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WINNER #1
My first favorite U.S. find for July 2015 is the Returned Wedding Ring, found by Jason M. from Mississippi with his AT Pro.
Jason’s story (edited): "On July 5th I saw a Facebook post from a Louisiana Woman that had lost her wedding ring while watching fireworks in Biloxi, MS. I wanted to hunt the beach for the lost ring. When I arrived at the location described in the post I quickly became concerned I was too late. The beach sweeping tractors were in the process of collecting the 4th of July trash. I searched for an hour with no luck. Not wanting to give up I sent a friend request to the young woman. She accepted, and I was able to message her for more specific details to narrow down the search area, which rejuvenated my search effort. During my two and half hour hunt I got rained on 3 times. If it weren’t for my waterproof AT Pro I would have been forced to pack up and head home. Persistence, great equipment, and a little luck allowed me to locate the missing ring! I sent a picture of the freshly recovered ring to its owner. She was ecstatic! I told her I would be near her home town on Monday at my metal detecting club meeting (Southern Historical Research and Recovery Association — S.H.R.R.A.) The local news channel WLOX caught wind of it and made arrangements to be at our club meeting to film the exchange and interview both of us. The exchange went great! My club members really enjoyed being part of the return. We received great publicity for the hobby, our club, and the city of Biloxi, Mississippi. To top it off the city of Biloxi honored me at their city council meeting the following day with a certificate of appreciation."
Jason M. WINS a Pro-Pointer AT!
Jason’s story (edited): "On July 5th I saw a Facebook post from a Louisiana Woman that had lost her wedding ring while watching fireworks in Biloxi, MS. I wanted to hunt the beach for the lost ring. When I arrived at the location described in the post I quickly became concerned I was too late. The beach sweeping tractors were in the process of collecting the 4th of July trash. I searched for an hour with no luck. Not wanting to give up I sent a friend request to the young woman. She accepted, and I was able to message her for more specific details to narrow down the search area, which rejuvenated my search effort. During my two and half hour hunt I got rained on 3 times. If it weren’t for my waterproof AT Pro I would have been forced to pack up and head home. Persistence, great equipment, and a little luck allowed me to locate the missing ring! I sent a picture of the freshly recovered ring to its owner. She was ecstatic! I told her I would be near her home town on Monday at my metal detecting club meeting (Southern Historical Research and Recovery Association — S.H.R.R.A.) The local news channel WLOX caught wind of it and made arrangements to be at our club meeting to film the exchange and interview both of us. The exchange went great! My club members really enjoyed being part of the return. We received great publicity for the hobby, our club, and the city of Biloxi, Mississippi. To top it off the city of Biloxi honored me at their city council meeting the following day with a certificate of appreciation."
Jason M. WINS a Pro-Pointer AT!
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WINNER #2
My second favorite U.S. find is the Civil War CSA Belt Buckle along with the Eagle Breast Plate, discovered by Casey D. from Georgia with his AT Pro.
Casey’s story (edited): "I was out hunting a corn field in the sweltering heat not having much luck. I decided to go up closer to the road. I’m steadily sweeping my detector with not much luck and then…Bam! A great signal. At first I thought probably a beer can. I dig about 8 inches down and out pops this round thing. I start wiping away the dirt. I see an eagle. At this point I know exactly what I’d found. A breast plate! I thought man, that’s pretty good for my first civil war find! After the excitement wore off, I hit an area covered in old junk on the other side of the field. I’m digging everything hoping for civil war artifacts…pull-tabs, bottle caps, cans, junk metal. Almost ready to give up, I hit another solid signal. This one was about 10 inches down. and out pops this square piece of metal. I wipe off dirt and I see that it says USA. I think hmmm what could this be? I’m staring at it…wipe a little more dirt away…wait, that says CSA. Oh my goodness! This is one of the holy grails of civil war artifacts! A CSA belt buckle in my hands! Wow! I was in shock just looking at it. A CSA buckle and an eagle breast plate on the same day AND my very first civil war finds. Luck was surely on my side. The AT Pro comes through again. I know I would have never found either of those with my prior detector. Man I love my AT Pro!"
Casey D. WINS a Pro-Pointer AT!
Casey’s story (edited): "I was out hunting a corn field in the sweltering heat not having much luck. I decided to go up closer to the road. I’m steadily sweeping my detector with not much luck and then…Bam! A great signal. At first I thought probably a beer can. I dig about 8 inches down and out pops this round thing. I start wiping away the dirt. I see an eagle. At this point I know exactly what I’d found. A breast plate! I thought man, that’s pretty good for my first civil war find! After the excitement wore off, I hit an area covered in old junk on the other side of the field. I’m digging everything hoping for civil war artifacts…pull-tabs, bottle caps, cans, junk metal. Almost ready to give up, I hit another solid signal. This one was about 10 inches down. and out pops this square piece of metal. I wipe off dirt and I see that it says USA. I think hmmm what could this be? I’m staring at it…wipe a little more dirt away…wait, that says CSA. Oh my goodness! This is one of the holy grails of civil war artifacts! A CSA belt buckle in my hands! Wow! I was in shock just looking at it. A CSA buckle and an eagle breast plate on the same day AND my very first civil war finds. Luck was surely on my side. The AT Pro comes through again. I know I would have never found either of those with my prior detector. Man I love my AT Pro!"
Casey D. WINS a Pro-Pointer AT!
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WINNER #3
My third favorite U.S. find for July 2015 is the George Washington Inaugural Cuff Button, discovered by Chris R. from New Hampshire with his AT Pro.
Chriss story: "It was very hot and humid but I had a "feeling" that I might be missing out on something special. I normally use the smaller coil but today decided to use the standard coil. I went to a old abandoned road that has 5 house sites. This one just looks like a pile of stones. After 15 minutes, I had a faint hit with a mid-to-high repeatable signal by the edge of a 7 ft boulder. So I start to dig. 10 inches down I get this small cuff button with the link still attached. I think "neat", throw it in my pouch and keep going. I dug up 3 more buttons before the heat got me. I get home and start to look at it. It looked like it might have a tree branch on it but it was dirty. I soaked it in mineral oil for a couple of hours then took it out. Using a toothpick, I scraped away at the dirt and could now see a profile. I thought I saw something like this before on a George Washington inaugural buttons site. Sure enough, it was an inaugural cuff button! Only 3-5 known specimens EXIST. Ultra rare! I couldn’t believe it. I was so excited, I dropped it in the sink, and had to take out a part to get it. My AT Pro comes through again, big time! Thank you Garrett for this "once in a lifetime find."
Chris R. WINS a Pro-Pointer AT!
Thanks you Jason, Casey, and Chris for submitting your exciting stories of treasure discovery. Enjoy your new Pro-Pointer AT’s.
Chriss story: "It was very hot and humid but I had a "feeling" that I might be missing out on something special. I normally use the smaller coil but today decided to use the standard coil. I went to a old abandoned road that has 5 house sites. This one just looks like a pile of stones. After 15 minutes, I had a faint hit with a mid-to-high repeatable signal by the edge of a 7 ft boulder. So I start to dig. 10 inches down I get this small cuff button with the link still attached. I think "neat", throw it in my pouch and keep going. I dug up 3 more buttons before the heat got me. I get home and start to look at it. It looked like it might have a tree branch on it but it was dirty. I soaked it in mineral oil for a couple of hours then took it out. Using a toothpick, I scraped away at the dirt and could now see a profile. I thought I saw something like this before on a George Washington inaugural buttons site. Sure enough, it was an inaugural cuff button! Only 3-5 known specimens EXIST. Ultra rare! I couldn’t believe it. I was so excited, I dropped it in the sink, and had to take out a part to get it. My AT Pro comes through again, big time! Thank you Garrett for this "once in a lifetime find."
Chris R. WINS a Pro-Pointer AT!
Thanks you Jason, Casey, and Chris for submitting your exciting stories of treasure discovery. Enjoy your new Pro-Pointer AT’s.
