Someone dug one up while detecting in Hill End with an X-Terra 705, back in 2010.
Here is a post from another forum by a bloke who was selling detectors and stuff and Miner's Den at the time...
"He then ignored the advice of locals at Hill End (NSW) who told him there was too much junk about.... and commenced detecting for further nuggets in a gully outside of the town. He detected a strong signal near a tree which he then dug. The target looked like a large, heavy washer. It was encrusted with dark soil and had a blackish surface. He rubbed some of the soil away to reveal the details of a coin with a hole through the center. One side had crushed impact on it. He took the coin home and (as they sometimes do) bathed it in a mild acid bath and then an ultrasonic cleaner... which revealed a stunningly BRIGHT, solid silver 'HOLEY DOLLAR'. He as since secured the coin for its safety and is preparing for a more formal appraisal but the offers from the few coin dealers who handled it were ... uh ... astronomical. To give some perspective, out of nearly 80,000 Holey Dollar coins.... there are just over 350 of these coins in circulation today. Collectors in the past have paid up to a half a million dollars for such coins although it is rare to find them without wear. Tens of thousands is the minimum that they usually sell for. To quote Australian Stamp: "The rarity of the Holey dollar ensures that whenever a new specimen is discovered, even if it is in relatively poor condition, it can be extremely valuable." Fine specimens of this coinage had a minimum value of $100,000 ten years ago,
Details:
Detector = X-Terra 705 Gold.
Coil = 18.75khz DD HF 10x5" Elliptical.
Depth = 200mm.
Target ID = 27.
Date of the coin was 1788.
Date of the colony stamp was '1813'.
The words 'New South Wales' were sharp and clearly visible on the inner stamp ring.
Now the owner/finder has permitted me to pass on these details to the detecting community but chose not to allow photogaphs to be taken of the item under advice from the coin dealers and auction houses. But he brought the coin to me today and I can say that it was VERY impressive to see such a large, thick coin in such amazingly well preserved condition.
But here's the kicker: Though he didn't recognize it at first, I immediately saw that the crushed impact area on one side of the coin was clearly the impact of a pick-strike and a hard one at that. It did not go through or deform the coin but it was a jagged impact against the soft, pure Silver. The acid had cleaned away all the tarnish and even the impact hole was sharply detailed. So some lucky prospector before him had likely struck this coin when detecting... and struck it hard with the pick (the soil at Hill End can be compacted and firm)... before throwing it away and discarding it altogether.
I have suggested that the finder show Minelab or write to Gold Gem & Treasure magazine so perhaps we will see more. I would dearly have loved to have photographed it but I have to respect his wishes. It was an impressive sight to behold and i did not expect it to look so beautiful after so many years.
"
arty:
