Les trouvailles préférées - U.S.

MARCH 2018 HAS TWO WINNERS!

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WINNER #1
My U.S. favorite find for March 2018 is the 1970 University of Tennessee Gold Class Ring, found by Barbara B. with her AT Pro.

Barbara's story: I attended the recent Charles Garrett hunt in Jefferson, Texas and was inspired by Vaughan's talk to submit a recent exciting find.

I was detecting a subdivision that had been torn down. I came across a nice solid signal and was shocked to dig up a HUGE gold class of 1970 University of Tennessee class ring about 4-5 inches deep. As my husband was calculating the price of gold, I was already composing an email to the University of Tennessee Alumni Association to help me find the owner. After a few emails back and forth, the ring owner was identified as a local surgeon, Stephan S. Coincidentally, he had actually done surgery on my arm about 25 years earlier! I excitedly contacted him and made arrangements to re-unite him with his long lost ring. A reward was offered, and quickly turned down... returning the ring to its rightful owner was a far greater reward than any amount of money!

Much to my surprise, my Facebook started blowing up a couple of weeks later, and I found that the story had been reported on multiple news stations and in newspapers as far away as Denmark and Brazil. I was quite speechless, and I won't be forgetting the experience for a long while. Thank you, Barbara

Barbara B. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
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WINNER #2
My second U.S. favorite find for March 2018 is the 12 Mark, Denmark, 1761 Gold Coin, found by Jason B. from Connecticut with his AT Pro.

Jason's story: I recently bought my Garrett AT Pro about three weeks ago. Most of my finds have been pocket change, bottle tabs, bottle caps, and tin foil. You wouldn't believe how many times I thought tin foil was gold! But there was one day that I rang up a 49-50 on the display. The tone was very solid and I had never seen those numbers before in that succession. In the back of mind I'm thinking, it's gold, it's gold, but the logical part of my brain started kicking in saying, it's just another piece of foil or a pop tab.

So I grabbed my trusty trowel and started digging a plug. After I popped the plug out I saw something really shiny. To myself I said, oh great, another gold colored pop tab. But as soon as I brought it closer to my face its shape rounded out and I saw a man's head. I very carefully brushed some dirt away. My heart started pounding. I truly couldn't believe it. After racing home I further inspected the coin. It was a 12 Mark gold piece from Denmark. The date, 1761, still legible. It is far from being in good shape, and someone soldered a frame around it, but to me it is my first great discovery, the true diamond in the rough.

Jason B. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!! You could be the next winner!

FEBRUARY 2018 HAS THREE WINNERS!!!

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WINNER #1
My U.S. favorite find for February 2018 is the Scottish Jacobite Disc, found by Chip K. from Florida with his AT Pro.

Chip's story (edited): I was hunting with my ATP near the Georgia State Line and got a nice 88-89 signal but was surprised when I found what appeared to be a can lid. The thick dried muck slowly came away and I saw the line "I MAK SICKER (Siccar)" which is the original Kirkpatrick Family Motto which means "I Make Sure." This belonged to one of my ancestors! How did it end up in NE Florida? In 1740, Oglethorpe was governor of the new colony of Georgia. He pulled many prisoners out of Scottish prisons and sent them to SE Georgia to block the Spanish in St Augustine from advancing on South Carolina. Many of these prisoners were Jacobites who had lost a short lived rebellion. It appears one of them lost this. The bail indicates this had a ribbon or leather strap.

The disc inscriptions: (obverse) Touch and I Pierce, Aug 23, 1299, W.W., and (reverse) None shall Provoke me with impunity, I make sicker. It is a flat thin silver disc covered with Scottish iconic engravings. There is a lion, thistle, heather, hourglass, a heart pierced by an arrow (means a Jacobite) and a hand wielding a sword stabbing a rose (means Striking at England which is often represented by a rose. This item actually looks like a metal detector.)

I recognized the slogan "I MAKE SICKER (Siccar)" means I MAKE SURE. In 1306 Robert the Bruce was chasing the Scottish crown but he had a strong opponent John "Red" Comyn who was the favorite of most of the nobility. Bruce suggested they have a meeting in the church in Dumfries. Churches were considered safe sanctuary but during the meeting, Bruce pulled his dagger and stabbed Cornyn and fled. Outside was his best friend and third cousin, Sir Roger (Roget) Kirkpatrick. When told what happened Kirkpatrick asked if Comyn was dead and Bruce admitted he did not know. Kirkpatrick pulled HIS dagger and said the now famous phrase and went inside and finished Comyn which allowed Bruce to take the throne. This is all well documented. There is also the line TOUCH AND I PEARCE. (Pierce ie stab). This was the original Kirkpatrick Family motto before the Comyn incident.

Chip K. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
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WINNER #2
My second U.S. favorite find for February 2018 is the Pair of 1773 Virginia Halfpenny Coins, found by Ed H. from Tennessee with his AT Max.

Ed's story: I must admit, Williamsburg, VA is one of my favorite places to metal detect due to the Colonial and Civil War history! Within the first 2 hours of detecting, I recovered a 1773 Virginia Halfpenny! Believe it or not within the next 45 minutes I recovered another 1773 Virginia Halfpenny! This is why I love detecting in Virginia because even though we were detecting for Civil War artifacts, I was finding Colonial artifacts. After further investigation of the terrain and geological clues we could tell that this area had Colonial time period home-sites at one time. And I finally found the Civil War encampment that I had originally researched and ended up finding an assortment of bullets and minie balls. I must say this was an epic day of metal detecting with my Garrett AT MAX Metal Detector! All areas that I metal detected and recovered artifacts from were private property that I had permission to be on!

Ed H. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
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WINNER #3
My third U.S. favorite find for February 2018 is the Heavily Engraved Railroad Pocket Watch, found by Justin H. from Indian with his AT Pro.

Justin's story: This is one of my all time favorite finds and was a great way to start 2018! I bought a new, larger coil for my AT Pro and decided to test it out at a buddy's 1820s home that I've hunted a few times before. We've never found anything real great there, but I figured it would be a good test for the new coil. I got a faint, but repeatable signal that was reading 8" deep. After digging a deep plug, I unearthed a very large and muddy pocket watch. My gloves were too caked in mud to see any details, so I put it in my pouch to clean off later. After getting it home, I took it to the sink to wash it off. The water revealed that this pocket watch was VERY heavily engraved! Even better is that it's engraved with a very ornate train scene on both sides! It appears to be gold plated, but it could be a low karat gold (10k?). I researched the property a bit and found that the large "ditch" nearby is actually an old railroad track that once ran through the area. It was in use from the late 1850s until the 1950s. It's interesting to think that this watch might have belonged to someone who worked for the railroad that ran through their property. It now sits as a centerpiece in my collection!

Justin H. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System! You could be the next winner!

JANUARY 2018 HAS TWO WINNERS!!!

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WINNER #1
My U.S. favorite find for January 2018 is the 1845 $10 Liberty Gold Coin Pendant, found by Greg M. from Texas with his AT Gold.

Greg's story: I got a call from a member of our metal detector club THAP, Treasure Hunters Association of Pasadena (TX), who said an asphalt worker named Rowdy from Beaumont lost his 1845 $10 Liberty gold coin pendant while paving a parking lot. I met Rowdy and his crew that next morning at a chemical plant where the parking lot was laid. He and crew had 3 gold rings between them, so we laid them on the asphalt to get a reading on my AT Gold. 76-77. The top layer of asphalt is 2 inches thick so every target I hit was marked with a quarter. On The 3rd target, we melted and scraped asphalt and found it between the 2 layers of asphalt. There was Rowdy, his 2 crew and myself there and high fives and fist bumps happened big time! His mother wore that pedant for years and gave it to him so there was sentimental value. I was really happy and proud to be a part of this. What a great experience!

Greg M. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
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WINNER #2
My second U.S. favorite find for January 2018 is the 1851 Federal Sword Plate, found by Bradley D. from North Carolina with his AT Pro.

Bradley's story: I just found my first Civil War Federal Sword plate on the last day of 2017! This 1851 model buckle was worn by Union Officers on a sword belt! I had no idea I would find such a cool relic when I set out to find property corners. I finished finding my stobs and decided to dig around the old chimney on the property and this turns up! There were only about 30 minutes of light, so I was only able to dig 14 targets. The plate was the last! I don't get to dig much anymore so this is AWESOME! I can't wait to research the old cabin site further! I own it, so it is not going anywhere! My Garrett AT-Pro and Pro-pointer are seven years old and still raking in the goods! Thank you for premium machines, Garrett!

Bradley D. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System! You could be the next winner!

DECEMBER 2017 WINNER!!!

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WINNER #1
My U.S. favorite find for December 2017 is the Alabama Confederate Sword Plate, found by Stone K. from Alabama with his AT Pro.

Stone's story: While detecting a very small permission from a house built in the 1920s, I made an incredible recovery! After digging a few wheaties and whatever else I got a silver quarter type signal. After popping my plug I realized the target was deep and much larger than a quarter. It was an Alabama State Seal Sword Plate! A very rare Confederate plate that I never could have anticipated. Turns out the ground I was hunting has some history. The AT Pro does it again! Woohooo!

Stone K. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System! You could be the next winner!

NOVEMBER 2017 HAS FOUR U.S. WINNERS!

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WINNER #1
My U.S. favorite find for November 2017 is the Confederate Buckle, found by Andy B. from Texas with his Ace 250.

Andy's story: Hunting on private property near the Chickamauga battlefield, this Army of Tennessee Confederate buckle was dug in about 3 inches of dirt last week. This is my first ever Confederate buckle. When my 250 hit it, I knew right away it was something sweet. I didn't know it would be my best find to date!

The buckle was found in an area that was used as a staging area for Nathan Bedford Forrest and his men before the battle of Chickamauga and knowing that his men wore this style of buckle, there is a high probability it was from one of his men. All 3 prongs are intact and there is no apparent damage to the plate. Some of the black lacquer is still in place!

The feeling of seeing the "reveal" when the plug was lifted was surreal to say the least. Best way I can describe the feeling when I first saw the buckle was a sense of being in a movie! Only a few feet away were bullets and a few other relics.

The 250 is a simple to use and easy to learn machine. Thanks Garrett!

Andy B. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
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WINNER #2
My second U.S. favorite find for November 2017 is the Sterling Elks Fob, found by Bob F. from Texas with his AT Pro.

Bob's story: While detecting a stream in the Hill Country, I noticed a clear area along the banks. There was a group of large trees up the slope. So, I had to go check them out. I went slowly around the largest tree and got a nice high tone, using my AT PRO with 5" X 8" DD coil. I thought it might be a piece of junk tin, but it turned out to be a marked Sterling Elks Watch Fob. After looking closer, I found the owners name E. T. Josey Huntsville, Tex. After searching the internet, with the help of our club president, we found his obituary. He was born in 1843 and died 1925. He served in the Civil War, in the Confederate Army from 1861 to 1865. He served in Company K, Brown's Regiment, under Capts. Rountree and Tom Hamilton, both of Huntsville. He settled in Huntsville, Texas in 1870 and lived there until his death in 1925.

Bob F. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
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WINNER #3
My third U.S. favorite find for November 2017 is the 1787 Vermont Copper variety ryder 15, extremely rare, found by Cody D. from Vermont with his AT Pro.

Cody's story: Was using my AT Pro in southern Vermont. Was at the last site of the day. My first signal into this site was a 70-71 signal. It read 2 inches deep. I called indian but was very surprised when i saw a big copper sitting in the hole. My first Vermont. I took it home to research the variety and found out it was the rare ryder 15. Only 19 or 20 others known to exist!

I was and am still in awestruck. The find was made Sunday, November 5, 2017.

Cody D. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
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WINNER #4
My fourth U.S. favorite find for November 2017 is the 1902 Liberty Head U.S. $10 Dollar Gold Coin, found by Ronny R. from Texas with his AT Pro.

Ronny's story (edited): After our Annual MCARC (Montgomery County Artifact Recovery Club) Seeded Hunt & Barbecue Luncheon this fall, a fellow avid detectorist asked me to hunt a local park with him. I had just packed up my Garrett AT PRO, digging tool, Garrett Pro Pointer II, web belt, and finds pouch. This park is very old and has been hunted many years including me. But to keep my friend from hunting alone, I followed him to the site, unpacked my gear and started swinging. This turned out to be the best metal detecting decision of my life. We were joined by a couple more friends/club members.

My friend found a Sterling Bracelet. In less than 30 minutes, my AT PRO spoke up with a good sounding, slightly faint signal. Showing a solid, repeatable "75" at 6 to 8 inches on the display. "Another Zinc, Lincoln Memorial Cent", I thought to myself!

I stepped on my trusty trenching tool, pushing it about 7 or 8 inches into the sandy soil and pried out a plug, leaving a relatively neat hole about 4" across and 7" deep. I saw, centered in the bottom of the hole, a shiny gold colored coin. I immediately thought, "What's one of those chocolate, gold foil covered, candy coins doing buried 7" in the outfield of a baseball field?" Upon kneeling and reaching for it, I suddenly realized it was a real GOLD COIN! My friends tell me I stood up and loudly mumbled something about GOLD. I really don't quite remember. It is a 1902 Liberty Head U.S. $10 dollar gold coin. This doesn't just complete my Bucket List, it IS my Bucket List!

Ronny R. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System! You could be the next winner!

OCTOBER 2017 HAS THREE WINNERS!

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WINNER #1
My favorite U.S. find for October 2017 is the War of 1812 Artillery Belt Plate, found by Brian P. from New York with his AT Pro.

Brian's story: While detecting a cellar hole in upstate NY I received a signal right in the foundation ruins. After moving a foundation stone and a little digging I was rewarded with this beauty! I'm so lucky to have found it and still in disbelief. Thanks Garrett for making a machine that really gets through the iron.

Brian P. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
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WINNER #2
My second U.S. favorite find is the Colorado Nugget, found by William M. from Colorado with his AT Gold.

William's story: It was a nice August afternoon 2017. I was coming down a hillside when the AT Gold started to make that sweet sound. About a foot down pulled out the best nugget I found that day.

William M. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
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WINNER #3
My third U.S. favorite find is the Rose Gold Diamond Ring, found by Ray H. from Oklahoma with his AT Max.

Ray's story: Sunday hunt with Max. I found a coin first, a little later a Sterling Silver Cross. a token, some clad, and my best find of the day a Rose Gold 23 Diamond stone ring. Simply amazed at the depth of the Max vs My AT Pro which is a fine Machine. Thanks Garrett for coming with many improvements to a machine that makes swinging it all day to be real pleasure.

Ray H. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System! You could be the next winner!

SEPTEMBER 2017 HAS TWO WINNERS!

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WINNER #1
My U.S. favorite find is the VMI Cadet Civil War Button, found by Jeffery P. from Virginia, with his AT Pro.

Jeffery's story: I went with a friend to a very old church in my hometown to visit a grave of a friend of his. He told me that he had relic hunted the neighboring field next to the church in the early 90's and found some 1800's coins and flat buttons. I asked him if I could try my luck there and he said sure. So I started back in the wooded area of the field. I was going slow and had a great 55-61 signal on the AT Pro and dug down 4 inches and saw a shank of a button showing. It turned out to be a Virginia Military Institute Cadet button. I have done the research and these buttons are pretty rare and in this type of shape is remarkable. Thank you for allowing me to share.

Jeffery P. WINS a Pro-Pointer AT!
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WINNER #2
My second U.S. favorite find is the 1858 Pre-Civil War Revolver, found by Jeremy P. from Montana, with his AT Pro.

Jeremy's story: I own several Garrett detectors and so was asked to take a small group of church youth out Metal detecting. To make this activity as fun as possible I took them to a dry lake bed which was also a well-used beach most of the summer. We weren't getting tons of great finds beyond matchbox cars and sunglasses so we decided to move further out from the beach. This lake has several island areas that even when the water is high do not get submerged so we decided to look there. Within 10 minutes, I detected this treasure using my AT Pro. Mind blown…speechless…mic drop!

We have determined it to be a Remington .36 caliber with a date stamp of 1858! It was thrilling to identify and the youth group was blown away by the historical nature of the discovery. Finding an intact pre-Civil War firearm is a once-in-a-lifetime bucket lister. There are now 6 more Garrett detector converts in my community!

Jeremy P. WINS a Pro-Pointer AT!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Pro-Pointer AT! You could be the next winner!

August 2017 HAS TWO WINNERS!!!

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WINNER #1
My U.S. favorite find for August 2017 is the 1650s IHS Jesuit Trade Ring, found by Brandon M. from New York with his AT Pro.

Brandon’s story (edited): I’m still new to metal detecting. Just started this summer after buying a Garrett AT Pro and am totally hooked. Yesterday I made my best find yet! After about an hour and a half of digging nothing but garbage I was getting pretty discouraged. I dug a semi sketchy signal mid 50s after finding tons of scrap copper reading in the same area. Dug the hole, pulled out my Pro-Pointer, pulled this out and was praying it wasn’t more garbage. When I saw the front I nearly had a heart attack. So here it is! My IHS Jesuit fur trade ring from the 1650s. Dug it in a field that had long houses and captured Christians during the 1650s. I still can’t believe it!

Brandon M. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
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WINNER #2
My second U.S. favorite find for August 2017 is the Diamond Platinum Earring, found and returned to owner by Jason A. from Washington with his AT Pro.

Jason’s story (edited): Today’s Ringfinders recovery was for a lady who lost her impressive diamond stud earring while staining her deck a few days ago. After her and her husband scoured the yard, and squeezed under the deck to look for it, they tried renting a metal detector. They found out quickly though, stud earrings are very hard to detect because they contain so little actual metal. In fact, their rental unit could not even detect it when they passed it over the 2nd earring.

I had confidence that at least one of my machines should be able to outperform this rental unit and headed out with all 3. After testing on the other earring, I was pretty surprised to find my 2 most expensive detectors would not detect this target. My least expensive unit a Garrett AT PRO did, but just a barely audible sound would come through, and only occasionally. To make matters worse, the lawn area around the deck was littered with nails from the sloppy contractor who built it. I was getting a pretty sinking feeling, but I was determined to at least try. Somehow I managed to pass over a quiet target and it was the earring! We were both so amazed and relieved, and glad that I have a few types of machines in my arsenal!

Jason A. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System! You could be the next winner!

JULY 2017 HAS TWO WINNERS!!!

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WINNER #1
My U.S. favorite find for July 2017 is the 14K Diamond & Ruby Ring, found by Brian L. from TX with his AT Pro.

Brian’s story: I woke up early Wednesday morning, brewed a pot of coffee and hit the local swim beach a little before sunrise. I started off shallow and noticed someone had already detected the waters the evening before so I decided to head a little deeper. I went to the end of the lake that usually gathers the most trash and pull tabs. I got a strong 42 signal and decided to go for it. I thought I was on the trail of another pull tab but when I pulled up the scoop and saw a shimering gold band staring at me through the sand and gravel all I could think was “hello beautiful!” The ring is hallmarked 14K and 585 inside the band. I tested all 16 diamonds and they tested real!

Brian L. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
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WINNER #2
My second U.S. favorite find for July 2017 is the Grand Army of the Republic Membership Badge, found by Larry H. from Minnesota with his AT Pro.

Larry’s story: I was hunting the land in a public Minnesota park. There is a lot of area to cover and much of it is wooded. My friend was hunting with me on July 1st. I was using my AT Pro and AT Pro-Pointer on this hunt. The battery gauge told me I had one bar left before my batteries died, and it had been like that for hours. But signals were still coming in clear and I didn’t have a good spare set with me (the extra ones I had were almost dead). My buddy had just pulled a Barber quarter about 30 minutes earlier and I had not yet found silver. So I went off to a new area and was kind of griping under my breath about not getting the silver I was hoping for, when I got a loud mid-to-upper 70’s signal which I presumed to be a piece of aluminum can. About 3 inches down I pulled out what I thought was an old kid’s sheriff badge, until I cleaned it off better and realized it was a far greater find with history behind it. It turned out to be a GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) membership badge! When I read the 1861*Veteran*1866 inscription, I was blown away. Completely surprised and a far greater find than a silver coin. I can’t get enough of my AT Pro. It really sniffs out the good stuff, and even with almost dead batteries!

Larry H. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System! You could be the next winner!

JUNE 2017 HAS THREE WINNERS!!!

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WINNER #1
My U.S. favorite find is the White Gold Ring with Diamonds, found by Paul M. from Louisiana with his AT Gold.

Paul’s story: I went out on a late after work hunt in the lake about a week ago. Started out chest deep, working along parallel to the beach. Started back waist deep now when I got a solid tone that was 45 no matter what direction you checked it. One scoop down and out it popped 6.3 grams of 14K white gold, 1 pear cut center diamond that is .4 cts, total of 59 diamond chips for a total weight of 1 ct. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. Thanks for such a great product.

Paul M. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
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WINNER #2
My second U.S. favorite find is the Spanish Reale, found by Nicholas G. from Massachusetts with his Ace 400.

Nicholas’s story: I was detecting a local farm field that I have found old coins and buttons at when I swung over a high signal. I dug the signal and realized it was a very small silver coin once I found it! I sprayed some water on the coin and realized it was a 1749 Spanish Half Reale! This was a bucket lister and my favorite find.

Nicholas G. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
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WINNER #3
My third U.S. favorite find is the 2 1/2 Gold Dollar Eagle, found by Ian M. from Ohio with his Ace 200.

Ian’s story: Holy cow! Best find ever. Searched a local house around here. Talked to the home owner and he said his dad was known to bury a thing or two. I could search his property on 1 condition. That whatever I find he keeps. I can see why he said that. None the less it was an exciting find. And a good story to tell.

Ian M. WINS a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Z-Lynk™ Wireless System! You could be the next winner!