Planning a strategy

CallMeGrey

Forum Supporter
Joined
Mar 12, 2021
Messages
643
Location
South Central Wisconsin
Stopped to ask a permission last night. The place was once the town saloon back in the 1800's. The old guy laughed when I asked. Then he proceeded to tell me about a friend of his who did metal detecting in the 80's till about 15 yrs ago. He said the guy went every evening for 2-3 hours and had "really expensive equipment". The guy did the former saloon about a dozen times. He also told me his dad (born in 1915) would ride with the guy and tell him where old houses used to be and tell him the history of other places. He said the guy did everything in a 30 mile radius that has any history.

Explains why I haven't found anything older than a 1945 penny. We all know that a lot of places have been hit hard in the last 40-50 yrs, but to hear a first hand account of "my" territory was disheartening to say the least. The small rural village (pop of about 1400) I live in was first settled in the mid 1800's and I've hit 5 permissions so far with no results (3 modern coins). (I picked what I thought were the oldest - and turns out all hit by the former detector.)

So now I'm trying to come up with a new strategy. Physical limitations limit me to the immediate area pretty much - and 2-3 hours at a time. Doesn't pay to drive an hour one way, detect for an hour, and drive back for another hour. So I need to find some likely places that aren't good enough to have been on his radar. Would really like to find some old coins.

Also, I'm calling the former guy "Jerry" - just so I can curse him every night! ;)
 
Fun (yet sad) story. Assuming that this prior generation hunter story is true, then : I can relate. For example: I pity the poor fellow, in my area, who picks up a detector, and rushes out to the same sorry-sad-ass-old history citations that we knocked-ourselves-silly on , back in the 1980s and '90s. They will be HARD-PRESSED to find anything behind us at these *obvious* spots.

And I can think of parks that we used to routinely find silver at, that I would not touch now with a 10-foot pole :no:

It's a geographical thing, IMHO. It's gotten to where I travel to other parts of the west coast, and am AMAZED at the type spots that no one ever had the gumption to hit. We find easy oldies. Conversely, we roll into certain locations, where it becomes apparent that "people did their homework".
 
The question i have is how modern was the equipment that was being used to detect those old spots.

More modern higher quality equipment can find things that those older pieces of equipment would never see.

If i could get permission on a spot like that i certainly would give it a try/
 
The question i have is how modern was the equipment that was being used to detect those old spots.

More modern higher quality equipment can find things that those older pieces of equipment would never see.

If i could get permission on a spot like that i certainly would give it a try/


Well, yes and no. This was CERTAINLY true of the spots detected in the 1960 and '70s, versus a mere 3 to 5 yrs. later. Back then, the technology was changing lightening fast. From BFO to all-metal TR. To TR disc. To motion disc, to TID, to slower motion, then deeper, etc... If you had a machine that was a mere 3 to 5 yrs. old up through the 1980s, you had a dinosaur !

But this is less true in the last 20-ish years. There came a time when technology hits a "point of diminishing returns". You can only pipe so much signal into the soil, and can only extract so much information back. It's the laws of physics. And no amount of "faster and smaller" (computer tech.) changes this.

As time went on, the newer machines are simply adding "bells and whistles". But I'd venture to say that any new machine that's now popular (like the 800), that there's machines 10 and 20 yrs. ago that can get the same depth, the same un-masking ability, etc..... Oh sure, maybe not all in "the same package", but .... as long as you mixed and matched machines, pretty much anything the 800 can do now, could have been found in a machine from 10 to 20 yrs ago.
 
You said you had five permissions already? Head back to those, go slowly and dig the iffy signals. I doubt “Jerry” found everything.I have spots I’ve been hitting for years and still find stuff asking myself how did I miss this the first ten times I was here?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You got lemons? Make lemonade. Dig every signal left, no matter how crappy it may be.. all metal..deepest machinery you have at the deepest settings. Let it rip... what have you got to lose and everything is extra special cuz the hotshot said he got it all...

Let me motivate you. From a pounded local park I recently dug a crappy signal. 4 inches deep was an 1858 flying eagle...only one guy hit your permissions... it was toasted, but it’s my 3rd flying eagle from public ground....
 
I don't think ol' "Jerry" extracted every old coin in your area... You should it make your challenge to find the coins that "Jerry" missed! As I have heard some forum members suggest in various threads:

- Detect the edges of the property; get "creative" with how you go about searching
- Turn up your detector's sensitivity in order to pick up the deepest signals
- Look for properties active during the 1940s/50s. Plenty of opportunity for some older coins, yet "Jerry" may have passed up these spots because they were too "new."
- Look for vacant lots or old areas with newer development. Example: a recent house that "replaced" an older house (use Historic Aerials to see changes over time)
 
Thanks all for the comments, suggestions, and motivations!

After taking a break for a few days and reading your feedback I'm ready to re-double my efforts - and increase my skill with my detector. :)

Patience, persistence, perseverance!
 
Sounds like it’s going to be real trashy . For me I avoid spots like that but if if I were going to detect trashy spots I’d use a small coil and discriminate. If you dig every signal at those spots you’ll go crazy chasing trash.
 
Stopped to ask a permission last night.....
The old guy laughed when I asked. Then he proceeded to tell me about a friend of his who did metal detecting....
He said the guy did everything in a 30 mile radius that has any history.

Explains why I haven't found anything older than a 1945 penny.
.....The small rural village (pop of about 1400) I live in was first settled in the mid 1800's and I've hit 5 permissions so far with no results (3 modern coins).

....Doesn't pay to drive an hour one way, detect for an hour, and drive back for another hour. So I need to find some likely places that aren't good enough to have been on his radar. Would really like to find some old coins.

Sounds somewhat similar to my area, we live in a fairly small town that has history dating back to the 1700's but while detecting an old park last year a detectorist (just walking, not detecting at the time) stopped and talked and explained how years before detectorists had really hunted that park well because of a past sidewalk tear-out there where they got some old coins, (and also likely because of knowing the history dating back to the 1700's).

So as far as public areas my small town had already been hunted a lot long before I ever even started in the hobby, but I didn't allow it to discourage me, I simply looked at it as a challenge to try to find any good finds that past detectorists missed :lol: (I also prefer old coins over clad)

Anyhow, last year in that same old park I found my first silver (a Merc) about 8 inches deep, this year I found another Merc next to an old, now unused, basketball court in another part of town.

No, not many good finds in public areas here so far, but that's why I'm glad I simply enjoy detecting, it's a lot more fun way to get exercise than walking on a treadmill :lol: and any good finds are a bonus :lol:

Responsibilities limit my total hunting times to about 2 to 3 hours depending on the day, so I also have been staying within about a 5 miles radius so my time is more on detecting and less on getting to a detecting spot.

While I do enjoy detecting in itself, it is nice to dig some good finds occasionally, but I still have fun with the challenge of the hunt regardless :lol:

I do know I need to try to get some more private property permissions in hopes of having a better chance of finding older coins though.

So stay encouraged and simply enjoy the exercise and fresh air and enjoy the hunt itself.

For those who might enjoy some metal detecting humor, here is a funny post related to asking for permission to detect:

https://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?p=3325613#post3325613

.....a good laugh can always help improve our moods ! :laughing:
 
I have a story from the other side. Was detecting a park in an old town near me, and an elderly woman comes up to me, we start chatting, and bottom line I end up with permission to detect her yard, her house being Victorian era, and the yard being on the smaller side.

When I get over to her yard, she then tells me her late husband had a metal detector. Oh gee thanks :dash2: I detect the yard anyway, and end up with 4 silvers (including a walker), as well as a silver thimble.

Just goes to show you never know. I imagine the husband had a really old machine, or was into beach hunting rather than dirt fishing.
 
I have a story from the other side. Was detecting a park in an old town near me, and an elderly woman comes up to me, we start chatting, and bottom line I end up with permission to detect her yard, her house being Victorian era, and the yard being on the smaller side.

When I get over to her yard, she then tells me her late husband had a metal detector. Oh gee thanks :dash2: I detect the yard anyway, and end up with 4 silvers (including a walker), as well as a silver thimble.

Just goes to show you never know. I imagine the husband had a really old machine, or was into beach hunting rather than dirt fishing.

Congrats on all the silver !!!! :thumbsup:

Hey, even IF you knew a yard had likely been detected before, if it is an old property like the one you hunted "her house being Victorian era" you still have to at least give it a try in hopes a good find had been missed in the past.

That park area I found a Merc in last year (about 8 inches deep), has history dating back to the 1700's and even though it had been really hunted in the past by more than one detectorist, when an area has a history that old you still have to at least give it a try.
 
i have hunted the same parks for 20 + years and changes of machines, settings coils, sweep speeds, weather, etc and persistance have yield what the local pros from the 70s missed. oh they mopped up, but mopping leaves the floor damp-- i got a little moisture they left behind...

a place is never hunted out..NEVER.... unless all the dirt is removed and sifted.

mho
 
Was told that a certain park was totally worked out and i was wasting my time. Then the guy said Wow you are digging a lot of coins. That park also gave up five silver coins. Man i wish i had been there before it got worked out.
 
My front yard has been heavily pounded...by me. I've found 2 silvers, an aluminum token from potentially the late 1800s, several bucks in clad, etc. I used a Fisher F2 and Vanquish 540 for maybe a total of 75 hours on a small plot of land that can't be more than 1/16 of an acre?

Anyways, during my first real hunt with my Garrett AT Max I find an IHP/IHC dated 1889.

You just never know...
 
Been working on my "attitude adjustment". Being new to the hobby and reading about all the great finds here on the forum, I'm afraid I just had to high expectations. I'm starting to get a more realistic outlook of what this is all about. I also realize I have a LOT to learn yet. I haven't developed my skills yet to the point where I can detect all the nuances of my machine and the signals I am getting.

In the meantime, I'm just going to keep digging clad and enjoy the experience! Because more experience is what I need most right now. :)
 
Been working on my "attitude adjustment". Being new to the hobby and reading about all the great finds here on the forum, I'm afraid I just had to high expectations. I'm starting to get a more realistic outlook of what this is all about. I also realize I have a LOT to learn yet. I haven't developed my skills yet to the point where I can detect all the nuances of my machine and the signals I am getting.

In the meantime, I'm just going to keep digging clad and enjoy the experience! Because more experience is what I need most right now. :)

Just remember that some members might only post about their finds when they had a hunt with some really good finds, so it might give the impression that every hunt is like that, some might not mention all the hunts in between the hunts with really good finds where they might had only found a little clad and the usual trash.

There is nothing wrong with hoping to dig really good finds each time you go on a hunt, hoping is part of the fun, but I have the mindset of looking at detecting as a much more fun way of getting exercise than walking on a treadmill :lol: and any good finds would be a nice bonus :D

I do hope to find good finds each hunt, that's part of the kid-like fun of "treasure hunting" :lol: but even if it is just some clad, pennies, and the usual trash, I still have fun trying :D
 
I dont know for sure but I suspect that since I live within walking distance of the Garland Texas location of Garrett that those guys are the reason I have such a hard time finding silver around here. The whole city is pounded and has been for decades, plus there is a local group of pros who kill it all regularly so I am mostly screwed. All the old ground around here is clean with the exception of private permissions. I did get one rosie at an old park, way out on the edge.
The other park silvers I've netted ( just a couple) were at an old park in Dallas.
This year has been really bad, no dug silver coins at all. One rosie from the coinstar is all. There have been a few 925 bits here and there, I dug one this weekend, a small bit of a broken bracelet I think, marked Sterling and Forget Me Not on the backside. That one I almost did not dig as it rang up 22 on the Nox which is ALWAYS an aluminum screwtop but I dig anyways because you never know. Finally after digging millions of screwtops I got validation for digging 22-23!
Necessity is the mother of invention so I have changed strategy this summer which has netted a trickle of wheats. Dug one this weekend. Two last week. Hopefully I'll run into some silver amongst the wheats soon.
Good luck with your strategy, hope it works better than mine! And yes I curse them Garrett guys daily! :-)
 
Posting an update:

I now appreciate just how rare and difficult to find silver coins are. I've also improved my skills a LOT - even though I have much more to learn. Just found my 4th silver yesterday and have adjusted my approach. I've been going to older parks and not caring about easy shallow clad. Been going slower and looking for deep faint signals. It's been paying off.

I'm also going to be trying to get more private permissions even though I'm one of those people that really doesn't like approaching strangers. It's been too dry to be digging in people's yards the past 4 months. But I just got a new permission that I'll be starting soon that should have a lot of potential. The site was originally settled in 1845 and the current owner has been there 60 yrs and no one else has detected it. :D Some of the property is woods and fields, so I can stay away from the yard till we get some rain. Excited about the possibilities.

This is really a FUN hobby!
 
I dont know for sure but I suspect that since I live within walking distance of the Garland Texas location of Garrett that those guys are the reason I have such a hard time finding silver around here. The whole city is pounded and has been for decades, plus there is a local group of pros who kill it all regularly so I am mostly screwed. All the old ground around here is clean with the exception of private permissions. I did get one rosie at an old park, way out on the edge.
The other park silvers I've netted ( just a couple) were at an old park in Dallas.
This year has been really bad, no dug silver coins at all. One rosie from the coinstar is all. There have been a few 925 bits here and there, I dug one this weekend, a small bit of a broken bracelet I think, marked Sterling and Forget Me Not on the backside. That one I almost did not dig as it rang up 22 on the Nox which is ALWAYS an aluminum screwtop but I dig anyways because you never know. Finally after digging millions of screwtops I got validation for digging 22-23!
Necessity is the mother of invention so I have changed strategy this summer which has netted a trickle of wheats. Dug one this weekend. Two last week. Hopefully I'll run into some silver amongst the wheats soon.
Good luck with your strategy, hope it works better than mine! And yes I curse them Garrett guys daily! :-)

Hey, congrats on the wheaties !!!!

As nice as silver is to find, I am happy to dig older coins even if they are not silver, like wheaties or older nickels, definitely better than pull-tabs and Zincolns :lol:

Posting an update:

I now appreciate just how rare and difficult to find silver coins are. I've also improved my skills a LOT - even though I have much more to learn. Just found my 4th silver yesterday and have adjusted my approach. I've been going to older parks and not caring about easy shallow clad. Been going slower and looking for deep faint signals. It's been paying off.

I'm also going to be trying to get more private permissions even though I'm one of those people that really doesn't like approaching strangers. It's been too dry to be digging in people's yards the past 4 months. But I just got a new permission that I'll be starting soon that should have a lot of potential. The site was originally settled in 1845 and the current owner has been there 60 yrs and no one else has detected it. :D Some of the property is woods and fields, so I can stay away from the yard till we get some rain. Excited about the possibilities.

This is really a FUN hobby!

Neat, congrats on the 4th silver !!!! That is great, I know how hard silver is to find in our small town, I am still at 2 silvers so far, but still having fun trying :lol:

Congrats on that new permission, it does sound very promising, hope you dig some really good finds !
 
Back
Top Bottom