Favorite Finds - U.S.

JULY 2021 HAS TWO WINNERS!!!

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WINNER #1
My United States Favorite Find for July 2021 is the Extremely Rare Connecticut Copper Miller 6.4-K, discovered by Wil C. from New York with his Ace 400.

Wil’s success story: It was a nice spring day and a good one for metal detecting. I took out my Ace 400 and went to see what I could find. Now I have never been a believer in the idea that trees are treasure troves, but I really had never searched around them. I poked around the base of an old tree and right by the roots I got a solid hit. About 8" down I pulled out this beauty of a copper coin. As if the condition wasn't enough, this variety is the Miller 6.4-K, which, according to PCGS, there are about 20 known to exist and there is a pretty good chance this is the only one that has ever been found metal detecting. So now every time I tell someone that there are only 20 known of my coin, their eyes bug out and they ask, "what metal detector did you find it with?", I reply "with my trusty Garrett."

Wil C. WINS an ACE Apex metal detector. CONGRATULATIONS!!!
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WINNER #2
My second United States Favorite Find for July 2021 is the pair of George Washington Inaugural Buttons, discovered by Jacob S. from Maine with his AT Max.

Jacob’s success story: It was July 27th and it was a very humid day here on the coast of Maine. I had just received a new permission to a large 100 acre property that I assumed had at least 1 colonial area cellar hole. Since it was so humid, I figured I would do a “test dig” for a short time just to get an idea on what the permission had to offer.. The property was mostly tall hay, and thick stubby blueberry bushes that make it tough to detect, but with my AT Max, I knew I could manage a few signals.

I walked around to where I suspected the first cellar hole was and found it fairly easily. I turned on my trusty AT Max and started to detect. It was quiet at first, but I then swung over a loud 60 signal. I cut the plug and used my Garrett pin pointer to find the target. It was a big dandy button, and as every detectorist that hunts for colonial relics does, I immediately looked to see if it had a design. The button did, and after a quick brushing, to my amazement it was a George Washington Inaugural button. I had found the holy grail of colonial buttons in my first plug at this new permission!

After doing some celebrating and calling a friend and my dad to tell them what I had found, I knew I was going to spend a few more minutes detecting in that immediate area that evening. I walked about 20 to 30 feet and my very next target I got a crisp 80-81 signal and thought for sure I was going to pull out a colonial copper coin. When I flipped this next plug, another big button was staring back at me. I was almost scared to look at it, no way it could be another GW... I turned it over and immediately saw another “GW” in the middle of the button. I was in shock! I couldn’t believe I had just found 2 GW buttons in back to back plugs! What are the chances?! I never dreamed that I would find just 1 GW button...

A GW button was on the top of my “bucket list”. But, being from a small town on the coast of Maine, with only a small amount of colonial settlement, I figured I would never get to see one. But somehow, I managed to find them. I can’t thank Garrett enough for making such an amazing machine like the AT Max. My AT Max gives me the most confidence to go to places where other detectors would struggle. The Max gets the job done in those tough spots and hard to reach areas. This was a perfect example, and without it, I more than likely would have never saved those 2 pieces of history. Thank you Garrett and Long Live the President!

Jacob S. WINS an ACE Apex metal detector. CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Next month Vaughan will give away an ACE APEX. You could be the next winner. Submit your story!

JUNE 2021 WINNER!!!

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WINNER #1
My United States Favorite Find is the Princess Cut Marquis Diamond Ring, found by Susan B. from Illinois with the AT Pro.

Susan’s success story: June 18, 2021. Good Morning! Attached is a pic of the ring I found last week! I found it in Lake Michigan/Chicago with my AT PRO.

It has 40 Princess cut inlay diamonds and the center is a Marquis. My only clue of its value so far is the jeweler said he couldn’t find any “inclusions” in the Marquis. The stone setter said “I’m not a gemologist or appraiser but I think it’s worth $15,000.00 - $20,000.00!!!!”. Can’t wait to see the appraisal!

? Beyond addicted to detecting!!!!

Susan B. WINS an ACE Apex Metal Detector. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Update 7-22-21: Susan got the appraisal back on her ring. $12,500. Wow!
Next month Vaughan will give away an ACE Apex Metal Detector! You could be the next winner! Submit your story.

MAY 2021 WINNER!!!

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WINNER #1
My US Favorite Find for May 2021 is the Engagement Ring Recovery, found by Burgess S. from South Carolina with the AT Max, 5x8 coil, and Pro-Pointer AT (Carrot).

Burgess’s success story: Mr. Garrett, I wanted to share my find story, not to the fact that I found the ring but I got to give it back to someone who thought they would never see it again. I was contacted by a woman in her 60s who had lost her engagement ring EIGHT years ago. The woman explained to me how the ring was lost; her dog ate it...no joke.

She said her dog loves to eat shiny objects and the ring was on the coffee table when she went to bed. The next morning she could not find her ring anywhere, throughly checking the house, only then did she suspect the dog might have eaten the ring. The woman and her husband have searched the backyard (for 8 years now), where the dog would have “processed the ring out”, even renting a detector, only to find frustration and disappointment.

This story is more amazing to the fact that the woman and her husband will be moving soon due to selling their house. She said this hunt is her last try before giving up all hope to see the ring again.

When I arrived I found her backyard to be approximately 400' x 600'. I asked her the most probable locations the dogs usually go to the restroom and she pointed out about 8 large, different spots, but these were only guesses. I explained to her that I would give it my best shot. I started working, very diligently, still not knowing exactly where in the vast yard the ring could be. Slowly sweeping an inch above the grass, I walked my lines in overlapping patterns. In the first hour of hunting I dug about 30 holes. Two holes contained personalized pet dogs tags, those dogs long ago deceased. She had not seen those tags in years which brought back to her fond memories.

About the two hour mark I heard a clear but jumpy medium/high tone to which I cut a 6" deep plug and lifted it up, seeing nothing. I stuck my Garrett Pro-Pointer in the hole, and it alerted! I moved some dirt and found a piece of aluminum. I thought to myself, “well that must be it but I’ll re-check the hole/plug”. (Always recheck). The pin-pointer did not signal to anything else in the hole but when I checked the bottom of the plug the pointer alerted to metal. I scratched away the dirt and saw the edge of a white gold ring! How absolutely amazing! I found her ring!

Walking across the yard, I told her that “miracles do happen and that the ring and her were destined to be together!” She was overjoyed, holding her ring after 8 years, something she thought she would never wear on her finger again! Her and her husband thanked me profusely!

There is no doubt this is absolutely my best metal detecting find to date and possibly may be my best find ever! I just wanted to share my story, and to thank you Mr. Garrett for making such awesome detectors.
Warm regards,
Burgess

Burgess S. WINS an ACE Apex metal detector. CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Next month Vaughan will give away an ACE Apex Metal Detector. You could be the next winner. Submit your story!!!

APRIL 2021 WINNER!!!

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WINNER #1
My U.S. Favorite Find for April 2021 is the 999.9 24k Gold Ring from a Texas River, found by Zola T. from Texas with the AT Max.

Zola’s success story: I found this ring in the Guadalupe River, in the Hill Country of Central Texas, on Easter Sunday 4/4/2021. I was using my AT Max that I very recently purchased, in preparation for summer water hunting season. I stopped at the particular location because it is the pick-up spot for a canoe/kayak rental company in the area, so high traffic area. I was just hoping to find a few coins and maybe some “generic” modern jewelry, or even nothing at all. I really was just hoping to learn the “new sounds” on the Max since I normally swing an Apex, with very different sounds. I had no idea I would find something EPIC, on my 1st water hunt with this machine, on the very 1st signal!!

I believe after some research, the ring has the “Elephant God” (Ganesh) carved in it, and it’s stamped “999.9” inside, which “normally” means 24K gold. However, I was very skeptical about it’s authenticity, mainly because it rang up a screaming solid 87 on the Max (also 87-88 on my Apex in my yard), which is very unheard of for gold I thought. It’s also very rough around the bottom part of the ring, almost appearing plated in that area, even though there is no flaking of the gold at all. I was perplexed.

The following day, I took the ring to a local jeweler who specializes in antique and estate jewelry, as well as coins. After testing with 3-4 different fancy machines, the jeweler confirmed that the ring is indeed 999.9 pure gold. She told me the bottom is rough because 24K is extremely soft and scratches very easily, and who knows how long it was rolling around in the river before I found it.

The jeweler also said it’s most likely Indian in origin in her opinion, since India is well known for wearing only 24K gold up until “recently”, when they also started using 780 (18K). She wasn’t exactly sure of the age of the ring, but her guess was that is was probably more modern (although she didn’t give her definition of “modern”). She said that, in her experience, really old Indian jewelry is always stamped with an animal on the inside (i.e. a sheep, a rabbit, or some other animal). Since they only used 24K in India until recently, it really wasn’t necessary to specify the purity with a number. An animal stamp indicated the jeweler who made the piece (maker's mark), and with an animal stamp, it was automatically assumed to be 24K or 999.9, since there was no other options. It wasn’t until “recent times” that they started using numbers, rather than animals.

This find was not just unexpected and amazing, it is also a valuable educational experience, which I happily shared with the community in a post on the ‘Garrett Metal Detectors’ Facebook page.

1st Lesson: Since (I’ve been told) it’s super rare to ever dig jewelry marked 999.9, maybe we (the metal detecting community) just didn’t know that a fairly large chunk of pure gold WILL actually beep 87. I can confirm now that indeed it does. Now we know.

2nd Lesson: If any of us dig any really old gold jewelry in the future, with an animal stamped on it and no numbers, and it looks a little rough around the edges, we should not throw it out thinking it’s junk. Now we know.

Thank you for considering my entry for the “Favorite Finds”. Even if I don’t win, this will still possibly be the find of MY lifetime, and I’m thrilled I got to share the experience and knowledge gained.

Zola T. WINS an ACE Apex Metal Detector. CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Next month Vaughan will give away an ACE Apex. You could be the next winner. Submit your story.

MARCH 2021 WINNER!!!

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WINNER #1
My U.S. favorite find for March 2021 is the WWII Purple Heart Medal, found by Matt M. from Michigan with his AT Pro.

Matt’s success story: This has to be my favorite find to date! I found the Purple Heart medal at a home in Michigan. The home site has been in the same family since the early 1800’s and after taking a few photos I returned this honorable war metal back to the family who’s loved one honored and sacrificed for our amazing country. I’ve visited this site several times over the last two years and have recovered many great artifacts with my AT PRO.

On March 19th I had a repeatable tone that sounded larger than a coin. I dug a good size plug and popped it from the yard. As I flipped the plug over I noticed an object slide down and land on the grass. It was the Purple Heart which was at a depth of approximately 8 inches. Believed to be from WWII the family and I are still trying to locate the recipient of the medal after roughly 80 years. I’ve attached another image with the medal and the plug as it was before I touched it. If you look, you can actually see the heart impression on the top (bottom) of the plug. Thank you for your time and God bless.

Matt M. WINS an ACE Apex Metal Detector. CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Next month Vaughan will give an ACE Apex Metal Detector. You could be the next winner! Submit your story.

FEBRUARY 2021 WINNER!!!

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WINNER #1
My United States Favorite Find for February 2021 is the 1924-1925 King County Special Deputy Sheriff Badge, found by Matthew B. from New Jersey with his AT Pro.

Garrett success story: While metal detecting today February 17, 2021 in Burlington County, New Jersey with the AT Pro, I dug this badge. After getting home and revealing more details on the badge and doing research, it turns out the man who received the badge, Mr. Edward E Rutter, was the official photographer for Brooklyn and more specifically he captured a lot of photos of the construction of Coney Island Boardwalk.

Editor’s note: This Special Deputy Sheriff’s badge is personalized. The recipient’s name, Edward E Rutter, is inscribed on the backside. Perhaps his standing as Special Deputy Sheriff allowed him to move freely to capture photography of the booming Brooklyn.

Matthew B. WINS an ACE APEX metal detector. CONGRATULATIONS!!!
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WINNER #2
My Second United States Favorite Find for February 2021 is the North Carolina Civil War Button, found by Shawn S. from North Carolina with his Apex.

Shawn’s success story: I have been searching for a virgin site for a few years now. One that held 1800-1900’s relics, coins, jewelry and many surprises. While doing some research in an area that I had recently received permission to explore, I plotted a few early 1900’s homesites on my phone to check out. One day, I went to my third plotted homesite and scored an 1858 seated half dime, 181? large cent, Civil War eagle button, Civil War three ringer all on the first day! Super excited, I couldn’t wait to come back the next day, then the next and the next.

I decided to use a combination of two machines on this permission, various coils to see what else I could find. I was using the Garrett AT-MAX and the Garrett Ace APEX. I would start with one and then switch to the other.

Finally on my sixth or seventh trip out and while using the Garrett Ace APEX with the Viper coil, I get this screaming 76 ID. I pop the sandy cotton field plug. Not finding the target right away, I grab my Pro-Pointer and it’s in the above side wall. I use my hands to scrape the sand out until I see a round item pop out. As I grab a hold and begin to wipe the sand off from the face of the item, I start to see something amazing and start to shake with excitement! I couldn’t believe my eyes as I read “NORTH CAROLINA” and see a sunburst in the middle of what looked to be a button. I flip it over and sure enough there is a shank too! Now I’m very excited, I snap a few pictures then a quick video for my future YouTube video. I couldn’t wait to share this item with my friends and followers, so I went to Facebook and went live!

I later found out from a buddy who had a book titled “North Carolina Civil War Buttons” by the late Terry Teff, this button is Ultra Super Rare! Only 1 of 8 (now) known to exist! I couldn’t believe I had just unearthed such a rare and amazing piece of North Carolina, Civil War and American history!

Shawn S. WINS. an ACE APEX metal detector. CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Next month Vaughan will give away an ACE APEX metal detector! You could be the next winner. Submit your Story!

JANUARY 2021 WINNER!!!

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WINNER #1
My U.S. Favorite Find for January 2021 is the USA North Carolina Volunteers Revolutionary War Button, found by Adam L. from North Carolina with his AT Pro.

Adam’s success story: I've used nothing but my Garrett AT Pro for over 6 years now with great success.... Today I went out with a few fellow members of our group “The NC Dirt Detectives” and I found this amazingly historic button just 6 inches deep with my AT Pro and Nel Superfly coil.... People always tell me to upgrade to a newer machine but they just don't understand the power of the AT Pro
Adam L. WINS an ACE Apex Metal Detector! Congratulations!!!
Next month Vaughan will give away an ACE Apex Metal Detector! You could be the next winner! Submit your Story.

DECEMBER 2020 WINNER!!!

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WINNER #1
My U.S. Favorite Find for December 2020 is the USN Chief Petty Officer Silver & Gold Ring, found by Robin M. from Oklahoma with his AT Pro.

Robin’s success story: I was happily detecting an empty lot on a hot summer afternoon using my AT Pro. I’d already found my fair share of wonderful sounding bottle caps and pull tabs when I hit a nice high signal under a very large oak tree. I dug a nice plug, pulled out the Pro-Pointer, started poking around and... nothing. I backed up, swung the coil again and found my target had rolled a couple feet from the hole when I’d turned over the plug. As soon as I picked it up I noticed it was heavy. I pulled the target out of the clod it was hiding in and noticed it was a ring. My water bottle gave it a quick bath then I turned it over and over in my hand realizing I’d found a shiny piece of history.

There weren’t any maker's marks inside the ring for identification purposes but I carried it around with me for a few weeks. I was showing the ring to folks seeing if anyone could help me figure out the ring’s history. I eventually showed it to a fellow employee who was also retired from the Navy. He identified it right away that it was a Chief Petty officer’s ring due to the gold fouled anchor and chain on the face of the ring. He stated when an officer reaches the rank of Chief Petty, his men will make him a homemade ring to celebrate the event. Doing a bit of additional searching, the gold seahorses on both sides of the ring also mean he reached the rank of Master Diver. While not official, he figured it was WWI-WWII time period. Would be nice to know the complete history of the ring but to me it was a pretty special find on a very hot summer afternoon!!!

Robin M. WINS an ACE Apex metal detector. CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Next month Vaughan will give away an ACE Apex Metal Detector! You could be the next winner! Submit your story.

NOVEMBER 2020 WINNER!!!

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WINNER #1
My United States Favorite Find for November 2020 is the 1856 Large Indian Head Gold Dollar (Slanted 5 Variety), discovered by Mike S. from Maryland with his AT Max.

Mike’s story: I was detecting with my Garrett AT Max with a 5x8 coil and getting some Civil War items, bullets etc. I got a good reading and dug it. I found a iron nail but thought there had to be more to it. I ran the coil over it again and behold. Out popped a beautiful 1856 Large Indian Head Gold Dollar, Slanted 5 Variety. It was my very first Gold coin ever!! To say I was stoked is an understatement. At first I thought for sure a token of some kind but I lightly cleaned it and saw the date. That feeling was something I’ve never felt before detecting. Truly awesome machine!

Mike S. WINS an ACE Apex Metal Detector!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Next month Vaughan will give away an ACE Apex™ Metal Detector!!! You could be the next winner. Submit your story!!!

OCTOBER 2020 WINNER!!!

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WINNER #1
My U.S. Favorite Find for October 2020 is the President Harding Commemorative, found by Chip K. from Florida with his AT Pro & 5x8 coil.

Chip's story: I always preach to carefully double check your finds before discarding them. I have had several great finds that only a second look has prevented them from being lost. This is one of them. I love hunting curb strips in older historic areas and I’m lucky to live within an hour’s drive from several historic neighborhoods and towns. I especially concentrate my efforts where the curbs are made of cut stone, usually marble or granite and where the sidewalks are paved with bricks or blocks.

I was scanning one such spot and my AT Pro gave me a solid high tone. Carefully I harvested what I hoped would be a silver coin but was surprised to see a thin folded strip of foil, which explains the high signal. It looked like the foil surrounding a stick of gum. I dropped it in my trash pouch.

At home I emptied my pouch into a tray and began to sort my treasures by metal since I recycle everything and I have barrels for each metal. So the aluminum is grouped in one barrel, brass in another, etc. And before I drop anything into a barrel I give it a reexamination.

When I checked out this thin strip again I was surprised to see there was an American flag imprinted on the edge. I then very carefully and slowly unfolded it and was shocked to see there was another flag on the opposite edge and in the middle was a portrait of a man with the legend PRESIDENT HARDING over him and a wreath encompassing him! I researched it but could not find anything about it so I sent pictures to The Harding Museum, asking for information about it. They replied they had never seen anything like this but that the wreath meant it was a commemorative honoring him after his death. I have offered to donate it to the museum and am awaiting information on how it would be displayed and used.

Harding was our 29th President serving from 1921 until his death in 1923.

Chip K. WINS an ACE Apex Metal Detector!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Next month Vaughan will give away an ACE Apex Metal Detector! You could be the next winner! Submit your story.