Did You Ever Hear of a Flying Eagle Cent?

If you haven't they are pretty rare. They were only made between 1856-1858 and if you come across one from 1856 you just might find yourself a little richer. A little like $7000 richer if you find one that is considered G-4 Good = All details worn but readable according to my 2014 copy of the "Red BooK" which is really titled "A Guide Book of United States Coins."

I was lucky enough to find one of these coins a few weeks ago but sadly, it wasn't minted in 1856. Instead, it was minted in 1858 which is worth about $28. Still, its an old coin that many folks will never get lucky enough to find. I was lucky and its as simple as that. If you want to see me pull it out of the ground click the image below and it will take you over to my YouTube channel and you can watch the video. I'll also put a link via Amazon on the side in case you are interested in picking up the "Red Book". I have both the 2014 and 2015 versions and there isn't much difference. I like the book because it gives you the history behind the coin and approximate values. But its also handy for identifying coins that are hard to identify. I can't tell you how many times I've used this book to identify coins with very little detail. Plus, you you get to learn something about the coin. Its a win win situation. You can pick it up at most book stores for about $12-15 but you can probably find a used version cheaper on Amazon. I'll put links to both years of the book so you can see what they are going for.

 

Anyway, I hope you have a safe and happy new year.

-mm314

What Do You Know About Indian Arrowheads?

Stepping away from metal detecting for a brief moment but have you ever come across an Indian arrowhead? If so, where and how did you find them. Leave me a comment or drop me an email mentalmetal314@gmail.com. I personally haven't found any but I've been told to pay close attention in farm fields where the water has washed away the soil especially in places near a stream. In fact, many folks who find arrowheads find them in streams and rivers. My friend who owns a 300 acre farm here in Carroll County Maryland, sent me this picture the other day.

He sends me a txt message and asks me if I know anything about arrow heads because he had just found the arrowhead (picture above) in his garden.

I was honest and said that I didn't know too much about them but I did a little research and I also shot a tweet to my friend Jon @Ancient_life on Twitter who finds these things all the time in Illinois (follow him and see what he finds). He said it looked like a rossville or guilford and probably dated around woodland period 1,000 to 2000 b.p. (before the present) or earlier.

None of that made any sense to me but I found this article "How To Date Indian Arrowheads" by Dell Markey that goes into the some of the history and how arrowheads are dated but there are a ton of other resources out there. There are many sites that sell arrow heads but also have a good history section you can read. I really liked this website "Western Artifacts" This site really goes into detail and lists several books to pick up. There are 2 specific books that I'll reference that are supposedly really good. I have not personally read them but I'll list them somewhere on the right hand side of this blog post if you want to check them out on Amazon.

Anyway, my quest continues but maybe 2016 will be the year I find one. Hopefully some of this information will help you in some way too.


Happy New Year!
-mm314