2/10/08 - MDing and a trip to Alki Beach

Another trip on Sunday to West Seattle, but no silver like Saturday. Also turned out to be a shorter trip as I got out later and met up with Erin and Caity for lunch at Alki beach. Caity wasn't feeling too well so we had to cut the trip short of actually heading out on the beach. It was cold and windy so it wouldn't have been that pleasant of a stroll anyway. Sorry no photos again - one day I'll remember to bring the camera!

Anyway, here is the coin finds summary for the day:

(3) Modern pennies
(10) Copper pennies
(3) Modern Quarters
(1) Modern Nickel
(9) Modern Dimes
(5) Wheat Pennies (no key dates)

I'm not sure what the large iron fastener is, but the top rib has the visible letters, "SHERMAN MEG CO|", and the bottom rib has the visible letters, "-APLY PAT JUNE 20-93". There may have been a letter or two before the "S" in SHERMAN and before the "-" in Aply (or perhaps it wasn't a -). 10 points for anyone who can identify what it is!

First Silver + More

Today was DEFININITELY a good day. Not only did Erin's sister Caity arrive for a week long visit BUT I also found my first silver - in fact THREE in the SAME HOLE! Spent the morning in West Seattle and then the evening in Redmond on the outskirts of where the old Redmond golf course used to be. Not much luck in the afternoon except for the bullet - everything in the photos except for that is from West Seattle.

A neat note about finding silver, it comes out of the ground in the same condition it goes in - the photographs you see of the silver are only after cleaning a bit with a toothbrush and olive oil.

As for the fake tan-like pennies - that's from swirling them in a mixture of vinegar and salt. The zinc clad (nickels, dimes, and quarters) received a similar treatment.

The 22 shell has the letters UMC and 25 ACP and though you can't see it from the photograph, the back of the bullet is smooth as silk.

Final note, both Siek sisters got their first doses of Guitar Hero III and they both rocked it out hardcore to the likes of Pat Benetar, Cream, Foghat, and Aerosmith. Next time I will whip out the video camera for a little feature footage.

Tomorrow we head to Alki Beach over in West Seattle and hopefully we'll get some pictures to share.

(29) Copper Pennies
(8) Modern Pennies
(7) Wheat Pennies (no key dates)
(4) Modern Quarters
(5) Modern Nickels
(10) Modern Dimes
(1) Copper Canadian Penny
(2) Silver Dimes
(1) Silver Canadian Dime
(1) Bullet (handgun?)
(1) 22 Casing
(1) Animal rabies tag

Friday's Frozen Appetizers

Over the past week or so I've tried a few of Friday's frozen appetizers (available in your Grocer's frozen foods sections!) and thought I'd share my opinion on them.

Quesadilla Rolls - sucky, stay away from these
Potato Skins - smell good but the cheese they use sucks, no thanks
Mozzarella Sticks - crispy, melty goodness. the marinara they provide rocks too - bonus!

Planning on entertaining some guests - I highly recommends the sticks, but stay away from the other crap.

Button ID

I posted the pictures of the button on a metal detecting forum I regularly visit and one of the members ID'd the button insignia as the Transportation Corps for the U.S. Army. The insignia came into use in the 40's so the button isn't that old, but neat none the less. Here's a link to the website showing info on the Transportation Corps:

http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/branches/Transportation.htm

MDing - 2/5/8

Yes this is another post of my metal detecting finds. Yes I will eventually post something that doesn't have to do with metal detecting. Yes you will keep coming back because my life is so fascinating to you.

Just a quick hour on the dirt path that runs alongside the bike trail near our community. It's all fill dirt from when they straightened the Sammamish River (previous Squak Slough). Found an old bent belt buckle with no identification on it and this old button (I assume it's a button). Can't make out the design - any ideas, feel free to comment.

MDing - 2/3/8

Today I headed over to an older neighborhood in West Seattle where I know most houses were built in the 1910's and 1920's - some even before the turn of the century. The great thing about this neighborhood is they have very large "planting strips". A planting strip is the property that exists between the sidewalk and the street. This are is owned by the city of Seattle and is considered public property so there's no need to ask for permission. Even better is this neighborhood has very few garages, so most people park their cars on the street and have to walk over this planting area - offing dropping things as they fumble for keys and what not.

The area turned out to be extremely trashy below ground with the metal detector seemingly always making some kind of noise. That's what you get with a extremely sensitive and deep detector.

Summary of today finds:

(28) Modern Pennies
(6) Modern Dimes
(3) Modern Nickels
(1) Modern Quarter
(4) Wheat Pennies (1954, 1952, 1947, 1919)
(1) Toy Racecar
(1) Brass Volvo thing?
(1) Large Lead weight?

MDing - 2/2/8

Today I headed out early at 7:30am to go metal detecting in an area with some older growth trees near present day Redmond Town Center. I believe the area used to be part of the edge of a golf course. The weather was decent and ground was dry - this was my first time out with my new Fisher F75 metal detector and boy was it sensitive. Seemed like everywhere I swept it beeped on something, so I was forced to really focus and find the good beeps. Though tiring, suffering through the multitude of fake beeps paid off as you'll see below.

Summary:

(5) Wheat Pennies, oldest 1919
(7) Memorial Pennies
(3) Modern Nickles
(3) Modern Quarters
(4) Modern Dimes
(1) .38 cal shell (looks like U.M.C. S&W)

Note: Found one Pennie, Nickel, Dime, & Quarter, all date 1978 - Muh Birfday!