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Paul Bulgerin's Last 20 Posts
More Goodies From The Bible Camp
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Paul Bulgerin
Pillar of the Community
United States
2977 Posts |
Posted 07/18/2023 11:06 pm
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My buddies Mike and Rick, whom I've known since my high school days (we're all now in our 60s), got together with me for the first time in years for a metal detecting hunt at the Lutheran Bible Camp in south-central Wisconsin. I've detected there for years.
The camp was kind enough to let us stay overnight in a retreat center built in 1977. The camp dates back to 1944, but there were older buildings on the lake front property previously.
In our two days of detecting we dug up 206 coins! My two best finds were a 1943-S silver War Nickel and a 1943 Mercury Dime. I also found a worn 1909 Lincoln Cent in a hole along with a high grade 1934 Lincoln. All of these were found on the small slope going down to the lake.
While I was climbing up and down that slope, over and under trees, Mike decided to detect right outside the entrance to the retreat center where we were staying. Amazingly, he found a 1917 Walking Liberty Half Dollar along with a 1937 Mercury Dime. He also found an old, heavy silver bracelet.
Earlier, he also found a 1953 Washington Quarter down by the lake.
No silver for Rick, but he found nearly a roll full of clad quarters.
The three of us had a great time and plan to go back again either this fall or next spring.


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| Forum: Metal Detecting Finds |
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Silver Coins Melted At The Mint, 1968-1970.
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Paul Bulgerin
Pillar of the Community
United States
2977 Posts |
Posted 05/26/2023 2:03 pm
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Very interesting information. Thanks for sharing this. My father had a number of brand new 1964 Roosevelts in his collection. I would guess he pulled them out of circulation around this time since most of his collection was circulation finds. |
| Forum: US Modern Coins |
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What Inherited Coin Has Been In Your Family The Longest?
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Paul Bulgerin
Pillar of the Community
United States
2977 Posts |
Posted 05/26/2023 11:15 am
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When my mother died in 2020, I inherited this 1899-S Gold Eagle. My paternal grandmother gave it to my father when he graduated from high school in 1939 and he kept it for the rest of his life. (He died in 1999).
My grandmother was a librarian in Texas. Her husband was a partial invalid, so he didn't work much. She raised and supported three sons. All three received advanced degrees; two as pastors and one as a medical doctor. Unfortunately, I never asked for the backstory on this coin, how a librarian kept a ten dollar gold coin through the Great Depression to hand down to her oldest son.
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| Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins |
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I Dug Up A High Grade Mercury Dime (1943)
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Paul Bulgerin
Pillar of the Community
United States
2977 Posts |
Posted 05/26/2023 11:07 am
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I went back to an older park along Lake Michigan yesterday, searching the hillsides below the park. At the top of one section of the hill, just a few feet inside the bushes from the grassy lawn of the park, I dug up this very nice 1943 Mercury Dime.
From its condition, it must have only been in circulation a short time before being dropped. It looks to have nearly full split bands and still retains some luster on the reverse.
It was my only decent find of the day, other than a spill of twenty Lincoln Cents along another hillside trail. Unfortunately, they were all copper Memorials or corroded zinc cents.

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| Forum: Metal Detecting Finds |
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A Semi-Key Jefferson In My Car's Change Tray (1939 S)
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Paul Bulgerin
Pillar of the Community
United States
2977 Posts |
Posted 05/24/2023 5:59 pm
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I like to go through all the change I receive, looking for any circulation goodies. I missed this one, though.. I happened to look at the coins sitting in the catch-all tray in my Chevy Equinox today and saw an older Jefferson.
To my great surprise, it turned out to be a 1939-S! It's well-worn, but it is a 1939-S. I don't know how I missed this one.
*** Edited by Staff to Add Year / Mintmark to Title. It's very important to have in the title. ***
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| Forum: US Modern Coins |
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I Am Opening An Optical Store
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Paul Bulgerin
Pillar of the Community
United States
2977 Posts |
Posted 05/04/2023 6:10 pm
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Today's detecting trip, on the hillsides along Lake Michigan, resulted in finding four pair of glasses. I have never found so many in one trip.
I also dug up a 1920-D and 1925 Lincoln Cent, a live round from a World War II era M-1 Carbine and this big sea shell. I have no idea if the shell is a geologic remnant from when the hill was part of Lake Michigan's shoreline or if it was dropped by someone who found it on the beach.
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| Forum: Metal Detecting Finds |
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Another Large Cent And My First Gold Ring
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Paul Bulgerin
Pillar of the Community
United States
2977 Posts |
Posted 04/20/2023 10:15 am
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I have been out several more times in the last month hunting the wooded hillsides along Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, WI.
While I'm not finding a great deal, I have discovered enough goodies to keep me coming back.
In the last month I have found an 1855 Braided Hair Large Cent. This one, like the 1852 I found during the winter, must have been nearly new when dropped. However, this one has some surface corrosion and isn't as nice at the 1852.

This 1883 "With Cents" Liberty "V" Nickel is the first one I have found.

Then there was this nice 1895 Indian Head Cent.

I also found my first ever gold ring. I didn't even need to use my metal detector to discover it as it was lying on the surface of the ground on a steep hillside below a park. It is little, weighing only one gram, but it has a 10K hallmark and two tiny diamonds.

I also found this little gold ring. It's only half a gram and doesn't have any hallmarks, so I'm not sure if it's gold or not. It was pretty awful looking when I dug it up, but a soak in lemon juice greatly improved its appearance.

Spring growth on the hillsides is starting to make detecting more difficult, but I hope to get out one or two more times this spring. |
| Forum: Metal Detecting Finds |
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