Dropped $80 on a metal detector for my yard and it actually paid off

I got curious after reading about a local history group finding old farm tools near my area. The cheap detector beeped like crazy under an old oak tree. Dug down about a foot and found a horseshoe, a couple of old square nails, and a 1923 wheat penny. It's not a gold hoard, but holding that penny made the whole past feel real. Anyone else have luck with a basic setup like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

palmer.val22d agoOG Member

That's awesome, but just a heads up on the nails. If they're actually square and hand forged, they're way older than 1923. Like, pre-1850s old. The horseshoe might be too. That spot under your oak tree could be a lot older than you think. Might be worth checking a local history map to see if a barn or a blacksmith shop was there.

wendy20522d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, checking those old maps is a SOLID idea. My grandpa used to talk about a stagecoach stop that got torn down in the 1880s near our property line. You find a few of those square nails and it really makes you wonder what was there BEFORE the farmhouse.