What A Difference

A Day Makes!

By Tony Mullen

Minted at Charlotte, North Carolina in 1847, this gorgeous Coronet $5 gold piece was the find of a lifetime for Tony Mullen, now a proud member of W&ET’s exclusive “Gold coin Club”

Every treasure hunter has probably had this nightmare. You finally get permission to hunt a particular place that you have been eyeing for quite some time, and then something happens. Something you could never imagine is about to ruin your “perfect opportunity.” Well, that almost happened to me one weekend in March 2001. I hunt with a Fisher CZ-7A and had sent it in to Fisher for some planned maintenance, figuring that I still had time before the weather broke and the hunting season kicked in. I expected that, with transit time included, I would be without a detector for about two weeks. My wife Teresa figured that out, too, and the Honey-do list was a sight to behold!
The first week was not too bad. I was steadily chipping away at “the list.” Then it happened. My father, Frank Mullen, called me from Virginia. He had just turned up an 1852 silver 3 cent piece, having received permission to search a site that dates back to the l770s. We had been watching that place for quite some time. Needless to say,
____________
The look on
Teresa ‘s face was priceless. She just looked at me and asked, “Is it real?”
____________

I was thinking road trip! Then I remembered that my detector was on the other coast. Before we hung up, we made plans to visit the next weekend. My next call was to Fisher. I checked the status of my repair and told Cori Doninelli the Customer service representative, about our upcoming trip. She assured me that I would have my detector in plenty of time. Now for the hard part— waiting. On Wednesday of the following week I called again to make sure my detector was on its way. As it turned out, the detector was still being worked on. My heart sank. I thought, “There is no way I will have my machine this weekend,” but once again, Cori assured me that it would arrive in plenty of time. On Thursday morning I got a pleasant surprise. UPS brought my detector prepaid, next day air, early a.m. delivery. Thank you, Cori, for defining the words “Customer Service” with your actions.

On Friday I left work a bit early and made the 200-mile drive to Virginia. We managed to hunt at another site that we call “Frank’s Honey Hole” for about an hour and a half before it got dark. There was no doubt the CZ-7 was working. My first find was a 1926 Buffalo, followed a few minutes later by a 1941 Mercury dime, a 1947 Roosevelt dime, and enough Wheat (cents) to feed the Russians!
We headed out early Saturday morning to the old Colonial site. This was the moment I had been waiting for. A coin dated 1852 had already been found at this site, which had been occupied for 80 years before that coin was struck. We had high hopes of possibly finding some Spanish silver or Colonial coppers. Unfortunately, the site proved difficult to hunt, as parts of it are now wooded and the grass is probably mowed no more than twice a year. So, we slowly began searching acres of land.

If you could have heard my headphones, you would have said, “There ain’t nothin’ here but iron!” And there wasn’t. I found a couple of Memorial cents, and that was about it except for the occasional horseshoe and a couple of thousand square nails. Man, was I bummed. So, I packed up the family and headed back to North Carolina. Here it was St. Patrick’s Day, and my Irish Luck was nowhere to be found. But, oh, what a difference a day makes!

The following day it was just cool enough to be comfortable in a sweatshirt. As we drove home from church, I told Teresa, “I am going to find something good there today.” As I said those words, I pointed to the place I was planning to hunt that afternoon. I could almost hear her think it out loud: “Yeah, right. I’ve heard that before.” I got to the house, ate a quick bite, and headed out for the afternoon.

I found a couple of clad coins right off the bat. Then about 15 minutes into the hunt, I heard a rather odd tone in the headphones. I cut a plug about 4” deep, and when I flipped it back I saw a flash of gold. I literally said out loud, “Oh, great! Another arcade token.” I put my Lesche digging tool back in the sheath and started to reach for the “token” when I saw a reeded edge! I thought, “There is no way!” I picked it up and felt the weight. I was almost scared to look. Then I saw FIVE D.
I flipped it over and all I could see of the date was 7. I gently brushed away the black dirt… 1847!

A major numismatic authentication and grading service has certified Tony ‘s 1847-C eagle at a net grade of VF-30, with XF details, making it an extremely valuable find.

Well, let me tell you, it was on! As I told some folks on an internet forum, it was not exactly like you see on Riverdance. It was more like a fat guy stomping out a brushfire! What can I say? It was my first gold dance! Once I realized how ridiculous I looked, I calmed down enough to check the hole again. Nope, just the one! I had just found my oldest and “goldest” coin, an 1847 $5 gold piece minted in Charlotte, North Carolina.

I tried to hunt a little more but it was pointless. I had to tell someone. My first call was to my father. I wanted him to check the value in his coin book. No answer. So, I called my wife. No answer. I couldn’t believe it! I had just found a gold coin, and there was no one to tell! About that time I saw Teresa and my daughter Suzanne coming down the road for their Sunday afternoon, pre-naptime stroll. They knew something was up when I came running to meet them, grinning from ear to ear!
The look on Teresa’s face was priceless. She just looked at me and asked, “Is it real?” She asked me what I thought it was worth. I told her it would probably go up to $300. (When I found the coin, I was too excited to notice the Charlotte mintmark. Once I did, I almost stomped out Act II!) When I got back to the house, I suddenly realized that Teresa had a newfound interest in coins. She had pulled out my Red Book and had it lying open on the kitchen table. Suddenly I had a hunch that it might do a little better than $300!

So far, it’s the find of a lifetime for me. I can’t help thinking about the person who lost that coin. That was quite a bit of money back then. The coin has been authenticated, but I am in the process of having it graded a second time. This rare find has made a very nice addition to Suzanne’s collection. I recently read that less than 1 % of all the gold coins minted at Charlotte exist in any condition. What’s ironic is that I was having a conversation with a fellow employee on Thursday before that weekend, and in that conversation I said to him, “I will probably never find a gold coin, but if I do, I hope it has a Charlotte mint mark.” Who knew?

Since I “struck gold,” I have had plenty of offers from prospective hunting partners and numerous inquires as to exactly where I found it. I don’t want to be unfair to anyone. So, I’ve been telling everyone the same thing: I did not mug the St. Patrick’s Day leprechaun. I found it somewhere in North Carolina… near a tree.

TONY MULLEN may not be quite as rotund (fat) as the reader envisions from this article. it is a fact, however that he cannot dance.

Reprinted from Western & Eastern Treasure
2002

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Lately, just finding time for the hobby has been very hard for me. Between starting a family and moving, detecting for me has been in form of an hour here, an hour there. When I was single, just a couple years back, I was hunting all day Sat, all day Sunday, and even a couple nights after work! Times sure have changed, and it’s quite hard when you have the “bug” and want to get out so bad…..even to coinshoot some clad.

But, for some reason it had been a pretty successful hunting season so far, and 2007 had been quality over quantity for some reason. I had opened the season with a previously “unlisted” button find at a cellar hole that I was quickly offered $300.00 for. Then, sneaking away for an hour after work hoping to find a musketball or two, I dug my first-ever gold coin!This was an 1876 British Victoria Half Sovereign. I was happy with that, and my complete attention was to arranging a new house and a baby girl on the way.

But, one sunny day recently, I sat at work looking out the window really just itching to swing my new Fisher F75. I just got it back from Texas with the updated “Jewlery Mode”, and really wanted to try it. It was supposedly “hot” on buttons and I had several fields on the way home where flat buttons had turned up in the past. As I drove, my hopes were let down. I forgot it was June and most all the farmers had crops planted. Finally I spotted one farm permission that had fields that were not yet plowed and were over grown with weeds still. I jumped out and headed for the field that I had dug buttons, and the 1821 Bust Dime that appeared in the ID-Edge advertising. But, my hopes were dulled when I discovered the weeds were so thick I couldn’t even swing a coil! I was able to get the coil down in one corner, and pounding this little bare patch produced just a drop of lead, a hook part, and a broken piece of pewter spoon.

I thought of leaving, but while walking out remembered another tiny field behind a barn. We disliked this field as every time we tried it we came up empty and it had sparse signals. The most it has ever produced was a lone Indian head as I recall. But, seeing it didn’t have as many weeds, I figured what the heck? It’s either try here or head home, and I had not swing in weeks. So, I cranked up the F75 “hot” as possible, and headed toward a really bare section. While walking, a nice signal produced what appeared to be the brass lock plate or key hole cover from a big pad lock. Flipping it over, I saw it was decorated with leaves & such and it was actually a Colonial book clasp (like the hinge things often found on a diary or bible). Cool. Now I figured I not only had an older area, but also I was not going home empty handed at least. In fact, it would look good in one of my colonial display cases.

Now really overlapping my sweeps and listening closely, I got a loud high tone that I thought was a beer can. But, from about 8” up came a bent piece of copper or brass. Looking close I saw it was the bent up bowl of a Colonial latten spoon. These are large flat spoons and many have unique marks and are from the 1600’s! Very cool. Now I knew I had a hot little area with some age. Just two sweeps further, up came a 1700’s pewter button from a depth of 8”. This was the type with the “hump” where the shank once was and common in Revolutionary times.

Spinning around to head back to the direction I came & begin to run a pattern, another weak signal sounded like the last button. I checked the depth and pinpointed it at 6”. I dug a large plug and felt around in the dug dirt after swinging over to see it was out of the hole. Feeling something round and flat it appeared to be just like I thought…another flat button. Yet, when I picked it up it felt super thin like no button I ever held. It was the size of a Spanish ½ Reales and looked dark grey, so maybe that’s it? But it even felt thinner than those. Gently brushing more dirt off, I saw what looked like a nice bold back-mark around a ring of dots. But, again, boy that seems very thin for a coin or button. Wait, that’s not a shank in the middle….it’s a TREE! Now I knew what I had. I recognized that oak tree right away after my friend John dug a hammered silver Massachusetts Oak Tree TwoPence a couple years ago. I noticed the “II” on the other side, and this looked almost exact, and also had apparent nice details! The date side of 1662 was more worn than the “tree” was, but I wasn’t about to complain! As a New England treasure hunter, a “readable” Massachusetts “tree coin” has been on my list of detecting goals since I was a boy. Many New England detectorists have found them, and it’s a lot like becoming a part of the “gold coin club”. I have dug a blank silver disc that matches a tree coin planchet that’s so worn away on both sides I can’t even see a thing even with a loop. So, I never even talked about it or considered myself part of the “club”.

The oak tree TwoPence types are very desirable as these are the only Mass. hammered silvers dated 1662, and considered rarer than many 1652 varieties. The date of 1652 gave these coins the look of having been struck during the English Civil War with Cromwell in power. They were produced from handmade dies, which explains their crude appearance & individuality. The wide range of die varieties is easy to see and all are cataloged with a “Noe” number. Mine appears to be either a NOE 32 or NOE 33 (large dates). These were the last of the TwoPences to be struck as the first ones had small 2’s. COINFACTS.com lists only “3-4 known”, but I’m sure there are a few more unreported in private collections. Still it’s a rare and valuable coin.

So, in very, very limited time, and digging far fewer holes, I have been lucky enough to have attained two “goal coins” with my first-ever gold coin, and now my first “readable” Mass. “Tree coin”. My hunting buddies putting in far more hours are probably cursing meJ There’s still 6 months left in 2007 to dig my first George Washington Inaugural button next! (another long-time goal).

As some people know, like with my fascination with the #13, I’m superstitious and both times I hit these “goals”, I was alone sneaking in an hour after work. Boy, I’m thinking digging for entire weekends are out for the rest of the year! J

Thanks for reading,
Bill

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.