Is This The Oldest Coin Found In The United States Metal Detecting?

Relatively speaking, the United States is a pretty young country. Compared to Europe, we have centuries fewer years for currency to have been lost or cached.

The first coin ever minted in the United States is considered to be the Fugio Cent or "Franklin Cent" as it was designed by Benjamin Franklin.  It was first minted in 1787 and only about 400,000 of them were minted.  This means finding one would be a dream come true for any metal detectorist. Although, I believe I have seen a YouTube video of people claiming to have found one, it would be a very rare find indeed. Currency was in circulation prior to this and finding earlier coins does happen. But, the likelihood of you finding a minted coin older than an early Spanish coin is very rare.

I did watch a video one time by Adventures in Dirt where he outlined the find of another detectorist who reportedly found an ancient Egyptian minted, Roman, hammered bronze coin minted between 246-221 BC.  This would be an amazing find even if it were found in Rome or Egypt.  The detectorist must be ecstatic to have uncovered it in the U.S.  But, unfortunately, for the claim that it might be the oldest coin ever dug in the U.S., It is not the oldest coin to have been dug by a metal detectorist in the United States.

"If you think a Roman hammered bronze coin from 246-221 BC  is the oldest one dug in the U.S. with a metal detector, then you don't know Jack." 

I do know Jack, and I have personal knowledge of a much older coin that was found in Johnson County, Kansas several years ago by him.

Introducing Jack York.  Jack has been metal detecting in and around the Kansas City area for longer than I have been on this earth.  He started metal detecting at the age of 17, and with over 54 years of metal detecting experience, he has had a lot of time to scope out and locate a great number of amazing historical sites the area has to offer. Sites that nobody else knows of.  In some cases, they were sites people were aware of but didn't know exactly where they were located. 

Jack York is a Legendary Metal Detectorists in the Kansas City Area

One day while a couple of us were drooling over Jack's amazing collection of finds which he has accumulated over the years, most items from this region, I noticed something that looked really out of place.  It appeared to have a Roman figure on it.  I had assumed it had been purchased as a part of his collection.  Then, I read the label on the riker box it was housed in (Jack is meticulous about documenting where his treasures are found).  Sure enough, the label read: "Caecilian Coin 405 BC Extremely Rare - Recovered on a Civil War Camp XXXth St. Johnson Co. Ks. Key." (street number omitted). I was dumbfounded.  How in the world could a coin of this age, over 2,400 years, be dug up in Kansas?

Jack told us the story of how he and a close detectorists friend had been scouting out Civil War camps in the area for many years.  They had located several of them over the years and where able to continue to find them because they knew a secret.  These civil war camps are typically about 15 miles apart - the approximate distance a group could travel in one day.   They knew if they traced the camps, over time, they would see a pattern.  This would help them continue to find these lost camps.

There was one camp site in particular that was known by locals but had not been quite located at the time. They just knew it was in that area.  It had been well documented and written about.  This particular site was suspected to be along a creek in the area as most camps were located near a water source. However it had never been definitively located.

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Jack had known of a nearby site suspected to be an early picnic grove for a small community in the early 1900's.  He had been given permission to hunt it. One thing you need to know about Jack York is the he likes finding early stuff when metal detecting (preferably 1800's or earlier). This 1900's site would not typically be on his radar. He had passed it up for years but drove by the site regularly.  But he had been given permission to hunt it nonetheless and figured he would eventually get around to checking it out.

One day after work, with little time left in the day and the itch to do some digging, he tossed his Tosoro metal detector in his car and headed out to the picnic site. His highest hopes were the possibly of finding a silver coin or two.  In describing the first time he went to the site Jack says, " When I walked out there, there laid civil war bullets. Minie balls. They were just laying on top of the ground."  They had found it.  The site was not far from the suspected site near the stream.  This site was different than some of the others.  It was private and he had exclusive permission to hunt it.  He quickly alerted his close friend and fellow detectorist, Jerry Emberlin and they put their focus on the site for several years.  

During their hunts Jack & Jerry had located an impression in the ground which he is certain was a well, now filled in, that the soldiers used as a water source. This site wasn't near a conventional water source.  So, it was overlooked by people previously trying to locate it.  Over that time they had amassed literally thousands of civil war bullets, a couple belt plates, and 20 or so various coins, most dating to pre-civil war or civil war era.  Surprisingly the group found very few items that pointed to the site being used long as a more modern picnic area.

They had hunted the site for several years when one day the pair were searching right up next to the well.  Jack was swinging his Tesoro and heard a very faint signal.  After digging about a foot down he pulled out an object that looked like a coin.  It was larger than a half-dollar but smaller than a silver dollar.  What he withdrew from the hole was baffling to him and his friend.  "When it came out of the ground we just sat there in amazement looking at it," Jack said. "It probably turned out to be one of the most unique finds of my life" 

Judging by the condition of the coin, Jack estimates it had been in the ground around 170 years or so.  He obviously knew it wasn't dropped or buried there by a Roman soldier. The only explanation he could come up with is the fact that many Civil War soldiers carried mementos as good luck charms when deployed.  Some soldier, or perhaps even an officer, had carried this to ward off bad luck.  Although we don't know the eventual fate of this person, one thing is for certain, they were not having good luck when they lost it.

Thus, according to my research, this coin, a Caecilian Coin minted in 405 BC is the oldest known coin found in the United States with a metal detector in 2009 by Jack York in Johnson County, Kansas.  At over 2,400 years old, unless someone can prove me wrong, it still stands.

Front of 405 BC Roman Coin Found Metal Detecting

This extraordinary find is just one more example of the mind blowing things that can be dug up when metal detecting when you least expect it.  Also, although the United States may not have the lengthy history of our European counterparts, history does not always stay in the same place.  It travels. And when it does, it can become lost. Just waiting for the next unsuspecting treasure hunter to unearth it.

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