1822 large cent found on my friends 1850s property

I got permission to dig on a friends yard today.  The brick home with carriage house was built in the mid 1800s and I expected to find horse shoes.  They were enjoying watching me, and when their 20 year old daughter came home she was delighted.

 

Apparently I had not shared with her that I'm a detectorist and she is quite enthusiastic about the idea of detecting.  So she showed me her brothers old 1990's vintage Radio Shack detector that she had not really used.  It needed 6 AA batteries that they didn't have at the time, but I'll help her get it going tomorrow.  Baby steps!

The big find came early in my 2+ hour hunt of their small back yard.  An 1822 Coronet Liberty Head large cent!   I cleaned it very carefully with a brief immersion in vinegar/salt solution and brushed it with a brass wire brush, then sealed it with Renaissance Wax.  Apparently this one may be worth up to $20 in this condition.

  

Here's where I found it.

The next cool find was a brass MTBA subway token (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority).  It is in pretty good shape and is a series of 1988-2006 worth about $2.50 today. 

  

 It was delightful to be able to share the enthusiasm of these finds as I found them and we cleaned them off in the kitchen.

I spent another hour and a half and found a bunch of old copper flashing and brass nails along with the usual grommets, pull tabs and chunks of metal.

In the back corner of the yard is a shady spot where the Dad has his lawn chair and I found a coin spill totaling about $1.70, some were right on the surface. (Thanks Bruce! Finders keepers!).  In among them was a 1950 wheat penny that I'll add to my collection.

  

I was so absorbed that I barely noticed how hot and humid it was.  I'm definitely going back there!