A 1773 Virginia Halfpenny from the Colonial Williamsburg Collection (not my friend’s coin because I forgot to take pictures) (Image courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg)

He was in an area not far from Jamestown. The metal detector community in the area knows that it is possible to find small items dating back to colonial times. Most of the time, people find bullets and buttons from the Civil War era. They dream of finding something special.

On this day, my friend comes in excited. He finds what he thinks are colonial coins. If he is right, he could have hit the local jackpot. I asked to see the coins.

Upon pulling out the coins wrapped in cheesecloth, the first thing I noticed that the coins were round. But Scott, you say, coins are supposed to be round. I say that you are correct, but at a time when minting coins required striking dies with a hammer, the result is not perfectly round.

While laying the open cloth on my desk, the sound the coins made was suspicious. Anyone who has handled large copper coins knows the sound made by a dropped coin.

Picking up my trusty 16x loupe, I went to examine the coins when I picked them up and felt they were lighter than expected. A quick drop on the hard floor confirmed that they were aluminum.

My friend found souvenir coins from Colonial Williamsburg used as part of the experience of living in the 16th century. A tourist would pay for the coins then use them in the shops or to purchase dinner in the village. Quick online research suggested they were used in the 1980s.

We think some kids buried the coins while playing and forgot about them. Or someone was trying to fool a metal detectorist, like my friend.

Even though he had dreams of being in one of the stories I add to the weekly news digest, we had a good time hanging out and talking. After all, what is the point of collecting if you do not have fun!

And now the news…

 October 29, 2019

SIOUX CITY — Throughout the 19th century and somewhat into the 20th century, before the federal government took full control of printing money, it was common practice for banks to produce their own banknotes.  → Read more at siouxcityjournal.com

 October 31, 2019

words Al Woods With so many of resorting to contactless card payment when we come to pay for those smaller items, it might seem inevitable that coins will, at some point in the near future, become a thing of the past.  → Read more at fluxmagazine.com

 October 31, 2019

A first-time treasure hunter was stunned to hit the discovery of a life-time with his metal detector within the first few hours of using it – an Iron Age coin baring a intricately stamped horse. Ron Silvester, 69, from Buckinghamshire unearthed 2,000-year-old coin just three hours into his first ever attempt at metal detecting after agreeing to go along with a friend.  → Read more at dailymail.co.uk

 November 1, 2019

This is the extremely rare Australian coin worth up to half a million dollars that could be lurking in the bottom of your grandparents' old penny jar. Australians on the hunt for the 1813 'holey dollar' caused an uproar on Facebook earlier this week when one man thought he found one in New South Wales, in a jar full of mixed pennies and foreign coins belonging to some grandparents, who had died.  → Read more at dailymail.co.uk

 November 1, 2019

The majority of American citizens do not know what backs the U.S. Dollar, and a recent study shows there are a lot more surprises were that comes from. A recent study carried out by Genesis Mining revealed some interesting details that would shock you too, except of course you already knew the answers.  → Read more at coinspeaker.com