Went searching for Pepperbox barrel and make my "Find of a Lifetime" instead!

First of all, I had a big decision to make. Do I go in and work some overtime on my last day of huntable weather before it starts snowing, or do I go out and try and find the barrel to the Pepperbox frame I found last Tuesday? That's easy! I'm going hunting!!

I arrived to the site later than I normally start hunting there as the temp. outside was 12 degrees earlier. By the time I went and had my Jeep serviced and grabbed my Gatorade and Clif Bar (I remembered to stop Kuger!) it had warmed up to 20 degrees! So, instead of my normal 8 hour day I had 6 hours to try and find the barrel to the Pepperbox frame.

The wind was relentless all day with the temp. at about 24 degrees now but who knows with the wind chill factor. So, after dawning some extra clothing and having a limited amount of time to hunt I made a beeline to the area where I found the frame.

I worked the area where I found the frame and then spent hours working up the hill, down the hill to the wash, and both sides of the site for about a hundred yards, to no avail.

I did find this brooch up the hill about 30 yds.

Back

I did find another oval piece that stands about 1/4" tall that goes in the middle and held the glass piece. I think maybe a picture might have been inside at one time?

Here it is after cleaning as far as I could without taking off the gilt!

Well after about 4 hrs. of exhausting this site I try the little finger across the wash. As I was crossing the wash I notice that my MXT says low battery. I had a spare in my vest but I wanted to see if I could make it to dark and just see how long it would last before dying on me. Most of the items I dig are shallow but I do occasionally get some deep ones! After trying that finger for a little over an hour I decide to make one last hurrah back at the Pepperbox site. All I got was a missed percussion cap and a couple of rivets with my detector reminding me that I still had a low battery.

It was starting to get dark by now so I decided on my way back to the Jeep that I would check out the side hill where I found two GS eagle buttons last Tuesday and see if there were any more up or down the hill. I did manage one more coat size GS eagle button down the hill and off to the side about 30 ft. My MXT IDed it correctly and was still reminding me that I still had a low battery. By this time It was fairly dark and I was about a hundred yards from where I parked. As I was paralleling and heading up the hill I got a sweet 83 reading on the MXT. This could only mean two things, the obvious one in that there was a quarter under my loop or that my batteries were failing me and I had something other than silver under my loop. The reason I say that is because it also let me know that it was 5" deep. Most of my coins are from surface to 3" consistently. This is what I dug at what do you know.....5"!

An 1857 seated quarter!

Reverse

Of course it was dark by now and I was as frozen as a popsicle. While on my knees I go ahead and check the hole hoping for multiple seateds as that last quarter brought my seated count to 18 for the year, 3 short of breaking my own personal record of 20 last year!

Now we're getting to the good part, in pure darkness, the wind just a howling, and me still on my knees. I go ahead and scan around the hole again hoping for a coin spill and......Bingo, there about a foot downhill from the quarter is another reading. I at this time can hardly see the screen but it looks like it says 72 on my MXT. Once again I know that all my seated dimes come in at that reading so I'm thinking all right my 19th seated for the year. It also says that it is at a depth of 5". So my trusty Lesche digging tool comes back out of it's sheath for the last dig of the year. (here in my area anyway) I dug down plenty past the 5" mark and scooped out all the dirt with my frozen gloved hands. Scanning my loop back over the dirt I pinpointed it but now it is reading 46 on my digital readout? After finding the target and holding it in my hands I can barely see that it is bigger than a dime so I'm thinking shield nickel now and that my batteries are finally taking a turn for the worse. But then as I'm holding it and feeling the weight I said no way! This feels to heavy to be a nickel, could it be? Yes it is! My last target of the year and my "Find of the Year" My MXT was dead on again even after 2 hrs. of a low battery indication!

An 1871 CC $5 Gold Coin!!!!!! Mintage 20,770

Reverse

Now remember it is dark, I have taken off my safety glasses, thrown off my head phones, and broke out my reading glasses. I can see clearly that it is an 1871 $5, I then flip it over to read the mint mark but because of my degrading eye sight I can't tell if that is a faint CC or tail feathers. I mean my goodness I have only found two other $5's in the past 20 yrs. and now my memory takes a lapse, what is going on here? I can't see, I can't remember, is it old age or just that I'm so freakin excited that I am not functioning properly! Anyway as mentioned before I'm so cold that I turned my MXT off that is still reading low battery and head back to the Jeep. Once I've got the detector, headphones, water bottle, digging tool, hunt vest, boots pulled off and tennis shoes put back on, I then fire up the Jeep and warm that puppy up.

On the drive down to the highway my mind still hasn't had confirmation on whether the gold coin is a Philadelphia or a Carson City mint. When I get down to the highway I park the Jeep turn on my inside lights break out the reading glasses and take another look. Drats I still can't make it out! Then I remember that I have one of those White's give away magnifying cards in the back of the Jeep. I get out and brave the short trip to the back of the Jeep and retrieve the magnifier. Once back inside I am now looking at the coin with my reading glasses through the magnifier and looking at those beautiful two letters of "CC"! Needless to say I was a nervous wreck driving back home.

This made my 4th gold coin found over 34 years of swinging a detector! (1-$20 & 3-$5's)

That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Thanks TNET for allowing me to share!!!!!!

Wait till you see it with the crud off from it. I'm about half way through the cleaning process and it is truly a beautiful coin!

Ironman

This is what drew me back to that area for those of you that didn't read that post. An English Bar Hammer Pepperbox frame. I was so hoping to find the barrel but was blessed with a truly one of a kind find for me!

(HRD) Happy Relic Diggin

Here is the Reverse in the middle of my process of soaking to get rid of the rust spots! Hope you can use this picture Jeff! Sorry, I guess my cheap camera doesn't capture the "goldness" it radiates when I look at it! I'll try and get some better quality pics. once I'm done!