los angeles barrio hunt

[Mike in Dana Point Ca]

hi all,

hit the L.A. barrio with the crew yesterday. hunted with staydetuned, dana point val, captn SE and soundsgood. we all met at a new barrio park that only soundsgood has been to. i think the last time he had been there was '75. he mentioned some great old coins that he found there back then, and we were all excited to put our coils to the soil and get some of our own.

jayson, soundsgood and i started hunting around 7:30 am. val and dan were due to arrive in a short while. within 45 minutes i had three rosies in my pocket and a few wheats. these rosies in this particular area were not really deep, maybe 4-5 inches. we eventually made our way to the opposite end of the park, dodging sprinklers as we hunted. some areas were pretty wet. i personally would rather hunt a dry park over a wet one anyday, despite what is said about the wetness adding depth. but i digress.

i hunted around and managed another silver coin, a '17 merc in decent shape. probably dropped in the '20's. two minutes later i dug up a nice silver ring. by now, dan and val had shown up and joined the hunt. dan's first dug target was a wheat; val's was a '41 washington. i thought to myself, 'this day is going to be alright!' it was then my stomach started SCREAMING at me. i was so hungry that i started hoping that the next target i dug was going to be a double cheeseburger. so i left and picked up sandwiches for my partners in crime.when i returned with a bagful of drinks and subway sandwiches, dan informed me that he had just found two mercs and jayson said that he had found a rosie. i smiled and congratulated. then i ate. and ate and ate.

after lunch i powered up the explorer and started hunting again, finding two wheats right off the bat. then i got a signal that sounded decent. it was deep, and was not super high in tone. it wasn't terribly repeatable either. val listened to it and said, "it sounds low...but it's deep. maybe a war nickel." as he walked away i said, "or an indian head" as i knelt down and prepared to dig. eight inches later i was holding a green '04 IH! the day just kept getting better and better. or so i thought...

a few miniutes after the IH i noticed a woman standing nearby on her cell phone. for some reason i immediately thought she was calling the police on us. turns out, she worked with the maintenence dept. and was calling her supervisor. the supervisor shows up and the two of them talk by the curb of the street for about ten minutes, not saying one word to us. next thing you know, the PO PO rolls up in their police SUV and say they had a complaint and that we have to leave. the cops were cool, but they said they just had to take action since a complaint was made. so we left.

we hit another park somewhat nearby that produced the '27 walker for dan. i got three wheats there and no silver. val got two rosies and some wheats, but this park is tough. dan called it a day, and val, jayson and myself decided to end the day back at the barrio park we all hit weeks ago. so we make the short drive to the other park and start hunting with about an hour of daylight left. i focus on the area that produced barbers and indians for dan and jayson in the last cople weeks. it's pounded but i was just going slow listening for a peep of anything. then, just as it was getting dark i got my peep. it was a squishy, mushy mess of a signal that was high enough in tone, but it wasn't a tight signal. i let jayson listen and he said it sounded irony. then he listened a bit more and said maybe it was a deep keeper with trash around it. i started digging and at around eight inches of hard packed clay i pop out a silver coin. i yell at jayson "silver!" and get up to do a dance. but then i thought, 'i better check to see what that is- it's probably gonna be old since it was in this area and so deep. so i take a second look and yep, BARBER, baby! 1900 s. details looked sharp under the dirt. i decided not to clean it or wipe it right away. instead i waited 'til i got home to rinse it off.

turns out it's the best detailed barber i've ever dug. the back still has mint luster. the front has some darkness on it, but it has , without a doubt, full liberty visible. every letter.

so, despite the cops booting us out, it turned out to be a great day in the 'hood. thanks for reading.

wayne, great to meet you.

HH,

Mike

 

[Mike in Dana Point Ca]

front

 

[Mike in Dana Point Ca]

back

 

[Mike in Dana Point Ca]

before rinsing

 

[Mike in Dana Point Ca]

a beautiful day in the neighborHOOD

 

[DukeOBass]

That's a sweet Barber Mike! Nice Find!

 

[CAgem]

I am consumed with envy Perhaps some day I'll find a good park. Thank you for sharing your good luck and hard work.

 

[gobble-gobble]

n/t

 

[dcr]

Nice finds, but the question remains as to why you had to leave the park. People complain all the time, but it does not form a basis to have someone removed from a public place. Were you breaking the law by digging in the park? If so, then you placed yourself at risk by moving to another LA park and doing the same.

The reason that this kinda hits a nerve with me is that people who complain without any foundation, yet get results, continue complain about other people doing exactly what you were doing. After a while, a sort of cult forms around the result of the baseless complaint, to the point that people begin to believe that the activity is against the law, even if it is not.

I would do some checking with the Parks & Rec to see if you can or cannot dig in the park. If you can, I'd go right back to the prior park and look for the cell phone woman and start digging right in front of her. Let her call to her hearts content. When the police come, you can explain to them that you are being harassed by this woman who is calling in bogus complaints. Turn the tables on her! If they still want you to leave, politely ask to speak with a supervisor and request to know on what authority you are being asked to leave a public place.

 

[Mike in Dana Point Ca]

we actually did speak at length to the cops. we asked them why we couldn't detect in a park that's paid for with our tax dollars. they said we could use the park, but once we start digging, we're destroying park property. the cops went on to say that if they had seen us as they were just driving by, they never would have stopped us. but since there was a complaint made they have to take action.

we stuck around and found the lady who made the call. we asked her why she called the cops and she said that "there were just too many plugs being dug". she said it would have been different if it was just one here and one there. my friend was polite to her, and she was acting tough and power tripping at first, but she kind of softened up towards the end. not soft enough to change her mind, though.

my buddy also spoke to a gentleman inside the office at the park. the guy said to come back in a week or so and speak to him, and he would see about working it out to where we could detect. he said they are seeding the park right now, and that's why the workers were so sensitive.

we'll see. this is a super old park and it would be a shame to have it be permanently off- limits.

i'll keep you posted.

 

[Doctorcoinz]

How to metal detect on a park with minimal chances of trouble from "doo gooders".
Hunting on a park can fairly often get you thrown off the park or maybe even jailed (in extreme circumstances) here a a few tips from an ex park hunting specialist.
A low profile approach is the best way to go on parks when wanting to use a metal detector , this means going detecting on the park when the weather is wet and drizzly also always detect alone this gets less attention from "doo gooders" who want the cops on your rear end. Always head for the park towards the end of the day when few hours sunlight left this reduces chances of parkeeper or park-ranger seeing you.Rule number 1 is also never be seen with a big digging tool if possible this is enough for you to get thrown off the park , please always carry a small lesche trowel and keep it hidden from view. Become super fast at digging the coin out! , try not to get seen digging as this does not go down well if spotted by parkeeper (uk) or parkranger usa. Hunt at night on the park if the park is good and has not been worked before it could be worth hunting a few hours after daylight. If you get thrown off a park you can always return at a later date usually no one will bother you again as you were just unlucky to meet a do gooder in the first place.

 

[dcr]

There are some good tips, but most municipal parks close around dusk or sunset. Just being in the park after dark is enough to get you a ticket. Also, since most parks have hours, the enforcement of those hours normally happens at opening and closing times. If you are there when the light is getting low, you stand a pretty good chance of being spotted by park staff or las enforcement.

My advice is to stay away during peak hours and weekends. This is also the time when a lot of parks do their routing maintenance, so watch out for park staff. If you have chatted with them previously, no problem. If you haven't, it's better to go somewhere else until they are finished and out of the way.

Great tip to hunt as a single. Too many detectors tend to draw a crowd. Hunting when the weather is bad tends to keep away both park employees and nosy citizens.

Just because you are digging a plug does not mean that you are destroying anything. If it properly replaced, they shouldn't even be able to find where you dug. Beware of regulations that don't allow you to "disturb" the soil or turf. California State Parks have that very law on the books. Absent such a regulation, I would challenge anyone to prove that I was "destroying" park property.

 

[digitrich]

"a few miniutes after the IH i noticed a woman standing nearby on her cell phone. for some reason i immediately thought she was calling the police on us. turns out, she worked with the maintenence dept. and was calling her supervisor. the supervisor shows up and the two of them talk by the curb of the street for about ten minutes, not saying one word to us. next thing you know, the PO PO rolls up in their police SUV and say they had a complaint and that we have to leave. the cops were cool, but they said they just had to take action since a complaint was made. so we left."

That would have made me flip, if I was in a park, where it was legal to detect, and it was during the open hours of that particular park, and I, in no way was interfering with other's use of said same park then::: THEY WOULD HAVE HAD TO ARRESTED ME. Because with any other result, I would be condoning and empowering their unfair and wrongful, ignorant treatment of myself and my legal pursuit of my own happiness and anybody else's. I pay taxes, I assume you do too. Did you not have a right to be there as much as the guy walking a shitting dog??????? We need a voice because that woman next week is going to do that same thing to someone else in a different park, in your park, in every park. At the very least, I would demand her identity, her position, and especially her reasoning, a bloody explanation! Carry a piece of broken glass and a rusty large nail in your pouch next time and ask them if they would like you to put them back. Sorry that this happened to you. Some guys will say that people left holes in the park and that's why they treat detectorists this way, it's more like some people are jealous, anal, scared, control freaks that get off on stopping you from getting off. If one guy doesn't pick up his dog crap, does that mean no one can have a dog in the park???? Not likely. That's just plain wrong. If a fisherman litters, do they close fishing to everyone? If someone speeds in a car down Oak Street, does that mean no one can drive anymore on Oak Street??? Sorry for ranting, but man that crap ticks me off.

 

[mattockman]

n/t

 

[jbow]

In the City of Atlanta parks they have a rule that you cannot even drive a stake into the ground but it is applied to lawn areas. They do not want digging in the lawn or around shrubs. They have put a sign up on Cascade Rd at the nature preserve, citing this section of code and applying it to the woods there. The sign says "absolutely NO digging or disturbing of the soil". I do not see how they can make it stick as the law does not address wooded areas. I think sometimes the "officials" stretch the law a bit.

I just do my thing and try to keep a low profile, I have had no problems... luckily.

Julien

 

[jbow]

I think she ruined her whole argument when she said this:

she said that "there were just too many plugs being dug". she said it would have been different if it was just one here and one there.

Either it is against the rules or it is not against the rules. She cannot arbitrarily decide what is ok and what is not ok. I'd go back...

Julien

 

[jbow]

It is against the law to disturb the soil here in GA but if no one complains, and they usually don't... the cops just ask if you're finding anything.


We also have a law that requires written permission to hunt on any private property. It was written because the archies don't want anyone digging up indian stuff except them, the archies. The DNR has broadened it to include all metal detecting on private property. However, it usually isn't enforced unless you are hunting a property that border's a national battlefield park. The rangers think that they own the neighboring properties too. I don't get it.
There was a guy a couple of years ago who got a ticket for this and went to court, the judge threw it out and was not kindly toward the officer. It is a stupid law. If the property owner does not care... why should the government? Thye shouldn't...

J

 

[Mike in Dana Point Ca]

jbow,

i know what you mean...it's either ok or it's not. but, the cops said that it actually WAS against the rules. the lady who called basically said that it was against the rules to disturb the turf, but i would have ignored you if there hadn't been a plug every few feet.

we will go back, but we will spread out and go with fewer hunters. when she called the cops there were four of us plugging away in a small area. i'm not saying that i agree with her, and i do think she was power-tripping a little bit.

 

[dcr]

Then I would ask for the specific code section. In California State Parks there is such a law. I have seen few California municipal parks with such a regulation. Remember if it isn't in writing it isn't a law in California.

 

[jbow]

n/t