DC Entry - Day 1

When all was said and done Friday morning, (getting up, and getting Taylor to Ash's parents house) we were on the road towards DC around 1030am. It was a great day out, perfect weather, nice temperature... but lots of traffic. All was pretty smooth sailing except for that spot on I-64 near Williamsburg where 4 lanes go down to 2 and all hell breaks loose. After that delay, which set us back around 15 minutes according to the GPS, once again it was open roads. That is of course, until we got closer to DC and found out first hand how ridiculous Tyson's Corner area traffic is. It was moving, but at like 10MPH for quite awhile. Once we broke free not far from Arlington Memorial Bridge we were good to go. I had never personally driven into DC, but the view coming in from this direction is awesome, right up behind the Lincoln Memorial. Not 10 minutes later we were at 19th and L, parking at our hotel.

Concerning parking. I knew it was going to be like $20/day to keep the car in the garage, that was cool. The garage is underground, and is not owned by the hotel, but someone else. So I start to pull in and get stopped by a dude who hardly commands the English language. I tell him I'm staying at The Quincy, so he writes me a ticket for the garage. Then put my name and room number on a small envelope. We park, and start walking back up towards the hotel when he stops and says I have to give him the key. Now I don't know about you, but maybe people are used to that, but not me. Since when do you have to leave your key with the garage staff... seemed shady to me, but whatever.

After checking in and dropping our stuff off in the room (and noticing there was no flat screen like they show on the website) we were off to see the sites. The main reason I chose The Quincy hotel was because it was within 2 miles of everything we wanted to see. And that was about my limit of wanting to walk. It worked out well.

We headed down L, made a right on Connecticut, then a left over towards the backside of the White House by cutting through Farragut Square and Lafayette Square. There was a nice amount of people here, but thankfully, not as much as I thought there might have been. We got some good pics from here and moved on down the street and around the US Treasury Department building. It was the best way to get around to the front of the White House, the side where 99% of pictures of the place are taken. Upon showing up, the place was packed. No wonder the backside was pretty bare, everyone was up front. It was tough to get up along the black iron fence, but we managed and landed some sweet shots.

After the White House, we walked down over to First Divsion Monument. I thought it was pretty neat. It's a tall cylindrical monument topped by a gold statue of Victory. Not far from it was the Second Division Memorial, again with more gold... this time in the form of a flaming sword, very cool! After this we headed south, directly towards the Washington Monument. You've all seen it in one way or another, but I think in person really is the best way. It was a beautiful day out, and the pics came out great.

We then set out towards the Lincoln Memorial. Got a great view of the Jefferson Memorial while walking. On the way we stopped at the National World War II Memorial. I don't think this was here the last time I came through DC years ago. It's an oval shapped memorial with a pool in the center that is flanked by two fountains. Each end of the oval represents the "Atlantic" and "Pacific" states, and all states and territories are etched in stone, along with many famous quotes from the time period, such as the notorious, "...day of infamy" speech by FDR. There is also this large concave wall that has a gold star on it for every US life lost during the campaign.

We continued out walk along the reflecting pool to finally meet up with ol' Abe. He was definitely the site to see of the day. Lots and lots of people were all over his steps and inside near the large seated statue of the great, late president. All of those people, yet eerily quiet inside... peace and respect.

It was around 5pm at this point, and we started walking back towards the hotel, passed Rawlins Park along the edge of George Washington University, passed the IMF and World Bank and finally to the hotel.

We took a quick shower and then met up with Jen and Chris around the corner for dinner at Famous Luigi's. The place looked great by the pictures, and I figured it would be at least a step above The Olive Garden. The place was ridiculously packed. Good thing a Fire Marshall never walked in! We finally got seated after damned near an hour of waiting. For the four of us, it was a tight fit, but we managed. Ash got a great looking Lasagna the size of my head, and I had a great tasting Veal Parm, which I don't think I've had since my days at BCT in Ft. Jackson.

We ended the night arguing over late night drinks, and hitting up CVS for some essentials. Had to get up early the next morning so we didn't stay out late.

Below you can see the path we walked over the whole day. The hotel wold be at the top in the "12 o clock" position, and we took the path in a clockwise direction, as identified by the large red arrow.

Larchmont Norfolk = Gold, Silver!!!

Two days ago I messaged my sister-in-law, Maria, on Facebook and asked if she would mind me metal detecting at her and my brother's place in the Larchmont area of Norfolk. She had no problem with it, lucky me!

Back in the early 1900's, Larchmont was being marketed as Norfolk's ONLY high class suburb. It was until a few years later that it really starting being developed... but a residential neighborhood circa 1915-1920 should produce some goodies... shouldn't it? For a history on the area I hunted, please follow THIS LINK.

Anyhow, I finally showed up around 1030a... I know I know, and yes I feel fine. And no, I didn't burst into flames from the sunlight. They can't all be night hunts, haha.

I geared up and got started right away. Just a minute or two in, BAM, first target is a wheat penny. That can only be a good sign. I swung around the front yard and didn't pull much more than a few memorials and a handful of wheats. One thing about the front yard, I could only really efficiently hunt the half closest to the house. The portion closer to the road, was overhung by power lines and they were driving the X30 nuts.

Anyhow, after 30 minutes bringing home the wheat in the front, I started toward the back. But before making it there I got a nice sharp +36, either a dime, or maybe silver. Turned out to be silver, the Sterling type. It was a small Jewish Torah pendant.

Just like the front, memorials and wheats popping regularly... that is until I nail a sweet sound just beyond the hammock... turned out to be a 1945 Silver Quarter, woo! First one of those I've ever dug. But that spot wasn't done. A few inches over I pull a 1949 Nickel and a 1943 P War Nickel, WOO!

It wasn't until about 20 minutes later that I landed another sweet moment, with my second Mercury Dime for the year, this one a '44. You see a trend? Lots of mid 40's coins going around.

I spent the next hour and a half going back and forth front to back. Landed a few costume type rings in the process. Each ringing in at a +20. On the fourth +20 signal I got, I was surprised to pull out an engraved 12KGP bracelet. It reads O F Midgette on the front, then has Midge engraved on the reverse. Pretty neat, and if GP counts, it's my first gold item I have found... WOOOOOO! From a brief glance on Google, Midgette seems to be a popular last name in Norfolk, no direct hits on the O F though.

I also found a small 14mm (aluminum) Crimland "10" Play Coin. Not too much on the internet about it, if you know something, please leave a comment.

Well that's about it, I'll leave you with the rest of the pics from today!

S8RS: Wedding Band Recovered

Hey everyone, I'd like to start out by saying today was a good day in the day of recovery MD'ing. All throughout the pages of FMDF you can read stories of greatful people who were helped out by a fellow hobbyist, or reunited with a long lost valuable piece of jewelry. A lot of them are quite heart warming. From class rings decades lost, to recent wedding ring drops... a metal detector is many times the first line in locating the object.

That being said... I get a text yesterday afternoon from the g/f telling me to call her brother who is working on a house out in Norfolk, VA... and that he lost his wedding band on the site. I scheduled to meet up with him there this morning.

1030a and I'm off to the house. I showed up thinking I was looking for a white gold band. But he tells me it's Palladium. Well, I have no clue how Palladium is going to ring up on the X30, so my only real option was using AM mode, which would make the task tedious.

He told me the area he figured it could have been lost... basically anywhere 10' past and along the back of the deck, or along the side of the deck up near the house where they are working. Otherwise, he lost it UNDER the house

Well I search all over the area he told me, and then thought to myself... well, I don't know what it's gonna ring up as... I'll post on FMDF to see if anyone knows. I pulled out my iPhone and did so. Then I figured I would just pay attention to signals VERY close to the surface... it would be the only real way to discriminate.

About 45 minutes in, I head up by the crawl space, around the stuff they have out. Right away a very sharp +4 hits... I pinpoint and it screams at me (meaning it's less than 1" down). I stick the digger in and BAM, about half an inch, completely covered (after 2-3 days lost) I see it. Nice big men's band with the marking, "ArtCarved PD950."

It was a great day to be a MD hobbyist. Shortly after I got a text from his wife telling me, "You're the man!"

If you or anyone you know has lost something valuable, and are in the Hampton Roads area, and would like a free search and recovery, please drop me an email. The only thing I would ever ask for in return is permission to hunt the area it was lost, and for the further areas, possibly enough to cover gas. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sectshun8 Recovery Services
EMAIL JIMMY

Greenbrier Church Tot Lot

Around 930p or so last night... sounds right, it was after Reaper came on the TV. Anyway, it was that time to head out for some more diggin'. There are two tot lots on Volvo Pkwy in Chesapeake, VA I've been wanting to hit. And tonight was going to be the night I finally got around to it.

I show up to the spot, pull in, and get geared up. The area the tot lot is in is fenced in. So like, you enter a gate, and there is a large grassy area, and then the play area is sort of in the middle of it all, woodchipped.

I started swinging in the woodchips to start off. I was delighted to start hitting targets all over the place, but bummed they all seemed to be memorials. After a good 45 minutes slowing making my way around, I scored a couple Mickey Mouse Disney pressed pennies, and a bunch of quarters.

I was done there, and started the grassy area. The dimes were really poppin' here. I was landing quite a bit of targets, so much so that to keep the hunt relatively short, I left at least what I believe to be $1 or so in clad still in the ground.

It was a great night to be out hunting. Very comfortable temperature, and making this the maiden voyage of my new knee pads, my knees were feeling great. Sadly, it had been about an hour and a half, time to get back home... so I skipped out on the second tot lot a little further away. Next time though.

Another interesting find for the night was a neat 1997 Philippines 1 Piso coin. Rang up like a nickel.

Tumbling Day

I woke up this morning with a mission... tumble a few hundred coins to roll up. However, to do this efficiently, I needed to go grab some aquarium gravel.

So with my long list in hand off I went. First stop was Wal*Mart, where I had to pick up some other stuff besides the rocks. Then I was off to Candl Coins to pick up some more 2x2's and a few Air-Tites. After that I stopped by Harbor Freight to pick up some coin rolls... and they finally had a nice cheaper non-digital caliper I've been wanting to grab, so I did. I also picked up a great set of knee-saving knee-pads. As of late, diggin' in the dirt has really been brutal and making them hurt a bit. I'm too young for that.

Last stop was B&N. I wanted to see what sort of local history books they had. There was a great book on Chesapeake, VA history, but $20 seemed kinda high for the book, so I didn't bother.

But back to the task at hand, tumbling. I have the Chicago Dual-Drum Tumbler. A lot of people give it flack, but I've never had a problem with it, and it does a great job.

I was tumbling roughly $3 in memorials, and $5 in dimes... each in separate drums of course. Threw in some rocks, then the coins, then 2 tbsp of Orange Grease Lightning.... tumbled for an hour. The result was great. I've tumbled before, but never used the rocks, just let the coins tumble against themselves. Using the aquarium rocks really makes a huge difference. I've say 90% of the coins, which went in caked in dirt, were dark, and just crappy... came out looking either shiny, or flat and super clean.

Nice lazy day, was nice to get some of those coins rolled up instead of laying around in bags. Tomorrow morning, I'm going gold hunting, wish me luck!

Kempsville Elementary: First MERC!!!

Around 10p the itch hit me again tonight. In the past week or so I've driven past Kempsville Elementary quite a few times, noticing the nice tot lot and large field with tons of kids running around. I always thought to myself, that should be a great spot to hunt.

So naturally, it was my first stop tonight. I hit up the tot lot first thing and was thrown back at how much NOTHING was there. I only landed a nickel and a memorial penny out of the entire thing. Not even any trash.

Things weren't looking so well, but I stuck with it and started aimlessly walking towards the back, all throughout the field. Thankfully, I started landing some dime hits, as well as some memorials. I wasn't expecting too much, the school has only been around since 1961, but the potential for silver exists.

I saw a worn down area of grass that lead to a door on the back of the school and decided along it's edge would be a good spot. And what do you know, first signal is a sharp +36, which to me yells dime... but. It bounced up to +40 now and then, which to me and my detector hints at silver.

Not 3.5 inches down there she was shining back at me in the flashlight illumination, the beautiful Winged Liberty "Mercury" Dime. It's dated 1942, no mintmark, but still has some good detail on the torch on the reverse, which is nice.

It started to drizzle a bit so I left, but the night was a success overall. Scored over a dollar in clad, which always makes it feel worthwhile, and landed the sweet Merc. When I cleaned up my finds I also noticed this tag. It's stamped OKLAHOMA and on one side has a jar in a rose and says, "Tops in Ros..." The other side mentions tea. I know the state flower of Oklahoma is the Rose, and they have Rose Tea... maybe someone can ID it?

Weekly World Coin Post: GREECE

Welcome to another great weekly installment highlighting coins from around the world. This week, I bring to you my meager collection from Greece.

Sadly, I do not possess any of the nacient hammered Greek currency to share with you, only more modern Drachma. However, if you are curious about reading up on Ancient Greek Currecy, please click HERE.

The currency of Greece, though now ruled by the Euro, was previously known as the Drachma. I believe their monetary system of the 100 Lepta to 1 Drachma started back in the 1831, and was still in use up until 2002 when the Euro officially took over. I have never travelled to Greece, but I am hoping one day with my employment, I may get the opportunity to make it there. For more information on the Greek Drachma, please click HERE.

So on to the coins you see the reverse and obverse up above. These are the same coins in each image, so please follow along.

TOP ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:

1962 1 Drachma Copper-Nickel 20.8mm | Paul I
1976 1 Drachma Nickel-Brass 21mm | Konstantinos Kanaris
1973 1 Drachma Nickel-Brass 21mm
1973 50 Lepta Copper-Nickel | Constantine II

BOTTOM ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:

1976 20 Drachma Copper-Nickel 29mm | Pericles
1976 5 Drachma Copper-Nicke; 22.5mm | Aristotle
1976 2 Drachma Nickel-Brass 24mm | Georgios Karaiskakis

And friends, if you never have before, I emplore you to this time please visit the links provided for more information on the people depicted on the Greek currency. It's a history buff's field day, and really some interestingly superb reading.

Thanks again for enjoying another Weekly World Coin Post... until next week!

Easter Silver! Plus old GB Penny

After getting skunked at my sister's newly acquired property out in Carrollton, VA this morning, I felt I had to redeem myself at the g/f's parents' house. I've had two good hunts here before, the first scoring a WWII Army Air Corp Lapel Device... the second getting an 1830's US Navy Button.

I started along the driveway, and was pulling the normal clad. But as I moved towards the center of the front yard, that's when the good started coming.

I scored 3 Wheaties, '51 D, '53. '57, a '78 Canadian Quarter... and then the two sweet items. The first was a heart and flower motif .925 Silver Ring. The g/f recognized it as hers from when she was younger. The second item is now my oldest dug coin, a 1903 Great Britain Edward VII One Penny Was kind of surprised to see it in the yard, but then with many of the other finds I've come across in their yard, I shouldn't have been.

I also landed a full set of keys on a Manteo Motors fob. It had Cadillac door and trunk keys, as well as what looks like a Suzuki motorcycle or ATV key.

It was a great day to be out, and I had a wonderful day swingin' the X30.

Hopeful Carrollton chicken farm a BUST

It was a great morning to be up and awake today. Finally arose around 9:30a, got my gear together and hopped in the truck. It was just windy enough that the sun didn't really warm you up, but other than that, clear skies and beautiful.

I made it out to the land the old chicken farm in Carrollton, VA rested on. My sister recently acquired the property, and had no problem with me giving it a go with the X30. It sure was a nice 45 minute Sunday drive out there, really had my hopes up.

I started the hunt close to where I pulled up near the old building (you can see pics of it by checking out my entry from just a few days ago about the place). Right away I could tell there was plenty under the ground, but if there was anything good, it was being masked by all the trash from over the years piled on top.

The real promising section of the building, is just out of my reach. The portions I took pictures of are only the parts on my sister's property. Just beyond it are the remnants of foundation for the rest of the building that is no longer standing. Possibly much better finds in that area.

As you can see from the pics though, no keepers today. Lots of good signals, but they just didn't equal anything worthwhile. I did have some goats and what I guess are pheasants (or Guinea Hens?) around for entertainment though.