Dear White's,

I'm not big on detecting modern areas for modern coins. I like to hunt for old coins, at old sites. Here in rural America, most of the sites I like to hunt are currently fields of corn and soy beans. I think it would be fair to say that summer time is not my favorite time of year for metal detecting.

There is one local park, however, that I do occasionally detect. It has served this community for nearly 150 years of band concerts, ball games and picnics. To say it has been hunted hard by dozens of detectorists is an understatement. However, it still surprises me once in awhile with an old IH cent or a Barber dime.

Today's hunt definitely surprised me! Equipped with my MXT and the small DD coil, I worked my way across the park to an area where the old bandstand used to be. No more than a few steps into my hunt, I got that solid sweet sound of a coin. VDI indicated a quarter that was just below the surface. True to its analysis, I found a clad quarter just under the sod.

Nearing an old park bench, I was stopped in my tracks by a very loud target response. Expecting to find a VDI of another quarter, I was surprised to see it indicating the numbers that usually represent a half dollar or silver dollar. With a depth indication of only 3-inches, I figured it was probably a piece of aluminum can that had gone through the lawn mower several times.

On the other hand, it might be a clad half or a couple adjacent quarters. (White's detectors do count change, you know!) It is huge, it has a high level of conductivity and it is shallow! You can only imagine my surprise when I caught that first glimpse of silver. Not wanting to damage it, I carefully worked my fingers around the target and instantly felt it was too big for a half dollar and too thick for a silver dollar.

Brushing away the dirt, I realized that I had found an old silver pocket watch. Further examination revealed it was a 17 jewel pocket watch with ornate carving around the rim, and the image of an old locomotive engraved on the back. I suspect it is an old Railroad pocket watch. But I won't know for sure until I do some more research. What I do know is what started out to be a beautiful day to go detecting tuned out to be a great day for "finding". Thanks to White's Electronics and my MXT, I was able to locate a beautiful time-piece, from a different place in time.

RT