We have gotten permission to go over some land that once had a one room school around 1900. Also an old store from the same time period. The old store is still there but the old schoolhouse was taken down for the lumber approx 1935. It has been farmed for 80 years. It is clay soil & rocky. How deep might coins or relics be after 100 years? I doubt the children had much money unless it was pennies. I have the silver umax & unfortunately don't have any other coils yet. From what I have read it sounds like a larger than standard coil would go deeper but hopefully we will find some treasures. The store was owned by my husbands maternal great grandfather it would really mean alot to us to find some treasures. His mother attended the school for at least one year until a new school was built. This is our first hunt on old family property. Thanks for any tips Cathy in NC
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Need tips for hunt for relics from farmland
- Thread starter ccclontz
- Start date
Silverbackbob
Active member
if so, use a shovel not a trowel type digger. It's quicker. Fill your holes. At first, I'd set your detector up in all metal and dig ALL
SIGNALS for awhile just to make sure you aren't passing up any goodies. Remember, the only perfect discriminator is a shovel.
I've hunted old one room schoolyards that are now farm fields and found everything from old coins and tokens to square nails and pieces of an old pot bellied stove that had blown up.
Hope you find lots of keepers. Have fun and report back to us on how you do. Sharing your hunt reports is half the fun, and fun should be your main goal in any hobby. HH. Bob.
SIGNALS for awhile just to make sure you aren't passing up any goodies. Remember, the only perfect discriminator is a shovel.
I've hunted old one room schoolyards that are now farm fields and found everything from old coins and tokens to square nails and pieces of an old pot bellied stove that had blown up.
Hope you find lots of keepers. Have fun and report back to us on how you do. Sharing your hunt reports is half the fun, and fun should be your main goal in any hobby. HH. Bob.
I agree that the children may have had not very much money. In fact you can just about bet on that. However looking at the bigger picture, a lot of times in days of yore, schoolhouses were more than school houses, they doubled as community centers and even polling places. In the 1800s it was common to hand out "four bits" to buy votes. You could come away surprised in the coin department.
Whittling was favorite pastime back then. Every time they pulled theirs knives out to do some whittling, coins that got hung up in the slots of their knife handles fell to the ground. As oldcoon said, the school buildings doubled as other community functions, so you can bet that there was some whittling going on at the schools.
tabman
tabman
,,,,,,,hiya cathy,,,,as far as machines go,,you could probably go as deep as you need with your standard silver,,,,but if you want deeper,,or just in case ,,i would think about gettin a vachero,,,fitted with the 12x10 d.d. coil,,it is deeper ,,but is also very sensitive on small stuff,,probably the best of both worlds,,,it is slightly heavier though,,,so try one out if you can first,,,,,best of luck,,rgdsccclontz said:
Relic Hunting appeals to many of us a little differently. Some people hunt sites where they very seldom encounter a coin, but they are after military buckles, or bullets, or military and other insignia and associated metal items. I hunt older sites for any smaller and interesting 'relics,' but my primary goal is to find old US coins, trade tokens, jewelry and things like keys, locks, thimbles, knives, bullets and cartridge cases, etc., etc.
When working some sites, the ground mineral make-up really plays a role in how you hunt it, and what Discrimination levels you need to use for success.
When working some sites, the ground mineral make-up really plays a role in how you hunt it, and what Discrimination levels you need to use for success.
One-room schools didn't usually service a lot of students. Matter of fact, many older schools had perhapsccclontz said:
fowlercharles
Member
Hi Cathy, Great advice from all the guys, and for sure never fail to read anything Monte puts to us because he knows detecting, and is always there for us! I will try to make my input brief, as possible. Check online land records for the land ownership back as far as possible. That includes original Surveys available for some states that go back as far as 1828-32. Some of those surveys show Indian villages, early trails/roads and sometimes even.homesteads. Might have been someone there pre dating your family.. A couple of "cautions" from my own personal experiences. Old wells(dug) can be ""anywhere"", so be especially watchful of any children you may have with you.. I have encountered a couple of particular hazardous wells that were well hidden by overgrown field grass and underbrush. Both were small,(big enough for a person) and very deep.This next caution may sound weird but I suggest you not take your vehicle into the same pasture with cattle. If so try and keep them away from your vehicle if possible. If not possible to park elsewhere, put all the windows up and hope for the best. Cows especially will lick and chew anything on a vehicle they can get a grip on.Window weather stripping,wipers, mirrors etc.They will even leave teeth marks in the paint when trying to get a grip If they find a window down you have even more trouble.. I said it was weird but it is something not likely considered by folks excited about detecting some old dirt.. HH, Charlie,
Silverbackbob
Active member
He is spot on about the cows. Not to mention them rubbing up against your vehicle too.
Remember to post about your hunt. That's how us snow bound guys get our winter fix!!! HH. Bob.
Remember to post about your hunt. That's how us snow bound guys get our winter fix!!! HH. Bob.
Cathy,
I wish I had had such advice when starting out 35 years ago! The cow thing was a little new, although I now recall memories of a unsettling evening in a field. ...they do like rubbing vehicles. Who knew.
An additional observation that applies most commonly to the concentric coils (as opposed to the double D I saw recommended), is the overlap. Monte mentions his 'favorite' places, and how he continually makes finds on returning trips. No doubt, he tries other areas around the site he may not have been yet, but, you can be sure he goes over areas he's been over before, possibly often. Sometimes, just changing direction will produce signals we either didn't hear, or were ignored as trash initially.
I've seen on more than one occasion, someone 'race' across an area to see where the 'stuff' is, sweeping a pattern more like a 'Z' until finding something. . ..then settle down a little, getting a little more careful and deliberate. One can only imagine what may have been missed during the hasty 100 yard dash. Truth is, there could be just as much where you start out, as there is where you finish. The only way to be sure, is slow, deliberate sweeps, with an overlap somewhere around 1/2 the coil width. This overlap is even more important when in disc mode. So. ..take your time, advance about 1/2 a coil width with each sweep, and maximize your opportunity. My brother in law stepped out of his car, walked 3 steps to the gravel edge, turned on his Silver, started sweeping going toward the grassy, got a hit, stopped, and popped a 20 Franc gold coin 6" deep in the gravel edge. He'd been hunting that park for years. ...in the grass!!! You just never know!!
Lastly, Monte gives great coil advice. I have them from 4" to 11" diameters as well, and for all kinds of models. After all this time, I find that smaller. . .for me as well. ..has been more accurate, much easier to swing, and has no significant loss in depth over it's larger counterparts. 90% of my valuable finds, have been 6" or less and with these coils. Yes, I've found things deeper, but. .. . .also with the 8" or smaller coils. I prefer the 7" and 5 3/4" concentrics which are great for weaving around trash, have terrific disc capability, with both having excellent depth in the areas around Virginia I hunt.
Have a ball, and please keep us all posted on the successes of your hunt. . ..
Best and HH,
-Ric
I wish I had had such advice when starting out 35 years ago! The cow thing was a little new, although I now recall memories of a unsettling evening in a field. ...they do like rubbing vehicles. Who knew.
An additional observation that applies most commonly to the concentric coils (as opposed to the double D I saw recommended), is the overlap. Monte mentions his 'favorite' places, and how he continually makes finds on returning trips. No doubt, he tries other areas around the site he may not have been yet, but, you can be sure he goes over areas he's been over before, possibly often. Sometimes, just changing direction will produce signals we either didn't hear, or were ignored as trash initially.
I've seen on more than one occasion, someone 'race' across an area to see where the 'stuff' is, sweeping a pattern more like a 'Z' until finding something. . ..then settle down a little, getting a little more careful and deliberate. One can only imagine what may have been missed during the hasty 100 yard dash. Truth is, there could be just as much where you start out, as there is where you finish. The only way to be sure, is slow, deliberate sweeps, with an overlap somewhere around 1/2 the coil width. This overlap is even more important when in disc mode. So. ..take your time, advance about 1/2 a coil width with each sweep, and maximize your opportunity. My brother in law stepped out of his car, walked 3 steps to the gravel edge, turned on his Silver, started sweeping going toward the grassy, got a hit, stopped, and popped a 20 Franc gold coin 6" deep in the gravel edge. He'd been hunting that park for years. ...in the grass!!! You just never know!!
Lastly, Monte gives great coil advice. I have them from 4" to 11" diameters as well, and for all kinds of models. After all this time, I find that smaller. . .for me as well. ..has been more accurate, much easier to swing, and has no significant loss in depth over it's larger counterparts. 90% of my valuable finds, have been 6" or less and with these coils. Yes, I've found things deeper, but. .. . .also with the 8" or smaller coils. I prefer the 7" and 5 3/4" concentrics which are great for weaving around trash, have terrific disc capability, with both having excellent depth in the areas around Virginia I hunt.
Have a ball, and please keep us all posted on the successes of your hunt. . ..
Best and HH,
-Ric
Take water. If the heat or dust doesn't dry you out, the wind may. After coming in a few times choking, croaking and dryer than a pop corn fart, you will not forget the water again...............Same thing for extra batteries. Drive out there, get into it and 10 minutes later the batteries quit............ You learn to take back ups. Good luck dear.
Shenandoah Digger
New member
Like Monte said, and contrary to what many posts I've read have said, most coins and artifacts are not that deep. If they sank at the rate many believe, 3000 year old coins in Europe would be undetectable, and yet they are found on a regular basis. I'm not saying that coins on occasion don't reach an undetectable depth, but it is a rarity.