To all you passive readers.

[Mick in Dubbo]

Firstly, I'd like to thank all of you who took up Uncle Willies challenge the other day.
To those of you who are still thinking about it. I know that some of you may be a little nervous about actively coming on line. I was talking to a fellow earlier this week who had just bought an X-terra70,And suggested that he join up on the forum.He declined as he felt a bit uncomfortable about doing such a thing. It is a simple process and it doesn't cost you a cent.
What will you get out of it? Plenty! If your new to the hobby or just bought a new machine, you get to ask any question you want and somebody here will be happy to answer it for you.It is a rare question that would someone here couldn't answer, but we can always find out. You can also get to share your experiences (both good and bad) with like minded people, after all, this tends to be a hobby you tend to do on your own.You may even come across someone that lives near to you, so you can send them a private message and organise to go out together. That can be a lot of fun.Also, the greater the body of people that post, the greater the combined experiences that we can learn from each other.
So "have a go" join up. You will be glad you did.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Mick Evans.

 

[Uncle Willy]

I second that.

Bill

 

[MonDak]

Okay Mick and Uncle Willy. This has been my first year at detecting and I
will every now and then add a post of what I consider to be my neater
finds. I've been kind of a gypsy and traveled around a little so all
of the things I'll post won't all have come from the same area. And
if anyone gets tired of my posts, all they have to do is say whoa,
enough! I started out this spring in Montana and the pic is of what
I thought was my first neat find and where I found it. The 1890 IH
I found at the old ranch house along with a few wheats. The 1887 IH
my wife found in her pocket change and told me I did'nt need an
expensive detector to find that kind of stuff. The 1902 V nickle I
found at a city park in a small town in No. Dak. The old school
house was in the same vicinity as the ranch house. Thought I would
make a killing at the school house but was totaly skunked and did'nt
find a single coin.

 

[Glenn(SD)]

I'm in the land title business and can find about 40 locations where old school once stood. Finding coins at these sites is almost impossible. I had a chance to visit with a couple of people that actually attended these school 40-45 years ago. I asked if they ever had reason to take money to school. He said no plus they never had money to take if there had been a reason.:sad:

 

[MonDak]

Glenn, I asked the guy that used to live in the old ranch house if he
ever remembered falling off his horse and losing all the money out of
his pockets. He told me he fell off his horse a lot, but never
remembered having any money.

 

[DavHut]

They were often the site of community celebrations and a meeting place for the local folks. Everything from pie suppers to political rallies were held at them. Ditto, for mills of all kinds, stores, etc. So, dont be too quick to dismiss them just because the KIDS had no money.

However, functional detectors have been around for about 40 years now and every old timer can tell you the stories about when pickings were goooood and the finding easy. I was always taught that if you can see it today - so could anyone else in the past.

The places to look for are those that were GONE by 1965 - and forgotten today.

 

[jackinaustin]

Great post and great pic's! Keep'em coming!
1500 350 250

 

[Uncle Willy]

Looks good to me. Keep pounding that spot. Have you located the old outhouse pit and dug it up?

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

You got that right. If a kid had a dime back then he was rich and a quarter was a fortune. My mom would give me a quarter and it would pay my way into a movie ( a real movie ) and buy me a box of popcorn, candy bar, and a coke. Coins were precious back then and most people carried them in a coin purse instead of loose in their pocket. And if they dropped one they took the time to find it.

Just because a place is old doesn't mean it's loaded with coins.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

Actually the detector has been around for over 70 years. Gerhard Fisher produced the first one about 1932. The first Fishers were made of wood but they worked. Got some pics of the old Fisher if I can dig them up. Then after WWII a lot of guys used the old Army mine sweepers. That's what Charles Garrett started with and got frustrated with so he built his own in his garage and the rest is history.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

If he did he would have carried it in a buttoned up shirt pocket and he is right, He probably never had any. Cowboys were working for $40 a month and food and a place to sleep ( generally on the ground ). It's difficult for today's generation to visualize an era when money was extremely scarce or non-existent. When I was a kid I was lucky to have a few pennies in my pocket. A lot of kids went to school bare footed because their parents couldn't afford shoes.

The way this country is headed those times could befall us again. Don't think this generation could handle it.

Bill

 

[khouse]

Your right Bill,
I scoped out this place for 5 years. It was a 2 1/2 story Victorian house on a hill in a field. It was still standing. It had huge trees. Everytime I drove by it my mouth watered. Well one day about 500 feet from the house they were building a new house. I saw my chance to ask for permission. Luckily the contractor and homeowner I knew. He said go ahead I'm dozing it down to build a shop there in a couple of weeks. The next day I was there with my then trusty CZ-5. I first thought I would cherry pick and disc from nickel down. Nothing. I then searched with everything but iron. Nothing. I then searched with iron. Nails, hinges ect you know what I mean. I went back two more times with not one coin. I remember that it was the first time I was skunked. That was about 10 years ago. He did build a nice shed there........

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

I look forward to seeing your finds Mondak. The ones you have there are a great start. I haven't found anything that is pre 1900's as yet, but it's only a matter of time. I did have a eureka moment yesterday with a find, but I'll share that in the morning (it's nearly
midnight here at the moment). I'm going to need help identifying it, as I've almost never seen anything like it before. Sure hope I can get a picture posted.
With the gypsy lifestyle you are leading at the moment, it sure is going to give you a large variety of opportunity to hunt good spots. Here in Oz, it is quite common for people who travel around, to be keen detectorists. There has been a huge increase in this lifestyle choice in the last few years. Sadly for me, we've had a lot a movement through town of these folk, and they just about picked the town dry I was talking to another local detectorist last week, and he came to the same conclusion. It just means, I have to put my thinking cap on a bit more.
Don't be too concerned if you got skunked at the school house.That is where the fun begins.What I mean by this, if you are keen to hunt good old spots, then it is time to become a history buff. Pull out your Shurlock Homes hat and start digging up history at the local library. Also, just by being enthusiastic about the hobby, and talk with some of the local folk. It is amazing the doors that that can open up for you. I have gotten a number of good leads like that. People love enthusiasm. It rubs off on them and they in turn start to share your enthusiasm and can at that time be happy to impart some local knowledge that can put you onto to spots that you would never find out via other methods. I had a spot that opened up here near Dubbo last year under those conditions. It was a local dam that was built over a hundred years ago and became a popular swimming spot for most of that time. It was pulled down 3 years ago, but the amazing thing was, there is almost no public info on this site! and the dam wall was well over a 100 yards across and made of concrete.
I think I'm rambling too much again. Anyway, you get the point.
Happy hunting and keep them posts coming.
Mick Evans.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

Hey Dave!
With thinking like that, you'd make a good chess player!
MIck Evans.