North Georgia Relic Hunters Association Coin Hunt - 2008

The North Georgia Relic Hunters had their end-of-year coin hunt on a really cold November morning.  In spite of the weather, there was a good turn out for the hunt. There were over 350 coins and tokens planted worth over $1,000 in prizes. The hunt took place in Jim Miller Park, Cobb County, Georgia.

Club Members assembled early for the hunt. It started at 10 A.M. in order to take advantage of the sun warming things up. Note the group on the far right came all the way from the Chattanooga, Tennessee area.  

Hunt Master Jim Hammonds arrived early and planted the coins and tokens for the hunt. Here he is taking care of the sign up sheet for the club.

Three club veterans get ready to hunt. On the right, Frank Warren holds open his traveling hunt bag containing detector along with digging tools. 

Roy Baker shows off the detector that he will use for the hunt (he usually hunts with a White's Blue & Gray). Dr. Larry Cooper stares intently while listening to the rules of the hunt.

Club President Steve Strictland welcomed all participants and gave a heart felt eulogy on long time club member George Miller who passed away not too long ago. George Miller was an active participant in all matters related to coin hunting.

There was plenty of hunting area to check out. I observed a lot of people bunching up at different parts of the field.

For the first 15 minutes, people scrambled all over the field, it was like a shark feeding frenzy.

After the initial frenzy, I noticed a lot of people down on the knees for the rest of the hunt.

There was some serious coin digging. Sometimes it was difficult to get comfortable while digging but the lady on the right appears to have managed it.

The Vice President of the club, Brian Copeland brought his three sons to the hunt. All intently watch their dad dig for a coin in the ground.

Ed Travis strutting in the middle of the photo did more photography than hunting while encouraging other club members.

As always, there are some die hard hunters who are always the last to come in at the end of the hunt. The club member on the left appears to be praying.

Hunt Master Jim Hammonds was in charge of the prizes. Tokens had numbers attached to them and prizes awarded to those numbers. Here Jim hands out Confederate money and silver certificates. A lucky prize winner on right holds up his Confederate bill.

David and Paul claim their prizes. Lynn is handed his prize on the right.

A young club member patiently waits to claim her prize and then studies the silver coin that she won.

It was good to see young people participate and claim their prizes. Metal detecting is a hobby for everyone.

Distributing the prizes took a long time, but it was fun to watch them being handed out by Jim. Everyone had a great time and left with some fine prizes. There were 481 prizes awarded. Confederate notes, silver certificates, old notes, coin sets, silver coins, silver dollars, Indian head pennies, large pennies, foreign coins, and even Roman coins were given out. Everyone who participated received prizes and left the hunt with some fine memories.  

2008 Club Banquet

Earlier in the month, the North Georgia Relic Hunters Association held a banquet at the Governor's House in Kingston, Georgia. It was a time to enjoy the company of members who helped out in putting on the Civil War Show held last August.

Many club members arrived early to socialize. Here several people stood at front door greeting arriving guests. Past club president Daryl Houston gives a big grin for the camera.

Door greeters Bill Swafford and Brian Copeland stayed busy. On the right, prizes to be given away were out for viewing.

Retired Police Deputy Chief Bill Mull brought some of his dug Civil War plates for people to enjoy. Many members brought dug relics to display for the banquet.

Legendary Relic Hunter Phil Pass inspects an officer's spur dug by Jim Hammonds. Jerry Solomon grabs a seat close to the chow line.

Long time Club Member Bobby Reid brought his wife and mother-in-law to the banquet. It gave his family a chance to see what type of people he hangs around with at the club meetings.

Everyone had a nice smile indicating that they were enjoying the time together.

More smiling couples and families.

Even Santa, with his wife, attended the banquet. Note the candy canes in his vest pocket.

This table looks a little mixed up. Mike Bruce having two ladies and Bill sitting next to Ed McMahan.

This group was kept laughing by the man in the middle - Bill Swafford.

Jim Black and his family arrived together. Jim gave the invocation before the start of the dinner.

A little girl looks impatient waiting for the banquet dinner line to go down. Bob Pierce and his wife didn't mind the wait.  

This girl with her mom was having a good time in the banquet line.

Club President Steve Strictland recruited a young girl to make the drawing for the two big prizes honest. Vice President Brian Copeland holds the can while the winning ticket is drawn.

Steve presented the grand prize to Charles which was a Tesoro metal detector.               

 Steve presented the 2nd grand prize to Scott which was a wood display case.

 Jim Hammonds passed out the other prizes to people along with Roy Baker. Here Lynn King grabs his prize. Everyone attending the banquet received a gift prize.

Steve Beaver was pleased with his prize, but Robert Holder appears to say "What the ......?". It turned out to be a Civil War ink well.

President Strictland presented the 'Bill Evans Award' to Jim Hammonds for the highly regarded work that he done for the NGRHA this past year. Jim well deserved this honor for his dedication and help in making the club what it is today. It was a fit ending to a great year for the club.

The North Georgia Relic Hunter's Association meets twice a month. For more information or to join their fellowship, contact their website: http://www.ngrha.com.