YANKEE TERRITORY COINSHOOTERS

Transcription

1 Volume 41 Issue 9 September, 2016 Official Newsletter Of YANKEE TERRITORY COINSHOOTERS Website: MEMBER FEDERATION OF METAL DETECTOR & ARCHEOLOGICAL CLUBS, INC. FOUNDED JANUARY 1976 Articles May Be Copied Provided Credit Is Given The Author and YANKEE TERRITORY COINSHOOTERS Yankee Territory Coinshooters P.O. Box 1811 Hartford, CT FIRST CLASS MEETING PLACE: William J. Pitkin Community Center, 30 Greenfield Street, Wethersfield, Ct Meeting Time: 6:30 p.m. Room F3 NEXT MEETING: October 12, 2016 September Special Raffle to benefit School for the Deaf The Metal Detecting Game will be available at the September Meeting

2 YTC Member Profile Chuck Anderson, Past Club President No Photo Available. Bashful Position on the Board: Past President. How long a member: 22 years. Favorite thing to do besides MD: Spending time with my wife traveling and/or antiquing. What machine(s) do you own: White s XLT, White s Surf master PI, Fisher 1235-X. Favorite places to MD: Farm fields, yards and the water. If you could hunt anywhere in the world, where would it be: Florida treasure coast beaches. If you could MD with anyone, who would it be: I would love to hunt with Mark Sutcliffe once again. We hunted together often in the years before he passed, and we shared a deep interest in Colonial History. He was a YTC Icon. Who is your favorite hunt buddy; My favorite hunt buddies are or have been John Hubley, Ken Gudernatch, Dave Gregorski, Bruce Morris. I have also had the opportunity to hunt with Matt Dakin a couple times, which were both memorable days. Largest (quantity wise) find you made: I believe that my hunting style is a bit unusual in that I prefer to focus on building long-term collections from distinct historical sites, so each find becomes a part of a group that together weave a story. This style places value on the site over individual finds. Two of these sites from which I have assembled collections in this way are 1.) a very old area that has seen activity from Native Americans, the Colonial Era, the Early American Era, up to current times. This area consists of an array of farm fields, and as such does not possess value as an Archeological site because items tumble through years of plowing lack context. And 2.) a famous New England beach. Finds at the Colonial site include silver and copper coins dating back to the 1600 s, military items, buttons, etc. At the beach, finds include coins back to the early 1900 s, jewelry, and a variety of relics. Strangest item found: Three Shield Nickels in the same hole. What do you like most about MD ing: Without a doubt, it is the friendships that I ve made along the way. Anyone who places more value on the finds or competitiveness over friendships is missing out on the true treasure this hobby offers

3 Yankee Territory Coinshooters August 3, 2016 Present: Meeting Minutes 60 Regular members and 1 guest Next meeting: September 14, 2016 Facebook Members - 68 Announcements The 40 th anniversary meeting was started with a moment of silence. A poll was taken around the room of attendees. Ken G. was determined to be the longest tenured member at the meeting. The Treasurer s report was accepted as presented. The July 6th balance was $2, Receipts of $ Expenses of $ = the August 3rd balance of $1, Silver coin inventory - $18.35 face value, 0 Silver rounds, 6 Silver dollars and 6 Barber Half dollars. The Secretary s report was accepted as printed in the Probe. Matt read from the Feb 2001, the Aug 1976 and the Sept 1996 issues of the Probe. Please make sure your address on record with the Club is current, as ing is the Probe distribution method. If you have issues getting the Probe, please Bruce Kramer with your current address at newsletter@yankeeterritorycoinshooters.com. The Probes will also be posted on our Facebook page. Due to some issues with distributing printed copies of the Probe at our meetings, Bruce K. will be handing out the copies to members who do not receive them electronically. A Thank You letter was received for the donation the club made in memory of Pam Giannetti. The donation went to support the LM Sarcoma Direct Research Foundation. The foundation funds LMS specific research, promotes worthy clinical trials, advocates for more LMS research, collaborates with others to support our mission, provides information, education and support for patients and is a voice for the LMS community. Mike Giannetti was in attendance and also personally thanked the club. There was one new Guest Book entries on the YTC website. Joseph Cucurello from Meriden, CT checked in but did not leave a message. Facebook a reminder that the club hosts a members only page on Facebook. The page is only viewable by YTC members and is a great way to share pictures, stories and coordinate activities. If you are not on our Facebook page, you are missing a lot of good finds and information from our members. Contact Matt Dakin or Mike Stanczyc to get added. The Members Only Section of the YTC Website is accessible by all members through one username and password. Contact any one of the board members if you need access. There was no new FMDAC news or Pequot update. The arrangements have been finalized for next year s meetings. All meetings will be held in the banquet room - 3 -

4 Upcoming Hunts Roger M. mentioned that he may have a club Fun Hunt upcoming. The land is in Litchfield and is a mixture of corn and hay fields that total about 800 acres. The farm is a working farm, so if it does happen it will likely be in the fall. Old Business A recap was given of the Rocky Neck Beach Hunt. Approximately 22 club members participated. There were no gold or silver items retrieved. There was a silver half dollar that was planted by Phil Skewes and found by Ken G. Thanks to Vince for setting it all up and hosting the event. Any club member may attend the executive board meetings. The meetings are usually held the week before the regular club meeting. If you have an interest in attending, you can contact any member of the board for the date, time and place. Contact information for the board members is listed in the Probe. Dave G. has enough donations and is putting the finishing touches on the Boy Scout Display that is made up of scout related finds from the last Boy Scout camp hunt. The club has an incentive to attend the monthly meetings and other club events. Each time you come to a meeting or event, stop at the head table and get a ticket to fill out. Every meeting you attend or other event, you will get an additional ticket. At the end of the year a drawing will be held for one ounce silver rounds. The hats and shirt order has been in. Dave G distributed most of the orders, however he still had about 6 to deliver. All of the extras that were ordered have been sold. We have had some long time volunteers that have been helping with the food and drinks for the monthly meetings. Many thanks to those individuals who help keep us fed and refreshed for the meeting, Bob Brock, John Cabral & Phil Skewes. We are looking for a new volunteers to take over the duties of making the coffee for the meetings. It is a great way to contribute to the club that is relatively painless. The Metal Detecting Game is set for the September meeting. Any donations can be given to any board member or Ken Faulkner, who volunteered to run the game. We are looking to have about 25% of the board to be junk and about 75% to be coins and other prizes. Club Member, Jeff Pelletier makes good use of the waning summer days hunting an undisclosed beach, west of the river - 4 -

5 Monthly Meeting Minutes cont. New Business September 6 silver half dollars were donated by Phil Skewes, Roger Albert donated $10 to the club. Other donations were made by Bob Brock, Ken G, Chris K and Dan. I hope I didn t leave anyone out. Thanks to all for the donations. Upcoming meeting programs: September the Metal Detecting Game. The meeting topic for the evening was a slideshow that was put together by founding member Mike Krampitz and Eric Larson, who showed pictures and related stories from the early days of the club. Some of the memories included planted hunts that had 26,000 coins and lots of detectors that were given away as prizes. The following individual finished various levels of the Challenge Hunts: Dave Gregorski completed Level 3. It was reported that Big Y has stopped accepting Silver coins. If you have any laying around that you would like to donate to the club, they may be used as targets for upcoming planted hunts. Bruce K. has made up some new membership badges. Stop by and see him to get yours. Thanks Bruce. We are in need of silver dimes. Club members can sell back their silver dimes to the club if they want. They must be in good condition. A general rule of thumb is to make sure they are in a condition that you would like to receive as an award. Thank you to the Daniels family for providing the 40 th anniversary cake for our meeting. I think you will agree that it was both delicious and good looking. Thanks to Ken G. for organizing and providing the behind the scenes work to help make the meeting a success. There was an active discussion concerning a hunt that was sponsored by the Nor easters MD Club in upstate NY. The hunt was only open to Nor easter club members. We had several of our members attend and they also have a membership in the club. The discussion centered on whether or not the club should have put out information concerning the hunt. In the end, I think it was agreed that communication is good and going forward, notification of such hunts should be disseminated to the members. Thanks to Steve G for running the 50/50 and coin raffles. Raffles: 50/50 Phil Skewes Silver Round Roger Albert Silver half dollar Steve Wente Attendance Draw Ken Dowden Meeting adjourned around 9:00 p.m. for the Moonlight Madness Hunt - 5 -

6 Separate from the minutes: State Park Access for Seniors A short discussion was had at the last meeting regarding access fees to CT State Parks. In general, all the fees and accompanying rules for the various parks can be found on the CT State Park website, For those senior members who were not aware of the benefit, The Charter Oak Pass provides access to the State Parks and Forests and is available free to Connecticut residents, 65 years of age or older. The pass is accepted at all day use areas where a parking fee applies. Presenting it allows free access for the entering vehicle and passengers. The pass holder does not have to be the vehicle driver. Free admittance is also provided for the Charter Oak pass holder when visiting Gillette Castle, Dinosaur or Fort Trumbull State Parks. All other visitors, however, will be required to pay the appropriate fee. Please note that each pass is issued to a specific person and can only be used when presented by that individual. The passes are non-transferable. They are not valid for camping or special events having separate admission charges and may not be used for commercial purposes. Check the website for locations where you can pick up your pass. Is This Your Stuff? Last year someone left several Ziploc bags with me, filled with stuff for the 2015 Challenge. At several meetings I asked for that person to retrieve the items, as I couldn t remember his name. No one came forward, and I just discovered I still have the stuff. If you think it s yours, please contact me (see contact info. in this newsletter). I ve already discarded the junk, and if I don t hear from anyone in a month, I m going to work the couple of silver items back into the club somehow. Dave Gregorski - 6 -

7 FINDS of the MONTH BOLD, ITALICS indicates the category winner Submitted by Bill Wright COIN Pre 1900 Gold/Silver John DeLaurentis Reale Post 1899 Jeff Pelletier Dan Welsh Bruce Morris No Name 1909 O Barber Half & 1926 Standing Liberty Qtr 1901 O Barber Dime Coin Spill - 7 Wheat Cents, Silver Dime & Quarter 1905 Barber Dime Other Pre 1900 Jim Mauro 1827 Large Cent Bill S Large Cent Post D Buffalo Nickel, 1944 Quarter, Bob Cwikla 1949 Dime Dave Gregorski 1923 Wheat Cent Everett Berube 1930 Buffalo Nickel Ken Gudernatch 2006 P Jefferson Nickel Steve Gudernatch 2 Quarters, 2 Dimes, 1 Nickel, 1 Penny Jeff Calzarette Unknown Coin Token/Medal Matt Dakin Mike Stanczyc Vince DiBattista 1901 Epworth League Bishop Ninde Medal 1969 Shell Coin Game Token Stubby's Car & Pet Wash Token JEWELRY Gold Phil Skewes Rick Browne Bruce Morris 14K Ring with Red Heart Shaped Stone 24K Gold Ring 18K 2 Tone Italian Made Ring Silver Jeff Pelletier Silver Ram Pin Dan Welsh Sterling Bracelet Mike Stanczyc Sea Shell Earring - 7 -

8 FINDS of the MONTH cont. Other Vince DiBattista Winged Pin Dave Gregorski Earring Linda Pavlovich Toe Ring Everett Berube Rainbow Wedding Band Jeff Calzarette Ring Bob Cwikla Ornate Ring Chris Kutschker Non Gold Wedding Ring Matt Dakin Victorian Pin Ken Gudernatch Masonic Pin from Ireland Jim Mauro Floral Decorative Pin RELIC Toy Matt Dakin Barclay Lead Indian Toy Phil Skewes Toy Car Steve Gudernatch Toy Gun Linda Pavlovich Toy Cement Truck Military Roger Moyles 169th Connecticut National Guard Dan Welsh WWII Brass Band Military Button Other Jim Mauro Unknown Item Ken Gudernatch 46 of a Box of Caliber Live Rounds Consolation Prize Dave Gregorski Padlock Jeff Calzarette Hand Scale 50 lbs. Vince DiBattista Metal Bell Everett Berube Pencil Sharpner NON MET- AL Roger Moyles Premier Glass Bottle Vince DiBattista UCONN Hat Jeff Calzarette Two Sided Head Steve Gudernatch Goggles Ken Gudernatch Medium Size Old Marble Rules Clarification, Please READ. For BOTH the FINDS of the MONTH and the YTC Challenge, any metallic item MUST have been found with The aid of a metal detector. The ONLY eyeball finds allowed are for FOTM s Non-Metal category, and even those MUST have been Found while metal detecting (i.e.: not while out walking down the street) - 8 -

9 CHECKER BOARD By Bill Wright September John DeLaurentis: Reale Hard to beat this for the first silver coin! Found in a large field in South Windsor. Jeff Pelletier: 1909 O Barber Half & 1926 Standing Liberty Quarter Found on the property of an old Hotel that dates back to the 1800 s. Jim Mauro: 1827 Large Cent Found in the middle of an old street. Nice find after an unsuccessful attempt at finding a cellar hole. Bob Cwikla: 1938D Buffalo Nickel, 1944 Quarter, 1949 Dime Found in the back of a school where some topsoil had been removed. Matt Dakin: 1901 Epworth League Bishop Ninde Medal A thank you type token for a Bishop Ninde who was Bishop until Phil Skewes: 14K Ring with Red Heart Shaped Stone Dry sand find at a salt water beach for Phil. Jeff Pelletier: Silver Ram Pin Jeff found this and a mercury dime while helping out a detectorist with his detector. Vince DiBattista: Winged Pin The usual playscape find for Vince. Matt Dakin: Barclay Lead Indian Toy Found at an old farm site that is now an Inn. Roger Moyles: 169 th Connecticut National Guard Found at the Curtis House on Curtis St. in Meriden. Jim Mauro: Unknown Item A nice mystery find at a cellar hole for Jim. Roger Moyles: Premier Glass Bottle Another find at the Curtis House for Roger

10 Ghosts By Dave Gregorski September I want to share a true story. This past spring, I was invited by a YTC member to an informal group hunt in Rhode Island an annual event. We d been over pretty much the same ground as previous years, so great finds were not expected, but a good day among friends and a better lunch were on the menu. A ways down a dirt road, we spread out into a grassy field, listening for a deep target someone else had missed. I d dug a couple modern pennies from a trashy overlook, when a friend came over and mentioned he d come across a cemetery in the neighboring woods! He was a bit uncomfortable detecting it, but I assured him that we might find a way. (-: Sure enough, there was a smallish rectangle filled with very old headstones, surrounded by an old stone wall and a very modern sign naming the cemetery and assigning it a number as part of an historical record. I was surprised about this, as the nearest road was at least a couple hundred yards away. (Who would know that the cemetery was here?) I, too was uncomfortable about jumping the wall, but began detecting around the outside edge, and then along an old access road that became visible upon careful scrutiny. Nothing turned up, not even a whisper. But I looked up and spied the host aggressively swinging his coil within the walls! So I figured, if he can do it, it must be O.K. (Very wishful thinking!) I climbed through a low spot in the wall, and slowly patterned the area. Nothing for about 10 minutes (obviously had been heavily detected before), but then got a solid signal mid/low range, right up against an old headstone. From about 6 inches down came a penny, quite overweight ( fat, to some people much thicker pennies than the bronze ones minted from 1864 onward). Brushing the dirt aside, I spied that beautiful eagle in flying mode an 1858 copper-nickel cent! I carefully placed it in my water jar, and noted the date on the tombstone before I left I patterned back toward the wall opening, getting no other signals, and noticed I had been growing uneasy. Even as I showed the coin to my friend, I took no pride in it, no joy. It was as though someone/ something was hanging over my shoulder prodding me, whispering to me. Even though it was a warm day, a sudden chill went up my spine. I continued detecting, but my concentration was totally gone, and I found myself walking much faster than is my habit, like I couldn t wait to get out of there. Finally I stopped, and with only a moment s pause, knew what I had to do. I circled back and found that gravesite. Making the original hole very deep, and adding a small prayer, I placed the penny, on edge, in the bottom, and refilled the hole. No one else was going to remove it! To make sure, I slowly swung my coil over the spot, and got nary a peep. My breath finally came easier - it was like a weight had been lifted from my chest. What I d become aware of, is that the penny had been placed there by a loved one of the deceased kind of an everlasting connection between the two that went beyond the grave. Was it that person who d been whispering to me, not to desecrate that memory? All I know for sure is, that in my relaxed retreat out of the cemetery, I got a much too-solid signal right at the wall opening (an obvious spot to detect), and came up with a very old sterling ring with a large garnet stone. I took that as a thank you for doing the right thing. I and several spirits were together, at peace

11 September YTC Hammonasset Hunt Report A sparkling, somewhat hot weekend gave hope to 22+ YTC ers, for a goodly amount of drops for us to find. At last gold and silver! Jeff Pelletier came up with a pair of rings from the water 10 K white gold with diamonds - matching his & hers. Beautiful. He was up to his neck in the water, and the rings were around a foot deep. As with many items we uncover, we wonder what the story was in how they got lost or in this case was it purposeful? Rich Walauski came up with a 1942-S Walker half, also from the water. Ken G. didn t know what he had until close inspection a pair of entwined Tiffany sterling ringy-things on a chain. A very nice oldstyle silver ring with stones closed out the precious metal finds. Hi-coin were Dave G. (45) and Jeff Calzarette (42). Among the assorted relics and lesser jewelry were a titanium ring and a Maglite flashlight. It seemed like an enjoyable hunt, as the remaining beachgoers were spread out fairly well. Jeff P. had another winner - $10 from his scratch ticket, making the known winnings total $19. A pod of detectorists had a good meal afterward at the Clam Castle. Thanks to all for participating. Special thanks to Steve Gudernatch for providing cool, juicy, sweet slices of watermelon for us to enjoy after the hunt! Dave G. YTC Events - Last Minute Information/Directions After these last 2 summer beach hunts, I had several messages on my home answering machine, from people not knowing what beach or parking area we were at. Such calls will never work, as the listed number is my home phone once I leave for the hunt, you won t reach me. As we value good participation, we go to great lengths getting out information in advance regarding club events (in the Probe and by ). I strongly suggest bringing a copy of such with you to the hunt or other event, so you can refer to it when you have questions. Thanks. Dave G

12 FOR SALE. CTX $2,400 or B/O. Paid $3,000 including the CTX 17 coil for $500. Very good to excellent condition. Call Chris Kutschker for more Leave message if unavailable. Total package includes the following: 1. CTX-17, CTX-11, and the CTX-6 coils. 2. Rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack. 3. Battery charger includes car charger cable, UBS cable, and a 115 watt cable for versatility in charging methods. 4. Alkaline battery pack. 5. Quick start guide. 6. Full instruction manual in binder and on DVD. Would you like to own this beautiful antique mail box door bank? It could be yours if you come to the September meeting and buy a ticket for the raffle. 1/2 of the proceeds will be given to the American School for the Deaf. Come to the September meeting and help support the School for the Deaf Meeting Dates William J. Pitkin Community Center, 30 Greenfield Street, Wethersfield, Ct :30 p.m. Room F3 Wednesday, October 12, 2016, Wednesday, November 9, 2016, THURSDAY, December 15,

13 YTC Officers President Matt Dakin September Vice President Bruce Morris Recording Secretary Mike Stanczyc Corresponding Sec y Dave Gregorski DGrookie@aol.com Treasurer Katie Calzarette calzarette@sbcglobal.net Coins N Gold Exchange Bonus Offer for YTC members selling: 2% with this add. NewsLetter Editor Bruce Kramer newsletter@yankeeterritorycoinshooters.com Webmaster Matthew Dakin Webmaster@yankeeterritorycoinshooters.com This space is available for advertisement Please contact president@yankeeterritorycoinshooters.com FINE DIAMOND JEWELRY AND ANTIQUE JEWELRY EXCLUSIVE DESIGNS For more information MICHAEL J. RUSSO 817 FARMINGTON AVE (860) U.S.A. BRISTOL, CT michaelrusso@snet.net Closed Wednesdays J & E METAL DETECTORS dba J & E ENTERPRISES 54 Old Main St. at 1 Forest Rd. South Yarmouth, MA Entrance 1 Forest Road When in the area, please stop by and say HELLO. (Founding member of Yankee Territory Coinshooters) Yankee Territory Coinshooters Code of Ethics Respect the rights and property of others. Never destroy historical or archeological artifacts. Observe all laws, whether national, state, or local. Aid law enforcement officials whenever possible. Leave the land and vegetation as it was. FILL IN ALL HOLES. Remove all trash and litter, take it with you when you leave. Remember that all coinshooters may be judged by the example YOU set. Always conduct yourself with courtesy and consideration toward others