Wiley's coin and relic by-products from 40 years of gold prospecting.

[deepblue]

Only a couple of rare ones to check if you have them
1851 5 over 8
1858 that BRITANNIAB
1858/6
1858/5
1868 RRITANNIAR
Nice collection
Cheers db

 

[wiley coyote]

No rare coins there unfortunately deepblue. Maybe there's some in the next lot. (sixpences). wiley.

 

[wiley coyote]

View attachment 3237

An 1874 Deutches Reich 2 pfennig coin I found 2 weeks ago, and photos of one in better condition to compare. wiley

 

[wiley coyote]

b

 

[wiley coyote]

Two Borough of Tarnagulla 1887 medallions. Queen Victoria Jubilee. To mark the occasion, the local school children were each given one of these medallions. I've tried to find out how many of these were struck, but couldn't. There couldn't have been many as, there weren't many schools back then. They were gilt plated. One of these has been gold plated, as, back in about 1981 I met a guy in the Tarnagulla pub who'd just bought a detector, so, in between copious amounts of beer, I offered to show him how to use it. Next day, we went detecting just near the town, and that's when I found this one. We went back to the pub, where he shouted me a few drinks for helping him. He asked if he could have another look at the medallion. He looked at it and asked me if I would like it gold plated, as his son was in that type of business. So I gave it to him. A few weeks went by, and I considered the medallion was a goner. Eventually he turned up at the pub, but I ignored him cause I thought he'd shafted me. He eventually came up to me and said, " I've got something for you, and dropped the medallion in my hand! My faith in humanity had been restored! These photos don't do it justice. It's absolutely brilliant. We ended up great mates. His nickname was Magoo. wiley.

 

[user 4485]

I was wondering what it was when you put the pics up.
Nice find & even better story.
Thanks for sharing wiley.

 

[wiley coyote]

Here's some groats I've found over the years. wiley

 

[deepblue]

Great looking groats Wiley not a very popular coin as it was the same size as the three pence

 

[deepblue]

If I remember there 1838 - 1855 and 1888 Jubilee Head, with a lot of error varieties 1848 with a horizontal 8 and quite a few overdates. Also 2 coins issued for William IIII 1836 and 1837
cheers db

 

[wiley coyote]

I found these 5 coins while patch hunting yesterday. No gold! They were in a small area of about 20 metres round. All the same depth. Had a quick scout around for more, but didn't find any more. I went back today and gridded the spot, hoping to find a sovereign etc. I gridded the area for about a hour. All I found was a button. It's unusual to find coins together like that with such varied years on them. 1888 to 1951. But, I'll take them any way they come. They're in fairly good nick. Spent another 3 hours in that area. Still no gold! wiley

 

[wiley coyote]

On another forum there was a debate on whether they were snake buckles, or, swan buckles. So I decided to have a closer look at some of mine. 3 of them have a head on each end. But 2 of them have 1 head, and what seems to be a tail. The 2 headed ones have a design in the centre which could be feathers? The 2 in the last photo are the ones with tails? And the 2 on the top left, and left side in the top photo have tails. Are there any experts on here that can enlighten us? wiley.

 

[wiley coyote]

These coins were found on a tram in Hong Kong in 1973. They were in a little bag on a seat. They are unusual because they seem to have had the edges hammered by hand to make the edges wider. The coins are about 2mm thick, whereas the edges are now 4mm thick. The first coin is a East India Company. 1834 or 1934? Could be a half anna? The second one is a Hong Kong one cent. 1924. The third coin is a Tai Ching Tae Kuo Copper Coin. Date unknown. Why would someone go to so much effort to hammer the edges like that? Could it be a religious, or cultural reason? All you numismatists out there, what's you're opinion? wiley

 

[wiley coyote]

Here's a mangled 1797 cartwheel penny, converted to a washer? I found today while patch hunting in a new area. Plus 4 buttons. No gold.

 

[wiley coyote]

Here's what seems to be 3 pennies hammered together. You can just see some letters on it. Someone else on the forum found one similar, but in better nick, earlier this year. Does anyone know what they were made for? School project, bored prisoners, trench art? etc. wiley.

 

[OzzieAu]

Wow wiley..... you sure have an amazing collection of by-products from your gold prospecting exploits. Some real curiosities to boot !
Were these all detected with PI gold machines..... as in dig ‘em all targets.
As mostly a coin and relic hunter myself at present, I would love to come across a fraction of your booty.
Good luck to ya..

 

[wiley coyote]

Wow wiley..... you sure have an amazing collection of by-products from your gold prospecting exploits. Some real curiosities to boot !
Were these all detected with PI gold machines..... as in dig ‘em all targets.
As mostly a coin and relic hunter myself at present, I would love to come across a fraction of your booty.
Good luck to ya..

OzzieAu. Most of these were found way back. When prospecting, If I found an old ruin, or a metal strewn area, I would note where It was, and if I found no gold that day I would go back to the spot and give It a quick run over. My theory is, It's better to go home with a coin or two, than nothing. If it gave up a few coins, I'd go back next day, look for gold' and If I found none, I would grid the area for a couple of hours to finish It off. I know what your next two questions will be, so I'll answer them for you now. I only ever found 1 nugget in these ruins, in the mound where the fireplace would have been, so I assume It was on the mantle piece when the humpy burned down. It was 30 grams. And, no, I've never ever found a gold coin in these ruins ever! That's number one on my bucket list! The coins etc. I find now are with a 7000, or a 4500 patch hunting. But the majority of the finds were found in the early days using the early detectors. Garret Deepseeker, Whites 6000 and 6DB. The Whites were brilliant discriminators, even back then. I still use one occasionally If I find large junky old ruins, and also for pinpointing in deep holes I dig. wiley

 

[Dave79]

Here's what seems to be 3 pennies hammered together. You can just see some letters on it. Someone else on the forum found one similar, but in better nick, earlier this year. Does anyone know what they were made for? School project, bored prisoners, trench art? etc. wiley.
View attachment 4441View attachment 4442View attachment 4443View attachment 4444

I wonder if it was a mold for pouring melted gold into?

 

[wiley coyote]

Here's some old English sixpences. 1816-17-28-33-34x3-35-36-44x2-58-69-74-77-79-81x3-19. And a few I can't date. I've also got quite a few that are just blank discs. wiley.

 

[wiley coyote]

Here's some of the blank ones. It gives you a bit of an idea how scarce coins were back then. wiley

 

[OzzieAu]

You’re not a bad coin hunter for a gold prospector mate....