After a few people asked me about my metal detecting hobby, I grabbed the detector and headed into Daryl’s mosquito-infested backyard. Daryl and I had hunted back there a year ago, with relatively few coins found. This time I got a coin signal within the first 2 minutes. A large copper coin was in the hole, so I immediately suspected that it was a large cent. It certainly was, but what I was not expecting to find was a Canadian large cent.

American large cents were made from 1793 to 1857, after which the Flying Eagle small cent introduced the standard “penny” size we’re familiar with today. Canadian large cents were minted from 1858 through 1920. In 1920, Canada also adopted the same small cent size as the US did to conserve copper.

Like many coins from the 18th and 19th century, this coin has a hole in it. People would sometimes tie their coins to a string to make it more difficult to lose one, or would add them to a necklace or bracelet as a charm. Given the size of the large cent, this was probably tied to a string at some point.

The coin’s condition illustrates how copper can age poorly in contact with moisture. While silver coins like older dimes and quarters often age well, copper oxidizes and degrades more rapidly, depending on soil conditions. At least I was able to identify this coin and get a year from it.

While not in good condition, it was nice to finally get my first 1800s coin with a metal detector. Looking forward to my next coin hunt with Daryl.

Since brass shotgun shells appear similar to copper coins to the detector, I always seem to find a dozen of them. Today was no exception, with 17 old shotgun shell casings found in the short 2-hour hunt. A broken aluminum hunting arrow produced a strong signal, and I was happy I remove this dangerously sharp item from the woods. A few aluminum beverage cans, pull tabs, and a random hunk of lead were also unearthed.

I did manage to find 3 coins, all fairly modern ones. A 1941 Lincoln Cent was found in good condition, worth about 18 cents today. I also dug a nice 1964 Roosevelt Dime, the last year that dimes were made with 90% silver content. That silver dime is worth $3 to $4 today. Finally, a modern clad 1993 Lincoln Cent was found. Starting in 1982, Lincoln Cents have been made with 99.2% zinc with thin copper plating. These zinc-based coins don’t fare well in the damp soil, so while it was the newest coin I found today, it was in terrible condition.

No special artifacts or truly old coins were found during this hunt, but it was nice to get out for a hike in the woods regardless.

I typically do my detecting a few acres to the east, but the woods were under water and the trails were impassable. The good news was that the grounds near the river, which include several former home sites, were fairly dry. The bad news was that the ground was full of old construction materials and aluminum cans that were simply buried when the home sites were bulldozed years ago.

The only coin I found was a relatively modern clad penny. These coins, being made primarily of zinc, tend to fare very poorly in the soil, so I wasn’t even able to get a date from the coin. Aside from the aluminum cans and bottle caps, I pulled up some copper tubing, which went straight into the recycle bin at home. The most interesting piece of garbage I found was a steel rosette of some sort, with a threaded section behind it. Possibly a plumbing piece? I’m not sure.

While this trip yielded nothing of interest, I did manage to get several hours of experience with the settings of this new machine. I plan on using it in northern Michigan within a week or two, so the experience will help.