Got Permission to 1925 House

[fllawboy]

I just got permission to hunt a 1925 home in South Florida. The house is one of the oldest in the area that I have been able to locate. When it was built in 1925 it was one of the biggest houses and was owned by the same family well into the 1980s. It has had 2 owners to date. I would like to have some suggestions on how best to hunt this property, as I will most likely have this weekend as my only shot at it. The owner's wife is away and he has told me to come by and see what I can find. Apparently he is very interested in what is hidden on the property and his wife is against having her lawn and yard dug up. At best this weekend because of work commitments I will have 5 to 6 hours total to hunt the property. Given the time constraints I would like some thoughts on how best to approach this site. I am intrigued by the site, as I strongly believe that no one has ever hunted it before as most treasure hunters down here stick to the beaches, parks and surf. Thanks in advance for any suggestions and I will post anything I find in a follow-up post.
Best regards,

 

[chumline]

Find the location of the old clothesline! That in itself will keep you busy for awhile with unlimited possibilities

 

[fllawboy]

Spent two hours at the house today, it was a nightmare. It had more hot rocks, sprinkler systems, and pipes than anywhere I have ever been. I could not get over the number of sprinkler pipes I encountered! I played with the gain, adjusted discrimination, but no luck. The sprinkler pipes and the other pipes I encountered kept coming up as Nickel/Ring on VDI or Penny/Dime on VDI. I used the 6x10 and found 2 Quarters (1973, 1990), 1 dime (1985), and 1 penny 1960. The only signals I was sure on were the Quarters, I just knew as soon as I heard them what they were. The dime and penny were iffy, because there were some pipes I had hit that gave the same sound and same VDI reading. The deepest coin I found was 4 inches. The foil in and around the house also made it a real treat to hunt. I had fun, but had at least expected to find a coin or two older than 1960. One thing I know for certain is that beer was plentiful at the house as I could not step two feet with out a screw cap or pull tab registering. There used to be a porch in the back, but now in it's place is a concrete driveway. It appeared that the soil around the house was not original. I live a few miles away and the soil is quite different,at my house the soil is very sandy, this soil almost appeared to be potting soil. I did not get any signals deeper than 6 inches, which I thought was strange.

I am debating about going back tomorrow to try the 4x6 shooter and the 12" spider. I do not know what to think of the location as a hunting spot, a little disappointing so far. My research had me convinced that I would find some older coins.

Back to the drawing board!

 

[tinpanprospector]

spend some time on the property, get all the trash out then you will find deeper targets and better targets. Take a friend with you, Two people can get the trash faster then one. If they don't have a detector, mark your targets and let them dig, using a pin pointer to find the target. The spot sounds to good to give up on after just one or two tries. you will soon learn how the sprinkler system runs and avoid those areas. You will do good if you stay with it.

 

[steelheadfever]

Use your smallest coil and go slow. I know you have been advised on another forum to crank up your gain. I disagree with that and heres why. If there is alot of iron and trash as I am sure there is, the detector will become unstable and you will go crazy listening to it and it will be hard pinpointing a target. Believe me and just give it a try if it does not work for you your not out anything. We hunt alot of old homes around here and we have found them to be really trashy after all the years of being lived in. Once you have removed a lot of the trash then you may be able to increase the gain. Ask the home owner if he knows if the soil around the house is original or if it has been brought in as fill. If it is fill it will make your job harder, but not impossible. Just be patient and Good luck. HH Dennis in Idaho