Hello. I read that many find little treasures at playgrounds and schoolgrounds. Was wondering exactly where do you scan? Only at the sandboxes, or all over the yards? We have an old school nearby that closed down a few years ago and want to go scan there. Many thanks in advance.
Question about playgrounds / schoolgrounds
- Thread starter Belangers
- Start date
OZ_IL
Forum Supporter
Everywhere of course!
Nor'Easter
Forum Supporter
Start wherever kids congrigate. Near swings and slides. The heaviest traveled areas, like entrances and along side walks and walk ways. Lastly, hit the open areas, lawns and ballfields. HH Jim
Definately EVERYWHERE. Especially older playgrounds. Here in my hometown where I went to elementary school in the early 60's, the playground used to be the grounds for a civil war hospital. You NEVER know what the playground used to be in your area without research.
I would go over it kind of fast and if you start finding coins. SLOW down and dig the deep signals. You will probably do good.
I would go over it kind of fast and if you start finding coins. SLOW down and dig the deep signals. You will probably do good.
geodawn
Forum Supporter
Definitely everywhere. I found a 1903 Barber dime right in the middle of the playground at my daughters school - maybe an inch down. No doubt a dropped show and tell item.
SkiWhiz
Elite Member
The goodies can be anywhere, I have had very luck around the the swingset poles, check closely where the kids hang upside down. Steve.
Deep silver
Forum Supporter
I dont care for the hunting around the play area, I go up by the old bulidings and hit close to the walkways, Find out where the snack shack or snak bar was and pound around there, usually they lose there change around they place they received it .......
Beefcake
Elite Member
Under the monkey bars (the monkeys like to hang upside down) and I have alot of luck roughly 5 feet from the edge of the foot drag area at the swings... seems to be where the trajectory flings the stuff to front and back. basketball courts check around the baskets behind the pole where they tend to lay thier stuff down. and then go everywhere else... good luck!
RaylandRat
Elite Member
I went to a small country school (less than 200 students in 1st through 8th grades) and we played on every square foot of the school property. The fellow that bought the property in the 80's after it closed down detected it and found a small fortune.
CyberSage
Elite Member
The Grassy fields around the school are the best! Everyone hits the wood chips and sand first. Hit the areas farthest from the school first, work in a straight line from entry gates to the main building. If there are any unusual playground features such as hills, trees, nature areas, hunt here. Use the biggest coil you have. Look for patterns in your finds. Follow these trends. Focus on Quarter and pulltabs hits.
Trust me.
Have fun will your at it.
Keep Swing'in
Jack
Trust me.
Have fun will your at it.Keep Swing'in
Jack
leopardprint
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2008
- Messages
- 20
I did my first two playgrounds today and found nothing but a few pieces of junk (two pulltabs, a piece of a zipper, and a nail). Not one single coin. Plus I think I scared off a family with a little kid..they let the kid swing for like two minutes and then made her leave...
I felt bad about that but it's not like I was doing anything wrong.
Granted I am still learning my detector, but I was hoping for at least a bit of clad!
I felt bad about that but it's not like I was doing anything wrong.Granted I am still learning my detector, but I was hoping for at least a bit of clad!
X
Xray
I did my first two playgrounds today and found nothing but a few pieces of junk (two pulltabs, a piece of a zipper, and a nail). Not one single coin. Plus I think I scared off a family with a little kid..they let the kid swing for like two minutes and then made her leave...
Granted I am still learning my detector, but I was hoping for at least a bit of clad!
Don't get discouraged, alot of goodies out there.
Sounds like that one has been hit, and hit hard.
All unhit play areas should produce ... And in fact, at some of them you can hardly take a step without hitting some coins. So its pretty easy to tell ones that have been recently detected, alot of times you can see the unfilled holes left by lazy detectors.
I have had many good experiences with children at playgrounds, and a few not so good.
I got playground aged kids of my own and I often have them with me, which makes it easier on me to detect.
When I am alone I pass on play areas that are loaded with kids. I figure its their area, I know I didn't want adults around me when I was playing. Plus of course parents may be concerned about any lone adult at a play area, no matter what they are doing.
I attract kids easy when I want to, and sometimes I have to remind them, when they get over friendly and ask to use my detector ect, that they don't know me very well and they should be cautious around adults they don't know, especially the little girls.
Some of these kids I've known for years just from detecting, and they come running when they see me, and I've met the parents of quite a few of them .. But you always gotta play it by ear in those situations, and take each one separate.
One time I went to this woodchip play area I know that I don't get around to very much, I was going to this flea market in the area and decided to hit it while I was there.
You have to drive in a ways to get to it, you can't see if anyones there or not from the street.
There was 3 kids there, and its a big playground so I figured, what the heck I drove all the way in here, I'll just stick to the other side of the playground. My kids were with me but they didn't feel like getting out.
So I walked over towards the other side of the playground, detector in hand, and these kids ran away like I was Godzilla. The older sister hustled the little brother off a slide and shepherded him away, and they started running, looking back as if I was going to be hot on their heels.
Their house is right next to the playground, and it looked like Grams was looking on at the whole scene. She met them on the front lawn and the kids stood behind her, peering out at me, and the grams looked pretty pissed, like what the hell do I think I am doing at a kids playground.
Made me feel like crap, so I didn't even go through the motions, I just up and left. Never did go back to that one, probably won't ever again.
Another option, which isn't for everyone, is night detecting.
Get one of those head mounted strap-on LED flashlights, and your good to go.
Not many concerns about young kids being interrupted at night, though sometimes there are some drunk teens to contend with. I'm alot more focused at night, and without the distraction of anyone around, you can take care of business quick ... And wherever your head turns, the light shines right down.
Sometimes during summer, with the play areas packed with kids on every nice day, its the only option, unless you want to take your chances around a crowd of kids, or go early in the morning or a rainy day.
Can be spooky at night though, probably downright inadvisable for some areas ... And also watch the monkey bars, I've run face first into more than one concentrating on detecting.
But I've had some of my best finds at night, and that silver and gold really gleams when caught in the light beam.
TimC
Elite Member
Just hang in there and it will all come. Grid the area off your interested in hunting and hunt that in a patten and you should hit everything within reach of the detector.
dan
Elite Member
I have just the opposite problem - kids rush over to see what I'm doing. They even stick their heads into the hole I'm digging. Drives me nuts!
X
Xray
Well yeah, I could fill pages with positive kid stories, this one stands out in my mind as one of the few negatives that will happen to anyone from time to time, if you get around to enough playgrounds.
I treat peoples kids the way I'd expect mine to be treated in a similar situation, and to be honest, I would not feel at all comfortable with my little girls talking to any man at a playground without me around, detector or not. So I try to avoid those situations in the first place.
I treat peoples kids the way I'd expect mine to be treated in a similar situation, and to be honest, I would not feel at all comfortable with my little girls talking to any man at a playground without me around, detector or not. So I try to avoid those situations in the first place.
gallienus267
Junior Member
Treasure is where treasure lies.
If one knew where that is it wouldn't be there anymore.
If one knew where that is it wouldn't be there anymore.
Thanks everyone. We did go to the local elementary school this past Sunday. We scanned quite a bit of area, especially around swings and sandboxes only to find a lot of nails, pulltabs, and a very dangerous piece of rusted metal about 13" long by 2" wide and burried only 6" into the sand where the children swing! We also scanned the grassy yard and upper hill and found nothing but nails. I have a hunch it may have already been scanned out by someone else. Oh well, there are tons of other places around here to hunt.
dan
Elite Member
If you are finding pulltabs, the odds are that previous treasure hunters discriminated out tabs - meaning they also discriminated out gold rings.
Gold rings are more likely found at high schools, but the key is that when you find pulltabs there is always the slim chance that a gold ring is around.
Gold rings are more likely found at high schools, but the key is that when you find pulltabs there is always the slim chance that a gold ring is around.
Kris in WA
Senior Member
since i get off work about the same time school lets out, i have driven by schools and playgrounds that i wanted to hunt and observed where people tended to congregate. this is where i usually start. i will also show up at a park and just try to imagine where people would spend a lot of time, like in the toy area, or outside the toys where the parents would sit while watching their kids or where someone could possibly drop something, like a coin spill near a bench
