Remember years ago . . .

[Tony N (Michigan)]

Do you remember years ago when the Explorer forum was a daily barrage of great finds? People all over the U.S. were
finding incredible finds and posting them here.
I wonder where everyone went? Did their finds dry up?

 

[Dan(NM)]

After 17 years of pounding sites with the Explorer, Etrac and other Minelabs, I'm thinking the sites are getting rather cleaned out, this is what I'm facing here in the small town I live in.

 

[IDXMonster]

After 17 years of pounding sites with the Explorer, Etrac and other Minelabs, I'm thinking the sites are getting rather cleaned out, this is what I'm facing here in the small town I live in.

Exactly the same here guys,the silver is gone when it's gone. We have all done pretty well considering how many came before us and picked everything easy. The machines we have are at the top of the crop, but the coins have to be there in the first place. Things are certainly dried up in public places. Working the edges,under bushes,etc. might get a few more,I've done just that and had a few more good finds. Kinda like eating an ENTIRE container of yogurt..you know, where you have to use the very tip of the spoon to get under that edge at the top...we're just batting cleanup in most places.

 

[D&P-OR]

Dem were da days (sings Archie Bunker).------We're just cleaning up the crumbs guys!!------I started in this great hobby 42 yrs. ago and I'm STILL having fun though (even at 78 yrs. of age)

 

[diggervance]

Hey Tony,

4 years ago I found 78 silver coins, 3 years ago 74, last year a record high for me at 95, this year 22 and struggling to hit that. lol

I'm not complaining I only take what the silver gods throw at me.lol This is a hobby I enjoy for the artifacts and it keeps me off the couch.

D.V.

 

[tiftaaft]

Been detecting for about a year.... sure wish I had started this hobby years ago. I am jealous of you veterans that helprd clean out all the sites lol! While the finds are tough tbese days... it sure is a blast. Best hobby ever.

 

[Elton]

Etrac , Safari, 3030 ................ People move on buying the latest detectors. Does not mean the Great Explorer can't still find the good things..Just not as many people use them now.

 

[Nuke em]

I have noticed the lack of finds in the past few years when i detected land . Now i detect mainly beaches and now its happening again .
Only this time its beaches building up and most importantly the "cashless" society thats happening .
My finds rate for this year is 40% down on last year and i will be lucky to hit my revised target .

I wonder what new delight Minelab will launch next month ?
Will it be a X.Terra replacement ? 75% Most likely , the Terra's are now old and need a replacement
Will it be a replacement for the ET / Safari ? 20% They may be old but a new machine will clash with sales of the CTX
Will it be a new Excalibur ? 5% Hope not , just bought one

OR maybe a new digital Sovereign on a lighter straight stem with a Pro coil ? but thats just a pipe dream .

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

Hey Tony,

4 years ago I found 78 silver coins, 3 years ago 74, last year a record high for me at 95, this year 22 and struggling to hit that. lol

I'm not complaining I only take what the silver gods throw at me.lol This is a hobby I enjoy for the artifacts and it keeps me off the couch.

D.V.

D.V., I sure wish I knew your secret to finding so many silvers. I'm lucky to find about four a year.
Detecting with you has been better for me in the silver department. It used to be many years ago I was finding a lot more silvers.

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

After 17 years of pounding sites with the Explorer, Etrac and other Minelabs, I'm thinking the sites are getting rather cleaned out, this is what I'm facing here in the small town I live in.

Exactly the same here guys,the silver is gone when it's gone. We have all done pretty well considering how many came before us and picked everything easy. The machines we have are at the top of the crop, but the coins have to be there in the first place. Things are certainly dried up in public places. Working the edges,under bushes,etc. might get a few more,I've done just that and had a few more good finds. Kinda like eating an ENTIRE container of yogurt..you know, where you have to use the very tip of the spoon to get under that edge at the top...we're just batting cleanup in most places.

There's a guy here in Michigan in our club who consistently finds at least 300 silvers per year. He uses the E-trac only and has done so for 10 or so years when they came out with it.

 

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

Been detecting for about a year.... sure wish I had started this hobby years ago. I am jealous of you veterans that helprd clean out all the sites lol! While the finds are tough tbese days... it sure is a blast. Best hobby ever.

That's what I said 16 years ago when I started, after guys who started 20 years before that told me stories about filling up cigar boxes with old silver coins

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

Been detecting for about a year.... sure wish I had started this hobby years ago. I am jealous of you veterans that helprd clean out all the sites lol! While the finds are tough tbese days... it sure is a blast. Best hobby ever.

That's what I said 16 years ago when I started, after guys who started 20 years before that told me stories about filling up cigar boxes with old silver coins

When I was in California I heard of this man who donated all his finds to the local Catholic Church. He started detecting many many years ago and from what I understand, had some 5 gallon buckets filled with coins he detected. It amounted to a lot of money.

 

[IDXMonster]

Been detecting for about a year.... sure wish I had started this hobby years ago. I am jealous of you veterans that helprd clean out all the sites lol! While the finds are tough tbese days... it sure is a blast. Best hobby ever.

That's what I said 16 years ago when I started, after guys who started 20 years before that told me stories about filling up cigar boxes with old silver coins

When I was in California I heard of this man who donated all his finds to the local Catholic Church. He started detecting many many years ago and from what I understand, had some 5 gallon buckets filled with coins he detected. It amounted to a lot of money.

Literally in 6.5 years I think if I kept all my clad it would've filled a 2 gallon container. I have a quart pickle jar I fill up then take in,and have done so many times...it adds up for sure! That being said,I've found about 200 silver coins,mostly with the Explorer2 and CTX. And I'm aware of how well Mr. Holliday does, he's a phenomenal hunter from what I understand....
All the Minelabs and other machines as well will pluck the silver. Location is EVERYTHING. All else is secondary.

 

[DougF]

About the time I got my Explorer (2009), I ran into one of the old timers in a park I was hunting. He told me how many old coins they used to find there in the "old days" (1980s ?). He didn't say it to discourage me, though (He has since passed away). I have since found many old coins in that park and others. One of the "secrets" is that around 1960-1970 maintenance at the parks was cut back, and many of the picnic grove areas were allowed to get overgrown. If you're willing to deal with the ticks and poison ivy, you can find good stuff there.

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

About the time I got my Explorer (2009), I ran into one of the old timers in a park I was hunting. He told me how many old coins they used to find there in the "old days" (1980s ?). He didn't say it to discourage me, though (He has since passed away). I have since found many old coins in that park and others. One of the "secrets" is that around 1960-1970 maintenance at the parks was cut back, and many of the picnic grove areas were allowed to get overgrown. If you're willing to deal with the ticks and poison ivy, you can find good stuff there.

Or wait till just after Winter when all the weeds and grass is down in those areas and hit 'em hard.

 

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

About the time I got my Explorer (2009), I ran into one of the old timers in a park I was hunting. He told me how many old coins they used to find there in the "old days" (1980s ?). He didn't say it to discourage me, though (He has since passed away). I have since found many old coins in that park and others. One of the "secrets" is that around 1960-1970 maintenance at the parks was cut back, and many of the picnic grove areas were allowed to get overgrown. If you're willing to deal with the ticks and poison ivy, you can find good stuff there.

I have brush stomped over hillsides now overgrown that used to be cut grass in the 1800's where people hung out for the view. I knew a couple guys who would flip a 4x8 sheet of plywood over and over in tall grass and brush. Researching farm fields and woods that used to be more populated but today wouldn't be a place anyone would detect. Dave Z found a tavern site from the 1600's in a modern farm field and raided it for cut silver.

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

About the time I got my Explorer (2009), I ran into one of the old timers in a park I was hunting. He told me how many old coins they used to find there in the "old days" (1980s ?). He didn't say it to discourage me, though (He has since passed away). I have since found many old coins in that park and others. One of the "secrets" is that around 1960-1970 maintenance at the parks was cut back, and many of the picnic grove areas were allowed to get overgrown. If you're willing to deal with the ticks and poison ivy, you can find good stuff there.

I have brush stomped over hillsides now overgrown that used to be cut grass in the 1800's where people hung out for the view. I knew a couple guys who would flip a 4x8 sheet of plywood over and over in tall grass and brush. Researching farm fields and woods that used to be more populated but today wouldn't be a place anyone would detect. Dave Z found a tavern site from the 1600's in a modern farm field and raided it for cut silver.

With the 4x8 lying on the ground, would they stand on top of the 4x8 and detect?

 

[synthnut]

I think that we tend to go back to the same area where we found Silver and hope to find more .....I think branching out to other new area's will work better for us .....There is only so much Silver to be found as there are so many that have been there before us ..... More research is needed to find areas that we don't know about that existed years ago...... As far as clad goes, as someone mentioned, we are more of a plastic society.....Less and less change being used as it's basically worthless today .....Checking historical maps of the area's where we live helps ....I found a old mill site where I live ....There was a lake that I had NO idea was there at one time ....I found a couple of gold pieces in the area and also some silver as well as old flint lock gun parts and caps .... Research is key .....Jim

 

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

About the time I got my Explorer (2009), I ran into one of the old timers in a park I was hunting. He told me how many old coins they used to find there in the "old days" (1980s ?). He didn't say it to discourage me, though (He has since passed away). I have since found many old coins in that park and others. One of the "secrets" is that around 1960-1970 maintenance at the parks was cut back, and many of the picnic grove areas were allowed to get overgrown. If you're willing to deal with the ticks and poison ivy, you can find good stuff there.

I have brush stomped over hillsides now overgrown that used to be cut grass in the 1800's where people hung out for the view. I knew a couple guys who would flip a 4x8 sheet of plywood over and over in tall grass and brush. Researching farm fields and woods that used to be more populated but today wouldn't be a place anyone would detect. Dave Z found a tavern site from the 1600's in a modern farm field and raided it for cut silver.

With the 4x8 lying on the ground, would they stand on top of the 4x8 and detect?

Yes.

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

About the time I got my Explorer (2009), I ran into one of the old timers in a park I was hunting. He told me how many old coins they used to find there in the "old days" (1980s ?). He didn't say it to discourage me, though (He has since passed away). I have since found many old coins in that park and others. One of the "secrets" is that around 1960-1970 maintenance at the parks was cut back, and many of the picnic grove areas were allowed to get overgrown. If you're willing to deal with the ticks and poison ivy, you can find good stuff there.

I have brush stomped over hillsides now overgrown that used to be cut grass in the 1800's where people hung out for the view. I knew a couple guys who would flip a 4x8 sheet of plywood over and over in tall grass and brush. Researching farm fields and woods that used to be more populated but today wouldn't be a place anyone would detect. Dave Z found a tavern site from the 1600's in a modern farm field and raided it for cut silver.

With the 4x8 lying on the ground, would they stand on top of the 4x8 and detect?

Yes.

Very clever! Weed whackers work well too. Just do a 10 foot by 10 foot at a time.