A family recently approached me about metal detecting on their 100 acre property in Wilson County, NC. I made arrangements to meet them on the property and see what I could find. I brought my Minelab Equinox 800 and Profind-35 pin pointer. I was looking forward to finding some old silver coins. Most of the property has crops growing on it and with the heavy rains we have had recently, I was limited to hunting around the late 1800's homesite and around the remaining tobacco barns, bath houses, mule barns, and several other structures. In spite of my best efforts I was only able to find a couple modern coins and a single very crusty wheat penny (and a lot of assorted scrap metal/trash). As I was about to call off the hunt for the day, the family (who stayed on site to work on construction of a new small home) told me about a relatives property about a mile away and recounted a story about a lost gold coin in the yard. I received permission to hunt that property and immediately followed the family to the new site.
I started meticulously searching the front yard, digging every repeatable signal I came across. The family's 7 year-old son Liam had taken a particular interest in metal detecting so I let him help me find each target by teaching him how to use my Profind-35 pin pointer to locate the targets in a plug. After an hour of searching I heard a beautiful solid tone that rang up as a solid 19 on the VDI (Park 1 Mode). I like to hunt using 50 tones and, even when finding a coin, it is rare to have such a solid tone from a target when swinging the coil over it from different angles. I knew this target could be the missing gold coin so I dug a large plug to prevent damaging the target with my shovel. Liam came running over and I handed him my pin pointer and directed him to the area of the plug that contained the target. The pin pointer indicated the target was deep in the plug so I used my hands to split the plug down the middle.
As the soil separated, I caught the gleam of the serrated edge of a shiny gold coin! I let out a whoop that brought people running from down the road! I had found a 1842 Half Eagle $5 gold coin ("O" mint mark). The coin had been lost 75 years ago after a young boy had taken it from his mom's jewelry box and placed it in his pocket. He had been doing handstands with his brother in the front yard when he discovered the coin was missing. They had searched for the coin but were never able to find it. That boy is still alive and is now 85 years old! Little Liam who helped me recover the coin is the Great-Grandson of the woman who owned the coin. After taking a bunch of pictures I returned the coin to the family.
A couple great things happened that day. 1- I was able to check off an item that I thought would always remain on my bucket list. 2- An elderly man was able to get back something he had lost three-quarters of a century ago. 3- A 7 year-old boy developed a love for a hobby that can bring him a lifetime of adventure and discovery.
Thanks for making great equipment that I can depend on to perform in extreme conditions. I have used my Equinox 800 in city parks, mountain trails, saltwater beaches, and historic and modern properties. Rain or shine, I can depend on my Minelab detector. I estimate that I have around 400 hours of heavy use on my Equinox 800. There are very few pieces technological equipment that will continue to perform at peak levels after such use. Thanks again for making the products that make this hobby so much fun!
