Draped Bust Large Cent

Drove by an old-looking site that was being demolished to make way for some condos.  I asked the workers if they minded if I swung my detector around so long as I stayed out of the way — sure, no problem.

Hit wheatie after wheatie, but no silver.  Where was the silver?  Was getting frustrated, then decided to hit a pile of dirt that had been excavated, and got a clad quarter signal at one inch, but it turned out to be a 1798 draped bust large cent instead!  I wasn’t sure about it at first; I figured it was a junk token til I got it home and cleaned the dirt off of it.  From the looks of the excavation, it may have been a good foot or deeper before being excavated.

As it turned out, the site looked old, but it dated from the late 60s, which explains the wheats without the silver (the copper was obviously from prior use).  Better to be lucky than good, but when you get a good-looking drive by opportunity, you take it and ask questions later.

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