Between rain storms in the Pacific Northwest I got to go out metal detecting during this last month. I was at Bush Park in Salem, Oregon detecting around The Bush Mansion which was built between 1877 and 1878. To the west of the mansion is a garden area which hosts a rose garden and a grove of trees. I was detecting between the trees with my Equinox 800 with the standard 11" coil and had been hitting on nails and other random metals throughout the day, when suddenly I got a very strong, higher pitched tone. I ran the 800 over the spot several more times to narrow down where to dig my plug and began to examine the area. When I got to about 10" I was still getting tones over the hole. One larger scoop and the signal disappeared. Using my Pro-Find 35 pin pointer I went through the spoils and BOOM! Got the buzz and the constant signal. Definitely not iron! Then I saw the little round disk and my heart began to beat more rapidly. I thought what could be at 10" down way out here and began to clean my find. Suddenly I saw the old style font on the coin which read "ONE DIME", and I knew I had found something special. My happy dance began as the flipped it over to clean the other side. Soon the year 1887 shined through and I was ecstatic! My oldest find to date with the Equinox. A few days later I returned to this spot and decided to run my detector just south of where I had been before. Soon I got another signal, not real high but enough to peak my interest. At about 6" down I found what I thought was a hot rock, and my pin pointer told me it wasn't iron. I had found what should not have been there, a muzzle loader Minie Ball bullet. This was approximately 30 yards west of the Bush Mansion. This is not civil war land and I just wonder how it made it here because it should not have been there.
Mickey Burrow – Oregon, USA
