Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Detecting in an old dump?

D

DenverPio

Junior Member
Joined
May 8, 2016
Messages
40
Location
Denver, CO
Hey folks,

I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried detecting in an old dump site. And no, I don't mean the neighbor's yard.

I know that there is a large lot near my home in Denver which, in the 1920s through 1950s, was a garbage dump. Has anyone ever tried detecting a similar area? Would you mostly find junk, or could it be bottles or other interesting things? Inquiring minds want to know.
 
Be ready to dug a whole lot if garbage but who knows you may get lucky

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
Old filled in urban lots are a real bummer...Now an old dump site out in the woods or along a stream makes for some great finds, but a flat filled lot full of junk is one tough deal there...unless its been used as a playground for the neighborhood kids back in the late 50's/60's....then yes! Possibly silver coins!

We played Baseball in empty lots all the time, built forts, fought, etc...
Mud
 
I would think if it's an old *dump* site, you're gonna find mostly what usually goes in dumps: junk & garbage remains. Yes there will be bottles but most of those won't be that good to collect except for certain ones like milks, sodas, poisons etc. Most bottles will be unembossed food bottles that are worthless (ask me how I know, lol.) If you're looking to find coins, you'd be better off MDing spots more suitable for those.

PS "the neighbor's yard", lol.:lol:
 
My guru instructor pro relic hunter dug his 10 dollar gold piece in dump closed 1915. We dug many bottles and jugs, great ones, sifted and detected and hit box of goodies from 1908 city hall, hack badges, reunion badges for us Confederates, old chain purse with barbers,. Yea go for it! We did good enough to pay for trackhoe and operator. Lower sens smallest coil cherry pick! Rake some dirt and do it again! Hh Carey

PS my city is a dump.....:laughing::laughing::laughing:
 
Bank Fisher said:
There will be so much foil and cans that you won't be able to use the detector.
Click to expand...

^This. I would go dig around a bit personally, but I wouldn't waste the batteries with the detector. You might find something interesting, if not valuable. As another mentioned, a 'dump' will only contain things not considered of value at the time.
 
Be careful there might be tons of sharp thinhs and poisonous chemicals in the ground!
 
Old Railroad sites

For the better part of 20 years a friend & I scouted out old railroad sites and worked the grounds. We would detect but usually ended up shoveling the dump through home made sifter screens.

Man, we sure did find a lot of everything from coins to tokens to date nails (very collectible) to intact old bottles. Most of the sites were from the early 1900's. Here's a 300 dollar date nail my wife eyeballed.

NsSP3-1.jpg


And here's one of my collections.

SPRRdisplay.jpg


Good luck. Steve in so la
 
dixiedigger57 said:
My guru instructor pro relic hunter dug his 10 dollar gold piece in dump closed 1915. We dug many bottles and jugs, great ones, sifted and detected and hit box of goodies from 1908 city hall, hack badges, reunion badges for us Confederates, old chain purse with barbers,. Yea go for it! We did good enough to pay for trackhoe and operator. Lower sens smallest coil cherry pick! Rake some dirt and do it again! Hh Carey

PS my city is a dump.....:laughing::laughing::laughing:
Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks for the help! I might go out this week and dig a few "target areas" to see if there's anything worth detecting for. Like doing a sampling...
 
Digger-Dave said:
I believe this is the preferred way to work a real dump.

Be sure to wear eye protection and good gloves.
Click to expand...

Don't forget a mask! Especially if you decide to do any sifting. That dump could contain high levels of lead or other metals. You don't want to be breathing in any dust particles.
 
dixiedigger57 said:
My guru instructor pro relic hunter dug his 10 dollar gold piece in dump closed 1915. We dug many bottles and jugs, great ones, sifted and detected and hit box of goodies from 1908 city hall, hack badges, reunion badges for us Confederates, old chain purse with barbers,. Yea go for it! We did good enough to pay for trackhoe and operator. Lower sens smallest coil cherry pick! Rake some dirt and do it again! Hh Carey

PS my city is a dump.....:laughing::laughing::laughing:
Click to expand...

:laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:
 
So I went out last night and dug a few "test holes" to test the site. Super scientific, I know.

I dug about two feet down and a few feet wide to see if there was anything usable/identifiable. Ultimately I came up with a chunk of iron and literally nothing else...nada. I dug four holes in different areas and there was nothing. I'll have to go back through some old maps and see if I'm in the right area, though I'm 99% sure I was digging right into the dump site. Will report back!
 
DenverPio said:
So I went out last night and dug a few "test holes" to test the site. Super scientific, I know.

I dug about two feet down and a few feet wide to see if there was anything usable/identifiable. Ultimately I came up with a chunk of iron and literally nothing else...nada. I dug four holes in different areas and there was nothing. I'll have to go back through some old maps and see if I'm in the right area, though I'm 99% sure I was digging right into the dump site. Will report back!
Click to expand...

Get a probe and stab around and see if there's anything buried, and if so, where it's at. Beats digging blind.
 
My train of thought is: people dont throw away valuable stuff, and in older times they reused or repurposed as much as they could. Old dump sites will yield 99.99999% garbage.
That being said everybody is probably getting ready to say how they found this or that at a dump site. I GOT IT, some good stuff DOES makes its way into the dump. I guess the moral of the story is that if you hunt the dump, be ready for lots of junk.
 
MacDiarmada said:
My train of thought is: people dont throw away valuable stuff, and in older times they reused or repurposed as much as they could. Old dump sites will yield 99.99999% garbage.
That being said everybody is probably getting ready to say how they found this or that at a dump site. I GOT IT, some good stuff DOES makes its way into the dump. I guess the moral of the story is that if you hunt the dump, be ready for lots of junk.
Click to expand...

Eh I can't tell you how wrong you are :P At the end of this year I will gather all my small dump finds, local modern day stuff but high in value.
 
MacDiarmada said:
My train of thought is: people dont throw away valuable stuff, and in older times they reused or repurposed as much as they could. Old dump sites will yield 99.99999% garbage.
That being said everybody is probably getting ready to say how they found this or that at a dump site. I GOT IT, some good stuff DOES makes its way into the dump. I guess the moral of the story is that if you hunt the dump, be ready for lots of junk.
Click to expand...

Your moral of the story sounds alot like metal detecting. Just saying
 
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