Favorite Finds - U.S.

NOVEMBER 2013 HAS TWO WINNERS!!!

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WINNER #1
My first favorite find goes to Morgan R. from Crandall, Georgia using his AT Gold.

In Morgan’s words, “I went detecting this morning at a local swimming hole and within 20 minutes I found a silver Mother’s Day ring that had her two son’s names on it. I continued on hunting and found the normal clad and lead sinkers, but my gut told me to go back and search the area where I had found the ring. Wouldn’t you know it I got another sweet sounding signal and upon retrieval it was a ladies class ring with a name engraved in it. Both rings were found around 6 inches deep. I decided after this to head home and do some research to find the owner of the class ring, but had no luck at all. I posted it on a local trader’s Facebook page and someone knew her on there, and come to find out she has two sons with the same names as the ones on the mother’s day ring. So both rings belong to the same lady! She was tickled to get them back and it was an awesome feeling to give them back to her.”

Morgan R. WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
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WINNER #2
My second favorite find goes to Daniel B. from Vero Beach, Florida using his AT Pro.

Daniel tells us, “I had just received my brand new AT Pro when I was approached by some customers at the restaurant where I work. They said, with wide eyes, “Our server said that you have a metal detector!” It was late at night and they stated that she had lost her diamond wedding rings at the beach that day. They had called the police and spent much of the day searching the sand. I asked her if she knew about where they were lost and she said, “Yes, in the sand close to the water line.” This concerned me, and I told them there was a full moon, and that the high tide that night would likely wash them away. So with much excitement I arrange to meet them at midnight, and went to get my new Garrett, and my backup Ace 350. She pointed to the area, and amazingly within seconds I had found one of the largest diamond rings I had ever seen! She was nearly in tears when I asked her to step back so that I could find her matching band. Another loud signal blasted, and I laughed and let her sift it out of the sand! They were completely dumbfounded, and I was as proud as I could be! I became a bit of a hero at the restaurant, and have been able to share the story many times. Truly a wonderful experience. Thanks Garrett!”

Daniel B. WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Pro-Pointer®! You could be the next winner!

OCTOBER 2013 HAS THREE WINNERS!!!

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WINNER #1
My first favorite find is the 1789 George Washington Inaugural Button, found by Jason R. from Blaine, MN.

Jason shares his story of discovery. "I recently purchased a Garrett AT Pro and Pro-Pointer. From the very first use, I have enjoyed these products in every aspect. They are easy to use and I have had great results. On a recent vacation to Massachusetts, I found what I consider to be my best find ever! I identified a site with historical significance and quickly confirmed this by finding coins including two US Draped Bust pennies, a British King George II half penny, a belt buckle, and ten buttons, all circa mid-1700's to early 1800's. But the prize was this George Washington Inaugural button from 1789. Research has indicated this button to be one of the more rare varieties of the 26 known varieties. So rare, only ten specimens are known to exist. Auctions have brought anywhere from $1,500-$5,000 for this variety! However for me, it's priceless. Thank you Garrett for providing the means to find such an awesome piece of history!"

Jason R. WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
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WINNER #2
My second favorite find is the 1812 Capped Bust 50 Cent Piece, found by Eric P. from Lewisburg, PA.

Eric shares his excitement. "I was hunting a road tear-out in an old town. I did probably three-quarters of the tear-out and found a few large cents and some Indian heads but no silver. I just kept thinking there has to be some silver, then I got high pitch 91 on my AT Pro at 2 inches. It was the best high tone I got the whole time I was there when the 1812 Capped Bust 50 cent piece popped out of the ground! I could not believe my eyes! It is the best find since I started metal detecting. The AT Pro has been great for me!"

Eric P. WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
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WINNER #3
My third favorite find is the Union Cavalry Sword, discovered by John G. from Timberlake, NC. with his AT Pro.

John states, "Searching a stream near a battlefield, I found this portion of a Union Cavalry Sword in about 12 inches of water and 8 inches of mud under that. The mud preserved it in great condition! There is even a piece of a leather strap still tied to the scabbard ring."

John G. WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Pro-Pointer®! You could be the next winner!

SEPTEMBER 2013 WINNER!!!

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WINNER #1
My favorite find for September 2013 is the Confederate Saber/Bayonet, discovered by Michael S. from Fredericksburg, VA. He purchased the AT Pro Adventure Pack and headed into the woods which are on his property behind his home, and are in close proximity to a battlefield in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.

Michael shares his discovery. “After about an hour of detecting, I started making my way across a draw and up a small hill to where a trench line is. I checked in and around the trenches, finding some relics at about six inches down which my old detector missed. As I moved behind the trenches I got a hit at eight inches deep. I checked the area around the site using the tone to determine how long or wide it is, using the tone as a guide. I figured it measured about thirty inches long. Not knowing what it was I cleared the debris from the site and started to remove the dirt with a small shovel, a spoon, and my fingers. Within fifteen minutes I uncovered what I thought at first was a piece of band iron and as I removed more dirt, I realized I was looking at a saber/bayonet! I carefully removed it from the hole and cleaned the loose dirt from it.”

Michael researches his discovery. “After returning home, I cleaned it some more in attempt to find some markings. My wife and I went online trying to find something resembling it. The saber/bayonet resembles an 1856 Enfield Bayonet made by Harris Holland & Company, London, England, and issued by the Confederacy.”

Michael concludes. “I am extremely happy with the AT Pro’s performance. I am most definitely convinced that I made the right choice after finding as many things as I did. In the next week I plan on purchasing another AT Pro Adventure Pack for my wife, and maybe she’ll leave mine alone.”

Great job Michael. Love the story! Love the find!

Michael S. WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Pro-Pointer®! You could be the next winner!

AUGUST 2013 HAS TWO WINNERS!!!

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WINNER #1
My first favorite find is the Masonic Knights Templar 26th Triennial Conclave Medal found by Michael K from Waltham, MA.

In a large area of untouched woods and hills, Michael wrote, “In the thick overgrown woods I hit a nice signal. When I dug it I pulled out this black dirty item that I thought was a cheap badge not worth any trouble. When I got home I began to clean it and quickly realized that I had a historic treasure. What I had found was a badge from the 26th Triennial Conclave 1895 Knights Templar Boston Chapter. Words can’t describe what a wonderful piece this is!”

Michael WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
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WINNER #2
My second favorite find is the WW-II Military Cache found by Ed D. from Flower Mound, TX. A friend of his bought some property in East Texas which had a long-gone home site only shown on old maps, and he let Ed hunt it.

Ed recalls the moment, “At one point a signal I got indicated there was a target made up of more than one type of metal. To my surprise it was something I never expected. First out of the hole was the top part of a military medal! There were more signals and as I dug I uncovered the bottom part of the medal as well as two uniform buttons including their clasps! My research shows that the medal is WW-II era and the best I could come up with on the buttons are that they were for Army ROTC cadets.”

Ed WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Pro-Pointer®! You could be the next winner!

JULY 2012 WINNER!!!

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WINNER #1
My favorite find for July 2012 is the beautiful Gold Angel Locket. Curtis M. from Lexington, MA searched an old sledding hill that he enjoyed as a kid. With his Garrett AT Pro in Pro mode, Curtis tells us about his discovery. "I was finding lots of coins and a couple of pull tabs when suddenly I got a strange number on my display of 57 and thought it was going to be another pull tab. Well I dug anyway and saw what was in the hole and couldn't believe it. "It was a beautiful gold locket that I could see, and when I opened it there was a lovely angel looking back at me!" Curtis added, "The AT Pro is deadly on gold and silver, and heaven help me when I finally take it in the water."

Great job Curtis on this inspiring discovery! Seems you have a guardian angel.

Curtis M. WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Pro-Pointer®! You could be the next winner!

JULY 2013 winner!!!

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WINNER #1
My favorite find for July 2013 is the Purple Heart Medal, found by Mark L. from Ft. Worth, TX, with his ACE 350.

Mark shares his find and story. “I was detecting a lot when I came across the medal but it was so dirty I thought it was a large piece of jewelry. I then detected the area some more and found a small piece of metal that looked to be the bust of a person. Still, nothing clicked in my brain. A purple heart is the last thing I would expect to find. It wasn’t until I got home and was showing it to my wife that I flipped it over and we saw the purple part on the front. We both went, “It’s a purple heart!”

Mark concludes, “The Commander at the VFW Post 8235 Hall where we have our Cowtown Treasure Hunters Club meeting is in the process of locating family of the name on the back. This was a fun find, and it will be great to get it back to where it belongs.”

Great story and I’m proud that you have the heart to return it to its rightful family.

Mark WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Pro-Pointer®! You could be the next winner!

JUNE 2013 HAS TWO WINNERS!!!

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WINNER #1
My favorite find for June 2013 is the 1834 2 1/2 dollar gold piece. Michael G. from Ingleside, Texas wrote, “Thank you Garrett Metal Detectors. You changed my life! I love metal detecting with a passion.”

Michael and his cousin spent time and footwork to get permission to hunt a mid 19th century home. On their third visit back Michael first finds an 1898 barber dime at 6”. Suddenly he and his AT Pro encounter greatness. “I get a faint signal not registering on my machine, with a flash of a number here and there. I’m so stoked about that silver I had found, I’m gonna dig everything I can, so I start digging deeper. I get down to about 12 inches, and OMG I see a magnificent color of golden yellow smothered in dirt. I reach down and grab the clump of wonderfulness and with the biggest smile on my face I call my cousin over. It is still clinched in my hand for both of us to see. I had not peeked yet, and he keeps saying, “What is It? What is it? You found more silver?” I was just trying to keep my cool and I couldn’t take it any longer. I opened my hand and there it is…Gold! My first ever gold anything! We both look at each other and with eyes bulging out of our heads, I cannot explain the feeling that came over me…it felt better than sex! It tingled from my head all the way to my toes…and I could not quit smiling!”

Michael describes it. “It is an 1834 2 1/2 dollar gold piece, beautiful condition, looks as if it were dropped the day it came from the bank. I have had a few local coin dealers look at it and they all stated it is in amazing condition, at least extra fine. This is truly a once in a detectorist’s lifetime find…and I could have not done it without my AT Pro!

Congratulations Michael. Way to Go! Thanks for choosing Garrett.

Michael WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
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WINNER #2
My second favorite find for June 2013 is the 1775 British Half-Cent found in a stone well with an AT Pro. Steve F. from Chillicothe, Ohio, is a Veteran who is passionate about treasure hunting and tells us it has done wonders for his PTSD condition.

Steve states that 3/4 of a mile in the woods there is an old foundation which still has its old stone well that’s still intact but filled in mostly. The well has at least a 10 foot drop before you hit the bottom fill. Steve relives the challenging moment. “I went to the well and adjusted my coil so I could scan the side of it as far as I could reach down without falling. After 10 minutes of going around the inside wall, I got a really nice sound which was reading copper, which I have dug plenty over the last few months. I leaned over as far as I could to see anything but had no luck. I pulled out my pocket knife and started to riddle in the crack where the signal was hitting…about 3 to 4 feet down…while I’m extended as far as I could reach without hurting myself. I finally got the moss off this area and I can see the rim of a coin and my blood just starts pumping! Now I’m really excited because I found something cool. I hold my knife in one hand, and straddle the well with one leg in, and one leg out for balance so I don’t fall. I take the knife behind this coin and I take my other hand and try to cover the area so it doesn’t fall, and popped this thing out! Now I can breath again from the adrenaline rush trying so hard to get this.”

Steve describes the coin. “I see 1775 on the back and it’s a coin I’m not familiar with at all. I go home and after research I find that it’s a 1775 British Half-Cent that someone hid along the edge of the well many years ago. THIS is the craziest way I have ever had to recover a coin that my AT Pro found, but I give all the credit to Garrett’s fine machine for finding this for me. Thank you Garrett!”

Congratulations Steve! “Well” done!

Steve WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!

Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Pro-Pointer®! You could be the next winner!

MAY 2013 HAS TWO WINNERS!!!

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WINNER #1
My favorite find for May 2013 is the Civil War Era Lighting Rod Finial used atop a tavern flag pole, discovered by Wayne E. from Fredericksburg, Virginia with his Ace 350. Wayne lives in an area rich in Colonial and Civil War history, and even dates back to the 1600’s and the founding of our country. He says these discoveries are meaningful because of their history and importance to the people they belonged to.

Wayne tells us about the discovery of the civil war era finial. “The top was found about 8 inches down with some other items. It was behind a row of large stones which were the remains of an early 19th century tavern. I had seen some pictures of it and the description in a relic I.D. book and was thrilled to know it was rare and Confederate. It’s about 7 inches in length, made of bronze and was gold gilded. There is a very small amount of gold plating left. I’m not sure if the gold wore over time from being buried so long, or if it had seen some serious travel, battle, and usage.”

Wayne talks about detectors. “I have had and used 2 other name brand metal detectors over the years. But I have found many more desirable artifacts quicker and easier working with the Ace 350. Less batteries, less weight. It has been a welcome change.

Thanks Garrett very much for a great product and the support you give.”

Wayne WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
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WINNER #2
My second favorite find winner for May 2013 is the Jewelry Locket with Photo, found by Garren K. from Ft. Worth, Texas with his Garrett GTA 1000. Below, Garren tells us about this find and what makes it a favorite.

“This will go down as one of my favorite finds of all time. When I dug this locket from the front yard of an old home site it was corroded shut. As I wiped the dirt from it, I could immediately tell it was costume or gold plated at best. I figured it was destined for the junk drawer.

After returning home and cleaning the locket I decided to pry it open. I was astonished to find one of the photos perfectly preserved. I assume that, because the locket was buried face down, moisture seeped in and completely faded the front photo away. The back photo, however, remained dry. Over the years the outer corrosion built up sealing the locket and preserving the photo until I dug it.

We may never know the story of the boy, nor the girl whose photo has faded forever.

Just putting a face to a find is an incredible feeling. That was a feeling I will never forget, making this an all time favorite.”

Great job Garren. Putting a face to a find is rare, and connects us with the past. If any treasure hunter can identify the face in the locket, please let us know at Garrett.

Garren WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Pro-Pointer®! You could be the next winner!

APRIL 2013 WINNER!!!

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WINNER #1
My favorite find for April 2013 is the 45.8g Gold Nugget found by John and Reaghan O. from Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

John and Reaghan had cabin fever, so they grabbed their AT Pro and headed out to Portsmouth at low tide where there would be some ground. After an hour John finds a mercury dime, but they were getting cold and began working their way back to the car. John shares some history. "We came across a sign that told the history of where we were and it turns out it's a colonial ferry landing where farmers and tradesmen waited for the ferry to Bristol, R.I. to trade their goods and barter for supplies, so we tried around for a while."

John shares their good fortune. "Then my wife took a turn and she gets a repeatable 81 (Target I.D.). She pushed the rocks aside to see a yellowish orange rock as she called it. Then when she handed it to me I noticed it was way too heavy for a rock that size. Then I started to polish it and it started to shine. We knew right then it could be gold! We jumped up and ran around. I did the Curly Three Stooges ground spin. We hugged and both had tears in our eyes! We had it tested and it was 93% gold and the rest was silver, platinum, and copper!"

John concludes, "We just want to say thank you Garrett! Now my wife is getting her own AT Pro. This sports/hobby really brings us close and erases all the problems of the day like a day spa massage."

Congrats John and Reaghan. It's refreshing to see a couple enjoy this wonderful hobby and share the rewards that come with it.

John and Reaghan O. WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Pro-Pointer®! You could be the next winner!

MARCH 2013 WINNERS!!!

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WINNER #1
My favorite find for March 2013 is the b class="red">Father’s 1962 Class Ring.

Last spring Brian K. took the suggestion from his father and moved to the old home front which had their 100 year old farm house sitting on 65 acres in Jonesborough, TN. Looking for a new hobby, he watched the show “Diggers” and researched the best and affordable detectors, then picked up the Ace 250.

His father told Brian he had lost his 1962 class ring somewhere around a 2 acre radius and had searched for a long time with a 15 year old kids detector, but gave up. The day his father told him of the ring, the search was on. Brian tells it the best. “My father went to work. I searched for about 4 hours straight. Found some wheat pennies and newer coins and was about to give up for the day. I decided to check the mail and go around the pond and search that area on the way back to the house. Halfway down I got a good hit and started my dig. When I turned it over my dad was pulling in from work to see if I had done any good. As he got right over top of me I flipped over the dig and there it was...nice and shiny. He about flipped out, he kept saying “finally, finally” as he was picking me off the ground like I was a coach that just won the big title game! I never seen my dad so happy. He immediately called everyone he could think of to tell them the good news.”

Brian tells more. “Sadly my dad passed away with stage 4 lung cancer 5 months later. But before he went he begged for me to keep his ring. I was crying with joy. I told him that I will always keep it and promised him I wouldn’t lose it.”

Brian concludes, “Thank you Garrett for giving me that memory with my dad. I will keep on detecting and hopefully find the next best treasure.”

Brian, I express my sympathy of your father’s passing. Thank you for sharing your touching story.

Brian K. WINS a Garrett PRO-POINTER®!
Next month Vaughan will give away a Garrett Pro-Pointer®! You could be the next winner!