My Name is Shane otherwise known as Northeastern Booty Hunters and I must say this has been the best first year that I could ever hope for! I bought my new Minelab Equinox 800 in June of 2020 and since that moment I've been addicted to metal detecting. In my first week with my Equinox, at my first permission, I found a silver thimble, a total of 11 Mercury dimes, silver rings, and my first seated liberty. The Equinox is a silver monster! Throughout my summer, I kept hitting my bucket listers just about every week. Although being my first year is not hard to do at this point- everything is a bucket list! I was pulling up Crotal bells, Conestoga Bells, cap guns, a cufflink, a solid silver spoon, and a 14k gold ring. This list doesn't even begin to cover all of my incredible finds this season. Still, at this point, I hadn't dug up a large cent. I had dug up a King George III half penny just mere feet from where I dug my Vermont Union Civil War button but no target cent. In October, my buddy sends me a picture, "Is this a large cent" he asked. I saw the wreath on the back with one cent in the center. My friend and I are very competitive in everything we do together and my heart sunk! He beat me to it. Don't get me wrong, I was happy for him. It's a good day when your buddy has a great find. He dug it in a park in my town this that I've pulled a half dozen Tombacs and flat buttons out of. I immediately got my Minelab after work and headed over to the same park. For three days I hit it with no coins found, just a lot of silver dimes and rings. My buddy really deserved that find. It was just a few days earlier we were detecting at an old Vermont quarry hole and I got a really hot signal. It was all over the place but not normal so I dug it as my friend watched. I pulled out my first Barber half, then a Barber quarter, followed by a 1910 canadian quarter, a Barber Dime, and 2 V Nickels! It was my first big silver spill. That alone would have made my year but Halloween night, Oct 31st, an old friend from high school gives me a call. He had heard that Ive taken up metal detecting and asked if I wanted to check out his 1782 farm property. It didn't take me anytime to chime in and say does tomorrow morning work?! He said that would be great. Nov.1st. 10am I arrived at his house. He was still waking up and I didn't want to be rude so I sat and chatted while my leg was bouncing up and down in anticipation. I kept looking out the windows at hundreds of acres of undetected farm field. I could hardly contain my excitement. Around 11am we get out to the yard, worked it for an hour, nothing but arrow shafts, nails, and one old spoon. I looked over across the road andI just had to try those fields. I made my way across and started to detect towards a small man made pond near a swampy area. About a hundred yards in, it happened! My faithful Equinox screams at me as if to say, "here it is, Shane, dig here! This is it." At that moment I knew it had to be finally happening. This had to be my elusive large cent! I carefully dug my plug and flipped it over I pulled out my pin pointer and it also screamed at me. At this point I'm shaking. I pull out my small digger, gently work around the signal, and pop out a ball of earth. There it sat! I could see the edge of a round object. I flipped it with my finger and it flops on top of the clump. I had done it! I had dug my first large cent and not just any large cent. It was a Massachusetts copper. I could have ended my day a happy man right then but I couldn't leave yet. I had just dug a large cent in this field and there could be more I picked up my trusty Equinox and start swinging. Five feet away I get the same screaming signal! Yep! It was my second that was followed by my 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th large cent all within a 30x30ft area and within 45 minutes of finding my very first large cent. The tally for the day was 3 Massachusetts coppers, 2 1796 liberty caps, 1 1796 Draped Bust, 2 1797 Draped Busts, and 1 unidentified. With hard work and persistence and a Minelab Equinox 800 you will find what you are after. This has been my best first year ever. Until next time Dig it all and put Nothing Back!
