Quick lunchtime hunt.

I only had about 45 minutes to get out with the metal detector today and came up with $.81 (3 quarters and 6 pennies), with 4 pennies and 1 nickel above ground. One of the below ground finds was a wheat penny-which is difficult to recognize-no date, etc.

Another quick post to add to the totals.

Total finds for the day: $.90
Above ground finds: $.09
Below ground finds: $.81
Total finds to date: $25.04 (33 days of hunting averages out to $.76 per day)

The Lincoln Penny Project grand total: $64.65
Above ground finds: $39.37
Below ground finds: $25.28

The last two days of coin finding....and our first silver item!

Finds for today.
Max finds our first silver-an earring 925.
Total finds from yesterday.

Max and I went out metal detecting after he got out of school to a private beach in Bellevue, WA. We ended up finding $1.15 in change (2 quarters, 5 dimes, and 15 pennies). One penny was our second wheatie-a 1956D. I was able to video Max unearthing our first silver item-an earring that had CA 925 stamped on it. It also had a stone similar to an aqua marine. Way to go Max!

This morning Max and I hit Matthews Beach in Seattle, WA for a quick hunt. We ended up finding $2.00 in change (6 quarters, 4 dimes and 10 pennies).

Check out a couple of our videos on youtube (LincolnPennyProject) when you get some time.

Finds over the last two days: $3.29
Above ground finds: $.14
Below ground finds: $3.15
Total finds to date: $20.77 Day 23 averages out to $.90 per day

Grand total for The Lincoln Penny Project: $60.34
Above ground finds: $38.98
Below ground finds: $21.36

Above ground find at a Coinstar machine

Today was my lucky day. It started on my way to a job site in Edmonds. Before I got to the site, I needed some fuel from 7/11. I'm pretty good about the environment and decided to pick up a Starbucks card that was left on the pavement to check the balance-keep or dispose of. This card was put in my wallet and off I went. The next stop was the local Albertsons grocery store for a sandwich. I had to stop by the Coinstar machine to see if somebody left me something. On the floor near the machine was a dull looking item. At first I thought it was a gray sticker, but I noticed it was a coin with wheat ears-a steel Lincoln 1943S penny. That's a new coin for The Lincoln Penny Project! We still are awaiting our first wheat back penny below ground with our metal detector, but now have 5 above ground wheat backs since our quest began.

When I returned home, I handed Claire the Starbucks card to see if she wanted to check it out the next time that she hit the coffee place. She got on the phone and dialed in for the balance...and the robot said, "you have a $40.00 balance." It sure pays to pick up things off the ground. When in doubt, do it!

Finds for the day: $.07

Above ground finds: $.07

Total to date: $11.20 Day 11

The Lincoln Penny Project grand total: $50.66

Above ground finds: $38.40

Below ground finds: $12.26

Check out this Wheat Back Penny!

It was Thanksgiving day and we were on our way to Whidbey Island to spend turkey day with my family. The great thing about going to Whidbey is that you can drive around through Deception Pass or take the Washington State Ferry; both drives provide some awesome scenery. Since we got an early jump, we opted to take the ferry. During holiday weekends-the ferry can be a long wait if one doesn't get moving early. When Claire and I got on the boat, the ferry attendant guided us to our spot. If we would have parked one space away, we would have missed the find. As I opened the car door, I looked down (naturally). To my amazement-Honest Abe was staring up at me from the ferry boat deck. It appeared to be old, but I couldn't make out the date right away. Of course I turned it over to see if it had wheat ears-and indeed it did. It was a 1930 Wheatie! Wow...almost 80 years old, how cool! Earlier finds of the week didn't amount to much, but the wheat back made up for it.

My family will be getting a metal detector for Christmas. I had a couple detectors over 30 years ago, but never kept up with it. Because we have been finding all of these treasures above ground, we started thinking what gems could be under ground. We have decided on getting an Ace 250 Garrett detector.

Recent finds: $.41
Grand total to date: $32.48

Hip Hip Hooray for the Lincoln Penny!

It's all about the Lincoln Penny. At least this blog, The Lincoln Penny Project, is about the one cent coin. This is the coin that everyone leaves behind, throws to the ground and neglects. Why? This is our 114th day of the project and take a look at how many Honest Abe's we've recovered...amazing! Not only is it the copper pennies that are left behind, it's been a lot more. The hunt is fun, a family event that we recommend to all.

Happy Hunting!

Lincoln Pennies total find to date: 341
This includes 3 wheat backs and 2 Canadians

114 finding days averages out to 3 pennies per day.

Back to back Wheat Backs! Check out the Fred Meyer coin return find....

It was an early day out the door for Erich's soccer game. This one brought us all of the way out to Fall City for a 10:00am game. On the way to the game-we stopped for some Peet's Coffee and Whole Foods for some treats. While Claire was waiting for my hot chocolate and her caramel latte, I hit the Brown Bear Car Wash to hunt. I spotted a rare nickel and 8 pennies. One of the Lincoln's was a wheat backed penny (another rare find). Since our first money finding quest began on July 12, 2009, we have found only 15 nickels and 3 wheat back pennies-hence the rare nickel find.

Here we are outside of Peet's Coffee displaying our first find at Brown Bear Car Wash. Claire snapped a picture of me on the hunt.

It was off to shopping at Fred Meyer and Costco. As we were checking out of the grocery lane, I picked up our change in the change return and placed it in my pocket. There seemed to be more than a handful of change for some reason? When we got home, I emptied my pockets and counted the change. We received $1.71 more than our $.37 that was due to us. Two big pennies were spotted at Costco as well.

Daily total find: $1.86

Grand total to date: $25.52

105 finding days averages out to $.24

This could equate to $87.60 in one year

Late night Jack in the Box run nets us $.05 and another wheat back!

Max had an evening playoff football game, and they won 13-0. The first half of the game was tough-leaving the score 0-0. We hit Jack in the Box after the game. Next to where we parked was an empty space. Of course our eyes hit the ground searching for the next find. Five pennies show up magically. A 1954 Wheat Back was the find of the day.

Total daily find: $.05

Grand total to date: $23.71

104 finding days averages out to $.23 per day

First wheat back find since this quest began!

Wow! Finally the first wheat back penny uncovered. It's not like we took a metal detector over some land, dug down several inches and pulled up a treasure. This Lincoln Wheat Back Penny was sitting out in the open for all to see. It's a 1954S that's in decent shape for being 50+ years old. It was found at one of my favorite car wash stations. I needed to vacuum my truck out and noticed the Lincoln's Wheat Back staring up at me near my left front tire.

Before I used the vacuum, I toured the station-doing my rounds for the find. This one stop produced $.53 (2 quarters and 3 pennies). This sum was the same as yesterday. An earlier stop at Wal Mart brought in 6 pennies. The early morning find's total is $.59. Not bad!

Back to the car wash station. One vacuum area had a set of keys on the pavement. I snapped a picture of it and held on to the keys. The attendant was just pulling up while I was vacuuming. When I finished the job, I brought the keys up to him-letting him know what I found. He thanked me and asked if I wanted a free car wash. I thanked him and said I need to get to a job site. What an awesome day!

Update for the rest of the day. We ended up finding an additional $.36. The find came up with a Canadian quarter, one dime and a penny.

Total daily find: $.95

Grand total to date: $22.23

101 finding days averages out to $.22 per day.