Hello Old Coins.
I appreciate your commentary and concerns.
First off this is NOT a business venture - it is being run by a not for profit charitable organization and it's an amazing opportunity for all detecting enthusiasts to make incredible finds right here in the US - finds they are not going to come upon in their local park or school yard.
All I can attest to is that I have personally hunted on just 3 plowed farm sites for about 5 times total this fall (we have over 100 plowed sites identified in the general area for this project) and EVERY one of them has delivered silver earlier than 1830 and/or many old coppers, buttons and relics from pre-1750 on up. My detecting buddy has been hunting just one of these fields for over 10 years with full permission. He knows that no one is hunting the area for 2 reasons - never has he ever seen anyone else detecting and he always comes away with incredible finds from reales to fugio cents to artifacts and soldier buttons of all sorts. As a courtesy to him we will NOT be hunting on "his field"...which has delivered for him each and every time out over these past 10 years (that's why I personally love plowed fields - always something new and exciting coming up from the depths)...his field is typical of all the other fields that surround it - he will be pulling stuff from his field for many more years to come.
Now, as an example of what one would expect to find on one of our private sites, my last time out I recovered a full 1796 eight reales sitting right on top of the dirt plus 3 large coppers pre 1800's and a couple of musket balls and artifacts in the 5 hours I was there - these sites are NOT detected - how do I know that - because they have delivered each time out and are posted No Trespassing (you wouldn't enter posted land without permission, right?) and actively watched. They are not out in the country and miles from the nearest town and hidden from view - they are typically 20-30 acre parcels right out in the open and situated in-between multi-million dollar homes, themselves, sitting on 3-5 acre sites and policed by a VERY active town police force. There is NO farmer to walk up to and ask permission. There are no farm houses sitting on these sites. These sites are professionally managed by agriculture companies and owned by multi-millionaire land barons. The properties alone that each site comprises are worth in the $10+ million range. Permission is impossible to come by - why would they let you on their property and have any liability? Also, the multi-millionaire home owners that surround these plowed fields (they bought their parcel from the big land baron in the first place) - they surely don't want any random detector guys walking around near their homes - rest assured they're calling 911 immediately...that's why the Historical Society became the key to this project - they know all the land owners and have gotten the necessary permissions for these organized hunts and all for the benefit to the Society. So while there are never any guarantees of great finds - the potential does exist to make them. The east end of Long Island, although not necessarily a battle area of the Revolution, housed thousands of British soldiers who were stationed here and initially arrived on our US soil here - the Society knows the specific locations where they were quartered and we will have the opportunity to hunt those private and controlled home sites, too (along with some significant public areas)...if however these sites turn out to be worthless, then word will quickly get out - so the first guys going out - I will have the Society guarantee their complete satisfaction - money back...nothing to lose here. The program's success will depend upon everyone's satisfaction and ability to make good finds that hopefully will be posted for everyone to see. I will personally detect each site to see what's there - before we offer it for the hunts - to make sure it has potential. I've invited CT Todd to come and video us out there - early this spring - to show first hand what these sites can deliver...
All this being said, I welcome meeting up with you anytime and anywhere to have you take a look at the finds I have made in just the 5 times I've been out. I am sorry but what can I say about you guys having found just the two coins: the 2 reales and the quarter reales after 25 years of detecting your site(s) here on Long Island? Why is that relevant to anyone else? Could the issue be equipment, dedication, luck, skill or maybe YOUR site location is over hunted? Who knows. How is it that some of the local guys go to Jones Beach or Robert Moses Beach and frequently and consistently pull gold when other guys find nothing? I found over 5 pieces of gold plus about 2 dozen silver jewelry items and over $500 in clad - this summer from June 15th to September - and this was my first year detecting...some guys hunting these beaches (for years) kept complaining to me about their lack of finds...who knows what the reasons are and why I found what I did - let me assure you - it surely isn't that I'm such an amazing detectorist...
On a side note regarding the England trips - have you ever gone there yourself? I am going over March 12th for a week. It's interesting to note that even over there, the organizer has just posted on our private forum about a member's finds from the fall...the organizer was too embarrassed to show them. Everyone else had found dozens of coins including coppers, hammies, and even Celtic gold in the week they were there - but this hunter had found just one copper and everything else was junk farm equipment iron - it just goes to show - even in the best of locations some do get skunked when others find treasure....
Feel free to contact me at barryny@optonline to discuss further. Thanks.
