1793 Chain Cent Unearthed In Maryland By Detectorist

Too good to be true and you can tell it was staged. The dirt around the "find" had obviously been disturbed prior to them digging in it. That shovel went in way too easy.

But hey, it's entertainment and people enjoy it.

Well said, I agree.

People lose things wherever they happen to be. In colonial America, folks busted their hind ends for 8 months in order to be able to suffer 4 months of winter with a little less agony. They spent an inordinate amount of time in the fields.

I live in a town founded in 1781. From only 2 farms, I have recovered 26 large coppers, of which the earliest was a 1794 Liberty Cap Large Cent, 2 silver 3 cent pieces, 2 Barber half dollars, a few Seated Liberty coins ... 1 dime and 3 quarters, 1 crotal bell, a silver pocket watch, flat buttons galore, and 2 silver brooches from the 1600s,, one gold class ring from 1929, and an 18K wedding band that weighed 6 grams. These finds were all made in the fields because that's where these people spent nearly all their time. My finds parallel those of the Hoover Boys. Their experience is not unique. Lots of detectorists make similar farm field finds.

The suggestions that have traditionally been made (as to how and where to finds coins etc) aren't incorrect. High traffic areas is where people lose things. To think that people didn't lose things in farm fields shows a thorough misunderstanding of the lifestyle these people were forced to live. That's why the Sabbath was so important too. After enduring the previous 6 days ... you needed a day without work and "with" community.

I'll be 60 in June, provided I make it. When I was a child, I walked along with my Grandfather as he plowed, with a horse drawn plow, a 10 acre plot. Obviously I didn't walk the whole 10 acres, but he did. I was but maybe 5 years old at the time. I've sat on my grandmother's knee as she made butter with a stomper churn. I know how many hours my family spent hoeing corn, and how hot it is doing so....and why they always left one big tree in the field. It was a place to rest and eat lunch, and for one of the farmers here in our little town, a place to lose the numerous pocket knives, Indian Head cents, and 1 1917 type 2 Standing Liberty quarter for me to recover last year.

I'm glad to have had such experiences in my early life. I wouldn't trade my childhood experiences for anything.

The farm fields were largely untouched in the 70s, and were basically not even talked about. I know ... I was detecting then. I never gave the fields much thought either ... I read the same advice from the same sources and found the same results ... most of which was recovering coins and items from "post colonial" life. I have only recovered 1 large cent in our local park, and that was a fluke. It came in in a load of fill dirt.

Chance

This rings true for sure. My searching days are long over and were never all that productive being from the Midwest. My best finds by far were during the two years I spend in Philadelphia, where my wife and I found many seated and Barber coins, mostly worn of course. It was nothing to bring home half a bucket full of coins for a single afternoon's work digging in Robin Hood Dell at Fairmount Park.

OHary...

Welcome to the Community!

Thanks for sharing the video. I didn't know about this channel and just subscribed to it. I liked watching Diggers so I know I will enjoy it.. looks entertaining.

Thanks for the welcome Western sky!Yeah, it seemed too lucky to find a chain cent on a remote farm, but I'm sure those guys did some reconaissance. I'm guessing most treasure hunters seek beaches and parks, but farms and old homesteads is where it's at. Do your homework. Don't be surprised if the site is on a farm or in the woods. I'd stick to old stone walls if it were me. Especially the ones rolling through the woods. A lot of those old farms are now woods, it don't take long. Search old maps. From my soil testing, I've found nearly 90% of the sites I've soil tested have been farmed, of course the ones that were farmed for a longer period of time have the best chances. I know nothing about metal detecting, but I'm guessing, if you don't have an instrument that can't differentiate a coin from a bottlecap you'r eeither wasting your time with cheap equipment, or in the wrong spot. Early maps and county deeds are the way to go. Wish me luck, lol!