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Searching around old but now gone houses?

treasureID

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2012
Messages
453
This question is for the seasoned hobbyist... and yeah, I already know there is no "real answer" :p ... but anyway, in your experience, would you say you at least find one coin or something cool around old houses that are no longer there? The type that are now just in the middle of the woods? I have some spots from the mid-1800s that I checked out previously but found nothing -- mainly because it looks like kids have been drinking there through the decades and left behind all of their trash. All I ever find are cans, bottle caps, etc. but I have to dig them as I have an ACE 250. I'd like to go back to these spots because I figure there just has to be something... but I don't want to waste my time again either when I can easily check out new sites!
 
i hunt alot of old home that are gone or almost gone. results vary greatly. always find something cool, but cool is in the eye of the beholder. have found coinage in probly 50% of sites. always find lots of iron and trash. my best finds have all come from old home sites. last year found several merc's, 1945 half dollar, 1864 2 cent, 1863 hardware tolken, and iron and junk by the barrel full. if you just want coins go to the park, if you want lots of digging and whatits, old home sites are a hoot. HH blev
 
Don't know if I would call me "seasoned" but... Hunted a site yesterday that I was sure was going to be good. Very old (for here) school house site. The property owner lives right across the road and he is about 80 years old. He grew up there after it closed as a school. He pointed me to the play areas, sand box. Where they played baseball. What did I find? Lots of junk and a key that he lost 40 years ago. I gave it back to him. Not a single coin. You just never know. I'm sure there are some goodies there and I will be searching it again. He did show me where the privy was and said I could dig it. I'll be going back for that for sure.

Edit..Forgot to mention that the owner told me that to the best of his knowledge this site has never been hunted.
 
Old home site can be a gold mine , as others have stated be perpared to dig junk perhaps loads of it depending how the building was removed . If the home had a cellar surrounding top soil was most likely used to fill it in . Be persistent removing shallow junk may reveal older goodies below . Good Luck
 
There has to be a few coins there but percentagewise to trash may be a tough hunt. It's interesting what you find while hunting different areas/sites. It's like putting the pieces of a puzzle together. I found I prefer hunting old homesites/old areas. (Headed out to hunt one right now) The one I'm hunting today has been plowed a few times so stuff is everywhere but hunted it last week and found some cool stuff (no coins yet) I'd rather hunt for a half day at an old site and find an 1800s button or silver coin than go to well used public areas and pick up $15 in clad laying everywhere. I must admit I mix up the two to keep my spirits up and learn my detector. Wish me luck as I wish it all to you who may be going out today. ~montanamuzik
 
That sounds great. You are sure to find lots of stuff on that privy dig. You might want to enlist the help of a friend, excavating a deep narrow hole like that is a lot harder than it sounds lol Imagine jumping out of a 4 foot hole every minute to carry a dirt bucket away so the pile isn't falling in on you..
Good luck!

Don't know if I would call me "seasoned" but... Hunted a site yesterday that I was sure was going to be good. Very old (for here) school house site. The property owner lives right across the road and he is about 80 years old. He grew up there after it closed as a school. He pointed me to the play areas, sand box. Where they played baseball. What did I find? Lots of junk and a key that he lost 40 years ago. I gave it back to him. Not a single coin. You just never know. I'm sure there are some goodies there and I will be searching it again. He did show me where the privy was and said I could dig it. I'll be going back for that for sure.

Edit..Forgot to mention that the owner told me that to the best of his knowledge this site has never been hunted.
 
Old homes are part of the problem for the one park I hunt. It used to be an area where the old mill houses were and is full of trash. But so far I have go one Merc out of it.
 
Thanks for the info! I live in the city so any area where there used to be a house that hasn't been redeveloped is kind of like a little patch of woods where the neighborhood kids party... haha... so there is a ton of trash. I just feel like I'm missing something but it's tough to do anything when no matter where you put the detector (even with discrimination) it goes off! :mad:
 
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thats where hunt alot,tons of junk ,lots of cool,and sometimes some real cool,i get kinda sick of the junk but you just gotta keep on goin, checked out 2 new ones today,takes alot of time but the good stuff eventually shows up.:D:D
 
it really depends on the location, if this place is well know there's a good chance it could have been hunted over the past 40 yrs. if you can find one way off the beaten path that hasn't been hunted that will increase your odds of good finds.
 
If you have other better areas to hunt,hunt them first. The day will come when you find yourself going farther to find good spots. Then go back and spend the time on those places. Theres almost always something at the old home areas worth spending the time for. No amount of experience will remove the trash for you. Thats your job if you want to reap the rewards.:D
 
i hunted a old homestead tonight and found nothing but cans and trash for the first half hour then finaly a 1963 silver quarter, so you never know when you are going to hit the good stuff, its there you just have to keep looking. HH
 
I have one old house property I go to every once in a while. Tons and tons of trash. I have only found one 1981 penny for any "roundness" :laughing:

But this is the same site I found a huge Old Gold Cigarettes metal ad and my infamous "unmentionable" brass find, which still has not been determined what is was for yet.

PM if interested!! :D
 
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