Happy New Year!

Baker Lake and Mt. Baker

First find at Baker Lake.

Claire and Steve at Pilchuck park in Snohomish (detected $.39).

Total finds with metal detector since December 26, 2009.

It's New Year's Eve and 2009 is almost over. It's been a fun and interesting year with our blog-and we almost hit the $40.00 mark. We started our quest of The Lincoln Penny Project on July 12, 2009 by finding $.38 while we were camping, but didn't even think about it until this one thing happened. It's been a tradition to go up camping with my family on my birthday (July 12th)...it might be going on 15 years now. This is a place in the Pacific Northwest, an incredible lake and mountain area-which is named Baker Lake or Mt. Baker. I always help haul the boat up, and this year since my dad passed away, my mom had her friends haul up their trailer. When we got up to the lake, we parked the boat and trailer where they needed to be and my mom's friends took a look around campground 36 where we were staying. They were scanning the ground for some reason and all of a sudden picked up a quarter. The couple has been at this for years adding to their pot whenever they go somewhere. I didn't ask them how much they have found....I should have!

How much money have you passed by on the ground over the last six months? Once we saw them pick up the quarter-our hunt was on! We are a competitive family and like to play games-and this one involved exercise and a way to add to the pot. The first day started with one quarter, a dime and three pennies. Since then, our eyes have been on the prize. Everywhere one goes-it's loaded with finds. Just think how much money you have dropped over the years, and how much you have left sitting. The next time you go to a car wash take a walk around the vacuum stations. When you go shopping, park far away from the entrance and do a quick parking lot walk. We have been at this almost 6 months and have averaged $.23 per day-which equals $83.95 in one year. It's not a lot of moiney - and we aren't out looking everyday either. It's just an entertaining, family game for us. We also added to the fun and bought a family gift for Christmas-a metal detector. Now we have above ground and below ground opportunities for finding coins. Enjoy our family fun, and we welcome you to search and find treasures on the ground. We promise that they will be waiting for you.

Happy New Year!

Daily total: $.40

Above ground: $.01

Below ground: $.39

Grand total to date: $39.59

171 finding days averages out to $.23 per day

Above ground finds: $37.45

Below ground finds: $2.14

$.46 below ground and $.22 above

Money finds for the day.

Max with big tree where the dime was found.

Max detecting in the back of the university.

Claire in the front of university sporting the dime that was found.

A quick trip from my car to the post office door brought in two dimes and two pennies. Claire, Max and I took a little time metal detecting at an old university that has an incredible park and grounds for hunting. We actually run at this park during the summer-and thought with all of the activity-this would be a good place to visit. The college building's architecture is amazing-it's a wonderful sight.

The adrenaline starts pumping when you hear a nice signal from the machine (metal detector). Your heart races as you think what you might be unearthing....is it an old silver coin that someone dropped, maybe a ring of some kind? We picked a spot by an enormous tree to begin our search. Leaves are all over-and the ground is sloped like ski moguls. The beep of the machine becomes clear that it is something other than aluminum foil. It signals that it might be a dime. I begin to dig a plug in the ground...it's not at the surface, so I check the hole again with the detector. The signal continues to be positive. The dull, metallic item surfaces...I'm thinking it has to be old-holding it in my hand-delicately removing some of the dirt-the date appears- it's a 1989 Roosevelt dime. We didn't unearth any silver this trip, but did add a 1988 Washington quarter, another Roosevelt dime and a Lincoln.

Daily total: $.68

Grand total to date: $39.19

170 finding days averages out to $.23 per day

Above ground finds: $37.44

Below ground finds: $1.75

Our third day of detecting

After passing out fliers by one of our job sites, I decided to get in 45 minutes of metal detecting. Before the job site fliers, I went to the store to get a few things. On my way out of the store I spotted a dime and scooped it up. My metal detecting stop took me to the place that Max and I went to on Sunday. It's a dog park in Bothell, but this time it was late afternoon with very few people. I ended up digging up a number of scrap aluminum pieces, rusty nails, a couple of fishing weights and 2 dimes.

So far we are 3-3(coin finds)on metal detecting hunts-which I am happy about.

Daily total: $.30
Grand total to date: $38.51
169 finding days averages out to $.23

Above ground finds: $37.22
Below ground finds: $1.29

2nd day out metal detecting

Max out searching near frozen pond.
Max finds first bottle cap....with many to come. Check out the open field.
Max out detecting.
The big tree in the background is where we found the 1965 quarter.
Max finds our first quarter!
Max and I went out metal detecting for the second day in a row-hitting three different spots. Our first hunt brought in 3 Lincoln pennies from a playground. The second stop gave us a big, fat zero in coins, but a bunch of junk aluminum. The final place we visited was a large dog park in Bothell. The new metal detector takes time to understand and get the feel of. We tried using different settings while we were hunting. Garrett recommends using the "all metal" mode when learning to use the detector at first. Max and I were getting all kinds of nails and rusted spikes in the all metal mode. After an hour of hunting, we switched it to the "coins" mode and Max came up with our first quarter within a few minutes. The next target we hit was a dime. Our final target was a 1965 quarter-one year shy of silver. The cool thing about our finds was that the first quarter was a 1983-the year I graduated...and the final quarter was a 1965-the year I was born.

We didn't do any above ground searching today.

Daily find: $.63
Grand total to date: $38.21
168 finding days averages out to $.23 per day.

Above ground finds: $37.12
Below ground finds: $1.09

Whidbey Island find

This is our first day out with the new metal detector. Max was so excited he put it all together and was ready to hit the dirt digging. We went over to see Brittany and spend some time with her. She got home from work and we all ended up playing games until midnight.

For over 20 years we have had family picnics on Whidbey Island at my parent's place. We would play all kinds of games-and one in particular was, "Money in the Hay Stack." My dad would lay the tarp on the grass and dump the hay out. All of the adults would contribute to the pot by throwing in loose change and dollar bills for the kids. What a perfect place to try out the metal detector. It actually worked out awesome. The detector was hitting all kinds of signals. Max and I started digging and came up with $.46 in change. We didn't want the yard to look like a mole factory-so we gave it a rest. Of course we did a great job of putting the dirt back in the hole and the grass patch back on. It looks like it was never disturbed.

On our way back home we took the ferry and ended up finding 2 quarters in the coin return of the newspaper and vending machine.

Daily total: $.96

Grand total to date: $37.58

Above ground finds: $37.12

Below ground finds: $.46

Christmas Eve

Wow, it's Christmas Eve! Sure is amazing how time flies by....

We spent the morning getting candied yams and desserts ready for the big dinner with Claire's family. After the meals were prepared, we dropped by the post office to check our P.O. Box and found some change in the parking lot. On the way up north, Starbucks called our names. A nickel was spotted near the newspaper rack.

Daily total find: $.43

Grand total to date: $36.62

Last minute Christmas shopping adds to The Lincoln Penny Project!

We doubled our finds from earlier today by adding $1.32 to the pot. Claire and I needed to go to the mall to pick up some photos and get a couple of stocking stuffers. Of course she ends up finding the first few coins of the evening, but I top it off by scoping out the one dollar bill that is sitting under a counter at a cookie stand. The strange thing about the paper currency is that two ladies are standing right over it and completely miss it. With all of the hustle and bustle of people moving about-they obviously were not aware of the bill. Being at the right place and time was in our favor.

Happy Holidays and Happy Hunting!

Earlier day total find: $1.17 + evening tally $1.32 = $2.49

Grand total to date: $36.19

Two new finds for today...What joy!

When I was out and about today working on some repairs, I found a little over a dollar in change. Two of the coins turned out to be firsts for us. One coin was a British 5 Pence dated 2000, and the other was a John Tyler-Presidential $1.00 coin. When I first stumbled upon the Tyler dollar, I thought it was a token coin of some kind. Then I turned it over and saw the Statue of Liberty and the $1....I had to google the coin to check out the mint status. One learns something new everyday. How cool!

Daily total find: $1.17

Grand total to date: $34.87

Only 4 pennies today

When I think of the number 4, Lou Gehrig comes to mind. The powerhouse, "Iron Horse" Lou, was the clean up hitter for the New York Yankees. He came in when legendary first baseman, Wally Pipp, had a headache one day. Miller Huggins, the Yankees Manager, told Wally to stay out and take a rest for a game. Lou Gehrig ended up playing in 2,130 consecutive games-which allowed Wally a long rest. What happened to Wally Pipp after Lou stepped in? Google it and check it out.

Claire and I ended up making it to Yankee Stadium on the final year that the Yankees played in "The House That Ruth Built." What a treat it was to be in the same stadium that all of the greats of the past once roamed. One could vision Gehrig, Ruth, Mantle and Dimaggio running the bases, hitting home runs and tracking down the ball. It was truly amazing to be at 161st and River Ave where Gehrig and Ruth walked the streets after a game.

This brings us to our big 4 pennies for the day-which adds $.04 to the pot. It's a day for Lou Gehrig, #4.

Daily total find: $.04

Grand total to date: $33.70

We are building up dollars with fractions

We have been finding an average of a little more than $.20 each day since our initial quest of The Lincoln Penny Project. Some days allow us to be out hunting more than others, but it's still awesome to be able to pick up a coin of any kind that will add to the pot. So far the project has brought in over $33.00, which isn't bad for picking lost money up off the ground over the last few months. It's not that we are going out of our way to locate this lost change either....Well we might park farther away in a parking lot from the grocery store, but this allows us to get in some more exercise while our eyes peek at the pavement.

Look at the portion of a $1.00 bill that we found. This is obviously a fraction of a dollar, but unfortunately can not be used. All of the pennies, dimes, nickels and quarters that we find on the ground soon adds up to the mighty dollar.

What could $33.00 do for a charity? What if 100 other people or families did the same things as we are doing and donated it to a charity. We challenge you to not go out of your way and look on the ground-you will be amazed at the amount of change that you will end up finding. Just think if 10 people found $.05 per day-this would equal $182.50 in one year. What if 1,000 people found a nickel a day? This would calculate out to $18,250.00. One million people that found $.05 each day would bring in $18,250,000.00 in one year. It sure makes our $33.00 look small, but this shows the power of community involvement with small amounts of money from everyone. What if everyone in the United States put $.05 each day into a pot for one year. You work out the math on this one....Incredible! That's what fractions of one dollar do for you. They eventually add up to a big number.

Daily total find: $.27

Grand total to date: $33.66

First Costco parking lot find!

Our Costco in Woodinville, Washington probably has one of the cleanest parking lots around. We typically find several coins inside the store by the hot dog stand/vending machine area, but this time I finally scooped up the first coin outside the box store. Claire said that it's impossible to find money in the lot. I'm thinking with all of the traffic that comes and goes-we are bound to pick up something. Today turned out to be the day that I scored. I was even telling myself, "I'm going to find something before I get in the door," and bam....there it was, albeit - a penny...but a coin indeed!

My truck needed a good washing today, so I hit one of the car wash stations. When I finished washing the truck, I pulled into the first vaccum that was available and a quarter was waiting for me. There also must have been a pocket spill of pennies because I ended up with 12 of them.

Daily total: $.38

Grand total to date: $33.39

New Washington Quarter post!

On October 22, 2009 we posted about our Washington Quarter finds to date, which resulted in 31 quarters. The breakdown of quarters consisted of:

31 total quarters equaled $7.75

Original quarters (13)

New quarter program (16) This breakdown inlcuded 10 state finds.

Canadian quarters (2)

Since that first post of quarters, here is the tally to date: 55 quarters!

55 quarters equals $13.75

Original quarters (23)

New quarters (28) State breakdown has grown from 10 to 19 states

Canadian quarters (4)

State quarter breakdown:

Arizona (3)

Arkansas (1)

Connecticut (1)

Deleware (1)

Georgia (3)

Idaho (1)

Kansas (1)

Missouri (1)

Nebraska (3)

New York (1)

North Carolina (2)

Oregon (1)

Rhode Island (2)

South Carolina (1)

Texas (1)

Utah (1)

Vermont (1)

Washington (2)

West Virginia (1)

Thanks for looking! Good luck and happy hunting!

Look what 2 minutes of my time brought in!

I found $.43 in under two minutes-which calculates out to $12.60 in an hour tax free...not bad. It's not much, but it's better than a hole in the head.

The family hasn't been out hunting lately. It's the hustle and bustle of the season for everyone. Wouldn't this be the best time of year to be out looking? That's what got me to stop by the local car wash to take a gander today. I hit my favorite vacuum stations and scooped up the coins quickly.

Christmas will soon be upon us - and everyone is excited. We have a metal detector picked out-so hopefully Santa will come through!

*Update: Claire and I went grocery shopping and to the video store this evening and came up with another 4 pennies for the pot. We both went in separate entrances to Albertsons and met each other with a Lincoln. Her penny was shinier than mine. At the checkout counter she was basically standing on a copper coin-which I gladly picked up (she didn't even see it). My two pennies to her one. The video store was the last stop, and she spotted the final coin of the evening-another Honest Abe. We ended up splitting the evening-a tie for finds.

Total finds for the day: $.47

Grand total to date: $33.01

Good luck and happy hunting!

Tuesday Breakdown

It's been a while for the Tuesday breakdown, so here it is!

Check out the photos... The first photo is from our Baker Lake camping trip and our first find on July 12, 2009. We ended scooping up $.38. A couple of weeks later we found our first dollar bill and more coins. Look how the pot has grown since that first day!

Hunts have been limited, but we are still keeping our eyes on the prize. It's amazing where we came from, a whopping $.38 on our first find-to $32.54 today. Remember that these are above ground finds! It's the parking lot at the grocery store, video store, fast food restaurant and baseball stadium. It's the walk that you go on with your family, the hike, the road trip-these are the places that these coins surface-and it's all above ground.

Can you imagine what is waiting beneath the ground? What would enhance our searches? A metal detector of course! That will be one of our family gifts-and we are excited to expand our Lincoln Penny Project's finds.

Breakdown:

$5.00 (1)=$5.00

$1.00 (2)=$2.00

$.25 (51) + 4 Canadian = $13.75

$.10 (58) + 2 Canadian = $6.00

$.05 (30) + 1 Canadian + 1 Australian = $1.55

$.01 (409) + 3 Wheaties, 3 Canadian = $4.16

Grand total to date: $32.54

143 finding days averages out to $.24 per day

We are getting an Ace 250 Garrett Metal Detector

Over 35 years ago I had my first metal detector. It was a black, plastic model from Radio Shack. The detector only had an on/off switch, but I felt like a king. I remember only finding a few things that counted, unfortunately most of the items turned out to be trash. Since my family and I have been coin hunting above ground and having success, we could only imagine what kind of finds could be underground.

Our hunting quest started on July 12, 2009, and to date we have recovered over $32.00 in coins and bills. A couple of weeks ago I got the idea of looking at metal detectors, so I started to search for information on the internet. I ran into a great metal detecting forum. Check out the Metal Detecting Forum site. We also recommend checking out Garrett's site.