Old fairground yields big silver and tiny gold!!Two firsts

Hi everyone, today I went to an old fairground that I found last year,I wasn't convinced that it was "all done out" since I only took two mercs there last year.I was there for 3-1/2 -4 hrs. and only dug four coins but they were good ones.The black flies about carried me away but it was worth it!I was digging alot of junk and melted metal slag then I got a good hit that seemed to be right on top and I just figured it was more junk but I was running low discrimination and digging anything that gave a good clear signal so what the heck,I scraped some of the grass leaves and other debris aside and there sat an 1858 O seated liberty half,well worn but my first seated half!Dug some more junk and got another good hit and dug up an 1875 silver canadian quarter.Crossed a brook and got more trash and then a 1924 buffalo nickle.By then the bugs were getting to me so I headed toward my truck still detecting and got this tiny little signal but it was clear,Cut a plug and you couldn't imagine my joy to see a tiny 1853 1 dollar california gold piece!!! My first ever gold coin,It's not in the greatest condition but I'll take it.I knew it was only a matter of time and that if I was persistant I'd get a gold piece I just didn't think it would be today.Thanks for reading and best of luck to all of you, Bootstrap

nice coins. as i was scrolling down my heart skipped a beat when i saw that gold piece. beautiful coin she is. hope you find more out there.

Way cool finds Boot.
Love that one dollar gold.
Best of luck ,Jim

Those are some awesome finds Bootstrap--Congrats

Bootstrap this is great digs !!! I love it all but the gold > fabulous !!! 

very nice finds.congrats

terrific finds wtg
hh
dave+bobbie

Great Finds,

You may want to do a bit of research on the gold dollar. I do not see that type listed in my Red Book. The Red Book lists various Liberty head types with the date and value in and out of the wreaths, but the only type listed with a bead has the value only inside the bead, not both value and date being inside the bead.

As I sit here looking at the pictures in the Red Book I see your type is listed as a bead type reverse.

Here is a link to a wreath type http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/18...18QQihZ011QQitemZ320110867755QQrdZ1

Keep your fingers crossed - maybe you have a unique or previously unknown type.

Happy Hunting,

Scott (Mid-Mich)

WOW!! Very good day! I don't think I could contain myself, waiting for the
next time to get to that spot! Keep on dirt fishin!!!
 
                          HH     Slabman

Thanks guys,I would have been quite happy with just the seated half but man that gold was just the iceing on the cake!Hey scott thanks for the info,I haven't even had a chance to research it yet,just wanted to get it posted.See guys it can happen to anyone. Bootstrap

I'd be Happy with any of those Bootstrap....Sweet dig's

     Nice finds!  I love the 1858-O half; after my grandmother died, one just like it was found with her things and I was able to have it.  Same date and mint.  Nobody knew where it came from, or why Grandma kept it, but I'm happy she did!  That dollar piece isn't bad either!

WHat a gold beauty!

Here is what I came up with check this page out hope it helps

HH  Jim

http://www.reisbord.com/goldcalfractionals.htm

also here

http://www.calgoldonline.com/forums/index.php?act=home

I never even knew such things existed.  Less stars and different head than the one in the link that Jim posted.  Could be a different type.  Take that beauty to a coin dealer, wouldn't let it out of your sight though.  Maybe I'm paranoid but you can't be too careful.
Thanks for sharing.

Wow!!! Awesome digs, Congrats!!!
That's the way to dig'em... I dig a lot of different signals myself, but as you stated, I usually find junk... This definitely keeps ones hopes up. Must be a great site. I'd be sleeping there over night...
Continued Good luck, & Happy hunting~

that california gold piece is the find of a lifetime! just incredible! the other coins are stunning as well, but next to that gold piece, they will have to play second fiddle! just awesome!

[SWEEEET!]

 SWEEEET!

 "The year of the Gold Coin" I tell ya!

CONGRATS!

Geez, seated half and a RARE gold, how do you rate. That little yellow one needs to be on the banner.

That California Dollar belongs to me, I lost it at the fairgrounds about 150 years ago.  Please return it, I'll pay for the postage.      Seriously, that is a very nice little coin and probably worth quite a bit numismatically.  Keep her safe and don't take the coin to the coin shop, take a nice clear photo of obverse and reverse - just to be really safe.  Please let us know what you learn about it, it could be unique.  (As a native Californian, I am so coveting that coin!!!   sigh)

Only four coins, LOL!!!  Congrats on the awesome finds, that gold dollar is a beauty!  HH, Mike

Finds don't get much better.

Congrats!

Badger

The key word is persistence.
How true that is...
I have found out too that being persistent pays off.
Not as good as a gold coin like you, but in many other ways.
Great find (s)   
Congrats !!!!  and many happy returns to that spot.     

DANG! What some finds!
Do keep us updated on that gold coin! 

       MANY Congrats to you!!!

                  Nana 

ps....I'll be looking for that gold coin on the pictures across the top of the page!  ;)

                               

Amazing finds! I love the GOLD! Congratulations!

Bootstrap,
Looks like you hit the jackpot.
Wow, I could only hope for a fine day like that, and to find all those great coins in one day is awsome.
WTG!!!!!!

What a day indeed! I couldn't imagine seeing that gold sparkle in the sun! All are very NICE!  

WOW!! Now that's a dream find, the gold coin is spectacular and rare, congrats big time to you!! Thanks for sharing you awesome finds!

Smiles!
BDoo

OK, first of all congratulations are in order.  A spectacular and remarkeable find.  My hats off to ya.  S A L U T E

Information is taken from "Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of US and Colonial Coins".  There are many California Gold Rush Issues (1849-1856), however, I'm only gonna show what's pertinent to this coin.

Some quick info I gathered from your coin:  DERI is the maker's mark which is abbreviated for the maker M. DERIBERPE.  Your's has 8 stars Obverse, and 2 stars Reverse.  There are 4 varieties of  of M. Deriberpe's 1853 One Dollar Gold Piece.  I've concluded yours is: Number 7900 1853 Stars flank DERI;GOLD BG 518-524.  See 2nd picture of coin.................Rich

PS: I don't have a rarity or a dollar value on your coin YET, when I come across something I'll post it.

Thanks everyone,you guys are all just so awesome!! Having a site like this is great,I know it gives alot of other people the inspiration to keep "pluggin" away as it does me too.There are alot of spectacular things being found every day and it's nice to see them,especially on this forum.Well,I went back today and this time I brought my dad and uncle,my dad got a merc and I got an 1863 I.H.P. it's still all gunked up but appears to have very strong detail,the date and liberty on the headband both pop right out at you but pennies in this area don't usually clean up very well so we'll see...If it's any good after I clean it I'll post a pic.Still need to do more research on the gold piece,still haven't been able to find one just like it.Well,thanks for the congrats and I'm going to check out some of the links you have provided(thank you very much)H.H. to all! Bootstrap                 P.s. thanks rich you posted just before me and I had to go back and read it,that is some great info and is much appreciated!!

Amazing find Vinn

  Congrats !

Outstanding! That will be hard to top the rest of your life, but will be fun trying!

Awesome, awesome, awesome!  That gold is especially sweet. Wow. Bet you'll be hitting the fairgrounds again! Congrats, HH!

Instead of trying to say a bunch, I'm just going to say, Awesome!

OH!!! If I can only touch that coin. OK OK I will try to control my self. Congrats on the coins. 
Burdie

WOW!  I don't know what else to say, but WOW!
Congrats!
MarkG

The gold coin you found is a serious contender for Best Find of the Year.

i'll take what you got. i just wish i could find something old...

weel i guess it will happen one day

hh

Hey boot!  Very nice finds ya got there!  Ayuh!  And the gold is supah!

I used to love those old fairgrounds in Maine. Made some nice finds at several of them. Even though they are hit heavy, if you take some time, you can get a few goodies.

Congrats!.............HH

Hey, Boot

Playah here.  What can I say that hasn't already been said?  ANY gold coin would be the find of a lifetime, but it looks like you've taken that up a notch and found a really rare one!

Buddy, I can't tell you how happy I am for you.  Score one for the good guys.  You did the research (God bless those LONG Maine winters, huh?), kept the faith and it paid off.  Do me one favor, though.  Pleeease don't tell me it rang up as iron.  My soul just couldn't take it. 

This definitely belongs on the banner AND W&E T.  Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Speechless in California....

MP

My first ever gold coin,It's not in the greatest condition but I'll take it.

"...but I'll take it." he says. Find of a lifetime and quote of the year!

Awesome find!

A simply awesome find, boot!  This one ranks as one of the best single coins found on this site.

Super post and pics too!  This has been a very enlightening post!

Thanks for sharing and congrats!

Great finds, all of them!

**************OK**************

The seated and the gold are awesome!.......but guess what?........what people aren't telling you is that your 1875 victoria quarter starts out at $250 in worst shape. I know cause i have one too .......here's mine. 

The half DISME was a rare find. This dollar could be rarer. Nice! congrats!

I am still waiting for my first!

Great find! WTG!

Great finds

Hi everyone,Thanks for all your replies!It's been almost overwhelming and I sorta feel bad that I can't respond to each and every one of you individually but I'm a hunt and peck guy when it comes to typing so this is going to take me forever.First,thank you to Jeff for recommending my coin for the banner section and getting it in,it is truly a pleasure to see it up there!Next thanks to any of you who may have recommended it,it is appreciated!Now for a few personal responses.Hey playah,How 'bout that,your the Cali. guy,you should be sending me pics of these coins,not the other way around,LOL.I know theres got to be a few of these around there for you to snag,Now go get 'em!!Hey Eathen,thanks for the info but that was a typo it should have read 1874 on the Canadian quarter.Thanks to Rich for his research and links they were very enlightening.To everyone else just remember the wait can end quickly perhaps with the next swing of your detector!FYI that coin was in about three inches and in an air test I get it at about 4-1/2" running disc. just high enough to reject most nails and steel bottle caps.Thanks again, Bootstrap

Now those are beautiful finds you got there!!!!...WTG

55TXBANDIT

BTW, to the site admins, the coin link in the banner goes to the diamond ring thread.

awesome finds!!!! that's the coolest gold piece i've seen since i've joined tnet!
           keep it in the dirt, dfx texan - randy

Wow, what a day MR. BOOTSTRAP VINN!
Where do you buy your boots? 

GRB

Fantastic finds.  The gold coin is incredible.  I'd have had to seek medical attention if I ever found a gold.

Nice coin. All I can say is WOW!

Burt

Its IN pretty good shape. They were struck rather poorly. Great find.   cooter

   Great finds, congrats!

       HH!

          -CC

Congrats on your finds.  Love that gold coin.

Bootstrap...now that is what I call a totally AWESOME day!!!! CONGRATS!!!!!!! Hope you went right out and played your powerball numbers after a day like that, for your luck was running high that day!!! 

I hate to use a 'dirty' word like value.  But have you found out what it's worth yet?

i have only seen those little california gold coins in books - awesome!!!!!!
hh
slim

Thanks 55 bandit,Eathan thanks for the heads up,I'm trying to get the link problem resolved.Thanks texan,I think it's pretty cool,never thought I'd see one in a plug I dug.Hey GRB no need for formalities,Boot will do just fine and my boots come from wally world unfortunately.Winn,I was so worked up after I found it I sat down and turned my detector off to take it all in and when I got back up I went right back detecting with my detector off for about five minutes,Duh .My sentiments exactly wildrider!Thanks Coot,Coolcash and Luis.Maine digger,good to hear from ya,thanks for the PM I'll check it out.I'm lining up a similar site right now,I'm still shooting the same site but only got an 1882 IHP yesterday so I"m gonna do a little more research as to how this place was set up and in the meantime try out this new site,hopefully it'll be similar!My head wasn't on straight or I would have played the lottery.Yarrum,no I still don't have a value but I have my fingers crossed.Slim,I wish I had a coin book that gave the value of this coin it's still a mystery for now but I'll have more time to research it this weekend.Thanks again to all and keep "pluggin'" away at it.If your odds of finding something like this are a million to one today and you go metal detecting then your odds are 999,999 to one tomorrow it's a matter of time if you can outlive the odds.Bootstrap

Congratulations on a very nice find....

is it about the size of a 3 cent peice or half dime
little bigger between say a dime and the above mentioned?

wow vinn  fantastic finds  congrats and hh

Thanks dgaughan and Lucky It's been Quite a thrill.Eddekalb,the coin is about the size of a three cent piece only with the edges cut off because it's octagonal.It's so tiny that I'm surprised I didn't miss it and I probably would have missed it if I had my discriminate turned up and wasn't running full power sensitivity.I haven't got a value just yet because I still haven't pinned down the exact variety of this coin.I'll keep you all posted.Thanks again, Bootstrap

Booya to Boot.  Silver and Gold too Sweet for words!!  Carry one with you and maybe it will keep your luck flowing.

Some quick info I gathered from your coin:  DERI is the maker's mark which is abbreviated for the maker M. DERIBERPE.  Your's has 8 stars Obverse, and 2 stars Reverse.  There are 4 varieties of  of M. Deriberpe's 1853 One Dollar Gold Piece.  I've concluded yours is: Number 7900 1853 Stars flank DERI;GOLD BG 518-524.  See 2nd picture of coin.................Rich

There are 12 varieties in this particular series. The "BG" number designates which variety it is (IE: BG-515, BG-516, BG-517, etc). Number 7900 covers seven different coins (BG 518 through BG 524)...

This is the best source on the internet for helping identify the coin:

http://www.calgoldcoin.com/

Hope this helps.

Looks like 7901 to me, but I'm not an expert.  The calgoldcoin site sounds like the best spot to ID a california coin.  Or, just get it graded (I think I would).  The services should know exactly what it is.

Great finds!! Congrats..    HH

Wow cool find.  Hopefully the first of many.  I found Gold attracts Gold.  Keep it rolling

If I can find a gold coin, anyone can!!

Yours is amazing and I like the looks of it better than mine.  A truly outstanding find.

Heartfelt Congrats.

DM

WOW very great finds ! i'll dig all the trash if i can just find one of those

Gold and silver, man what a day... Congradulations

Nice sitter!

Congrats on the gold!
Stops your breath just to see it.
Glad you found it

Thanks for sharing,
OD

  Wowee, what a day!  Super sweet coins.  Glad your hard work and persistence are paying off.  Keep digging!

HH

Thanks SWR and skrimpy,It is definitly a 7900 but I still haven't determined the bg#,that should help pin down a value.I think I will probably send it in for grading but I really like being able to touch it without the slab so who knows,and yes,I do know that its better for the coin to have it slabbed.Liquigirl,I carry a green river whiskey good luck charm that I found a few years back and I always wear my replica NHSM belt buckle which is a copy of the original I found back in 2003.Call me supersticious but hey if theres a chance that it may help i'll take it.Thanks capefearsman and I hope your right crusader.Digginman,I don't think I saw your gold coin post,I'm going to look for it when I'm finished with this.Thanks Rudy,Weasle and Michiganne,I do believe that persistance and proficiency with your machine is the key and if you strive for both you'll be successful too.I'm 40 years old and I started doing this hobby with my dad when I was 12 so I've definitly put in my time and was feeling like I was due.I guess that day was just my day.Thanks old dog,I was astonished to see that seated,that was a milestone in my detecting career but when I got the gold piece,man I just about came unglued!!HH to all, Bootstrap

That is a THers dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't say it any better than eveybody else has....Great Finds!  Sounds like you need to hire a bodyguard to go hunting with you!  ( I'm fairly big and very ugly and for hire if I can bring my detector. 

You did good my man. I'm still after my first gold coin. You can be proud.  Chris

I have an 1853 gold one dollar just like that but it has the coronet touching the star. By the way, i didn't find it but some one holed it along time ago 

Hi again ,just wanted to thank you all again for your comments.Birdman this was definitely a dream come true for me,a cache is next on my list and who knows if this one came true.... Ctcfl,if you come to Maine and bring your detector I'd be glad to have you along as a bodygaurd,especially if I get my cache,the bigger and uglier the better LOL.Thanks for the kind words silver zues,you keep at it and you'll get yours too!Relic hunter if I were you I'd have that coin repaired by a jeweler you can't hurt it any more than it is,if anything it would increase the value if done properly.Does yours have the DERI on it?Well,gotta get to bed HH, Bootstrap

holy moly, where's my detector, I got to get back out there!

Congrats !!

Thanks Rich,If you do get back out this way give me a shout,maybe we can dig something up!  Bootstrap

Hi again ,just wanted to thank you all again for your comments.Birdman this was definitely a dream come true for me,a cache is next on my list and who knows if this one came true.... Ctcfl,if you come to Maine and bring your detector I'd be glad to have you along as a bodygaurd,especially if I get my cache,the bigger and uglier the better LOL.Thanks for the kind words silver zues,you keep at it and you'll get yours too!Relic hunter if I were you I'd have that coin repaired by a jeweler you can't hurt it any more than it is,if anything it would increase the value if done properly.Does yours have the DERI on it?Well,gotta get to bed HH, Bootstrap

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Mine has a hole in it  but yes it does have DERI on it.

Fantastic finds bootstrap vinn!!

Those old fairgrounds still have great coins obviously. They are on the top of my list as for places to detect!

I know you are hunting that area hard. You should go back out there and dig every signal in that spot as there could potentially be more of those little yellow coins around. Some of them may be hidden by the metal slag or iron. If you could peel off a foot of dirt in a 10 X 10 area and sift it that would be even better! It may be worth doing.

By the way..if I were you I would update my avatar!

Thanks Keith,the old fairgrounds are great,I have found some really great things at them.Do your research,almost every town,at least in my area,had some kind of fair or carnival grounds somewhere for town gatherings and social events but they're not usually easy to find or access.Research is the key.Peeling off the toipsoil in an area that vast is not an option but I did go back and get five IHP's and a '26 merc I need to go to the historical society and see if there is any pictures of how the place was set up.I think I'm gonna keep my avatar,at least for now,I love that little bugger.Thanx,  Bootstrap

Super nice finds!!!!!!!!  HH!!

wow, that's real pretty, nice find

I don't know how I missed this one.  Great finds.

FANTASTIC FINDS BUD, JUST FANTASTIC

that is  sweet finds indeed , congrats.

Incredible finds.  I'd pour on the bug spray and drink lots of caffine to hit that area well.  Thanks for sharing...

and still want to say congrats!!  Nice gold!!!

fantastic     congrats and hh

nice finds, i have found a seated liberty half dime but i still am looking for a victorian canadian silver quarter...

hey !!!!!!!! real nice finds.

Great Holy Moly!

[DetectorBase]

Wow.. awesome finds! That gold is fantastic!!! Way to keep at it.

DB

Thanks everyone,I don't know how many of you read my post"eight rings and two pendants in twelve feet" but if you did you may remember that I found them on a beach all within a couple feet of each other and they all had penticles on them.At the time I figured it was some kind of ritual some group had performed on the beach and was hoping it wasn't some kind of curse they were performing.Some of you replied and said it may be good luck well I think the latter was true.I'm having my best year ever 46 silver pieces so far including a seated liberty half,my first ever, and 13 silver rings 3 silver pendants 1 gold ring 1 gold pendant and my first gold piece,YEE-HA!! Thanks for reading, Bootstrap

Vinny,

Look at you go !!!

Keep it up my friend
God speed.

OD

If I was you, I would get that graded and slabed! It would be worth it. Great find!

Your Friend,

Steve in Michigan