Another downtown hunt today ... and another silver surprise.

Got out a little today with my good friend Nealie Valentine. It was a very nice weather day for hunting too. We started out at an old site that Nealie said has been pounded for quite a while by himself and others. But we managed to sneak out a few more old wheaties and my oldest was 1919 (no mint mark) in VERY nice condition for having been in the ground so long.

So after we had beat up that site for a while we went to some other well hunted sites and we found what everyone else finds (screwcaps, and other junk) I did manage to find a couple of old (not THAT old though) watches and then up pops a nice sterling silver ring from amid the trash. I'll post a pic when I can. I was using a 4" coil and it really helps to get between the junk and when used SLOWLY you can really find some decent targets.

Nealie found his share of wheaties and a few other interesting items but I don't think he found any silver today. All in all we had a fun day in the field and that's always good. I'm looking forward to the club auction at the next meeting and we'll hear from Kenny and Diane about their Virginia relic trip.

Until next time,

Gary

A long day hunting but ... a little silver reward!

Got out just a few days ago with my good friend Mark and we went to a few well hunted areas near downtown just to see if anything new was there. It all looked to be pretty much the same as before. Some grown over lots and that big construction site that has been fenced off. So we decided to hit a lot that had the least amount of grass and well it certainly had been hunted before and was still very trashy. Isn't it amazing how almost EVERY person who has drank cheap Muscatel wine in Shreveport just HAPPENED to be drinking it at those lots downtown? And just HAPPENED to not have a trash can nearby so they throw the cap on the ground. I suppose they didn't know that you could drink just "part" of the bottle and take the rest home. Same goes for Schlitz Malt Liquor drinkers. Oh well ... if it were that easy to hunt... well, everyone would do it.

Anyhoo ... we hunted for most of a day and came away with lots and lots of clad change and 4 or 5 Tax tokens but we were able to sniff out a few pieces of silver. I found a 1937 Merc and an old silver object that appears to have been a dime at one time. It's the size of a dime, really thin and worn though and it has a hole drilled in the top so it was worn around the neck but it has been either sanded or worn down to absolutely no detail so my best guess is that it was either a Seated Liberty dime or possibly a Barber but we'll never know. I'll bring it to the next meeting. I also found a few other interesting items including an old button and a large token. Mark also found several interesting items and snagged a Silver Rosie towards the end of the day after a lot of hard hunting. And like I almost always do, I took the camera and even told Mark that we need to get a few pics for the club website but alas ... I forgot to even get the thing out so ... my bad.

All in all it was a good day. Actually ANY day hunting for silver is a good day when you actually find something. Until next time ... get out there and hunt.

Gary

Great meeting tonight!

I just wanted to thank everyone for coming out tonight for our March meeting. There was some wonderful food to be had and it was fun seeing the members again. I know Kenny and Diane are enjoying playing in the dirt in Virginia. We all hope that they are finding a lot of good relics and look forward to hearing their tales of recovering history from the Civil War. Also, we missed Mark as he celebrated his birthday with his family tonight. He'll be back for our April meeting when we'll have our "White Sale" Auction. Everyone remember to bring some good "auctionable" items for our auctioneer Kenny to call out.

Tonight we got to talk a little about the history of North Caddo Parish and the settlement of North Louisiana in general. There is so much interesting history in this part of the country and there is much more to discover.

We had a few guests/ new members join us tonight. Mrs Jean Boone, the lovely wife of Mr Ed Boone joined us again and informed us that she was indeed going to be detecting with us this year. She'll give Ed a run for his money I'm sure. Also, Mr. William McCann returned again and I'm looking forward to him joining us for some hunts this year.

Mr. Steve Dupuy joined us at the invitation of Mike Asher. He is an avid artifact hunter and researcher who shares a passion for research and recovery almost as rabid as Mike. We look forward to seeing more of him and maybe have him show us some interesting recoveries he has made.

Next month I will have buried the cache for the club members to search and locate using the clues that I'll give out at the meeting and here on the club site.

Until next time ... keep it low and slow and the coil to the soil.

Gary

Last week in Bossier

Hello to all my TH friends,

Haven't been out much lately but I did get out once last week. I went to the area in Bossier where they are razing the old buildings on Traffic Street (from Barksdale Blvd to Texas Ave.) They had only cleared a few lots where the old mechanics shops were (yes it was trashy!!!) and it was still VERY muddy from the recent rains but that didn't stop me from giving it a go!.

I dug plenty of old trash because I'm just too curious to walk away from a half-decent signal. I have found many a good find by digging those IFFY signals (which have proven to be caused by trash adjacent to or actually in the same hole as the good item). So ... anyhoo ... I'm doomed to digging waaaay more targets than I might otherwise dig if I were only cherry picking.

As it turned out, I didn't find a lot of great things but I did manage several wheaties (oldest 1934) and a 1934 Buffalo Nickel. Actually the Buff was (and still is) stuck to a 1935 wheatie which I will bring to the meeting on Thursday.  All in all it wasn't a bad day but it was muddy and a little cool and I had fun searching so isn't that what it's all about?

Til next time ... keep the coil to the soil.

Gary

ACTS Club meeting 2/25/10

The meeting tonight had a great turnout of 15 members and was fun for all. As usual we had a wonderful meal. Mark Head gave us all an update on his son Austin who is recovering from major surgery. Austin is still in our prayers.  
Gary Blake gave a book report on "Brother Against Brother" which is the true story as told in the diary of Lt. Edmund Halsey (Union Army) about the trials and tribulations of being on the front lines of the Civil War while his own older brother was fighting on the Confederate side.Truly an interesting read.
Gary and Barbara Blake also gave everyone an update on the new club "website" which is actually this blog. I think everyone is pleased with the result.
 There were a few entries for Find of the Month and with the coming warm weather there should be more at the next meeting. Let's hope so, because we really like to see people getting out to hunt. There were some great door prizes awarded tonight too! Enjoy the pics! 

We discussed our upcoming club hunt due to occur this spring (no date set yet), and a club auction which we will conduct at the April meeting.
All club members are reminded to send me your stories and pics that you want posted on the site to actsclub@gmail.com.

Take care and move some dirt.

GB

Anyone see the "NEW" penny yet?

I just saw a picture of the "NEW" Lincoln penny that is due out (it may already be out???) this year but I haven't seen it yet? Oh great ... now I get to find an even uglier stinkin' Lincoln.

So What's the nickname of this one? The SHIELD penny? Oh well for those that haven't seen it, I added the picture. Let me know what you think. Gary

ACTS Club Meeting 2/25/10

Just a reminder to all that want to come, our ACTS Club meeting for February will be Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 6:30 pm at Grawood Baptist Church. Remember to bring your Find of the Month items! As a reminder, the categories are COIN/TOKEN, JEWELRY, RELIC and MISC.

Also, Gary Blake will give a book report on the book "Brother Against Brother" which is the story of two brothers, Edmund Halsey and Joseph Halsey, who find themselves on opposite sides of the Civil War with a father in between who is torn and afraid for both his sons.