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But it with all of the anticipation dad and I had built for this site, nothing would have prepared us for what we would find. This has been a journey of 3 different detectors being swung for countless hours, quality time between a father and son, therapy time for a first year teacher learning his craft, and diving into local history of the town I’ve lived in my hole life.
It it all started on an unseasonably warm weekend in February.
Dad as and I embarked on a trip to go metal detecting. As we often had in the years previously. We were looking to go to a local wooded area that was once a colonial farm site. Upon getting there I had this weird feeling that something was not right. So I said, dad... we need to go to the field in the center of town. For years we had discussed getting permission, and never really gained any traction on it. Upon realizing that my grandpa and the property owner were friends I fostered the connection and we were in.
I could hear dads headphones blaring from his Fisher Cz-70 as we stepped into the cornfield... a solid repeatable signal in all directions. He dug down through the muddy ground.. fished around in the dirt waving it over the coil as he went.. when from across the field I hear him proclaim “Spanish silver!!!”.. I was ecstatic.. we had found 2 Spanish silver coins in 20 years of detecting.. this was a special find. For anyone who does not know, Spanish silver reales were used in the United States well into the 19th century as legal tender. So from time to time a Spanish silver pops up from under the coil.. little did dad and I know that we would find another Spanish silver reale, both dated in the 1740’s and that these would be one of 17 silver coins from the field.
This year at work for me has been trying, but overall an incredible experience. I’ve learned how to be a history teacher in a busy middle school with 110 students of my own. I’ve learned many important lessons, and even became a baseball coach at my school. Life has been great. But every once in a while I needed time to just be by myself, alone in a cornfield rain or shine enjoying the history we were unearthing one shovelful at a time.
Fast forward to march, dad and I are hitting a quick detecting session in coin alley. A name we lovingly doled out to one part of the cornfield that is particularly epic. I’m hitting Indian head after Indian head, I had found 4 in as many minutes. It was INSANE. Then I get a screaming high tone at 3 inches.... I figured, hmm maybe a soda can??? I dig down and immediately see the flash of silver in the flop... my prize? An 1877 seated quarter.. my first silver coin since an 1831 dime I had found in my backyard when I was 12..
my excitement was palpable.
The days and hours rolled by, and the coins and relics kept coming. With every passing hunt the tallies went up 5-10 coins at a whack, and still continue to rise.
We’ve found 60-70 Indian head pennies.
5 2 cent pieces
7 shield nickels
10 silver dimes
2 Spanish silver
1 3 cent piece
1 Canadian half dime
2 us half dimes
1 seated quarter
6 us large cents
8 British coppers
too many to list.
finally dad and I said enough is enough we must know the history behind this field.
so we dove into the research portion of the hunt. My favorite part.
We found that this field of dreams was once owned by a brigadier general during the civil war. This man threw a party in 1864 with over 200 guests in attendance. This happened in September. And our finds have directly related to 1864. We have found tokens that are related to the civil war, as well as a most recent find from a hotel in Fall River massachussets which was used for the billards room... dated 1864. It was incredible to find that and too me... screams that it was lost at that very party on that night in 1864.
The finds we have made seem to suggest heavy use after the night of the party, and into the late 1890’s then..: nothing. It’s weird how that happens, but the property had apparently changed hands. It has been an incredible journey, and the story is still writing itself.
My my dad sent me a text the other day with a picture of me in the field swinging the detector. The text read... “is this heaven?”
And i responded “no this is Iowa” thank you Kevin Costner...
thank you field of dreams.
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