X-Terra Detector find at Hill End the other day...

I am pleased as punch to report that a local that I recommended the Minelab X-Terra 705 to recently came to visit me with a spectacular find. He first took his detector to Victoria where he found three small nuggets near Bendigo (?). The largest was weighed in at .50g and collectively they weighed .97g.

He then ignored the advice of locals at Hill End (NSW) who told him there was too much junk about.... and commenced detecting for further nuggets in a gully outside of the town. He detected a strong signal near a tree which he then dug. The target looked like a large, heavy washer. It was encrusted with dark soil and had a blackish surface. He rubbed some of the soil away to reveal the details of a coin with a hole through the center. One side had crushed impact on it. He took the coin home and (as they sometimes do) bathed it in a mild acid bath and then an ultrasonic cleaner... which revealed a stunningly BRIGHT, solid silver 'HOLEY DOLLAR'. He as since secured the coin for its safety and is preparing for a more formal appraisal but the offers from the few coin dealers who handled it were ... uh ... astronomical. To give some perspective, out of nearly 80,000 Holey Dollar coins.... there are just over 350 of these coins in circulation today. Collectors in the past have paid up to a half a million dollars for such coins although it is rare to find them without wear. Tens of thousands is the minimum that they usually sell for. To quote Australian Stamp: "The rarity of the Holey dollar ensures that whenever a new specimen is discovered, even if it is in relatively poor condition, it can be extremely valuable." Fine specimens of this coinage had a minimum value of $100,000 ten years ago,




Details:
Detector = X-Terra 705 Gold.
Coil = 18.75khz DD HF 10x5" Elliptical.
Depth = 200mm.
Target ID = 27.
Date of the coin was 1788.
Date of the colony stamp was '1813'.
The words 'New South Wales' were sharp and clearly visible on the inner stamp ring.

Now the owner/finder has permitted me to pass on these details to the detecting community but chose not to allow photogaphs to be taken of the item under advice from the coin dealers and auction houses. But he brought the coin to me today and I can say that it was VERY impressive to see such a large, thick coin in such amazingly well preserved condition.

But here's the kicker: Though he didn't recognize it at first, I immediately saw that the crushed impact area on one side of the coin was clearly the impact of a pick-strike and a hard one at that. It did not go through or deform the coin but it was a jagged impact against the soft, pure Silver. The acid had cleaned away all the tarnish and even the impact hole was sharply detailed. So some lucky prospector before him had likely struck this coin when detecting... and struck it hard with the pick (the soil at Hill End can be compacted and firm)... before throwing it away and discarding it altogether.

I have suggested that the finder show Minelab or write to Gold Gem & Treasure magazine so perhaps we will see more. I would dearly have loved to have photographed it but I have to respect his wishes. It was an impressive sight to behold and i did not expect it to look so beautiful after so many years.

Here's an image of a Holey Dollar from Wikipedia: This is the same coin as found - without the pick-strike.

G'day Nero.

Now that's what i call a coin detectorists dream find. Lucky man.Just goes to show that where others feared to tread he gave it a go.Persistance paid off big time.Good on him. Sensational find.Well done.

Cheers kon61.

Hi marco,
after being at a mine lab training day at hillend a mate and myself decided to try another spot on the way back to mudgee. Another person we met at the training day decided to come with us and he found a holey coin about 20 - 40 mins from hill end,, with a 45, it was a bit bigger than a round 50cent with a hole naturally enough, it was fairly well perished and we thought it was a old chinese coin,,, mmmmm maybe not,, cheers

PS,, it was on old diggings that the coin was found with visible remains of what would have been old buildings

why would the auction house and coin dealers say not to release photo's?.
the more that gets around about the find, is more advertising which means more interest
which means more commision when sold.

apart from that it was a good sales pitch...marco

fencejumper wrote:why would the auction house and coin dealers say not to release photo's?.
the more that gets around about the find, is more advertising which means more interest
which means more commision when sold.

apart from that it was a good sales pitch...marco

The X-Terras sell themselves, they certainly don't need my help although i use one too... that's probably enough in the way of products endorsements from me! You want to tell me why you think a dealer or even a sales person would get a commission out of these detectors? Because I've never heard of it happening here in Australia.

I'm also VERY impressed by Spidertice's mention of one of these Holey Dollars found very close to there this one was found. I don't mind saying that it would be VERY exciting to find one of these coins. I'm ecstatic to think two were pulled out of the ground in areas that I have detected near in past years.

nero_design wrote:

fencejumper wrote:why would the auction house and coin dealers say not to release photo's?.
the more that gets around about the find, is more advertising which means more interest
which means more commision when sold.

apart from that it was a good sales pitch...marco

The X-Terras sell themselves, they certainly don't need my help although i use one too... that's probably enough in the way of products endorsements from me! You want to tell me why you think a dealer or even a sales person would get a commission out of these detectors? Because I've never heard of it happening here in Australia.

I'm also VERY impressed by Spidertice's mention of one of these Holey Dollars found very close to there this one was found. I don't mind saying that it would be VERY exciting to find one of these coins. I'm ecstatic to think two were pulled out of the ground in areas that I have detected near in past years.

i was talking about commision for selling the coin (auction house or coin dealer)

Fencejumper, please accept my apology.

Wowwwww what a bit of luck, congrats to the finder, I'd give my left tit for a find like that
Hopper30

What a fantastic find. Well done.

The Holey Dollar = Holy Grail !

Awesome. I have a 705 too. I'm hoping one day .........

Cheers

Jimbo

hey there nero_design. what was the stuff he used to clean the coin up? i have 2 old 18 hundred coins that i would like to clean up. they are both in realy good condition.
cheers
stoppsy

Thats not "the" coin found at Hill End just a picture of one that is the same as the one found. So it may well look more like your dirty ones, just worth a hell of a lot more.

Hey stopsy, dont clean your coins until you get them valued, as cleaning them could devalue them.

regards Johnny

What is the preferred method for cleaning coins ?

Jim Beam wrote:What is the preferred method for cleaning coins ?

i'v beentold a soft toothbrush with washing liquid and worm water

A mate of mine used to sell this stuff from Amway years ago. A sort of white paste that really did clean metal and coins to almost new looking.

I guess that's a no no with potentially valuable coins.

hi all ,, again /// dont clean COINS / wash them ,,,,,,,, get the coin value them first // let the experts clean them ,,, i have found a lot of coins ,, this is all do ,, my best 1 is a gold $10,00 coin beautifull coin.. ,,,, but i still havent found a nuggert yet lol ,, it willnt be long ,, good luck all

It's comforting to know that there might be a few vaulable coins left to make up for my failure to find any gold!