn, get out there and get detecting, see you on the beach or the fields!

Spanish Mexican colony silver 1/2 real found in GA!

Mike and I started fairly early (around 8:30am) and headed towards Bartow county GA. I live in Forsyth County GA and Mike lives in Dawson county GA, so Mike came to my house to start the journey. After loading the car and giving my wife and daughter hugs and kisses we were on our way. We’ve both done good in Bartow county and we were hoping for some more success this afternoon.

The 1st stop was met with a firm no. We’ve asked a few times and the owner always made excuses, but he finally just said no way. You win some and you loose some, so we cut our losses and moved on. The 2nd home we stopped at was a little bit scary. When I opened my car door, a very large german shepard dog came immediately up and was barking loudly and showing his massive teeth. I was afraid to put my arm out and close my door! He finally backed away and I quickly closed my car door and looked at Mike and said, “I’m too scared to get out!”. We didn’t think getting hurt was worth the trouble, so we moved on.

Our third stop was a familiar hunting ground for Mike. I was only on the site two times prior, but I found a large axe head and a few civil era round balls on those two previous hunts. Mike had hit the jackpot on previous hunts on this site with dozens of civil war era round balls, a silver dime from the 1950s or 1960s and a Barber silver half dollar among his finds. So we both knew it was a good site and hopefully our luck wouldn’t run out.

Mike started the hunt in the back of the house in the woods. I started in their back yard, but after a few minutes I was getting pretty bite up from mosquitos, so I went looking for Mike. When I found him my mouth dropped open, his face was completely tore up from insects bites! Mike informed me that he had some deet back in the car, so we both returned to the car to apply some bug spray. We both didn’t find anything interesting in the back of the property, so we both headed to the front where all the previous good stuff was found.

Almost immediately while hunting the front, Mike calls me over and says, “I think I found something good”. I walk over and he shows a thin grey disk. It’s very smooth and I don’t see much detail, but Mike keeps insisting it’s a great find. Here’s what it looked like:

The find did look like silver to me, but it was so thin! We both continued on with the hunt and remained on the site another 3.5-4 hours. Unfortunately neither Mike or I found much of anything to write home about the remainder of the hunt. So when we got home, we started to look at his “good” find more closely.

All we could see was a pillar and part of coat of arms on one side and what looked like part of a neck on the reverse. Not much to go on, but eventually mike said he thought it was a 1772-1789 Carlos III 1/2 real minted in Mexico for Spain. However, we needed more evidence, so we took out a small scale and measured the coins weight. It weighed 1.41 grams which correlated great with the 1772-1789 Carlos III 1/2 real weight of 1.42 grams. But we needed one more piece of evidence to be sure, so we took out a pair of calipers and measured the coin’s diameter. I couldn’t find the correct batteries, but I the calipers had a scale on it and coin was clearly 17mm. It was official, Mike had found a 1772-1789 Carlos III 1/2 real in North Georgia! When we figured it out, we were practically jumping up and down!!!!

Small spanish silver coin (front) found in North Georgia (uncleaned)
Small spanish silver coin (back) found in North Georgia (uncleaned)

When Mike left my house, we were both estatic! What a wonderful find, but when Mike got home he decided to clean the coin.

1810 Spanish Mexican 1/2 Real found in Bartow County GA (front and cleaned)
Front and back of 1810 Spanish 1/2 Real minted in Mexico found in Bartow County GA

Our initial analysis turned out to be incorrect and there as another Spanish/Mexican 1/2 real that had both the pillars/crest on the back and a similar front. After cleaning, Mike determined he had actually found a 1810 Spanish silver 1/2 real minted in Mexico. The coin was found around 4-5 inches deep with a Minelab Equinox 800. This was a truly great day to come home after finding a coin with so much history. I wish that coin could talk! There’s no way to know who lost it or how many people had used it but since the coin is so worn, it went through quite a few hands before ending up in a field in North Georgia. Good luck out there and I hope you find treasure too! Don’t give up, treasure is out there ready to be found!

2019 Finds Log

When I started metal detecting in 2019 Tim created a find logs for our best finds. I thought it would be fun to post the logs, so I just removed the location and upped the list. We didn’t do that great in 2019, but I was mostly just going to school yards.

DateDetectoristMachineFind
3/16/2019MikeEquinox 800Wheatie date unknown
3/23/2019Dad6000/di ProWheatie date unknown
3/30/2019TimGTI 2500Ox knob, Model T nut & antique copper bracelet
4/14/2019TimGTI 25001954 Silver dime and 1955 Wheatie
5/21/2019MikeEquinox 800silver ring
5/19/2019TimGTI 25001961 Silver Dime
5/19/2019MikeEquinox 8002 wheat cents, dates unknown
5/25/2019TimGTI 25001945 1 anna coin, two wheaties, 4 leaf clover
5/26/2019TimGTI 25001953 Silver Dime very rough condition
5/31/2019MikeEquinox 800Silver Ring
6/2/2019MikeEquinox 800Silver Ring with Topaz stone
6/2/2019DadEagle II SLMen’s silver ring with missing stone
6/4/2019TimGTI 25001945 Mercury dime & 1946, 1953, 1945 & 1938 Wheaties
7/14/2019MikeEquinox 800Silver ring
8/3/2019MikeEquinox 800Isle of man steam packet company button
11-AugMikeEquinox 8008 Wheet Cents
8/11/2019TimGTI 25003 Wheat Cents
16-AugTimGTI 25001 silver dime
9/2/2019TimGTI 2500Apex logo & buckle
9/5/2019TimGTI 25001957-D wheatie
9/7/2019TimGTI 25001950 wheatie & 1948 silver dime
9/8/2019TimGTI 25001945 wheatie & 1969 matchbox “mercedes coach” car
9/9/2019MikeAce1945 Walking Liberty silver half dollar!
9/9/2019TimGTI 2500silver woman’s ring
9/14/2019TimGTI 2500silver man’s ring
9/21/2819mikeEquinox 8001934 wheatie, silver pendant
9/21/2819TimGTI 2500wheatie no date, civil war era smooth Enfield mini ball
10/4/2019mikeEquinox 8001947 and 1956 wheaties
10/4/2019TimGTI 25001954 wheatie bent, crossed rifles infantry fob, pocket knife and merry Widows tin
10/12/2019mikeEquinox 800three wheaties, WB padlock and pocket knife
10/12/2019TimGTI 25001956 wheatie
20-OctMikeEquinox 800Sterling Silver Ring
11/2/2019MikeEquinox 800silver cross, civil war era bullet fragment
11/2/2019TimGTI 2500two wheaties, men’s silver ring
12/4/2019TimGTI 2500buffalo nickel, toy civil war soldiers
12/28/2019MikeEquinox 800wheatie
12/31/2019DadAT Max1937 mercury dime
12/31/2019TimGTI 2500two wheatie 1950s
12/31/2019DadAT Maxtwo wheaties
12/31/2019TimGTI 2500Three wheatie 1950s
12/31/2019TimGTI 2500Three wheaties 1944, 1956 and unknown dates

Equinox 800 — silver hammered coins depth test

Mike created a video and chart to prepare for his trip to England. He wanted to test his machine on silver hammered coins and just how deep he could detect them.

Here is the chart Mike created:

Minelab equinox 800 depth test on hammered silver coins tested in southern red clay

Here’s the video Mike created:

BONE 28, 2021 – Day 5

All things must come to an end and today was the last day of BONE 28 natural hunts. Steve from Long Island was kind enough to give Tim and I a ride this morning because our rental car wouldn’t start last night and we had to get it towed. When we got to the fields for sign-in, we met up with Jim. He was very lucky and yesterday, on day 4, found an awesome militia button!

Jim B’s Awesome Militia Button

There were two large fields available to hunt today on day 5. The first area was a grassy knoll whereas the 2nd was an alfalfa field that had huge clumps of of grass that made it very difficult to detect.

Alfalfa Field – BONE 28 Natural Hunt Saturday April 24, 2021.

I started on the grassy knoll, where I found a round ball and a prize token. The prize was a Minelab backpack! I didn’t stay on the grass that long though and ventured off to the alfalfa field. Around half past noon, I found my first good target. It had a 26 target ID on my Equinox 800 showing at a depth of max bars. Tim scanned it with his GTI 2500 but didn’t pick up the signal. I started digging a big hole and scanned again. The ID went up to 30! The sweet sound and high number had us thinking silver and we were right! It is marked sterling with a hallmark of IHD or IMD and appears to be a suspender adjustment loop.

It was a great feeling to find silver and about 5 feet away I was surprised to have another nice little tone. This one was reading as an 11 on the Nox; It was a nice little button that still had the shank fully attached.

Mike’s Equinox 800 finds – BONE 28 Day 5 – April 24, 2021.

I detected until 5pm today with only a short break for lunch but I didn’t dig up anything else worth mentioning. I met a guy named Dean out in the field and he had a spectacular day! He was showing me about 5 or 6 buttons he had dug and not one but two draped large cents – plus a barber dime. The BONE 28 event was a success if you ask me and I had a blast! There are talks of a fall 2021 BONE mini 2 day hunt and I’m seriously contemplating heading back to attend.

One of Dean’s draped bust large cents

BONE 28, 2021 -Days 3 & 4

Wow, BONE is such a cool event. Tim and I haven’t been unearthing excellent targets but we have been meeting great people who have been. Jim from TX was one of the those folks; on Day 3 he dug up a Vermont Copper!

Jim’s Vermont Copper

Tim hasn’t been too lucky at this event. On day 3 Tim’s best find was 1834’s – 1913 Mallory Wheeler padlock. He also found a cool set of old pliers. I was able to dig up an old flat button.

Mallory Wheeler Padlock found by Tim using a Garrett GTI 2500
BONE 28, Day 3 – Mike’s finds using an Equinox 800 include a buckle and flat button

Since the fields weren’t being too fruitful we decided to leave an hour early and go door knocking across the Connecticut river in Vermont. At our first stop we gained permission from a very nice lady at an old house but the owner’s weren’t sure how old exactly. She thought it was 100 years old, though it looked older. About 5 minutes after we started hunting, I was startled by a super nice gentlemen that had rolled up in his motorized wheelchair. He followed me around the huge property vicariously metal detecting through me as we both discovered each target. Tim found quite a bit of clad. I didn’t find any coins but did get a cool bell.

Old bell about 4″ tall found door knocking in Vermont

Since the finds weren’t all that great after about an hour we decided to try our luck at one more spot. While the next location was the site of an old wealthy estate, it had been picked over numerous times before us and we didn’t get any thing great from this stop. That didn’t stop us from having a blast though – I’d love to go back to Vermont to give it another go sometime.

On Day 4 of BONE 28 there were several fields available to hunt. Tim and I began the day at a field off Wentworth Rd. My best finds here were a Tombac button and two pocket knives. After an hour or two at this first field, Tim and I went to another field also off Wentworth Rd, where I found yet another flat button and a newer pocket knife. This flat button, however, had some of the gold gilt still on the back side.

Pocket Knife, pocket knife blade and Tombac Button – BONE 28, Day 4
BONE 28, 2021 – Day 4 Mike’s flat gold gilded flat button

We then ate lunch and tried another new corn field that was available to us. It didn’t seem all that great so we decided to again go door knocking, but this time in NH. We gained permission at an 1840’s mansion but it must have been hunted out because we struck out here. Either way, it was a great 4th day and we can’t wait for day 5!

BONE 28 – day 2

Great 2nd day attending bone 28 in Keene NH! It rained almost all day, but that didn’t stop us from hitting the fields all day.

Not a lot of good finds from Mike and I, but others found some great finds.

Mike’s button found with a Equinox 800
Tim’s finds for day 2 using a Garrett GTI 2500

BONE 28 – 2021, Day 1

For the last 28 years, George Streeter has been sponsoring a metal detecting hunt called BONE, Best of New England or Best of North Eastern. He has a small metal detecting and gold prospecting store near Keene New Hampshire. This year, BONE 28, has a total of 5 natural hunts and one seeded hunt.

Tim and I signed up for the event around October 2020 and we were super excited to get here and start digging. The first location is a farm of roughly 183 acres. Today the weather was nice starting off at 36F but quickly warming into the low 60’s. We rendezvoused at the location about 7:30am for a 8 O’clock start. Unfortunately, we weren’t released for hunting until closer to 9am after a 8:30am raffle.

The farm crop is corn and the field we were in had old stalks which made swinging a pain. The signals were far and few between. After about a 30 or 40 mintues, I think i dug my first target -just trash though. Some where about 1 – 1.5 hours into the hunt I got a 17 tone on my MineLab Equinox 800. OH- coin size, but no, not a coin. It was a nice flat button with a design in the center.

Within another 30 minutes I again was digging up another 17 tone, and it too was a flat button. Shortly after or before I also dug up an old thimble and a neat relic.

We detected until 5pm but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any other nice finds. Tim had a lousy day all together and ended up not making the board today. We did ask around, and there were reports of some old coins, some large cents including a pretty early one circa 1808 -1811. We were close to a detectorist Brian who found a really nice button, possibly a revolutionary war button. I wish I had taken a picture, it was really nice. I had a blast and can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Civil War Relics & Old Coins

Last weekend was so great, I had to go back for more! My brother couldn’t make it but I invited my dad to come out with me and we headed west to a town with roots in the 1830’s. We got there just in time too. I didn’t want to leave too early because I don’t like knocking on doors early in the morning. When we arrived the home owner was on her way out, but luckily gave us the go ahead to stay and detect.

It’s a great place to hunt because the area is large, there is no interference, very little trash, and lots of old treasure. It was about40 minutes in before I had my first good target – a smashed Minié ball. about 30 minutes later I found a musket ball and about 1 minute after that another.

Another 15 minutes or so when by and I hear a faint signal that read 21 on the Equinox but the tone was hampered with what sounded like trash one direction and OK but not that great in the opposite direction. It sounded just like the first two musket balls, so I called my dad over so he could swing over it with his AT Max. He too agreed that it didn’t sound that great but I told him I think it is another musket ball, so I let him dig it and keep it, it was his first musket ball for the day!

We continued on and the next thing I know I’m digging up another musket ball. Shortly later my dad says, hey I got another one too. Moments later I hear, Mike, and I see my dad waving me over. He’s sitting on the ground with a huge smile on his face. He found what appears to be shrapnel from an exploded canon ball! How cool is that?

Then things slowed down for a while, but we continued on and it was worth it. My dad found a 3rd musket ball and I got a 1902 V Nickel. By this time my dad was getting tired so he went back to the car to sit down.

I kept at it though for about another 30 minutes. I was closer to the road and there was more junk in the ground. But then I hear this loud strong 34 or 35 VDI signal sketching from my Minelab Nox head phones. It was reading to be at about the same depth as the other good finds, but I thought to myself, there’s no way its going to be anything good. I was wrong; it was a 1901 Barber half dollar!

I detected for another 15 minutes or so but I knew my dad was waiting in the car for me so I figured I’d save the rest of the field for next time and we packed up for the day.

Garret AT Max finds included 4 Musket Balls & Exploded Cannon Ball Fragment- US Civil War Era
MineLab Equinox 800 finds: 4 Musket balls, 1 Minié ball, 1902 V Nickel and a 1901 Barber Half Dollar

American Civil War Era Relics Found

Tim and I hadn’t been out hunting for a while, so we were excited to get out to see what we could find. We usually take turns picking locations to go detecting and this weekend I chose to return to Bartow county. In the past, we’ve done pretty good finding some older coins and relics out this way. We’ve found V nickels, a shield nickel, and a blade belt tongue or batwing to name a few. Tim and I both didn’t expect to find much because we’ve been out numerous times and usually come home empty handed despite having hours of fun.

But we both had a pretty good day. At the first stop for the day, Tim started things off by finding a ’48 silver Roosevelt dime and a really cool wooden nickel play coin circa 1940. The site must had been worked over pretty well in the past though, there were few targets and I left with not much more than a wheatie.

GTI 2500 Finds including a 1948 Silver Dime and wooden nickel play coin token

Across the street from the 1830’s location number 1 was a new house that we gained permission to hunt next. It was a pretty big yard, but hard to tell where the property line ended. Neither of us found anything but clad at this location though. So to lunch we went.

After lunch we hit location number 3 – a property across the street from where I found a large cent last year. Here there was a gigantic yard to hunt and we didn’t waste much time before we got started. Unfortunately, after only 20 minutes or so the owner told us he had an emergency to tend to and asked us to leave. Luckily he said we were welcome back in the future though. Before we chased off Tim found a really cool iron work, perhaps from a bench?

We were off to location number 4, a couple doors down from location number 1. This site too had a large yard for us to hunt. The owners of the 1965 built house said it was 5 acres in total. After about 30 minutes searching in the field I found a super worn mercury dime. I was happy to finally get on the board for the day. About 5 minutes later I unearthed a musket ball – a first for me. Two-three minutes later, Tim is shouting at me, Minié ball!

With excitement in our eyes we continued to hunt the large field. A flat iron was among one of the more interesting finds. It has some writing on it, so I’m going to try and clean it up to see if I can date it. After the flat Iron, I was lucky enough to find another 3 musket balls and my first Minié ball to go with them. Meanwhile, Tim uncovered some horse shoes.

It was getting late in the day and we had to call it quits, but the property owners told us we could come back again in the future. I think we’ll be taking them up on that offer.

Equinox 800 finds of the day include a Flat Iron, Minié ball, and 4 musket balls.