Mothers Day....thinking of you.

Sunday was another peach of a winters day and a friend Dave who is on his way down to the South Island to do some prospecting came along for a swing. He loaned the Garrett ACE150. First stop after a late lunch was Rawlpindi Reserve in Point Chev.

Dave skirting the edges of a barren Rawlpindi Reserve.

The park was unable to produce anything other than a few nails and the weed mat pins caused havoc. We soon lost interest and headed to the next park. The rocket park in Mt Albert, a big park, a very well populated park but too our disappointment now a rubber mat park. on we trundled. A small park in Sandringham shopping area was next on the list.

Again no luck at all. A rusty hinge being a highlight. The lack of bark left lots of weed mat on show again. The local council must be spending their money on things other than bark.

The constant bing bing bing of Dave's  was getting to me so I headed to the $2 shop to buy the missing plug for the headphones. A snip a $3.50 and good for my demeanour. I do like quiet when I'm awake.

So not a coin between us and a good hour spent on the job.

Balmoral was next. A big park and quite busy. Dave soon had a few kids digging for him but after thirty minutes all we had to show was a little kids brooch which Dave gave to one of the kids anyway. We needed at least one coin before we could go home as per the rules. Luckily in one last sweep a nice little gold $2 coin fell into my hands and we were good to go.

Part of Balmoral Park from across a duel carriageway.

We decided on home and I could feel Dave's disappointment in not reclaiming anything worthwhile.  The evening was closing in but we spotted another park in Owairaka Road.
Dave keen as to get going jumped out the Rav4 and got straight into it. So I pulled over and joined him.

Dave heading for his first ever coin finds, bless.

 We figured we had thirty or so minutes before dusk and as it turned out to be the most giving park of the day we ended up staying till dark. Again the park was threadbare with little or no bark in places but it held a few treasures. I had a good run of smaller coins and another $2 and an Aussi 10 cent. A very cheap kid's ring popped out of the bark as well as a curious piece, one of the very same of a find I had in Manukau Sports Bowl.

Nocturnal Dave trying to squeeze another ten cents out of Mount Albert.

Dave at last, in the murky gloom, found his first $1 coin and was very happy about it. He followed that up with a 10 cent and in the end I had to drag him away. I think he is hooked.

Coinage and tin Ring

Strange bits with hinge

So all up Dave plundered a $1.10 and I managed $4.90. I also had the cheapest of cheap rings and this unknown object pictured below with the one I found earlier. Any one got any ideas what they are?
Someone suggested part of a lock mechanism. Maybe.


See you out there.

The Boys Keep Swinging....

Gareth, Ritchie and myself headed out this morning for a few hours to check out a couple of parks hidden away in Whenuapai. I was with my Cobra Beach Magnet , Gareth with his Garrett AT Pro and Ritchie with a loaned Garrett ACE 150. I suggested a fiver in for most spending finds but the lads did not rise to the challenge. The Beach Magnet took that as a compliment.
The first park was the Bill Moir Reserve. We spent about an hour there and uncovered mostly coins. I scored $2.50 spending, Gareth 60 cents and Ritchie 40 cents. The trash was minimal both metal and otherwise and it was a pleasant park with nice grounds.

Ritchie getting a head start on the lads

The Garrett Gang

We then moved a hundred yards down the same road and hit the Malcolm Hahn Memorial Reserve behind the Whenuapai Hall. A small park with several kids using the bike ramps there. The pickings were slim. The kids on the scooters and bikes started to give us a hard time but they did shut up for a minute when Gareth told them we were a bomb disposal unit, but they became quite verbally abusive. We all smiled when a mother suddenly appeared and hearing his tirade against us dragged her child home, who burst in to tears, that after giving him a good dressing down in front of his mates, . That shut the others up. We don't mind kids joining in and sharing our time and indeed encourage it. But that was not going to happen with this little gang. Their loss.
The weed mat was close to the surface and well pinned down which caused a few fruitless holes to be dug. I got 40 cents with three coins and a 6mm Alum key, Ritchie's take was 30 cents with Gareth chipping in also with 30 cents plus a few early decimals, a 10 and a 5 cent.

Leaving the second park with a dollar between us which will help pay for our counselling after all the abuse

We then headed to Christmas beach were the tide was favourable to wander out on to the mud flats. We had been here a few months ago at high tide. That time a local told us of a ship the sunk in a storm in the channel a long time ago. He had picked up copper nails and brass fittings in the past on this very beach.  Gareth was keen to find something from the wreck. But it didn't happen.

The serenity of Christmas Beach. Before headphoneless Ritchie arrived. Bing...bing...bing!

Ritchie and I stayed in the little park there and we both felt grateful to pick up a 20 cent each in what Ritchie described as the cleanest park in Auckland. Gareth just hunted on the beach. When we got down to the beach I had a problem as the iron sand on the beach was giving me all kinds of signals. So I put aside the Cobra Beach Magnet and I tried our first video shots. I enjoy watching other detectors videos and hopefully I will become as proficient as they are. But this first one is a little rough, sorry. As my friend Sarah would say "it is what it is".
Can anybody recommend a decent video editor?

Metal Detecting Adventures
Featuring Glen, Gareth and Ritchie, at Christmas Beach, Herald Island.

Doh, no Video. Lol. Watch this space....

Reassuring I'm not a geek but.......

Gareth pulling up a 1960 half penny with a hole drilled through the centre of it was the video highlight after several non events. As he said it was probably at one time on a chain around someones neck. In fairly good condition too. Apart from the middle bit.

Gareth's incomplete 1960 Half Penny

He then found a Lockwood key.
We had come ill equipped as really the beach needed sturdier digging implements other than our trowels. Below the surface sand and mud is quite a hard layer that was a struggle to get through. Gareth found another early decimal five cent and Ritchie a small button in a hole Gareth had given up on. But digging was taking toll on Gareth's withered arm and tummies were rumbling.
We lasted about another half an hour or so and decided it was time to return home.  Which we did via the pie shop then the bottle shop.

Totals for the day $3.10 for me, Gareth with a $1 and Ritchie rocked up with $0.90 . No other finds to stir the imagination, apart from Gareth's half penny and his Key, the 6mm alum key for the set I'm slowly building and Ritchie's small bland brass button.
Once again the CBM (Cobra Beach Magnet) ruled.

My return.

Gareths Early Decimals

See you out there.