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Winter research pays off with big opportunity

Ism

Well-known member
Hi guys,

This year I decided to do more research in my area to find promising sites to hunt. I want to capitalize on farm fields as they aren't grown over with weeds like the old vacant rural lots are.
Well in my search I found a particular town that existed in 1875 but is no longer identified on maps IE, ghost town. Centered at a crossroads, the southwest corner is now a farm field. The map shows a blacksmith and 3 other buildings along the south roadside. Further down the road is a fifth house that is still standing.

I got the property records for the field. It is owned by an LLC land company over 1000 miles away. The internet showed the primary operators, one resided locally. All I had was an address so today I drove to the owner's residence and knocked on the door. Once I apologized for intruding, we struck up a nice conversation. He gave me blanket permission and I appear to be the first to detect the area....(with permission at least).
BTW the fifth house is also his and I have permission to hunt the property as long as it remains unoccupied.
WooHoo...... They're still out there guys!
 
If you now have a good relationship with the guy, just ask him if he would mind signing a permission slip, just in case you are on the property and he is away and the police come or someone else that can question you.

I have done this for several spots that I hunt, and it does come in handy since you now have a written document signed by the land owner. Police do their jobs and if they see a person in a field or spot, even if it is not marked as No Tresspassing, they may come up and question you.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Good for you ism! Sounds like you have some serious territory to cover - Best of luck and look forward to your posts / finds - Jim
 
Thanks Rover,

There are occupied houses across the street. He did hand me his name and phone info on a piece of paper in case anybody asked but its not a permission slip. I will be in contact with him in the future and I will take your wise advice.
Thanks for the kudos guys...I was so stoked I had to tell somebody that would understand....grin
 
Good research always pays off some of my best finds came from farm fields, pastures,and wooded area,s that once where home sites ,the fields here go back 350+ years i wait till Spring when the fields are just plowed or late Fall , good luck and swing slow :detecting: Jim
 
Ism,

I understand extremely well, its like finding a cache of silver even before you located it ! - Jim
 
That is Awesome. Good detective work!
 
Hi everybody, Thought I would post my first hunt at my new site. It was a great day today. upper 50's and sunny. I hit the yard for house #5 first because my time is limited (fire took the original). The oldest coin was 1957 wheat. The yard is full of nails and debris. I did dig my oldest datable find near the drive entrance. It is a Robinson & co. Triple gilt flat button. The face of the button is blank. Based on the info I found, it dates from 1826-1828, The oldest it could be is 1840 according to the website.

After giving the yard the once over, I went down the road to the field and dug the other goodies pictured. The 1890 Indian was the only coin dug in the field so far. I'm not sure what the trigger guard thing is yet. I need to get it identified. The bell looks like tin or silver plated brass but it doesn't look extremely old. The field is full of corn stubble and it makes it hard to cover any ground.
I'm whipped but I want to go back after getting something to eat....its only about 10 miles from me.....just too cool!
 
You are off to a great start! The button is a very nice "time" indicator and very cool that you have it all to yourself! HH - Jim
 
Thanks Jim,
The finger hold is for a brass candlestick holder. The Indian was only an inch under the soil and is by far the best I've dug (very little corrosion from exposure). The IH gave me some high hopes for the fields potential. I have a lot of work to do and a few more unbelievable sites to get permission for. I will try to keep it fresh.

As always HH.
Ran
 
Ism thats a great spot , keep hunting it somthing good will turn up , one of a kind
 
Thanks for the encouragement Gunnar.
There is a lot of iron to sort through. I am taking a friend to a field that was next to the school house for the town. The school was turned (back?) into a house and is now occupied. I'm not so sure what will be there but the idea of skipping the site ...well, I think you know...lol
The friend has never detected before so a farm field is a good place to get her feet muddy.
 
Hi ism,

That is wonderful you have a female sidekick to take with you and taking them to a field is a very good place to start. And ism, be careful, she may find a new "love" out there in that field lol. A while back my brother was telling me he took his girlfriend detecting and she found it to be very interesting.... a few months down the road I was talking to him on the phone and he says to me, " I think she loves the detector more than me" LOL :rofl: Best of luck on the school site and keep us posted on your progress. - Jim



The school was turned (back?) into a house and is now occupied. I'm not so sure what will be there but the idea of skipping the site ... ...well, I think you know...lol
The friend has never detected before so a farm field is a good place to get her feet muddy.[/quote]
 
Wish I was there! That bell looks like a goats bell or possible from a sheep. Nice finds, shows you are in a good area with the buttons and all. Congrats!
 
Well, my friend couldn't make it so I went without her. I arrived at noon and found a place to park across the road. I set the
discrimination low so that I could find nickles and gold. I started out next to the school and was digging a lot of trash.
So much that I decided to move away from the school more toward the center. I finally started getting pieces of metal that weren't
can slaw or tin foil. The ground under my coil was pleasantly quiet with the occasional iron null. Suddenly the detector sung out
with a nice high pitch signal indicating a coin. It was round copper disk about 1/4" in diameter. As I removed some dirt, I saw it was
a tiny flat button most likely for a collar. This is a good sign I thought to myself. Then I got another signal. This time a larger flat
button the size of a penny with a pattern on the face. Now I'm getting fired up because the potential for a coin rose and the finds
are old. Then I found another button and then another. Nine buttons in all and not a single coin......Whats up with that?

Was this a shallow cemetery at one time or a clothing dump?

I walked up toward the road and searched. I got another nice signal. Hey, I don't care....these flat buttons are great. As I broke
apart the sod, I saw what looked like a small sterling pendant. It had a hole near the edge but I didn't want to rub the dirt so I put it
in the pouch and moved on. I searched a bit further but only got can slaw and foil wads. I was tired so I packed it in.

I went to the owner and told him about my finds and thanked him for the opportunity to search the property. When I told him I would
be back, he said that I could park in his drive. I got home and cleaned my finds. I saw that the silver was really an 1853 arrows half dime
that somebody wore as a pendant. Pretty sweet. Even with the hole, this is my first really old silver.

This farm field hunting is new for me but I think I'm addicted.

So all in all it was a superb day!

Ran
 
:drool: Nice finds Ran! Wow, I feel you have only scratched the surface of this place. Nice recovery on the 1853 half-dime and you certainly found some nice old buttons. If I remember correctly you are in upstate NY? I can't believe your ground isn't frozen. Many spots around me are frozen. I'll have to work half-day tomorrow (Saturday) But will do a dig test in my yard in the afternoon. You got me all fired up to get out there and hunt lol Once again, nice finds! :thumbup: - Jim
 
That half dime is a nice find. My only half dime was a Canadian and I can't remember the year. At least I think it was Canadian....that was early on in my metal detecting days before I really knew which coins were what.

By the way, people use to sew their money into their clothes for safe keeping so maybe that's why it has a hole in it.
 
Critter, thats really interresting. I didn't know that they used a hole in the coin to sew it in....makes sense!
EP, I'm in SE Michigan. The ground is more than soft here. For a couple days I wouldn't have gotten out of my gravel drive without the F250 4x4.
It has been so wet that some roads have been closed because they are impassible due to their breakup.
For early Feb in Michigan....these are beautiful conditions. Who am I to complain?...grin
 
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