Park closed to detctorists

[Tom_in_CA]

"No digging" does not mean no retrieval. If your city ordinances allow detecting in public places but tell you no digging they mean no holes, plugs etc. However, the use of a screwdriver up to 3/8" may be allowed for retrieval. You need to call city hall or visit them. I did and they gave me a copy of the rules. Permits used to be required but, not any longer. There was a very small list of parks that were off limits for reasons only known to them. There are over 90 other parks to hunt, just in the city limits, the same amount outside those limits but, I'm quite sure the same rules apply.
Don't get that discouraged, if you like to hunt in this park make the effort to use a screwdriver. If the city allows their use, your parks workers won't be able to boot you.
Good hunting.

Bill, this has been an oft-cited way to supposedly circumvent such verbage that might refer to "dig" type of wording. Someone goes out with a screwdriver to prod around in the grass (theoretically doing it in such a way as to not remove any dirt, etc...). The are able to hit the coin or item in this probing fashion. They then wriggle a slit, stick their fingers down in there to get it (or "pry" or "pop" it out) and so forth. The theory being, that this circumvents anyone who might say you're "digging". The semantics becomes, that you try to say "no, I'm only 'popping'" and so forth.

The only thing I have to say about that, is the following:

1) Sure, if someone is really worried someone is watching, then they can try this. But me-thinks that even though YOU and I know this might *technically* be termed something other than digging, did you really think the busy-body is going to instaneously see and deduce the same thing? No. Of course not. They'll simply see you bend over and start poking the ground, and say "aha! he's digging!". And if you (or he) goes to city hall to "clarify" this, .... do you really think they want to be bothered with this semantics debate? I mean, what do you THINK the easy answer is going to be? And even if it's true that you leave absolutely no trace, and truly truly don't "dig" (as in .... "bringing up soil" in your method), you have to put yourselves in their shoes: If they say "yes" to you, then it's a perpetual un-ending policing thing (in their mind), of that the next guy might not be so careful. Thus it's much easier to say to someone "that still constitutes digging, so we're going to have to tell you 'no'". And guess who will win that debate? They will, of course. Thus if someone's going to try this tactic, sure. But let them do it, without asking ANYONE "does this qualify?". Just go do it. If someone has an issue, let them say "but I wasn't digging, I was only popping". Because to think you can nip such an encounter in the bud before you start, will and does often-time simply lead to "no's", when no one might ever have cared or noticed. I'm not saying the logic isn't logical, I'm just saying, I wouldn't put it past someone else's "princely say-so". I would just do it, and ...... if something ever became of it, figure I'm within the law, till-told-otherwise (lest I merely preclude myself from hunting sites from the git-go).

2) Unfortunately some deep turf hunting (for stratified old turf where the silver and oldies are deeper) is just too deep to do such a thing. In other words, "popping" might work for shallow clad, .... but no, you're not going to wriggle out a barber dime from 9". Sure, you can try, (with a really long probe, etc...) but by the time you're done, and the time you get it out, you're going to have a little soil moved, disturbed, removed (read "dug") no matter how you slice it. It will be messy enough, that you'd have actually been cleaner and neater if you'd have just cut a frickin' plug to begin with.

3) if you're probing around for old coins ....... heaven help you when you scratch that 1916 d merc, the 1909 s vdb, and so forth. For clad, no problem. But for old silver coins? No thank you. The LAST thing I want to do is make contact with them with my probe and scratch them.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Tom,Elton has a good point,for now go to another park.I would attend a town meeting and make a request they lift the ban on metal detecting in the park.Lot of these townships and cities like using permits.I volunteer at our city museum,they know I'm into metal detecting.As a Moderator here on the Find's Sovereign Excal forum I have even had members driving through stop at the museum to swap information on sites and detectors.The retired fire chief and police chief of Oxford(who also works at the museum) is always coming up with old town locations and sites to search.We are currently working on an early 1900's train crash site.I'm lucky to be in a small town where they work with our hobby.Good Luck Ron

 

[Tom_in_CA]

....I would attend a town meeting and make a request they lift the ban on metal detecting in the park ....

Ron, your above statement might be true, if the implication implicit there were true. Your statement implies there is a "ban on metal detecting". Go back to the OP. Do you see any such ban on detecting? No. It's only one person's interpretation on other rules they "morph" to apply. Not saying they don't have this authority to do such a thing. But on the other hand, it's not a ban on detecting, per se. It's only a ban on "digging". And as I say, there is ALWAYS bans on digging (or at least words like "alterations" and "defacement" and so forth) in EVERY park across the USA.

Thus what you'd really have to be saying is: "attend a town meeting, and make a request they lift the ban on defacement, alterations, and digging". Now seriously Ron, do you really think any city is going to say "sure, go ahead and dig and deface the park" ? If you and I make the "automatic equivalence" that "metal detecting = destruction" or "metal detecting = digging", then it's like ........ we've lost the battle already.

But sure, if you interpret the OP as that his city "now has a ban on detecting", then picture this: You go down (as you suggest) and get this "ban" lifted. Well, gee, that STILL doesn't allow you to "dig" though does it? There's been no shortage of places where people got their city implement a "permit" or to "allow" detecting, but guess what odd clause is VERY frequently there?: "yes but you can't dig". Doh!

Thus I do not see this as a ban on detecting. And as for the "ban on digging", you and I know this is banned EVERYWHERE (and was "banned" even before the OP had that encounter. It wasn't something "new", as it exists everywhere). Therefore I also do not see such verbage as saying "no metal detecting", because I know I will leave the spots with no trace of my presence.

And as for someone who might "take issue with those semantics and definitions"? I avoid them. Sure, give lip service, and don't argue. And sure, don't "come back 30 minutes later", but .......... I would not in any way see such an encounter as meaning "my city is now off-limits". If that were the case, there's scores of parks I'd have to preclude myself from, in my 35 yrs. of detecting. Places where we got a "scram". But ...... avoided that place (or that person) for a while, and odds are, they're isolated incidents. And now here I am 20+ yrs. later still hunting those parks, and have never heard "boo" again.

 

[togamac]

Tom in CA, I agree with every single thing you've said. You ride a Harley don't you?
My MO is to hide in plain site or use stealth. In public places I've got a yellow safety vest, a hard hat, and a laminated ID hanging around my neck. When people ask me what I'm looking for I reach into my junk sack and pull out my screw cap with the broken glass attached. They thank me for my service. If they ask if I work for the city I say no, I'm a volunteer.
If there are no "No Tresspassing" on private property, I ride up to it on my bike, wait for the traffic to clear and me and the bike go into the woods. If I'm challenged I politely explain that I didn't see any signs
Listen to Tom people!

 

[downeaster]

Tom, while I basically agree with some of your post...long...I would like to add this: I responded to a post concerning Portland, Maine. The holes I referred to weren't carefully refilled holes left by a responsible detectorist, they were gaping holes dug with a spade,plugs still folded back and trash targets left where they were found. I personally saw this because I was shown them by the park maintenance people and a police officer. They knew that it wasn't me who had done this but the word came down to close the park to all detecting. Whether or not there is a law banning metal detecting in a particular area, once asked to leave by the police, if you return, you can be charged with trespassing. I have been detecting for 53 years and this problem has gotten worse . It only takes one irresponsible person to close a park or site to everyone.

 

[BillF]

Tom,
My reference to a screwdriver comes directly from the rules for metal detecting city parks in the city I live in. It was not an attempt to circumvent any law or imply that someone should use a screwdriver to get around their local laws.
I told the poster to call or visit the city hall where he lives. The city officials in his/her city may also feel that using a screwdriver is not digging. If you dont ask, you wont know.
Pretending to be ignorant of local laws or just detecting any old place that sparks your interest without asking for permission, on the off-chance that it will spark someones interest and in turn get you banned from ever detecting that spot is just as negative for this hobby as the T.V. shows that we all seem to be disgusted by.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

downeaster, 53 yrs eh? What kind of machine were you using in 1960? The fellows who got me started in this, in the mid 1970s, had an older brother (who'd now be over 70 yrs. old I imagine), who got a big Whites detector (probably a BFO), in about 1963 or '64. As far as anyone in our town knows, this was the first detector to ever be used here. He had just answered a classified ad in the back of one of those "True West" or "Desert Lore" type magazines. Something to the effect of "find buried treasure! send for your free catalog!". So he sent off the catolog. After flipping through the Whites catalog, decided on one particular model, and sent his money in. A few weeks later, he was the proud owner of this big old Whites detector Mind you, he'd never actually ever seen one in use. Didn't know about headphones (perhaps those days they didn't even have a jack?), and didn't know where to use it, etc... So he read the instruction manual. In the back was a list of "suggested places". You know, like "schools, parks, beaches, ghost towns", etc.... So he took it over to the local school yard here (blt 1921), and went to it. Within a few years, he had a litteral shoe-box full of silver! It was not unusual to get 10 or 12 silvers in a few hours. But go figure, silver was still in circulation. And I don't think much of what they got was very old, as the machine only went a few inches deep. And of that, he probably was only going for the loud "bongs", so they tended to get more quarters and halves than we do today

Anyhow, do tell us what machine you started with, how deep it could go, the type places you hunted, the type finds you made, etc... My first machine was a 66TR. That was an all-metal TR which was sold up till about 1972 or '73-ish. I had gotten it as a used machine in about 1976. So it was only "a few years old". But was very quickly a dinasour. Because as you know, from the early '70s to the late '70s, was lightening fast evolution years for detectors.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

downeaster, yes it's certainly possible that holes could be one of the causes of a city making a rule. Other ways are simply that it's the admitted connotation that our hobby has (even if a hole was never actually seen). And a 3rd way for rules to exist: someone(s) goes in asking "can I metal detect in the park here?" And they find someone to tell them "no". And then the city goes out to make an actual rule saying such a thing (to "address this pressing issue")

But when you think about it, guys leaving holes with trash next to them, is already falling afoul of laws and rules of any city. We already all agree "this is wrong". Since you and I leave no trace of our presence (unlike that person's holes you describe), I'll be durned if I'm going to suffer for someone else's wrongs, as long as I can stay off the radar and not become subject to it. So there's really nothing to dispute here. And yes it could be the cause of some city's enacted rules. And in that case, sure, you *might* get the city to see that: "those clowns were the exception, but WE md'rs are nice and neat and wouldn't do that, so please re-open the parks". In that case, you'd be fighting a specific in-place rule that really truly said "no detecting". I have no problem with solidarity to fight specific actual rules against us. I just don't like when someone thinks they need to ask permission, where no specific rule exists (or because they see a "no digging or defacement" rule). Or to "pre-empt" things by going down and asking "does the alterations clause apply to me?". Or suggesting permits as a wonderful thing to pre-empt a rule from ever coming, etc... But sure, if one really specifically did exist, then by all means, we THEN "need permission" and can join in solidarity to fight such things. But ... no, not as a pre-emptive or reactionary move just because you met one busy-body who didn't like md'rs (when no specific rule exists and they are merely morphing something else).

Yes, I've written that I do not doubt that if an md'r is told to "scram" by a cop who's morphed ancillary things to apply, that yes: if you subsequently return and the same cop sees you (or gets a 2nd call on you doing the same thing 30 minutes later, etc...), that yes, that could constitute a crime. Because you had failed to heed a warning. I agree.

But oddly, no, I still do not see those type bootings as being equivalent to a rule forbidding detecting. I know I just sound like I contradicted myself, but let me explain in a true story:

There's a park in CA that I've hunted for over 30 yrs. now, whenever I'm passing through that part of our state. It's a few hours away from me. It's given up a lot of barbers, early mercs, IH's, tokens, etc.... In all those years, I had never had a problem, nor had any of my friends who hunted it. But then one time about 10 yrs. ago, a buddy and I "got the boot" from a lady cop. She was quite on a "power trip", and insinsuated that we were tearing up or hurting the park, etc... Well as it turns out, my friend and I were just wrapping it up for that day. So we just paid her lip service and left. Because as I say, I only pass through that part of the state 2 or 3x p/yr to get to hunt there anyhow.

A few months after that booting, I started corresponding with someone in that town via a metal detecting forum. We began to compare notes about places we'd hunted in common, finds, and so forth. Then I brought up to him how we'd been "booted from the downtown park by a lady cop a few months earlier". The only thing my new friend from that town could say, was that he was perplexed, because "there's no rules saying you can't detect", and he'd "... detected there for few years now, and never had any problems". Nonetheless, what I was saying bothered him (afterall, no one likes to hear that someone else got booted from a place you considered "fair game" right? And also because it turns out his wife was "very connected" in this small town (had an inlaw or something on city council or something). So this guy was telling me "I'm going to get to the bottom of this, find out what cop that was, and SET HER STRAIGHT", blah blah blah. But the more I thought about, I realized that a) in all the years I'd gone, this was the first time that had happened (despite being in full view of several major streets). and b) in all his years of going, he too had never heard "boo". Thus to me, if this new friend was to go down to city hall and "start asking a bunch of questions", it might work AGAINST us, and ..... become some sort of "front and center issue that needs to be looked at" So I told my friend to just "let it boil over" and do nothing. I mean, sure, if he too got booted, and it appeared to be beyond isolated, then sure, work his family "connections" or "fight it", etc... But barring that, perhaps we should treat it as isolated. Who knows? maybe the lady-cop got a call and felt she had to satisfy the griper? Maybe she was on the rag and forgot to take her Midol to work? who knows? So my new friend took my advice to heart, and we did nothing.

That was 10 yrs. ago, and I've been back DOZENS of times. Now admittedly, I did not go back "30 minutes later" or "the very next day", etc... I mean sure, I have the presence of mind to ... uh ... be a little discreet. And sure, I'm only in that part of the state a few times per year, so it was easy for me to "give it a rest". But .. nothing ever happened again. At first I might have been a little "skittish" the next time or two, but eventually forgot all about it. Now I waltz through there at high noon, and never think about it anymore. No one ever said a thing again. So you can see, that contrast to if I'd gone to city hall to "make a big stink" (assuming this qualified as a new and actual "rule"), I just paid lip service, and chose a more discreet time.

For example: if a cop boots you at 9am, then it's safe to assume this is a cop with a morning shift. Well, duh .... go after 5pm next time, when its not going to be his shift. If it was a park worker, then odds are, they cut out for the day at 5 or 6pm, or don't work sundays, etc....

I know I am contradicting myself. On the one hand, I acknowledge that a "duly appointed official" can in fact interpret various laws, to fit a myriad of circumstances, as they arise in the field. And that we citizens are duty-bound to comply on a cop's orders. But ON THE OTHER hand, I turn right around and say that I will certainly go back, and hunt anyhow, and avoid "just that one duly appointed official". Yes, I admit that sounds like a blaring contradiction. But if you and I to think we're going to get every last person to love us, and for "red carpets to be rolled out" for us, just aint gonna happen. Sure I wish it wasn't this way, but it is. And while I know I've contradicted myself, I'm just letting you know, that in actual practice, sometimes it's the only way to go. Kinda like: if you get flipped off in traffic because someone didn't like your lane change, and they felt you cut them off. Do you go over to them and try to placate them, and explain that you actually weren't making an unsafe move in traffic? HECK, you probably WERE making an un-safe lane-change in traffic, haha. So do you try to appease them, get their approval, etc...? NO, you move away from his car, and avoid that driver's gaze and ignore him. He'll "get over it" and you, ...... you'll probably do another unsafe lane change or exceed the speed limit later anyhow. So too is it the same for md'ing: sometimes you just have to know which hornet's nests not to swat, instead of trying to get all the hornets to love you.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

If a city specifically says "you can retrieve with a screwdriver", then great. I was un-aware that this was actuall allowance by a particular city. But there are others who have used the "popping" or "probing" vocabulary, and avoid the word "digging", .... and use a screwdriver instead of leshe, etc.... ALL to have the feeling (and maybe truthfully justifiably so) to avoid falling afould of "digging" clauses. Yes that would work for shallow clad. But now it would not work for 9" deep barbers and IH's. In any case, I didn't know you were citing a city's code where they have some sort of allowance. Sheesk, hard to argue with that, eh? Heck, I can even retrieve coins from 9" with a beefy enough and long enough screw-driver. By the time I'm done though, it might be more messy than if I'd just made a plug though. Doh!

If the poster wonders if there is such a rule (as like the city you cite) in his own city, then he should proceed *very* carefully with the advice to "visit city hall where he lives and ask...". I mean, can't he look it up himself? Certainly the city/muni codes, laws, charter, etc... are all available for public viewing. Like on the city website, or in binder form down at city hall, etc.... He can go through and satisify himself it there is anything there that says "you can dig with a screwdriver". And if he found nothing saying he can or he can't dig that way (ie.: silent on the subject), then I would take that "silence" as the "absence of a prohibition". In other words: An activity need not be "expressly allowed", in order for a person to be able to do it. For example: You will find no rules or allowances that "allow" you to fly a frisbee, right? On the contrary, a person assumes he can fly a frisbee, unless there were a rule saying "no frisbee flying".

No, I am not advocating being "ignorant of local laws" as you suggest I am. By all mean, know local laws and abide by them. But to "know local laws" does NOT mean "go ask permission to metal detect". See the difference? A person can "know the local laws" by looking them up for himself. And if he sees nothing there that says "no metal detectors", then presto, it's not prohibited. How much more law abiding can a person be than this??

If you go asking a person at city hall "can I dig with a screwdriver?, this can often-time net you something like: "No. You can't dig or probe or anything, in any fashion, whatever". Etc... And sadly, answers like that have occurred in places where detecting had always just gone on, and no one had ever had a problem before (the old psychology "no one cared, till you asked" routine)

 

[BillF]

When I suggested calling or visiting city hall I didnt mean to ask permission, only to inquire what the statutes state regarding detecting and retrieval. Asking permission is better saved for private properties.
Also, pretending ignorance of local laws wasnt meant to be directed at you, its a sentiment I've read on Findmall more than once.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Tom,I'm on your side,but since there is no ban on metal detecting your fine.Good Luck Ron

 

[downeaster]

Tom, I started detecting in 1960. I was introduced to it by an uncle who had been doing it before that. My first detector was his old hand me down Fisher ( don't remember the model) but it had tubes and a wooden coil.. I started hunting mostly school grounds and the local fairground. What did it get for depth ? I can remember eyeballing nickels that the detector didn't pick up, but it probably got three inches on a coin, on a good day.. I used a several other machines like Heathkit, Metrotech, Garrett BFO until I bought my first new detector, a Gardiner, in 1971.. I learned early on that I wasn't really interested in looking for pennies, so I started detecting cellar holes and early colonial sites. In 1974 or so, I started using Compass machines, and they really opened up new doors as far as finds. I have since used, or tried,most everything that had come down the road since then,I currently use an MXT, among others. I wish that I had 53 more years to go !! How about filling us in on your past detecting history? When did you start ? What was your first detector ?

 

[downeaster]

I am not about to turn this into a debate as everyone has their own opinion. My thoughts are why take the chance on going back without permission to do so ? What could I possibly find in that park that would be worth, or pay for, the expense of being arrested ? If I can't be open and upfront about something, I won't do it. Period. Going to the proper authorities to get permission, or try to change their minds, is always the correct way to do things. Unless you are on your own property, you are on property that belongs to someone else and subject to their rules and laws pertaining to the use of their property, whether we like them or not.." Public" property may not be public except to inhabitants of a particular town, or that "public" property may be under the care of a land management program, in which case, they are paid to make the decisions..Park workers are obligated to protect and preserve the property that they maintain, that's a condition of their job. The police are obligated to investigate complaints or to back up park workers when they are confronted with someone who is irate and refuses to leave. I don't like it any more than you do, but I am not about to sneak back in after being told to leave and take the chance of making matters worse for myself, and everyone else.. We need to start thinking about all of us and not just ourselves and our wants/needs. If we don't like the law, don't break it, change it.

 

[Coinseeker 78]

-- moved topic --

 

[Tom_in_CA]

... How about filling us in on your past detecting history? When did you start ? What was your first detector ?

In about 1975 or so, a jr. high school chum friend of mine took me out detecting. I was his appointed "digger boy" haha. He had a 77b (or perhaps it was a 94b?). Anyhow, as you know those were great for a few years for their time. From the time the 77b in the early '70s, till the era of discriminators came out in the later '70s, those were the best machines. They trumped Whites, Fisher, Garretts, etc.... in that era of all-metal TR's.

Anyhow, this school chum had some older brothers, who were 15 or 18 yrs. older than him. Thus they were already adults, had kids, careers, etc... The one of his older brothers had actually gotten a detector about 1963. That got the next younger brother interested in detecting, so he too went out and got a machine by the late '60s. The last and youngest brother (my friend) would tag along with those older brothers, while they plied all the local older school yards in our town. However, when the youngest brother got old enough, they went out and got him "his own machine". That turned out to the Compass. At the time they got that for him, they just "assumed" it was a kids toy model low-end machine, because, afterall, their Whites machines were BIG, long, boxy, more expensive, etc... I guess in those days, people just assumed that bigger meant more superior, deeper, etc..... Well imagine their surprise when they all discovered that this little green machine was out-hunting the older brothers "bigger better machines" doh!

Anyhow, I went out with this friend a few times in about 1975. I recall that on a good day, we might get the usual clad, a few wheaties, maybe a buffalo, a silver ring, etc.. And on a really good day, a merc or silver washington Never more than 15 or 20 coins in a hunt, as I recall. There were no discriminators, so foil and tabs were a constant nuisance. I got hooked real hard and fast, so I had to have my own machine. So I took every last penny of my summer job money (a whopping $100, which was a lot for a kid in 1975 or '76) and found a used machine to buy: a Whites 66TR. Those are also an all-metal TR, and are circa very early '70s. I think they were sold up to perhaps '73 or '74? Anyhow, I started running around town hitting schools and knocking on doors of older homes to hit the yards. But right away, we started seeing guys with discriminators (like the 5000D, groundhog, etc...) showing up. And very quickly realized that all-metal TRs were becoming dinasours. Doh! So I went and got a Garrett Groundhog in about 1979 or '80. However, that too was quickly obsolete, since motion discriminators were coming on to the market and kicking our b*tts (the 6000d, for instance). So in 1982 I got a Garrett ADS II (which was garrett's "answer" to the 6000d). And so on and so forth through all the evolutions of tech. in the '80s, '90s, etc....

The thing I remember from those very early days (and from talking to the guys who got me into it, and hearing about hunting in the 1960s), was that no one really thought about the very exotic places. I mean, we wouldn't have known to hit old town demolition sites, or after beach storms, etc.... (heck, I don't think the TRs could really have worked on wet mineral salt anyhow). We strictly hit turf. I think a few times I tried my hand at something odd like a stage-coach stop, but ....... after 5 or 10 pieces of junk, would quickly loose interest, and go back to turfed school yards. Looking back, I KICK MYSELF when I think of all the virgin places I could have gone. But junk-tolerance was very low for us. I recall the site of one stage stop I'd tried, and remember finding henry shells, toe taps, and other such "age indicators" of the 1800s. But in my ignorance, thought "ah junk, why am I wasting my time here?" and left. But 25 yrs. later, when I was older and wiser, have gone back to that VERY SAME SPOT and pulled seateds, reales, etc.... (because now I recognize the value of those "age-indicators" as "good" junk).

So too was the mindset of a hunter from Los Angeles area I spoke to once. He had started in 1964 with a metrotech. And NEVER hit anything except "sandboxes". Oh, and maybe the dry sand on the beach now and then. But simply had no idea to go to ghost towns or anything exotic. Heck, at that time, you probably could have gone to Bodie and gotten away with it. But at that time, they thought it was just kinda cool to be able to get $3 or so in change, since you could get beer and fill up your gas tank for that amount of money then

 

[michaelosully]

All of this has been covered many times and has many viewpoints. You do not have the right to MD anywhere if you listen to some, you have the right to MD but not dig if you listen to some, you have the right to MD but if asked to leave by a LEO for any reason ... you best do it, etc., etc., etc.

In my town I have been informed by the powers that be that I have the right to MD in my public parks...HOWEVER, I can't dig, deface, etc. Only got this ruling after first being informed that MDing was not allowed and then forcing the issue which torqued me to some extent. Well, I now enjoy MDing my parks with my MD and my video camera for visual evidence if it becomes necessary (no digging, no defacing, etc.). Guess it's bothersome to the powers that be and to some of you that believe I shouldn't challenge the powers that be... but they kinda bother me with their interpretations of ordinances, rules, and regs. in an attempt to keep me from exercising a right to recreate in a recreational park. By the way, some parks and powers that be don't want you flying your kite either. So, my point would be You Have No Rights Unless You Are Willing to Stand Up and Fight For Your Rights.

You do what you have to do to handle your situation. As for me, I may be old ... but if the powers that be want to push me around because of their agenda, I make time to push their buttons.

Guess you could call me a 'retired button pusher'.

 

[downeaster]

Tom, I had to chuckle at your " digger boy " comment as I have always thought that was exactly why my uncle took me with him in the first place. It all worked out because I got hooked on detecting, he gave me an old machine of his and he had an instant partner. I couldn't agree more about those early Compass Yukons, nothing could touch them at the time. They opened up a whole new world of detecting for me. There wasn't any aluminum trash then like there is today either, bottle caps were the worst. I started detecting old cellar holes here...there are hundreds of them...and researching early colonial and French and Indian war sites and had a ball. All those sites had never seen a detector. Fairgrounds and parks were loaded with coins. As you said, silver was still in circulation and Mercs and Barbours were a common find. Nobody cared then where you detected and most were curious about what you were looking for with that mine detector. I've gone back to some of those old sites with newer and newer detectors, but you know what ? Those old Deepseekers, Coinmasters and Yukons didn't miss much.