Am I doing this right?

[MDMac]

First off, let me just say that I found this forum today and am enjoying it immensely. This is truly an addictive past time.

Now for my story.

I received a Bounty Hunter tracker IV for Christmas, 2006. It sat in its box until 3 weeks ago. I almost gave it to oldest son for Christmas as he lives near the Gulf Beach in Texas. But I kept it. So I took it out and started reading the manual. I had grown tired of all my on-line gaming and TV lost interest years ago. So I thought maybe MDing would be a fun thing to do. After reading the manual, I had another son ( We have six children) hide 20 quarters in my backyard, which has a grass area just about the size of a Tennis Court. In two hours, I found 19 of the 20 quarters. The other quarter is still there.

So now is the time to "Hit the Field". For my first try, I tried under the Football Bleachers at the local Junior High School. My son and I found $0.33, one quarter, one nickel and 3 pennies.

My next trip afield, the next day, we hit the local park playground and found $0.51, two quarters and a penny. We also found some junk.

A week later, I took my 12 year old daughter to a different park and there we found $0.87, 2 quarters, 2 dimes and 17 pennies.

The day after that, last Sunday 4/20, we went to the local Elementary School and found $3.01, 8 quarters, and several dimes, nickels and pennies. We also found a 2 peso coin.

So now I have several questions.
1. Since we have only found 'modern', clad type coins, am I searching the wrong areas? We would like to find older coins.
2. I tried to wash the first couple of coins, they are year 2000 and newer, but nothing seems to clean them. Is it bad to clean clad coins?
3. Do most MDer's keep everything they find or do they put them back in circulation?
4. For probing, which I do rarely, I use a thicker "Shishkabob" wooden skewer, which seems to work well. I don't think this would scratch a coin, and since they hold up through the heat of a BBQ, they last pretty long. Is this a dangerous probe that could damage a coin or piece of jewelry?

I never held a Metal Detector till 3 weeks ago so I am wondering if I have started this hobby right or am I missing something?

Thanks for any input.

MDMac

 

[pulltab]

it sounds like you are doing it right.
Silver and clad are getting harder to find, especially if you live in a smaller town with a smaller population. It dosen't get replenished as fast. Not enough people to lose the money. Plus detecting gets more popular everyday(more people looking) Just my two cents.
The wooden probe will work while the ground is soft but once summer gets here and the ground hardens I see it breaking. Some guys use a brass probe.

Also try to find the older areas of town and houses there you can search. I try to find houses belt before 1964. The older the better to try and find silver.
Good luck

 

[olddigger]

A good place to start is the library. Look at old maps of the area and try to locate old schools, playgrounds and parks that are no longer there. If owned by private individuals you need to get permission to md. Also old homesites. HH

 

[dobbie]

glad to see you here and out mding. listen to these folks on here. they know what they are talking about and are most helpful. dont feel discouraged. i have only been mding for a short time as well and have only found the newer coins to. as for me...i am saving the coins i find to buy me a pin pointer. thats something else you should ask here about. look at the different posts and ask as many questions as you wish. good luck, it gets addicting. HH

 

[on-edge]

sounds like your off to a great start to me,i know i din't make any real good finds for quite some time,i would detect all the common areas, not that thats a bad thing, but if you wan't old coins you have to put yourself in old places.i think probably the first thing i did was to hit up friends and realatives that owned old houses,that would not mind if i detected there.then i really came into it when i started doing the research,can be time consuming, but it is just as fun when you find a place to go then you go there and BINGO!

 

[GRAY GHOST]

hi mdmac, it looks like your're on the right path. welcome! this is a fun an addictive hobby, and actually gives back what you put in, and more. i've always been a fan of hunting anywhere and everywhere i could. all ground is old ground to me, since they don't make it anymore! you can do some research on your town or county, and come up with some hotspots real quick. i simply rinse all of my found clad and put it back in circulation. it can be cleaned using a tumbler setup, which some do. patience, persistence, and research are the hallmarks of this hobby. make sure to always cover your holes, and get permission. good luck, and hh,

 

[scubadetector]

I don't know how old your house is but your yard might be able to give you older coins if your house was built before 1964. Go over your yard again. Go slow and if you don't have headphones get a pair. Listen for deeper targets. It seems to me that you would have been able to find something else in your yard besides the quarters. Good luck and keep trying. I know nothing about your detector though. Maybe it won't get the deep coins?

Anybody have experience with his detector that can give him better advice?

 

[MDMac]

My house was built in 2004 and we moved into it in 2005. So in addition to the quarters, we found a bunch of nails, pull tabs, wire ends, etc.... The land before that was basically "wild land" with nothing on it but deer, elk, coyotes and the occasional Indian.

I live in Southwest Colorado at 7,100 feet elevation, near Durango. There are a lot of abandoned mines in the area. How is the Metal Detecting around old mines? I am afraid I will get mostly nails, bolts, old hinges and other junk. There are a few ghost towns as well, but again, will it be mostly junk like shell casings, nails/screws, etc...?

Another question I have is that when we do school playgrounds, I run into the "weed barrier" mat, usually at the 3-6 inch mark. So far, I have not torn through it, but I know that below it would be where the older coins might be. Is it bad etiquette to tear through the weed barrier? My town was established around 1850 so there might be some older coins if I could go deeper.

Can't wait to go out again tomorrow!!

 

[jim tn]

You have already received a good bit of sound advise and unless there is some city ordinance that prohibits digging small holes, it is proper etiquette to cut through the weeds/grass barrier. Simply cut a round plug of turf and when you locate the target, either in the plug or still in the hole, replace all dirt and the plug neatly. ALWAYS FILL THE HOLES. With your town dating back to around 1850 there will be older coins to be found. A little quick research will reveal the age of local parks and schools as well as old picnic sites and church gatherings. And if you should have a nearby old fairgrounds, promptly hunt it. They are one of my more favorite coin hunting sites. Enjoy the hobby, it is a good one. HH jim tn

 

[MDMac]

Went out today for our fifth trip afield. Not anything old, but not a bad haul.
10 quarters, 8 dimes, 4 nickels and 29 pennies. Also a child's set of earrings, we actually found both, about 5 minutes apart.

We also found a coin that isn't money. There is an angel on the front and on the back, it is slightly larger than a quarter and has a smooth outside rim. Probably some religious token? There is no writing on it whatsoever either, so we don't know what it may have been used for! Another fun day afield.

 

[tabdog]

Hay MD Mac,

Sounds like you guys are doing real good.

As time goes by, finds slowly get better.

There are plateaus and streaks of good luck and bad luck.

But if you guys really like it you won't mind the streaks of bad luck too much.

Just enough to motivate you.

Good luck,