The old homes in the area have given up some interesting items. Terry has turned up coins like a 1918 Walking Liberty half dollar, 1908 Barber quarter, 1908 Barber dime, a token from the Schelhaus Brewery, an 1867 half skilling from Norway, and other interesting and enviable finds. In turn, I've made some recoveries that he wishes he had made, but still not have matched his oldest coins.

When driving to and from Terry's home, we had often commented on a home that Terry said was built near the end of the 19th century. One day at work Terry mentioned that trees blown over in a storm near the old home were being removed from the site, and the earth was being disturbed aroung the now-abandoned home. So, I decided to take the short drive to the owner's home to ask permission to detect.

Finding the owner in the yard, I explained what Terry and I would like to do, adding that since the ground was being dug up, it would be an excellent time to do some detecting around the house. Permission was granted, the owners were informed of the approximate day we would begin the search, and we made an agreement that anything valuable would be a 50-50 spit. Sometimes this type of profit sharing will help to gain access to a site, and it can be further agreed that the detectorist will pay the owner 50% of the value of the object found and can keep it. In fact, that is what I prefer to do, because I like to keep those types of finds for my own collection. As of yet, I haven't had to use this part of the agreement, however.

On the first day of detecting, I recovered a few Wheat cents near some pine trees in the front yard, but Terry was experiencing some difficulty with his machine in the side yard; so we agreed to swap areas. The yard was a pleasure to hunt, and we found only three or four pulltabs. There were some small iron objects like roofing nails, nuts, and bolts, but not much other trash.

Soon after moving to the side yard, I found three Indian Head cents and a silver Roosevelt dime, Terry was discouraged and got that sinking feeling every time he saw me head over to the vehicle to stow another coin. We have started using plastic 35mm film containers filled with olive oil to put the older copper coins in. It starts the cleaning process immediately when the coins come from the ground, and seems to help take off dirt and corrosion without harming the natural green patina.

Toward the end of the hunt, Terry made his best find of the day, an 1893 Indian Head cent. This was the first time he had broken the barrier into the 1800's for a legible United States coin, and he was very proud of the fact.

The next day, I suggested that we switch areas again, because I had found more Indian Head cents that he did. I wanted him to make some of the better finds that seemed to be concentrated in the side yard. At first Terry didn't want to switch, as he had made a good find in his section and wanted to keep working there, but I convinced him that most of the better coins were coming from the area that I was in. With a lot of hesitation on Terry's part, we each picked up where the other had left off the day before.

It seems that once luck is on your side, it just stays there for a while. We had been detecting for only 10-15 minutes when I received one of those "iffy" signals. It was a solid tone in the headphones, but the ID reading kept changing. I pulled the pinpoint trigger, and the target seemed to be about a foot long! I figured it must be junk and was about to pass it up, but decided that there might be more than one target.

I dug a piece of scrap iron, rechecked, and now the ID display had changed to the "penny/dime" area. About 6 inches from the first spot I pulled out an Indian Head cent--and I could see Terry staring as if to say, "We switched places, and now he's finding the good stuff!!"

I just shrugged and kept silent... thinking the same thoughts!! Again I scanned the area and pulled out another Indian Head cent! I didn't know if I should risk another trip back to the vehicle, for fear of retaliaton, but made the trek with only a few "looks" from Terry. Moments later, checking again revealed yet another target. This time it was a "V" nickel! I really didn't want to make another trip, but my life was spared, and I decided that from then on I'd better keep one of the containers on my person to avoid any more hazardous hikes past my partner.

Terry was not having any luck in the "hotspot" of the previous day, but that was about to change. He soon recovered an Indian Head cent, two Mercury dimes, a silver Roosevelt dime, and a couple of Wheat cents. I felt that I had been given a "governor's pardon" for that day of detecting. Although the "V" nickel and two Indian Head cents were all I'd dug that day, it just so happened that they were found only a couple of feet from where Terry had left off the day before! If we hadn't switched places, he would have had the opportunity to make a multiple coin find. He is still happy with the coins he found, but the "V" nickel would have been a first for him. Maybe next time!

By the way, sometimes those "long" signals such as the one I received should be investigated more closely by raising the searchcoil from the ground and trying to pinpoint again. This will help to determine if there are possibly several targets in a small area.