Canada Man Turns Hobby into Recovery Business

"Andrea Bielecki was slamming some last-minute flowers into her front garden this summer when she slipped her wedding band and 1.5-carat diamond engagement ring into her bra so she wouldn’t lose them.

Company was coming, she had an eye on her toddler and it was only for a minute.

Then her daughter ran into the neighbour’s yard and Bielecki had to chase her, her mom arrived with groceries to be unloaded, Bielecki swept up some leaves in the backyard and suddenly it was bedtime.

Her wedding ring tumbled out of her clothes. Her engagement ring did not."

Read more HERE.

Check out Mark Ellis at Ellis Metal Detecting Service.

Image Credit: Keith Beaty \ Toronto Star

Canadian Meteorite Hunt

"...

'It probably had a bigger entry velocity and higher beginning. This would also mean a somewhat smaller (than earlier expected) meteorite size on the ground.'

Still, meteorite hunters could head north from Wynndel and search east of Duck Lake. If there is snow, Nowell said, look for a hole in the snow. Otherwise, take a metal detector.

'Your metal detector would beep as it goes over it and a magnet would pick it up. It probably has a lot of nickel and iron in it,' said Nowell."

Read more HERE.

Canadian Hobbyist and His Treasures

"Broken pottery.

That's the secret to hunting 150-year-old historic artifacts, according to Steve Miles, a retired plumbing teacher who has dug up a lot of London and area history over the past 15 years.

'When you're looking for history, you look for pottery shards,' Miles said. 'The more you see, the better your (spot) is. They last forever. They look just as good as they day they were broken or dropped. It's one of the only things they threw out and is still there.'"

Read more HERE.

Image Credits: Chris Montanini / The Londoner

Saskatchewan "Sand Sharks"

"Jim, Don and the two Waynes have no use for the old schoolyard bully taunt, "Finders keepers, losers weepers." None whatsoever.

Unless, that is, the weeping is for joy and surprise, a large part of what keeps their crew searching, and putting what's lost back to its rightful owners.

Out on the beaches of Saskatchewan, waving their metal detectors and wading the lake in wetsuits, is where to find the Sand Sharks, pals Wayne Huzina, Wayne Stender, Don Munro and Jim Kish, occasionally joined by wives or friends. A seriously playful bunch..."

Read more HERE.

HMS Investigator Discovery

"Parks Canada archeologists who found HMS Investigator, a British naval ship that was stranded in the Northwest Passage 155 years ago, are equally pleased to have discovered the graves of three of the ship's crew.

The wreck of Investigator was discovered this week at the bottom of Mercy Bay, just off Banks Island in the Northwest Territories. The site of the wreck is in Aulavik National Park.

Parks Canada archeologists located the wreck shortly after they started a sonar scan of Mercy Bay on Sunday, according to officials."

Read more HERE.

Image credits: University of Western Ontario

Weekly World Coin Post: CANADA

"Ohhhhhh, CANADA!"

You would think it's "aboot" time I got around to a post on my northern neighbors, but hey, if I was THAT predictable it wouldn't be any fun. So yeah, the currency of Little US, haha. The Canadian dollar has always been overshadowed by the US, but recently, it's really not that far off. In the image you'll see $2.38 CAD, which is equivalent to @2.18 USD, so we're pretty close these days.

I've been to Canada twice, once in Vancouver, BC... and the other in Gagetown, New Brunswick. I enjoyed the Western side much better. Anyhow, in my travels I never did manage to score any of the "Loonies" or "Twoonies", their $1 and $2 coins. I've dug a a few pieces of Canuck coinage, as you can see some of the ones in the pics have digger marks across their face.

For more info on the Canadian Dollar, click HERE.

BOTH IMAGES, TOP ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:

1940 1 Cent Brozne 19.10mm | George VI
1977 1 Cent Brozne 19.10mm | Elizabeth II
1978 1 Cent Brozne 19.10mm
1968 10 Cents Nickel 18.03mm
1968 10 Cents Nickel 18.03mm
1968 10 Cents Nickel 18.03mm
1969 10 Cents Nickel 18.03mm
1971 10 Cents Nickel 18.03mm
1972 10 Cents Nickel 18.03mm

BOTH IMAGES, MIDDLE ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT"

1991 10 Cents Nickel 18.03mm
1940 5 Cents Nickel 21.2mm
1951 5 Cents Nickel 21.2mm | Nickel Bicentennial**
1960 5 Cents Nickel 21.2mm
1960 5 Cents Nickel 21.2mm
1966 5 Cents Nickel 21.2mm
1968 5 Cents Nickel 21.2mm
1969 5 Cents Nickel 21.2mm

BOTH IMAGES, BOTTOM ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:

1969 5 Cents Nickel 21.2mm
1969 25 Cents Nickel 23.8mm
1971 25 Cents Nickel 23.8mm
1972 25 Cents Nickel 23.8mm
1972 25 Cents Nickel 23.8mm
1972 25 Cents Nickel 23.8mm

** In 1951, a special commemorative five-cent piece was struck to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the metal's initial discovery. Due to the onset of the Korean War, production of this commemorative was halted to preserve nickel for the war effort, resulting in a second non-commemorative 1951 "nickel" made of plated steel.

Guess I spoke too soon about not having my World Coin reference material. Just so happens that Google Books had the pages from the Krauss Catalog of World Coins that I needed to do this post, woohoo!