Christmas 2020 I was pleased to receive a Minelab Equinox 800. There was NO owners manual in the box, only online. OK, I’ll download it and print it off. RIGHT...it was 68 pages! I went back to the box and found the “Getting Started” brochure. It said do A,B,C, and D then go find treasure. I found bottle caps, brass from shotgun shells, crushed aluminum cans, a lead deer slug, a large bolt 8” long 7/8 diameter. Then I got a very “bright” signal 4” down returning a digital value of 34. Using a small trowel I made a careful dig. I flipped out a eccentric shaped object that looked like a partial aluminum can crushed and roughly circular. I decided to rub some of the dirt off with my thumb interested in what brand of soda or beer I had found. One light rub and OMG, OMG, OMG! Staring out of the dirt covered object was the Spanish Cross (Very similar to the Templar Cross). I immediately left going directly to a coin shop to have this appraised. The shop owner had software that easily identified the object. Spanish Silver Cob Coin 8 Reales Minted in Peru (Spanish Colony) in 1686 335 years old X/F Details Value was uncertain whereas it had been dug??? I saw the exact Cob Coin in an online auction where the next bid had to be $2,184 or higher. I decided that this “First Find” would never be sold. It will be in my will for my daughter who has worked on archeological digs and has pieces in a museum. I had a jeweler mount the coin so that I could wear it as a pendant like Mel Fisher and his crew. Of course the BIG question is where does a rookie go from here? It is likely that it will take a looong time to match or exceed this exciting First Find. I have the bug!
By: Arthur M.
