Big Boys Hobbies

I guess the fun is over.

BaldAssCat

BaldAssCat

Elite Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2011
Messages
782
Location
MA
Last fall the local high school decided to replace the bleachers and pulled them out. They were installed on a hill so it was 2 or 3 feet off the ground in most spots and until they were pulled most of the ground under it was inaccessible.

The day after the bleachers were gone I was picking up clad every 3 inches with the occasional bit of silver and junk jewelry. I must have doug $100 in loose change over the next few months. By late spring it was mostly pulltabs and foil but I thought for sure there would be gold in there somewhere. If there was I didn't find it.

Today I went back and they'd doug out the base, put in new posts, covered the hill with rocks and paved the area near the snack shack at the top of the hill.

It was fun while it lasted.
 
Sounds like a great time. I worked at Indiana Univ. and in the past when the "Little 500" bike race would be held every spring, they would put up temp bleachers. The day after it was over, and all was taken down, I would try to get in there and run the area where bleachers were. I would run high disc. just to avoid the trash, and the coins popped. Lots of fun!!
 
pryan67 said:
See if you can find where they put the topsoil. They may have used it for something else in the district.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. In a similar way, I check the area where the town's street-sweepers dump their bins and there's always a lot of coins.
 
Iggyks said:
Sounds like you found what was there! High fives!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I did enjoy it.

dirtpoke said:
Sounds like a great time. I worked at Indiana Univ. and in the past when the "Little 500" bike race would be held every spring, they would put up temp bleachers. The day after it was over, and all was taken down, I would try to get in there and run the area where bleachers were. I would run high disc. just to avoid the trash, and the coins popped. Lots of fun!!
Click to expand...

So much trash! If I used discrimination I wouldn't have found anything at first. After a few weeks of cleanup I felt a little better about iron discrimination but used zero most of the time.

pryan67 said:
See if you can find where they put the topsoil. They may have used it for something else in the district.
Click to expand...
Dirty Nails said:
I completely agree. In a similar way, I check the area where the town's street-sweepers dump their bins and there's always a lot of coins.
Click to expand...

The topsoil was put back and covered with the rocks with the exception of the flat at the bottom but that was dug to about 6 feet and filled back in. It's a construction area right now and I don't want to wear out my welcome by crossing the tape.

I will however try to find the town's sweep pile! Thanks for the tip.:yes:
 
BaldAssCat said:
.... it was mostly pulltabs and foil but I thought for sure there would be gold in there somewhere. If there was I didn't find it....
Click to expand...

Under bleachers is *not* going to be the places to "be a hero" and angle for jewelry. Because spectators there are .... of course.... going to be eating and drinking snacks, while spectating the events. Eg.: drinking sodas, eating munchies, etc... Which all equates to foil, tabs, etc....

And it's not like sitting on one's duff involves any sort of "frolicking" motions that bode well for jewelry losses anyhow. Or swimming, etc... So not an environment, to begin with, that is conducive to jewelry losses anyhow.

We had some Rodeo Grandstands in my city, that could seat thousands. Dated to the 1920s and were placed onto hardpan dirt. We used to get silver underneath them, but it was an ocean of pulltabs & foil, of course. Then in about 1995-ish, they tore them all out, to install new grandstands. For an entire glorious week, we pulled hundreds more silver from the disturbed soil (tractors removing posts, dozing dirt around, etc...) . Even a $5 gold piece (which read above tab range).

There was simply no time to be heroic and angle for nickels or gold jewelry. It was strictly a race to see how much silver we could harvest, before the fill dirt and concrete were added.
 
After the bleachers were removed, the workers were in such a hurry they dropped nuts and bolts everywhere. Without disc. all you would find was hardware. I opted for the change instead.
 
I have a recreation complex that is just a little over 4 mile from my house It has always been a good spot to satisfy the need to go do some digging. For over 4 years it has been a spot where I could go dig 5 to 10 bucks in clad. Then it happened. Other folks found my honey hole. Now even clad has become very hard to find. One of the employees told me that there are 4 guys hitting that area once a week. It was fun while it lasted and I was having fun digging about a hundred dollars in clad every year out of that area.
 
georgeinsc said:
I have a recreation complex that is just a little over 4 mile from my house It has always been a good spot to satisfy the need to go do some digging. For over 4 years it has been a spot where I could go dig 5 to 10 bucks in clad. Then it happened. Other folks found my honey hole. Now even clad has become very hard to find. One of the employees told me that there are 4 guys hitting that area once a week. It was fun while it lasted and I was having fun digging about a hundred dollars in clad every year out of that area.
Click to expand...

Same here. I popped many a quarter from our sports complex but it was *me* who cleaned it out. Find much less nowdays. Place was built in early 2000s.
 
Tom_in_CA said:
Under bleachers is *not* going to be the places to "be a hero" and angle for jewelry. Because spectators there are .... of course.... going to be eating and drinking snacks, while spectating the events. Eg.: drinking sodas, eating munchies, etc... Which all equates to foil, tabs, etc....

And it's not like sitting on one's duff involves any sort of "frolicking" motions that bode well for jewelry losses anyhow. Or swimming, etc... So not an environment, to begin with, that is conducive to jewelry losses anyhow.

We had some Rodeo Grandstands in my city, that could seat thousands. Dated to the 1920s and were placed onto hardpan dirt. We used to get silver underneath them, but it was an ocean of pulltabs & foil, of course. Then in about 1995-ish, they tore them all out, to install new grandstands. For an entire glorious week, we pulled hundreds more silver from the disturbed soil (tractors removing posts, dozing dirt around, etc...) . Even a $5 gold piece (which read above tab range).

There was simply no time to be heroic and angle for nickels or gold jewelry. It was strictly a race to see how much silver we could harvest, before the fill dirt and concrete were added.
Click to expand...
That is interesting. I was wondering why no jewelry under my grandstands. Good point.
 
GLASSHOPPER1955 said:
Same here. I popped many a quarter from our sports complex but it was *me* who cleaned it out. Find much less nowdays. Place was built in early 2000s.
Click to expand...


That area has one football field, one huge soccer field, six baseball/softball fields and one tot lot. It is not unusual to see the parking lot completely full and folks parking along both sides of the street.


When they have tournaments on the fields there are thousands of folks there.

It has been a prime spot for collecting clad to satisfy the urgent need to dig.

I have found three silver coins there and one 10k gold ring.

I suspect that in time the folks will get tired of finding nothing and I will again be the only coil swinger.
I Hope.
 
georgeinsc said:
That area has one football field, one huge soccer field, six baseball/softball fields and one tot lot. It is not unusual to see the parking lot completely full and folks parking along both sides of the street.


When they have tournaments on the fields there are thousands of folks there.

It has been a prime spot for collecting clad to satisfy the urgent need to dig.

I have found three silver coins there and one 10k gold ring.

I suspect that in time the folks will get tired of finding nothing and I will again be the only coil swinger.
I Hope.
Click to expand...

I hear ya.

With the popularity of this hobby in the last few years there are a lot more MDers out there hitting a limited number of spots. It's the same where I live. Timing is everything; the early bird gets the worm - and the others - well (shrugs) My beach, for instance, can be absolutely packed with hundreds and hundreds of people on a 90 degree weekend, yet, by 5 am Monday I only find maybe $1.00 in coins and maybe one junk ring and 5 MDers already there hittin' the place. Frustrating to say the least. Maybe try hunting "off the beaten path" where others haven't thought to look. Good luck & Happy hunting.
 
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