The "Tell" penny

[mudpuppy]

Anybody use a "tell" penny? You know, putting a penny in a likely location at the totlots you hit on your "route"? Its sort of like the deerhunters that use those trail cameras to ascertain if anything has been coming down the trail or not...I leave one in a spot (under the swings, slide, whatever) in the first and most likely location that some other detectorist WOULD find.
This helps me determine if the lots been worked since I was last there...sure helps a fellow know if I have the lot all to myself, or if one or more detectorists hit this lot too...a guy can usually tell by the color, amount, and depth of the coins if a place has been recently hit or not, it just saves me a lot of time when running the usual lots I sweep, and I know if its worth the time to hit it, or run on, or at least try to figure out the other guys schedule, and adjust mine to get there first...dialog?

 

[blacktoe]

Sounds like a good idea to me mudpuppy. I would leave a pre 82 penney or dime tho. I pass a lot of zinc pennies up. Nickel are too close to tabs and might also be passed up. Keep the ideas coming. Somestimes something so simple eludes us.

blacktoe

 

[JOHNMARKHAM]

now this sounds like a neat idea..

 

[mrwilburino]

That's a great idea!

 

[AUDuke]

Leave a penny and a nickle or pull tab, then if the penny is gone and the nickle or the pull tab is still there some one is just hunting coins an leaving the gold jewelry.

 

[Craig]

That's a great Idea I'll add that to my to-do list. I even think I'll put my initials on the penny.

 

[gilfordberry]

Well, if I drive 15 or 20 minutes to get to a tot lot, I'm not gonna pass it up - even if I see another detectorist just leaving. My experience has been that too many detectorists hi-grade their detectors (looking for quarters and dimes) and ignore everything with a lower VDI number. I'll happily settle for the nickels, pull tabs, wrist watches, and gold rings they leave behind. But then, being retired, I'm not in a big rush to hit all the tot lots within a ten-mile radius on a Saturday morning, anyway...

 

[mudpuppy]

Yep...and thats what the tell is all about...you can definitly tell if somebodys high grading, when you find those deep or discolored nickles, zippers, foil. Its just nice to know if you are up against him, or a sweeper of all objects...i'm a sweeper of all, a Tell penny doesnt have to be a penny...it could be a junker ring, or a nickle, something that somebody would take with them, and not leave it in the gravel or chips....like AUDuke and Blacktoe suggests...not all detectorists remove junk targets...great dialog on this,

 

[oldcoon]

I have hunted sites that were obviously cherry picked. A few months back I searched a tot lot out the road from here and all I found were nickles, tabs and other junk items of lesser conductivity. No gold, but then people here don't have that much gold to lose. It was clear that someone went through in higher discrimination and took out all the dimes and quarters before I got there.

That little item being posted, let me further say that being a bit older and of somewhat dubious health, I do not always have a spring in my step and clicking heels. I have days, especially in the hot summer, when I do not want to dig every target, or even most targets, so I resort to cherry picking myself.

 

[Mike Hillis]

Would rather you use quarters, or halves, or maybe those new dollar coins

HH
Mike

 

[jabbo]

Put the target in a small plastic bag along with your phone number if you are looking for a local buddy to search with.

 

[chuck ky]

i run high disc when i have to dig the targets and there's a lot of trash but why would any one do that ina a tot lot. all you have to do pick the target up

 

[Jiminsandiego]

You could take this a step further. Go to your favorite beach, take out a couple thousand pennies and spread em out. Then use your meter to disc the pennies and presto, while everyone else is busy digging pennies your finding everything else. I would NEVER ,EVER do this(and really hope I'm not giving anyone ideas) but have wondered if some jackass has used this decoy trick in some fashion. Fisherman here use plastic bags filled with air to mark small kelp paddies in the open ocean. But then the wise guy puts out a bunch of bags so that the rest of the boats are chasing their tails, wasting the time and fuel.

 

[mudpuppy]

Jim, I've heard of that too...thats just not right...

 

[Ray S ECenFL]

Even though you idea has some merit, it wold not work for me. I know that all the tot lots around here get detected on a regular basis. No one get all the targets. Quite often the competition just cherry picks and hits the high traffic areas. My method is to hit the tot lot and if it has been worked over I check the other areas such as parking areas, picnic table areas, routs from tot lot to parking areas etc... Quite often I find a lot of targets miss by the competition.

What ever works best for your style of hunting is what you should do. Everybody has different methods to achieve the same goal.

HH

Ray S ECenFL

 

[Willee - Texas]

Mudpuppy ... you are telling to many secrets!