Four months after I purchased my first detector (X-TERRA 705) I had discovered some interesting finds and had also found my first ever bit of silver, a William III silver love token. I thought I was doing well with my detecting but didn't realise that within the space of a week I was to add another 2 excellent silver finds to my already growing collection of goodies.
The first hunt consisted of myself and my 705 exploring a new field on my permission as my other previous fields had grass that had grown too long to detect. I decided to setup my machine and start a few hours hunting. On my 3rd signal I got an excellent reading on my machine reading not too deep and within the 30’s range on the 705 indicator. I immediately pinpointed the target and dug my hole. As soon as i had turned over the clod to my amazement I could see a large coin the like I had never seen before. Before I even examined it, I took out my camera to film it live for my YouTube metal detecting Chanel. As I cleaned away the dirt that remained, myself and my audience were to witness the unveiling of a large George V 1923 Half Crown. To my excitement, even though I did not know at the time, this coin was to be my second ever silver find (albeit the coin is 0.5 silver).
A few weeks later I was again out at my local permission and ready for another hunt. This time I received a cracking signal on my first few swings of the 705. I immediately dug a plug and tried to identify the target with my Pro Pointer. As you can see on the video I almost lost the location of the object as I was trying to locate it in one hand and film with my other hand. Eventually I was to uncover another shiny silvery object however this was half-moon shaped and not circular. I had read and seen shows on Hammered coinage and had always dreamed of finding a “hammie” as it is every detectorists dream to do so. In the video you can see that I am not confident of its identity and even think it may be a cut love token or something else. On getting home I posted a picture of the item on my social media and asked for help from the more experienced detectorists who had found many hammies.
To my surprise they all came back to me saying they were certain it was hammered even though all marks of identification had been worn away. To be certain it was hammered a friend asked me to measure the diameter and if it read 19mm it would be a certain hammered. I got my ruler and the half coin and hesitantly measured the width. As you can see from the picture it was 19mm exactly, a true half hammered coin. I was and still am one very happy and lucky man. Someone who has just taken the hobby up this year and already found 3 silver and most importantly my first, albeit half, a hammered coin. The 705 has now become my new best friend.
Gavin – Northern Ireland, UK