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Detecting around City Point, VA

FrankieG.

New member
Has any one ever hunted private property in Hopewell, VA in the City Point area? There are a few yards I would love to search and I will try this Sunday at getting permission. Olddigger and Gray Ghost- have you guys ever hunted out here?
 
Needless to say, I'm from Illinois. I wish you luck with getting permission to hunt the private yards. Larry and I have a business card made up with our photo, name, etc. on it and I think people feel assured that we're not out to do any damage. Just detect and have a good time with a great hobby. HH, Nancy

Our Card.......
[attachment 143759 Card.JPG]
 
FrankieG, I've never had much luck finding places to hunt in Hopewell. Did hunt one place up near 295, but didn't find much. If you can get permission anywhere near City Point it would be a great place. City Point was the largest port in the world during 1864-65, also Grant's headquarters. Lots of troops around there, several hospitals and forts. Good luck!
 
Thanks Nancy and olddigger for the encouragement! I couldn't make it out yesterday because of the rain so I will try again tomorrow afternoon. I've never asked permission to detect from strangers so this will be an interesting experience. Plus this is the only way we coin/ relic hunters can hunt really great sites. I have my eye on 4-5 large yards so I'm hoping at least one owner will say yes.

Olddigger, yes City Point is an ideal area to hunt given it has been occupied since Colonial times plus the fact that the Union Army was headquartered there for over 9 months! My father has a friend who hunted an area on public property near City Point in the 1980's and he found some indian head cents, buttons ( eagle or flats? I'm not sure), plus horse harness buckles. Here's a photo of that area.

So when I got my first metal detector in Dec 1993 at age 12, my father and I checked the same area and I turned up a Williams cleaner type 2 minus the washer, plus a couple of nails. Supposedly the area had been hunted out, but you know how that goes. Then we went back in Sept 1998 and we turned up a 3 ringer, the washer to the Williams cleaner, and a knapsack hook. We tried again a week later but were stopped by police who said that no metal detecting was allowed b/c the area is part of Hopewell's historic district. Oh well. Now Hopewell has a law on the books prohibiting any detecting on public property anywhere in the city.

Since my father used to deliver mail in the middle of Hopewell he had gotten permission for us to hunt a bunch of yards in 1996-1997, including the Hopewell Post Office. Not much but a couple of wheat cents plus a ladies(?) clothing buckle from the mid- late 1800's.
 
FrankieG, if they are the bit interested, make sure to let them know if you find anything identifiable of theirs you will give it to them. That always helps a bit also. Good luck and keep us posted. Nancy
 
Nancy-IL said:
FrankieG, if they are the bit interested, make sure to let them know if you find anything identifiable of theirs you will give it to them. That always helps a bit also. Good luck and keep us posted. Nancy

Yes, that is always good to mention while getting permission to detect a place.

I went to one spot yesterday and was lucky to get permission to detect a very large yard. Two members of the same family live on that plot and the son was home at his house. He told me that many others have detected the yard in the past including him and his father and they had found many minnie balls. His father had also found a saber. So I had a go at the yard and just checked some random areas near the street for close to an hour and a half.

I managed to find three minnie balls- 3 ringer, Williams cleaner, Sharps, piece of melted lead, 1941 Wheat Cent, two halves of a horse shoe, and rectangular iron horse tack buckle. At first I thought the Wheat Cent was an Indian head since it had a good layer of dirt on it.

Before leaving I showed my finds to the son and he was surprised I found a few items as he thought the yard may have been hunted out. The property is adjacent to the Civil War fort at City Point and he mentioned that soldiers camped there probably used powder from their ammunition to start fires then tossed the bullets in the area of what is now his family's yard.

There are a few other yards I still want to hunt so that will be sometime in the future.
 
My goodness FrankieG, that's quite a few nice relics for a "hunted out" yard. Don't ya just love it! If they missed all that, just imagine what else they missed. What fun! I wish you good luck and thanks for posting. I love to see those old bullets and if there's a wheat cent, who knows what other coins are there also. NICE~~~~SWEET! HH, Nancy
 
Nancy-IL said:
My goodness FrankieG, that's quite a few nice relics for a "hunted out" yard. Don't ya just love it! If they missed all that, just imagine what else they missed. What fun! I wish you good luck and thanks for posting. I love to see those old bullets and if there's a wheat cent, who knows what other coins are there also. NICE~~~~SWEET! HH, Nancy

Hi Nancy, yes there's probably much more in that yard. There were a few iffy targets I didn't bother with and I was going for the harder hits. I was somewhat timid digging in the area I was searching because the soil was weird and sandy. When I tried to dig out a plug it crumbled! The areas where the crab grass is thick may be better in preserving a plug. I'll ask for permission again when my brother gets home from college so he can be my detecting buddy.
 
Yes, I think we've all hunted in ground like that. It's a bit tricky not to leave a mess. Hope you get permission again and good luck detecting it when your brother gets back home. HH, Nancy
 
hey frankie! no, i've never hunted the immediate area, but would like to if the opportunity presented itself. i understand permission isn't easy to get in the area, having so many small yards, the owners of the larger tracts being reluctant to let anybody in due to various problems in the past. but, good luck in your endeavors and hit it hard! hh!
 
I hadn't been detecting since last November. Since my brother is here on spring break from VA Tech him and I went and hunted this yard yesterday. It's my second time there and the finds were pretty good- well for me and my bro anyway!

No pics right now but we turned up a 3 ringer, Sharps bullet, .69 ball, two buckshot, bottom of a Spencer casing, a few brass whats its, one mystery lead item which looks like a stud of some sort, piece of melted lead, half of a horse shoe, large complete horse shoe, and a mule shoe.

I've gained permission to hunt again when ever I like and I may do that this coming Tuesday if the weather is nice. There's still plenty of front yard to hunt and I hadn't even thoroughly checked the little area I've hunted so far. Plus the owner said I'm welcome to hunt the back yard. He told me and my bro he's glad someone's into history and metal detecting.
 
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