With parks closed and not replenished, ghost towns an hour away, I have been hunting places the Army used during the Oregon Maneuver in 1943. A club member gave me some hints of places I had not known about before and I have had some good luck in the last few weeks. Not ghost town vintage but still silver.

Last week I was hunting with the Deus in the custom program I have mentioned before I call Digger. Sorting through bottle caps I have found to be tough but often rewarding because it means the soldiers were gathered together in a small area as soft drinks were distributed. I got a good signal and looked under the coil to see the edge of a 1943 Mercury dime partially out of the dirt. As you can see from the tarnish on the coin, part was exposed to the elements.

Yesterday in a different area I wandered into another area with indications of occupation. Surface finds were charcoal from warming fires, ration cans, bottle caps, and paper clips (always a good sign.) This day I was using the stock program #3 called Deus Fast but changed to the x-y screen and raised the iron volume to 2 to help classify bottle cap targets. One pass there was an iron signal that had a slight squeak that only repeated one direction. Digging revealed a paper clip just under the surface. Pinpointer indicated there was still a target to find, and about 3” down a bottle cap popped out. Another pinpointer pass still indicating a target, and I suspected another bottle cap but about 5” deep was a 1942 quarter! Deus surprises me again.

The military areas have been fruitful, even though these sites have been hunted repeatedly. So far this year 8 wheats, a 1939 nickel, 4 Mercs, and a Washington quarter.