On a recent camping trip with family and friends I was able to slip away for a couple hours of detecting. I had been to this site a couple times before and found some clad and a couple modern silver coins. I chose this site because it was close to where I was camping and I had limited time. The site is a sledding hill in the winter and beyond that I know of no other history there. I dug the usual clad and was just hoping to find a silver Roosevelt dime or something interesting, but time was running out and I had to be on my way. As I was walking back toward the truck (still swinging of course), I got a nice 12/38 on the CTX. Without thinking I dropped to my knees and plunged my digger into the tough as nails meadow grass to recover yet another zinc penny. What I pulled out of the hole left me completely stunned. It took a minute to realize that I had just dug my first gold coin. It's been 2 days and the shock still hasn't worn off. Fortunately I didn't damage the coin in my reckless recovery. In hindsight the CTX was telling me I had a better than zincoln signal, I just wasn't listening. It was a solid 12/38, never waivered. Well, after an overnight soak in distilled water most of the gunk rinsed right off and left me with a beautiful 1861s eagle, still can't believe it. This just proves once again that you never know what you're going to dig or where you're going to dig it. I love this hobby and love my CTX! Thanks for reading my story! NevTrac – Nevada, USA