Swan River Metal Detecting Finds
Swan River Metal Detecting Finds
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I was in Perth on the weekend just gone, and decided to do some metal detecting around the Swan River area, so I decided that I would head down to the Garrett Road Bridge where there is a nice picnic area which is popular with families, swimmers and kayakers and canoers.
I thought it would be a perfect spot to find some old coins, rings and other lost treasures.
It proved to be a great metal detecting spot, and I found plenty of coins, too many lead fishing sinkers, a long lost Avon Descent Medallion and a nice silver love hearts charm bracelet and a few other things.
As I have mentioned in my previous metal detecting stories, I really like to find old dog id tags (K9 Dogs that is) and I found one of those as well.
Sheeba's Lost Dog Tag
It had a phone number on the tag, as well as the dogs name which is “Sheeba” so I decided to give the owner a call, and she was very surprised that I had found it. She told me that it fell off Sheeba, around 4 years ago, whilst on a walk along the river bank. I was happy to hear that Sheeba is still alive and well, she is now 11 years old. But starting to slow down due to old age.
1999 Avon Descent Competitors Medallion - Found Near Garrett Road Bridge - Bayswater
So here is exactly what I found near the Swan River Metal Detecting:
- 1999 Avon Descent Competitors Medallion – Found Near Garrett Road Bridge – Bayswater – Front
- 1999 Avon Descent Competitors Medallion – Found Near Garrett Road Bridge – Bayswater – Reverse
- Extremely Corroded 1919 Australian Penny
- 1964 Australian Penny
- Sheeba’s the Dogs’ - Dog ID Tag
- Very Corroded Australian Half Penny (Date Unknown)
- Junk Brass Pendant
- 1946 Australian Shilling
- 1952 Australian Six Pence
- 1946 Australian Six Pence
- Silver Love Hearts Charm Bracelet
- Numerous other coins – $2 – $1 – 50 Cent etc
- Australian Six Pence Coin Date Unknown as I need to clean the coin. But you can see what 50 plus years of salty water immersion does to a silver coin.
Silver Love Hearts Charm Bracelet
Had a great couple of hours detecting there, I got there around 4pm with my girlfriend Natalie and our three little mongrel dogs, she played with them, whilst I detected, and when the mosquitos started to bite too hard, thats when I decided to pack up and head home to check out my lost treasure!
I am heading back there again in the very near future, but this time I will be taking my Minelab Underwater Metal Detector, so I can do some shallow water metal detecting.
I use a Minelab Excalibur Metal Detector when entering deeper water, it is 100% waterproof and a great detector.
The above finds I found using my Minelab E-Trac Metal Detector, it never lets me down and I always come home with something good.
Old Toys, Badges, Coins and Bullet Holes
A Penny with a bullet hole through it!
Over the last couple of days I have been doing some treasure hunting at yet another old house, just outside of town, but all that remained of this house was just the concrete slab. I believe that this house probably had something to do with the Railway, possibly a Station Masters house, no sure, but it is directly opposite the Railway Line in Dumbleyung.
Man in a Old Toy Tractor
I found a few things of interest to myself as follows:
- A Old Toy Man in a Tractor
- Toy Ranger Pistol
- AMF button with KC & “no borders” map – WW2
- Brass Coat Hook
- Silver Fork
- Stainless Steel Fork
- Dumbleyung Football Club Badge dated 1969
- Australian Railway Badge?
- 1943 Australian Penny
- 1916 Australian Half Penny
- 1922 Australian Penny
- A Penny with a bullet hole through it!
Dumbleyung Football Club Badge dated 1969
Hidden Stash Found Metal Detecting!
My Minelab E-Trac Metal Detector finds a hidden coin stash?
Today I went back to the old house where I found the 1941 East Africa Shilling a few days ago, with the aim of hopefully finding some more old coins and other exciting finds. So as usual I was excited and confident as I always am when I go metal detecting.
It did not take long for my heart to start pumping with adrenelin when I came across this cylindrical object in the hard soil, it took me ages to get to it, and as soon as I saw that it was a “jar like” object, I got really excited thinking that finally I have found my first ever stash of hidden coins, what some boy may have buried many years ago.
As soon as I saw it, I took a photo of it, and then gently dug around it, you can see where my little shovel had scuffed it a few times, putting small dings on it… that was when I dug to hard with the shovel, because the soil was rock hard.
The Stash of Money - No Dirt!
Tools of the Metal Detecting Trade - Small Shovel - Sieve or Sifter - Metal Detector
Anyhow, I dug it out, and pulled it away from it’s little hideaway, and tipped it upside down, shaking it, waiting for the coins or treasure to fall out …. all what was in it, was dirt! So I was a bit disappointed about that, but nethertheless, it was very exciting to find the enamel tin buried upright, and quite unusual. So sorry to disappoint you, there was no hidden stash.
Today's Metal Detecting Finds - Coins etc
But I did have a great metal detecting day, finding quiet a few more old coins and other unusual items around the house as follows:
E-Trac Metal Detector and a found coin - Australian Penny
Australian Pennys
- 1964 Australian Penny
- 1948 Australian Penny
- 1951 Australian Penny
- 1942 Australian Penny
- 1943 Australian Penny
Australian Half Pennys
Todays other Metal Detecting finds
I also found some other interesting things … where I was Metal Detecting, the place is on a hill with a beautiful view, over looking the farm plains below and there is a beautiful big old shady tree near the house, so I decided to do some metal detecting under the tree.
It is one of those trees that you could build a Tree-House in, and has standing room below the branches, with views to the plains below also, and I found a few coins there, as well as the Stokes Sugar Serving Spoon as pictured below. And also I found the ladies Powder Mirrow under the tree also.
So I could just imagine that no doubt, people would have had beautiful summer and spring picnics under the tree and thats how they probably lost the stuff below.
I also noticed quite a few bones buried under the tree, thats where the dog tag comes into play, I found the dog licence tag below just under the surface of the soil, so no doubt there was probably a loving farm dog buried under that tree 50 years ago. I did not find a skull or anything, just plenty of bones just below the surface. And I buried them again once I had finished.
That beautiful tree must have plenty of stories to tell, picnics, sweathearts, kids playing, all the beautiful things that come with life.
Beautiful View from the Old House
Metal Detecting Find - Copper Stones Sugar Serving Spoon - Made in Australia
Metal Detecting Find - Road Board of Dumbleyung - No 44 - Dog Registration Licence Tag - 1953 to 1954
Metal Detecting Find Found Under Tree - Ladies Powder Mirror - With Powder Still In It!
I had a great day today, as you can see above, I love metal detecting, it is one of the best things I have ever done. It is so good for the soul, it keeps you fit, your mind active, and the rewards as you can see from my site and wonderful. As soon as I start Metal Detecting, all my worries about life just go away.
I spent six hours detecting today, really enjoyed my day!
It’s taken me three hours to write this Blog … why, because my laptop is old … I need a New Laptop Computer
The Old Australian House - Remants of a past Era!
Metal Detecting Old Homestead Ruins
The Old Homestead Remains - Great Metal Detecting Spot
Well the last couple of days I have been up to quite a bit, Metal Detecting and Bottle Hunting.
I went for a drive just outside of my hometown, around 20kms out and I decided to go looking for old bottle dumps, along the way I came across the remains of an old homestead, which appears to have fallen victim to a fire a long time ago.
I thought what a perfect opportunity to get the detector out and do a bit of coinshooting, and hope I would find a penny of two.
The area was very trashy, but the sandy ground was perfect for detecting.
I found a few interesting things as follows:
- 1942 Australian Penny
- 1945 Australian Half Penny
- Gold Back of a Pendant which says 9ct Silver Lined
- An Old Brass Coat Hook
- Silver Plated Fork (Unknown Silver Stamp Marking)
- Gold Plated Leadwork (Dove) I like this one!
- Big Old Brass Belt Buckle
- other things
I plan on going back there in the near future!
Click on the images to see a better quality photo
Gold Plated Leadwork remains (Dove) I like this one!
Gold Back of a Pendant which says 9ct Silver Lined
1942 Australian Penny
Silver Plated Fork (Unknown Silver Stamp Marking)
1945 Australian Half Penny
Old Brass Coat Hook
Metal Detecting is good for your Physical and Mental Health!
If you suffer from any form of depression, mental health issues or just need some good decent exersise, why don’t you consider taking up metal detecting.
For me it has been one of the best hobbies I have ever taken up, it makes you feel great, especially when you start find old treasures of value or even stuff what is not worth anything.
You also have the ability to find alot of money, rings and jewellery like I do on a regular basis, especially down at the beach, in picnic areas, rivers and much more. If your lucky you may even find something worth a fortune, or some real buried treasure!
Today I felt a bit depressed and anxious, and I just needed to get out for a few hours to do some metal detecting, because I knew that it would make me feel better and take my mind off things, so I headed out bush for a couple of hours to breath some fresh air, hear some birds and to find some old coins.
I did not find much, just a 1945 Australian Copper Half Penny and a 1948 Australian Silver
1948 Silver Australian Six Pence
Six Pence, a couple bullets and some brass belt buckles.
Found plenty of other junk, melted lead, pull tabs, but nothing worth of value.
But I alway love finding old coins, more coins to add to my growing collection.
No Gold or Rings today!
Here are some photos, sorry the quality is not the best!
1945 Australian Half Penny
Old Bullets and Shotgun Cartridge Remants
Old Belt Buckles
Coins & Silver Ring Found in Salt Laden Mud
I went back out to the local Lake yesterday with the aim of possibly finding another Ring or two. This time I carried out a proper Metal Detecting grid search of a small area where there was likely a lot of human activity when the Lake had water in it, water skiing, swimming, sunbathing etc
The area I searched was not the same area where I did a quick 15 minute search and found the Lost Gold Wedding Ring five days ago, so I decided I would try my luck in a different area, and come back to the “Gold Ring Area” another time.
I came a bit more prepared this time, I brought with me some insect repellent, to stave off the annoying flys that bite, it only helped a little, and these flys are the worse I have encounted, they would even bite through my BeautUtes.com Chesty Bonds Singlet, they must have mosquito like fangs! I ended up rubbing insect repellent all over my singlet and decided next time I will come even more prepared … with a long sleeve shirt!
Anyhow I knew I would find myself some coins, obviously lost out of swimmers pockets, I also knew that the coins I would find would be severely covered in corrosion from the salty environment the coins had been laying in for anywhere up from 5 years to up to 50 years or more.
So I ended up finding around 10 coins, and I have not got a clue what the coins exactly are, such as Pre-Decimal Australian Coins (Pennys, Shillings, Six Pence ) (Prior 1965) or Post-Decimal Australian Coins (5, 10, 20, 50 Cent Coins) (Post 1966) because as you can see in the photos below the coins a surrounded by a shell of corrosion, and no doubt are damaged beyond repair.
I was also happy when I found a nice Silver Ring, possibly another Lost male or female wedding ring, not really that sure, but nethertheless another nice ring to add to my collection of Western Australian lost and found rings to write about on this Metal Detecting Blog!
So after finding this stuff with my metal detector I have decided to do some experimental “Coin Cleaning, and I found this great coin cleaning link and I currently have the coins soaking in Distilled Water as per instructions below:
Distilled Water Coin Cleaning
Technique:
One of the gentlest methods of cleaning coins is using distilled water (DW) soaks. This requires that you soak the coin for 24 hours remove the coin and gently scrub the coin with a soft toothbrush. Change the water and then repeat until the coin is clean.Theory:
Distilled water contains almost no dissolved minerals. When you put a coin in DW the minerals on the coin transfer to the water until the DW is saturated with minerals.
Good Candidates
See other Coin Cleaning Methods
It will be interesting to see what the results are, I will keep you all updated on this.
As I say, it is highly likely that none of the coins will be unidentifiable due to the corrosion.
The 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins are made of cupro-nickel (75 per cent copper and 25 per cent nickel). The one and two dollar coins are made of aluminium bronze (92 per cent copper, 6 per cent aluminium and 2 per cent nickel). These coins will corrode slowly in a salt laden environment such as the lake I found them in or in the Ocean.
The Australian Pre-Decimal Penny and Half-Penny is made out of copper and will corrode very quickly in salty enviroments.
The Australian Six Pence, Three Pence, and Shilling are made out of pure silver.
A commonly asked question: Does Silver rust?
Silver will react to salty soil and water and can suffer from sulphide related tarnish. 80% of the lost silver rings I have recovered from the ocean have suffered from tarnish, but a bit of silvo or silver polish will bring the ring back to it’s former glory.
I once found two Australian Silver Six Pence coins in the ocean, those coins were in a shell of rust, and when I cracked open the shell, inside the silver coins were like brand knew.
Read more on Australias’ Salinity Crisis
Stay tuned for before and after photos of the coins and the silver ring!
Here are the photos of the coins and the ring I found yesterday
Billy - Toto - Ginger - Metal Detecting at Lake Dumbleyung Western Australia
Coin suffering from Corrosion - Australian Pre-Decimal Penny?
Australian Coin with major Corrosion
The Silver Ring Found in Salt Lake - Major Tarnish - Nil Corrosion
Todays Best Finds
Hi Guys,
I went out to my secret hunting spot today, an old where an old town used to be from 1907 to around 1955.
I found some interesting things, here is my best finds today.
1943 Australian CRC Adopt a Digger Badge - Made in Perth Western Australia
(A Digger is a nickname for an Australian Soldier)
This Badge must be very rare because I cannot find one on the internet. I found it today at my favourite treasure hunting spot near Dumbleyung Western Australia
1955 Silver Australian Three Pence
1922 Australian Penny
1922 Australian Penny
1928 Australian Half Penny
1928 Australian Half Penny
Got heaps of other stuff, brass belt buckles, bits of copper, etc will upload some pics soon!
By the way, check out my new Metal Detecting Gallery you can see all my pics there! Feel free to uploads your metal detecting photos also!
New Finds!
WW2 Australian Brass Army Buttons
Well its been a couple weeks since I last wrote, I had a great holiday, did not find much, but only tried a few times, found nothing of great interest.
But a few days ago I went out to my favourite haunt – my secret old Ghost Town, near where I live and found plenty of old coins, as well as my first Australian Shilling.
Also found an old Chinese Coin which is quite remarkable, I believe it was used as a necklace pendant as it has a hole in it, probably a gift to a old sweetheart from a Soldier returning from World War 2, might be wrong though.
Also found an old childs toy wagon wheel, some more old WW2 Australian Army Buttons, an old axe head, an old tie clasp, quite a few old Australian pennys, an old Victorian Copper Tray and another Engine Bay Badge.
1954 Australian Silver Shilling
Paulownia 1 sen - Chinese Coin
Paulownia 1 sen - Chinese Coin
Childs Toy - Wagon Wheel
Vintage Car Engine Plate - Lynas Motors Perth Ford Dealers
Old Tie Clasp
Old Victorian Copper Tray
Australian Half-Pennys
Here is a selection of Australian Half-Pennys I have found out bush around old abandone townships in rural Western Australia!
Australian bronze (copper) coins first appeared in 1911. These earliest coins were minted in London, Birmingham and Calcutta. Australian production of halfpenny coins began in 1919 in the Sydney and soon after, the Melbourne mints. From 1942 the Perth mint became the major producer of halfpennies although in some years coins were also produced in Melbourne, Bombay or London. The last halfpenny coins were struck in 1964.
One of the more valuable examples of the halfpenny is the 1923 coin. Most of the 1923 coins were struck with the 1922 date. Only around 1500 of the actual 1923 variety were produced, with the number still in existence today being much smaller.
Australian Half-Pennys
