Tips on an Old Fairgrounds?

erudolf · Jul 31, 2017

Hi All:

I was wondering if any of you have been able to gain access to fairground properties, and if you have any tips for success? My story in a nutshell . . . the county fairgrounds, which has been in use since 1911, is about 20 minutes from my house. This Saturday I decided to head up there and see if I could get in--which I did! There was a 4H meeting going on in one of the shelters, so the front door was wide open. I just walked in like I was supposed to be there, parked my car in an out-of-the-way spot, and started swinging.

I had enough time (about two hours) to do the tree-surrounded perimeter of the rides area, and to go completely around the three oldest and most historic food stands--the french fry stand, the ice cream stand and the cheese curd stand. All and all I found about 12 pieces of clad, and that was it. I would have done the rides area itself, but it's probably 5 acres and I have no idea where the rides are set up within that area, or where the ticket booth usually is (it's just a huge open field). So I stuck to the large shade trees around the perimeter, then did a quick pass around the food stands and went home. Obviously there is a ton of area I never got to--the rodeo grounds, the livestock barns, the petting zoo, and of course the actual land where the rides sit. Has anyone in this forum ever hit a county fair facility with any luck? And if so, what did you do?

Thanks in advance for the help!

NectarDetector · Jul 31, 2017

" so the front door was wide open. I just walked in like I was supposed to be there"

Hope you don't drive by my house while airing it out with the door open...

metaladdict · Jul 31, 2017

Go for it!!

erudolf · Jul 31, 2017

So I guess I should clarify . . . the Fairgrounds is open to the public, Monday thru Friday 10am to dusk. Saturday and Sunday it's closed, so I wasn't expecting to gain entrance. Just got lucky I guess :-) And no, I wouldn't walk into your house. Wait, you don't have dirt floors do you?

NectarDetector · Jul 31, 2017

erudolf said:
So I guess I should clarify . . . the Fairgrounds is open to the public, Monday thru Friday 10am to dusk. Saturday and Sunday it's closed, so I wasn't expecting to gain entrance. Just got lucky I guess :-) And no, I wouldn't walk into your house. Wait, you don't have dirt floors do you?

."like I was supposed to be there..."

Suggest to the reader that you knew you weren't supposed to be there...

If it was public why would it matter if you weren't supposed to be there ....just an observation

woodz71 · Jul 31, 2017

NectarDetector said:
" so the front door was wide open. I just walked in like I was supposed to be there"

Hope you don't drive by my house while airing it out with the door open...

erudolf said:
And no, I wouldn't walk into your house. Wait, you don't have dirt floors do you?

"you don't mind if I just work right through here do ya?? Could you pick your feet up please?" :laughing:

better pray my wife ain't got that Sig P938 strapped on if you walk through that door unannounced.. :laughing:

erudolf · Jul 31, 2017

I thought this forum was a laid back place where I could get away from the nitpicking a little. I can't be the only one here who likes to tell stories with a little color, good gosh. Nice to meet you, though.

woodz71 · Jul 31, 2017

ahh, it's a laid back friendly place. Folk read things and it all registers different is all. Nothing to get bent up over. Keep it up, I enjoy the read! :yes:

Personally, I haven't hit up the fairgrounds yet but when I do and the front door is open, I'm gonna waltz in like I own the place too.. :laughing:

however I do know who to contact to get the all clear :grin:

BBsGal · Jul 31, 2017

erudolf said:
I thought this forum was a laid back place where I could get away from the nitpicking a little. I can't be the only one here who likes to tell stories with a little color, good gosh. Nice to meet you, though.

Oh mercy me, they done went and nit-picked you...

Seriously, to answer your question though, I've hunted fairgrounds and it just depends on the fairgrounds as to how good they are for finds. One down south of me here was great if you liked nickels, apparently they have a game at rodeos for little kids where they throw a ton of nickels down in the arena dirt (or straw maybe) and let the kids go to town picking them up. I also got a messed up silver and garnet earring from there, my sister got a buffalo nickel.

One north of me here was a hotbed for dimes, we happened upon the place they do the dime toss. We picked dimes until we were sick of messing with them and as far as I know there's still dimes in there... which one of these days I need to get back up there and see.

I've also hunted one that was pretty lame, some clad but nothing old or very interesting, so it's kinda luck of the draw with them I think.

IDXMonster · Jul 31, 2017

One thing to be aware of,and it does matter...many fairgrounds are technically privately owned..and LEASED out for events. It could be an "association" that owns it or even just a loose group of people. Some are owned by the respective county,city or township...
It would be good to at least KNOW which of these entities has rightful ownership of the property(who pays the taxes!). If it is owned by anyone OTHER than an "association" or that other loose group of individuals,I'll go no questions asked. In other words...I pay the taxes!
That being said and maybe being partially helpful or even partially right...I've never had an issue at any of the 3 I've hunted. I have had some luck,I won't say how much. Any place like that which has been around for many many years WILL hold old coins. It's a matter of sifting through all of the other "fair rubbish", and that can be tricky if you don't have a really good discriminating machine. You do NOT want to "dig it all" in that circumstance...

Tom_in_CA · Jul 31, 2017

erudolf said:
I thought this forum was a laid back place where I could get away from the nitpicking a little. I can't be the only one here who likes to tell stories with a little color, good gosh. Nice to meet you, though.

erudolf, I know exactly what you meant when you said ".... like you own the place". It's like ANYTHING in life: If we hobble around in fear and evasiveness, then THAT merely attracts attention. NectarDetector is harmless :laughing:

As far as your results: It sounds like your fairgrounds has been hammered to smithereens. Or new turf installed sometime in the recent past ?

IDXMonster · Jul 31, 2017

Tom_in_CA said:
erudolf, I know exactly what you meant when you said "like you own the place". It's like ANYTHING in life. If we hobble around in fear and evasiveness, then THAT merely attracts attention. NectarDetector is harmless

As far as your results: It sounds like your fairgrounds has been hammered to smithereens. Or new turf installed sometime in the recent past ?

Yeah...ducking behind the tree or turning and walking away from the cop will get you the fastest visit EVER! Smile,wave,pick up trash when they are nearby. It's all good. Obviously don't go if you KNOW you shouldn't...

Tom_in_CA · Jul 31, 2017

IDXMonster said:
Yeah...ducking behind the tree or turning and walking away from the cop will get you the fastest visit EVER! Smile,wave,pick up trash when they are nearby. It's all good. Obviously don't go if you KNOW you shouldn't...

When I was about 21, I had a friend who was still only 19 or 20. And in CA, the age to buy alcohol or go into bars is 21. And .... even though this guy did not LOOK older than 21, yet he claimed to be able to go into any bar in town. So I figured he must have a fake ID. He said "nope, that's not how I do it". Instead, he would walk right up to the bouncer at the door with a big smile. Look them straight in the eye, shake their hand with a slap-happy demeanor saying "how ya doing tonight !??". And then walk right in. He never got carded.

Because you see, he'd figured out that the only persons that the bouncers ever card, are persons who evade eye contact, cut a wide berth, act evasive, etc.... Contrast to those who act like they own the place, .... never get any scrutiny.

Tom_in_CA · Jul 31, 2017

IDXMonster said:
One thing to be aware of,and it does matter...many fairgrounds are technically privately owned..and LEASED out for events. It could be an "association" that owns it or even just a loose group of people. Some are owned by the respective county,city or township...
....

IDX-monster, technically what you're saying is true. Like in my area, some are quasi-public. With weird arrangements like leasing the land for $1 per year, yet governed by a non-profit board of directors, or whatever. Yes you could knock yourself silly at the assessor's offices and lawyers offices. But in my mind, if they look, act, feel, and operate as if they're public, then in my eyes, they're effectively (in purpose and function) : Public.

IDXMonster said:
.... You do NOT want to "dig it all" in that circumstance...

Yes. The fairgrounds are NOT the place to "be a hero" and angle for gold rings and nickels. I would just be scouting for silver at places like that.

Foragist · Aug 1, 2017

Old fairgrounds have a lot of potential. I did the same as you, once. Pulled up and started doing my thing. The groundskeeper waved "hello" to me as was working an area. I found a few clad coins, and a nice mercury dime. 1920-something I think. I was there a few years earlier, and found 2 fair tokens. Not a lot of targets. I know there has been a LOT of goods found there. It has been worked over pretty hard by the local detectorist club. A guy from the club saw me working it, and came to talk. It turns out the club has unofficial dibs on those fairgrounds. I think he thought it was pretty well cleaned out, because he seemed quite surprised that I found a merc. Nobody gets 'em all! Go back and hit it again.

ohiochris · Aug 4, 2017

Old fairgrounds are my favorite places to hunt and I usually do pretty well at them tho sometimes its just an abundance of clad instead of the old stuff. Some of the fairgrounds in my area are fair game to just walk in and hunt , some of them are off limits and there is either something posted in the rules about it or the staff will be more than happy to come out and tell you that you cant do that there ,....then there are the ones like my local county fairground that are okay with it as long as you ask permission and then inform them each time you are there.

Its safe to assume that any fairground still in use has been hunted pretty hard over the years and the oldest or most obvious areas have been hit the hardest. There can still be plenty left in those areas but the finds can be pretty slim. Its been my experience that hunting the less obvious areas.....places many people would pass up , are often the best producing areas in a fairground. Fencelines , back corners , dirt piles , bushes or stands of trees , paths seemingly to nowhere , old building foundation remnants , vehicle or equipment storage areas , just areas off the beaten path that don't seem to be used for anything and look like nothing would be there......all this type areas and more can be the least hunted areas of the fairground but they have still had thousands of people passing over them for many years. Some of these unappealing areas can even be virgin ground having never seen a detector.

The most obvious areas should be hunted too of course , but your best bet is going to be the neglected and unappealing spots everybody else passed up.

amc rulz · Aug 6, 2017

I have hunted several country fairgrounds (4), all with permission even though they are generally open to the public. I have found Barber, Walking and Franklin halves, Barber and mercury dimes, Old Canadian silvers, IH's, Large cents etc...these are great spots even if they've been hit for years and years.

erudolf · Aug 7, 2017

This some great guidance, @ohiochris and @amc_rulz . . . thank you!

Tips on an Old Fairgrounds?

erudolf

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NectarDetector

metaladdict

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erudolf

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NectarDetector

woodz71

erudolf

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woodz71

BBsGal

IDXMonster

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Tom_in_CA

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IDXMonster

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Tom_in_CA

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Tom_in_CA

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Foragist

ohiochris

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amc rulz

erudolf

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