Don't Stop Digging!

Texas heat

2012-07-25T06:15:00.001-05:00

I tried to go metal detecting the other day and it is just too hot and humid here in Central Texas. In January I was able to spend 7 or 8 hours at a time out metal detecting, but I barely managed two in this +100 degree heat. Don't count on any new metal detecting content until late summer/fall.

Father's Day Antique Store Finds

2012-06-17T17:47:00.000-05:00

For Father's Day, my brother and I took our father to his favorite Texas BBQ joint, City Market in Luling, Texas.Whenever we go to Luling, we also always go to a little antique store to look around. We have bought vinyls, Pyrex bowls, furniture, and other odds and ends there in past. This time, I took a dig through the coins.

I bought two foreign coins:

1907-D Germany - 1/2 mark

This coin was minted in Germany before WWI, when the Mark was actually worth something. How cool is that? It is also in pretty good condition. The internet tells me the mint mark "D" is for Munich. This coin is 90% silver and weighs 2.77 grams. I paid three bucks for it, which is only about 50 cents more than the melt value, but I managed to find the same coin in similar condition on ebay and it sold for twenty bucks!
EBAY Listing

1909 Ottoman Empire - 40 para (a subunit of the Ottoman currency)

I just liked the way this coin looked. I didn't know where it was from or how old it was, but I thought it was from either Egypt or Turkey. I got it for a buck. I was very happy when I got home to do some research and it turned out to be from 1909! It is made of nickel.

And now for the American coins I bought:

1945-S Jefferson "War" Nickel - 5 cents

Many people don't realize that Jefferson nickels from 1942-1945 were actually 56% copper, 35% silver, 9% manganese. The nickel from the original 75% copper, 25% nickel composition was taken out for the war effort. 35% silver isn't much, but a Jefferson "War" Nickel is always worth at least the melt value of the silver, which as of this writing is $1.61. I paid two bucks for this "War" nickel, because it still has some of the shine that is usually worn away in circulation.

1976-S (Proof) Kennedy Bicentennial half-dollar - 50 cents

This coin is a real beauty. As you may know, after 1964, coins meant for circulation no longer contained any silver. However, the US Mint sells what they call "proof sets" directly to anyone interested. The coins in these sets are mint condition and sealed. Generally, coins in the proof sets were not made of silver until 1992, when they started issuing both silver and non-silver proof sets. However, in 1976, they made silver proof sets. This coin is the silver half dollar from one of those proof sets! It is 40% silver, meaning melt is around $4.25, but this coin carries a premium since it is from a proof set. I got it for five bucks, but I see a ton going on ebay for eight or more. Score!

1877 Seated Liberty Dime - 10 cents

Yes, this is a coin. Yes, it has seen MUCH better days. BUT, this 1877 Seated Liberty Dime is now the oldest coin in my collection. It is ugly, I know, but was a steal at a buck. It is 90% silver.

So I paid a total of $12.00 for these five coins. I think I made off pretty well, and added some nice coins to my collection!

Don't Stop Digging!
Krakken

Bottles from an Old Town Dump, #1

2012-05-27T12:40:00.000-05:00

I haven't had a chance to go detector swinging in the last month or so. That should change in the next week or two. For now, I'd like to share with you some digging of a different kind.

My father owns a small deer hunting property near a tiny town in Central Texas. One corner of the property was used as the town dump more than half a century ago. I don't go deer hunting, but I love to go bottle picking. Sounds like fun, right? It is. Anything gross has rotted away years ago and all that is left are mounds of earth, rusty metal, and bottles.

We went up to the property yesterday to do some mowing on the roads and around the deer stands. Afterwards, I got to go bottle picking. Unfortunately, I left my camera at home. I'll be sure to have it next time. Here are closeups of the bottles I pulled. I don't know very much about bottles, but the information I have has been gleaned from an hour or two of research on the internet. I have not cleaned any of them yet:

French's Mustard Jar - Pre-1950s (This style was patented in 1915)

Opal Mentholatum Jar. Unsure of date. Here is the same one on Ebay: Click here.

Gebhardt's Eagle Brand Chili Powder - Pre-1950s

Eight-sided ointment/cosmetics opal glass jar, product unknown. The glass manufacturer is "Hazel Atlas". You can see the large "H" over the smaller "A". They used the mark from 1923 - 1964. This jar is most likely from the 20s or 30s; the company started by making a variety of jars like this but later made frosted glasses, tumblers, bowls, etc. My parents actually have some of their bowls.

Prescription bottle. Glass manufacturer is Obear-Nester Glass Company, (1894-1980). I believe this bottle is from the 1900s. You can see that it does not have a screw top, indicating it would be cork-sealed. It has measurements in ounces on one side, and cubic centimeters on the other. You can also see some kind of laurel wreath embossing on the front, under the neck.

I found pictures of a similar version of this bottle here on ebay: Click here. The bottom markings on mine are reversed and slightly different.

Round wide mouth bottle (miscellaneous use) manufactured by Illinois Glass Company, Alton, IL (1873-1929).

I identified this bottle by this 1926 Illinois Glass Company catalog I found on the internet: Page 53. I think my bottle is on the top right.

Vick's (think VapoRub) cobalt blue jar. ~1930 I found this one with the lid still on! Thank you to Bill Lindsay at http://www.sha.org/bottle/index.htm for help with the ID.

And finally, I also found this light blue glass insulator. They were used on telegraph, telephone, and powerlines. There is actually a collectors market for these, and rarer ones found in good shape can be worth some money. Unfortunately, the bottom of this one is cracked and the part I have lacks any marks.

The cool thing about all of these bottles is that they were all only partially underground and there was no digging required. I found all of these in about 10 minutes of searching, and there were many bottles I "left for next time". I will post more pics of these bottles once cleaned.

I have really only scratched the surface of what this dump may contain!

Don't Stop Digging!
Krakken

Blackshear Elementary, Visit #1

2012-04-05T17:10:00.002-05:00

The quest for silver leads me to older and older schools in Austin. My next visit was at Blackshear Elementary which was built in 1903.

Unfortunately for me, a the signal from a cell phone tower prevented me from digging the oldest part of the school. My metal detector picked up the signal, which caused the display to constantly give false signals. You can see what I mean in my video.

Here is episode #4 of my video blog, which covers my time at Blackshar Elementary:

I did manage to get my first half dollar:

Unfortunately, I am still skunked on silver coins. Here are my clad totals:

I am more than happy with $9.31 given my difficulty with the area. At least $6.00 came out of the playgrounds alone.

Thanks for reading and watching!

Don't Stop Digging!
Krakken

Central Texas Fossil Find

2012-03-27T06:40:00.004-05:00

I found this little dude on the surface of the ground outside of work the other day.

A geologist friend and coworker of mine said it of the genus of Gryphaea, a species of ancient mollusks that lived over 65 million years ago. Parts of Texas were once covered by shallow warm-water seas. Fossilized remains of ancient oysters and other sea creatures can be found all over Austin and the surrounding areas.

Not a metal detecting find, but cool stuff nonetheless! I can remember finding tons of these as a kid, but who knows where I put them!

More metal detecting finds coming soon. I have a lot of stuff to post, just not a lot of time for video editing lately. Stay tuned!

Don't Stop Digging!
Krakken

Lee Elementary, Visit #1

2012-03-13T14:28:00.003-05:00

So the desire to find silver has driven me to try older schools further away from my own neighborhood. My next visit took me to Robert E. Lee Elementary.

Lee Elementary was built in the 1930s but has had many additions since then. There is a field that has been practically untouched by construction, but my lack of finding anything there leads me to believe the back of the school had been hit by metal detectors in the past. Lucky for me, the front of the school hadn't been detected lately.

Here is episode #3 of my video blog, which covers my time at Lee Elementary:

Unfortunately, I am still skunked on silver coins. Here are my clad totals:

I am very happy with that dollar amount. I was really surprised I pulled 83 pennies; I was picking them out of that gravel so fast they all kind of blurred together.

Thanks for reading and watching!

Don't Stop Digging!
Krakken

Govalle Elementary, Visit #2

2012-02-29T19:48:00.001-06:00

I had so much fun metal detecting at Govalle Elementary, I just had to go back.

Click here to see the previous post about my first metal detecting visit to Govalle Elementary.

This is the playground that I would be focusing most of my detecting efforts on for visit #2.

And here is episode #2 of my video blog, Don't Stop Digging! It contains all details of this hunt:

Here are all of coin my finds:

$4.77 total for the day! I'll take it!

And here is a really beautiful sterling silver ring that I found in the playground:

You can see the "925" stamp in this image:

I am very happy with my second visit to Govalle Elementary. I will definately be going back in the near future. I may not be pulling silver coins, but I am perfectly happy digging silver jewelry!

Thank you for continuing to come back and read my blog. I hope you will subscribe to both it and my YouTube Channel. By doing so, you can receive an email update whenever I post a new blogpost or episode.

I am really trying to do something different with my videos. While you may find tons of metal detecting videos on YouTube, you won't find very many that are meant to be "webisodes". I hope you enjoy both the metal detecting aspect and my humor as much as I have enjoyed making the episodes. And they should get better as I go. I think #2 is already much better than #1.

Thanks again!

Happy Hunting!

And don't stop digging!
Krakken

Govalle Elementary, Visit #1

2012-02-26T17:15:00.003-06:00

Metal detecting this weekend took me to Govalle Elementary in Austin. Govalle is about three minutes away from my house, and I don't know why it never occurred to me to hunt there previously.

With the exception of an addition to the northeast side of the school and some totlots, most of the grounds from 1964 are the same.

Now for something completely new and different - a video blog!

This is my first attempt video blogging. I would appreciate any feedback and suggestions you may have.

Here is the final count of my metal detecting hunt on Saturday, Feb 25:

Visit #2 at Govalle Elementary took place the next day, on Sunday, and the results were even better. Stay tuned!

Don't stop digging!
Krakken

Ridgetop Elementary, Visit #1

2012-02-24T10:52:00.002-06:00

This past weekend was very muddy but I had an itch to do some metal detecting. I decided to hunt what we metal detectors call "totlots". "Totlots" are essentially the areas around playgrounds or swing sets or any other structure that has gravel, sand, or woodchips on the ground. Hunting these areas make for easier digging and item recovery after heavy rains. While you may not get many old items, you recover items faster and holes are a gazillion times easier to fill neatly.

This is an aerial view of Ridgetop Elementary in Austin. Ridgetop was built in the 1930s and is about five minutes from my house.

The grounds themselves are likely to produce older items, but for the most part I focused on the "totlots" due to all the mud.

Let me tell you, this was the first time I ever hunted a gravel playground, and it was EASY. I didn't have to worry about making a mess, cutting through roots, or making it look like I was never there. I dig as much as I want, then I just push the gravel back in the hole. It was just too simple.

I did manage to get off of the playground and onto some of the sidewalks, so all of these finds are either from the gravel or from some of the sidewalk areas.

This toy NFL ring about made me have a heart attack. When I dug it out of the playground, for a split second I thought it was a gold class ring. Unfortunately, it is likely brass or pot metal. The gold colored finish is already tarnished on the other side.

This cool little copper colored crown pin still has the backing on it. Kinda weird, since it means it was not being worn when it was dropped.

These little religious charms were found about two feet apart from each other in the gravel. They are tiny - about half the size of a dime. I was surprised that my F2 with the stock coil pinpointed them so well.

Here are my finds:

This was a day of many highs and firsts: Not only was this the most dimes I had ever found in one hunt, but this was also the most jewelry I had ever found. Lastly, the 1992 50 Centavo piece from Mexico is the first foreign coin I have found.

I am very happy with my trip to the "totlots" at Ridgeview Elementary and plan on revisiting the grounds as soon as the ground is drier! Still hunting those silver coins!

Don't Stop Digging!
Krakken

Lousy weather allows little digging.

2012-02-17T22:05:00.005-06:00

Weather has been cold and rainy over the past two weeks and I have only managed about 5 hours of digging at random locations. I just couldn't handle the 30 degree temperatures with wind for more than 30 minutes, and my detector isn't waterproof.

When I did manage to get outside, the weather was beautiful.

I love Texas sunsets.

Anyway, here is part of my junk haul:

As you can see, lots more pulltabs and foil than before. I found out from other metal detectors that the metal detector lumps gold rings into the same categories as foil and pulltabs. If I wanna get the gold, I gotta start digging more trash! What I really wasn't excited to find were the razorblades. Luckily I wear gloves when I did my holes.

I did dig this cool looking thing. I think it is part of a candle stick. It is a little corroded and crusty, almost like the zinc pennies around here tend to be:

You can see what looks like a lion head in this picture. There is also a line right down the center, which makes me think it was stamped or something:

I also dug this fencepost "topper". It is so big and heavy:

What amazes me about something like this is that it was only one inch below the surface, laying on the side. How does one drop and lose something like this?

Lastly, here is the coin and jewelry haul:

Not too shabby, I guess. No wheats or silver this time, though. And the jewelry was just kids stuff.

Hopefully the weather will allow me to get out and do some digging. It is currently raining and will continue through Saturday, but Sunday is supposed to be sunny.

I can't believe I'm still after my first silver coin! So frustrating!

In an upcoming post, I'll show you the new gram scale I received in the mail. You can see how much my silver finds weigh!

Don't stop digging!
Krakken

My first jewelry find!

2012-02-04T14:00:00.004-06:00

Even though it rained all last night, I decided to get out of the house for a quick two hour metal detecting hunt this morning.

I couldn't wait to share this with you - my first jewelry find!

This is a James Avery sterling silver ring. The hallmark and STER can be seen here:

I believe I have found the same ring on their website. Follow the link below:

James Avery Wide Crosslet Ring

$86.00 brand new! What a score! This one is definitely in used condition, so it won't be worth as much.

Amazon.com is currently shipping me this gram scale, so I will weigh the ring to see if the melt value of the silver exceeds the average eBay selling price for this ring in used condition.

Either way, very happy with my find!

Thanks to my co-worker Jay and wife Carrie for recommending the location! I've only metal detected a very small area of the dirt there, but it seems like good dirt!

The full details of the hunt and finds will be shared in an upcoming post... I'm going to head back tomorrow morning! (RG EDIT 2/5/2011: TOO MUCH RAIN, WILL RETURN WHEN DRIER)

Don't stop digging!
Krakken

McCallum High School, Visit #1

2012-01-30T22:40:00.008-06:00

So I decided to change things up this past weekend and picked a different location to metal detect: McCallum High School.

A.N. McCallum High School, Home of the Knights, opened in 1953. It is the second oldest high school in AISD and is currently the oldest operating high school campus. It was named after AISD's first high school superintendent, and the location was chosen because of population growth in North Austin.

I remember going to the sports field when I was younger to watch my brother play soccer. A few years ago, the old wooden bleachers, original to the field, were torn down. My target for the day was the sides of the track, where these bleachers used to be.

Unfortunately, when I arrived at around 8:00AM on Saturday morning, the track and field were occupied by a soccer game. This is the reason why I always have a plan B. I headed to the front of the school only to find out that an orchestra competition was taking place. There were people everywhere and I really didn't feel like detecting within feet of people waiting to enter the theater.

Aha! I had a plan C.

While doing my aerial photo research of the area, I noticed that the dirt/gravel parking lot from 1964 was actually across the street from the main entrance. According to current Google Maps, that old parking lot is now a vacant grassy lot. While probably not an ideal area to dig, it was definitely better than nothing.

This lot was JUNKY. Old pull tab beer and soda cans, rusty tin cans, nails, screws, and even more unidentifiable junk.

I found hardly any coins, but did manage my oldest coin for the day, this 1956-D wheat penny:

About the coolest thing I found was this candle snuffer:

When the school finally cleared out a little, I went to a side entrance and managed a few bucks in clad coins.

I still haven't pulled my first silver! However, some of the dimes and quarters were 1965 and 1966, so I will be going back to McCallum High School to look some more!

Don't stop digging!
Krakken

Old Anderson High School, Visit #2

2012-01-24T18:26:00.009-06:00

I found this crest for the old L.C. Anderson High School online while doing research. I think it was designed after the school was shut down, but it is pretty cool, nonetheless.

There is a lot of ground to cover at this school, and because it is so close to my home, there will be many separate blogposts covering my metal detecting outings there. If I remember to take my camera, I'll get some current photos of the school grounds the next time I go out.

There is a large and steep hill on one side of the track that leads up to the old school buildings, and that is where I focused the majority of my hunt on Saturday. I'd like to think of it as extreme metal detecting.

You saw the junk I pulled in the last post, so here the coins and other cool finds. My apologies for the weird angle on the picture.

This is the most pennies I have ever found in one hunt. I'm happy, but would rather find quarters.

Here are some close ups of the token. I think it is pretty cool.

It reads "Serving Austin Texas and the Capital Area" on one side, and "Capital Metro Transit Token" on the back. You will also notice that on the back there is some sort of metal clip or rod. I was a little puzzled about this at first, but got my answer after some internet searching. It turns out that these tokens were used from 1989-1999, and after they were discontinued, all old tokens CapMetro had were turned into pins, like the one I have was. The actual pin on mine has just been bent down next to the token, and I lack the pin back. Here is a picture I found online.

It was a good hunt, but still no silver. I know I'll find some. There is still plenty of ground to cover, and I have found dimes and quarters from 1964 - only one year off!

Don't stop digging!
Krakken

You have to dig a lot to get a little.

2012-01-22T06:37:00.006-06:00

I've labeled the junk for you.

And here be the buried treasure from the same metal detecting trip.

Full post and coin count in the next update.

Don't stop digging!
Krakken

Breathing new life into an old, crusty nickel.

2012-01-19T17:26:00.020-06:00

What a sad coin. Mr. Jefferson has definitely seen better days.

I dug this coin while metal detecting at at L.C. Anderson High School, which I visited in a previous blog post. I decided to give this eyesore his own feature, as it turns out this is the oldest coin I have dug to date.

This Mr. Jefferson looks like a 1939. This is actually quite cool, as Jeffersons only started being minted in 1938! After doing a little more research, it turns out that 1939-D Jefferson Nickels are the rarest Jefferson nickels that were intended for circulation. Awesome!

But is that what I have? My coin could be from Philadelphia, San Francisco, or Denver. Even with my magnifying glass, I can't really tell with all this gunk.

Most of the time, you shouldn't clean older coins. They can actually lose value when their patina is removed! But this is a nickel. It is made of 75% copper and 25% nickel... not something more valuable like silver. I checked ebay and 1939-D Jeffersons in better shape were only going between 5-10 bucks.

I decided that this coin was destined for my coinbook, and since I never intend to sell it, should be cleaned!

After polling fellow detectors on the Friendly Metal Detecting Forums, someone mentioned a mixture of white vinegar and table salt did wonders on his Liberty Head V Nickel (minted 1883-1913). Seeing as his nickel was over 30 years older than mine and came out looking great, I decided to give it a shot. Two hours soaking on each side and this is the result:

It is a 1939-D! And what a looker! You can even make out the eyebrow and cheekbones, which is something most coins in circulation from the 1960s lack. Removing the crust has also revealed a slight gash on the rim of the reverse, which I am not surprised about as I pulled a quarter not far from this nickel that had been through a lawnmower. Oh well. Because it has such a low mintage, this coin has definitely earned a spot in my coinbook!

Don't stop digging!
Krakken

Old Anderson High School, Visit #1

2012-01-16T11:04:00.011-06:00

I bought a metal detector about two months ago with the intention of getting out of the house and increasing the size of my coin collection. My metal detecting near end of 2011 was delayed by both a faulty metal detector from the factory (which was replaced under warranty) and rain every two days. Now sunny and with a Fisher F2 that works great, I have decided to hunt the nearby school and track.

The ground I am hunting is L.C. Anderson High School, Home of the Yellow Jackets. A predominately African-American school, it opened in the location I am hunting in 1953. It was later ordered closed by a federal judge as a part of desegregation in 1971. The facilities are still in use and it is now the Alternative Learning Center (ALC) for the local school district. Anderson High School was reopened in its current location in 1973 with a new mascot, The Trojan, and is now home to spoiled white kids.

Here are two aerial shots of the 1953 campus:

As you can see, most of the school was built before 1964. This is great for me, because I want to pull silver coins.

If you didn't know, The Coinage Act of 1965, enacted July 23, 1965, eliminated silver from the circulating dimes and quarter dollars of the United States, and diminished the silver content of the half dollar from 90% to 40%. This act was in response to coin shortages caused by the rising price of silver in terms of a devaluing U.S. dollar.

Since I am looking for silver coins, the best places to look are places built before the Coinage Act! I am unlikely to find any Mercury dimes (minted 1916-1945) at this location, but there are still plenty of silver Roosevelt dimes, Washington quarters, Franklin halves, and Kennedy halves to find!

Here is the results of four hours on 1/14/2012:

No silver, but not too bad for what I feel is my first real metal detecting outing! And I have only hit half the bleachers and a little bit next to the track. So much more to hunt!

Next time:

Can this crusty coin be saved?

Don't stop digging!
Krakken