Coinshooting Old Schools in the South

[Canewrap]

Does anyone coinshoot old schools in GA, MS, TN, or AL? I have good info on the locations for a number of the old school houses and was wondering if there's even a few coins usually found? I know these folks were poor for the most part, but it seems that there ought to be some IHs at least. Should I be mainly be doing only old church yards?

 

[BARGuy]

We've been detecting "old" schools/parks in GA, NC, KY, AL for over 40 years now. Used to recover 20-25 coins per hour...about 5-8 of them silver. "Good" rings...Mostly sterling, some gold. And, from time-to-time we'd pull a CW button or bullet. For a number of reasons, that has pretty much come to a halt...Not the least of which is the lack of new silver coins/relics being lost & the availability of W/Mart type rings that look "real". In addition, it seems that everybody & their mother in the South now has at least one detector. And when they run out of places to hunt relics, they hit the old schools to keep in practice.

Additionally, due to the influx of "badguys", a la Columbine, a large percentage of schools are now fenced, gated & locked after hours.

There are a lot of old "historical" school sites that are now scrap yards, police stations, etc., & sometimes new schools.

Is there enough clad available to keep you in batteries, sodas, etc.? Probably. But don't count on paying for your 'tector in the first 2-3 months.

Now, the GOOD NEWS! Other than the heat of July/August, it's tough to beat the weather, usually. And most importantly, it's still FUN!

So come on down!

 

[jim tn]

For me, those old country schools have been kind of hit and miss. Don't recall ever finding all that much silver, probably because none of the kids seldom had any to loose, but did find IH's and wheats. I wouldn't pass one up, though. Good luck, HH jim tn

 

[Canewrap]

Uh, I live in N. Alabama, so its not a problem. I do appreciate your input on the record for hunting old schools. We'll give a couple of lesser known, overgrown ones a try.

 

[ChuckDiggin it in Florida]

Those obvious places-old schools, old church yards, known picnic groves etc have been hit by dozens to hundreds of detectorists for the last 40 years!
What I have done, is go into the nearby woods and look around large rocks and old trees and open spaces, for where adventurous folks and kids may have spent time years ago. But the obvious areas are pretty well cleaned out i'm afraid.

 

[XT18000]

One thing for sure; You never know what some kid took to school or where he got it from!
And that go's for new ones as well. If it beep's dig it!

 

[Dan-Pa.]

Most public schools and churchyards are beat to death but depending on their age can have silver and if hit at the right time lots of clad(battery money) with occasional jewelry mostly silver rings....Everyone hunts the obvious places so be inventive in your search as that old apple tree half a block down may be quite productive...

 

[Canewrap]

Yep, the not so obvious places is where we intend to hunt. The ones not on the internet, not in the common books (not many but there are a few old sites that have apparently been forgotten). I was just trying to get some feedback on people's experiences.

 

[SoArk]

Old memories flood in when you talk about hunting old schools and church yards............ this is how I got my start. My Dad bought a Fisher 1266X back in the fall of 1983, and I would go with him on weekends to an old school or two..... hit the yards...... and the no-longer used football field at one school. We got permission and hunted a couple of rural churches..... where the congregation would park up in the yard...... where we supposed they'd be in their pockets rummaging for their keys, or getting their kids change for the Sunday School collections, etc. I got so interested, that early in '84, I bought a Garrett Freedom II Coin Commander. I think it had a stock 8" coil, but I soon acquired like a 12" coil if I remember right....... I've owned a metal detector ever since! Although, I mainly relic hunt now for C.W. stuff. Dad is now 80 and is no longer able to go out and hunt, but he still enjoys my stories when I find stuff. I loved sharing that time with my Dad..... some of the best times!