Well this weekend I finally did it.

Let me start from the beginning. I have a DFX and still learning to tweak it a bit. My best find up until this point was a 1871 Sitting Liberty half dollar. I was very happy with the coin and my DFX. Several detectorist have gone over the spot where I found it. It took the DFX to uncover it.

But as all of us think, I wanted something older. I kept thinking it would be impossible to beat. Beat I mean by finding something older.

Well today I beat my record (1871) by 80 years. I found a 1791 Spanish 1 Reale in decent shape. At first I had no idea what it was. With a little research I found out the following. Heres a little history on the coin.

Charles the III died and Charles the IV was appointed King in 1788. However due to problems they were unable to make a coin for Charles the IV. So in all there wisdom they added an "I" to Charles III which in turn made the new coin Charles IIII. They kept Charles III picture on the coin until late 1791.

The hole in the coin was used like modern traveller's checks. A traveller would sew or pin several coins into the lining or inside of their jacket, and use them as needed.

The value of 1 Reale is about 12 1/2 cents.

Pretty cool hobby, great equipment, research and all possible because of "WHITES".

Thanks for a great time.

Gary R.
OR