First few times out w/ Cibola :shrug:

[DanielEtvs]

Ok so my first week metal detecting. I found about $7 in clad (& some random like Chucky Cheese coins etc. lol) by taking you guys advice and just starting at playgrounds. It was exciting for me just to find coins and now has me thinking about how I can go after something better. I doubt I am going to find any silver or anything old at playgrounds am I? What are some ideas for places that are more apt to contain a mercury dime, or a half dollar or something fun? I am not really ready to knock on doors of old houses and ask for permission, I dont feel comfortable with that yet. The guy who owns the coin shop here in my town says that around here most coins are only 3 inches down or less, regardless of age. Does this sound accurate? Metal detecting is a lot of fun. I have taken a lot of heat for it at work, being in my mid twenties. I dont mind at all I find the mocking funny. I am skeptical for some reason though, until i actually unearth something old it just seems like it cant be that easy or as simple as it is finding these modern coins. Does anyone have a story about their first older coin find?? Like when you dug it up were you shocked at what you saw? haha ok ill stop rambling.

 

[norton4]

I have somewhat of a story. I had only been in the hobby for maybe a month at the time. My father owns a tree cutting business and for one job we went to the house of a man from our church to take down 20 trees he didn't want or were dead. I don't remember how it came up but towards the end of this job he told me the flat strip that we were standing on was an old stagecoach road. I asked him if he would mind me coming by sometime with my detector and he said he didn't care. so I found time about a week later and when I got there I started right away. It was overgrown but nothing so big you couldn't get your hand around it. I was moving kinda fast cause he owned a rather large strip of this road and I wanted to cover as much as I could. I went almost the whole time without finding anything but horse shoes and other iron pieces. But when I was near the end of his property towards the top of the hill I had to go to the side of the road for a second to get around some plants and all of a sudden I hear a nice beep. I dug down about an inch and out poped a very green 1895 Indian head cent. That was my first coin older than 1965 and my first happy dance. It was getting dark so I had to leave. I talked to the man the next Sunday. He told me the building the road led to about 100 yards past the end of his property up hill was the old general store of the old town. I would love to detect there, but I never got another chance and then we moved to Richmond. It's only a 2 hour drive, maybe I'll get there some time this summer. From what I know I'm the only one who's detected there.

 

[khouse]

There is silver and gold at the tot lots! It's just not in the form of coins. Set your discrimination to knock out a small nail then dig the rest. Where did you have your discrimination set? Playgrounds and sand volleyball courts are where you need to dig it all but small iron. In a nice yard you will use a little more discrimination and then thumb up your disc knob to kind of see what your target is. No need for thumbing in the tot lots.

 

[Beale]

Well I have found some decent jewelery in tot lots? I know for a fact Tabdog has. You may not find the old coins but you can find gold.

All of my old coins have come from old home lots. I guess I am a bit lucky. The town is widening a road and a number of homes are being torn down or moved. I have been hitting thes lots. You may want to look for something like this to find old coins. Another spot to be on the look out for is sidewalk tear outs. These are harder to find but if you see them being done hit them.

Lets see I guess you have tried all the parks in your area? I know that rules differ but city/county parks can yield older coins. How about local schools? Maybe you have some older schools around? It is almost break time for the kids.You may not find old but you sure can find a bunch of stuff.

Go down to the local town hall and research wher old sites used to be. How about the old county fair grounds?

Good luck to you hope you find some silver. It sure is nice when you do, Beale.

 

[Hightone]

Finding the old stuff takes a little more work on your part.

First, do some research to find out where people used to congregate years ago. Sometimes an old area of activity may now be a field. Old houses are good also as long as you get permission and leave things the way you found them. Sometimes you can offer to split your findings with the owner to get permission. Always be courteous and let them know it's just a hobby and your aren't trying to take all the chips for yourself.

Second, check your archives to find areas where houses used to be, and maybe they were torn down to make a road or interchange. Those areas usually have been turned once and are left alone to constant improvement. Your Cibola is deep at 7-8, scan slow. Picnic areas that has streams are good also. Lots of stuff are lost close to streams, as people like to sit and listen. Areas where people like to walk, like around small or large lakes.

Thirdly, one week is not nearly long enough to know your Cibola. It's beeping and you're digging. Start slow. Scan three or more times, scanning slowly and get the sound in your head. Both disc and AM (PP). Move at 90 degree angles to see how the sound may change slightly. Soon it just hits you and tabs and coins have a distinctive sound, though closely the same. The more you do it, the more you will hear that slight distinctive sound.

Fourth, don't get discouraged. You have one of the best detectors made. It's guaranteed for life, so there is no hurry. Even veteran detectorists have days of very few finds. It's like fishing, some days are better than others, and some spots are better than others. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

Fifth, have fun doing it no matter what you find. There is nothing better than tuning out the problems of the world to enter your own world of finding whats beneath the ground. Treat it as an adventure. Relax and don't get in the mind set you are going to find a pot of gold.

I usually assume I won't find much, but do the best I can to make sure I scan all I can in a session. If I don't find much, I don't feel bad as I assumed correctly. If I do find something really nice, it comes as a great surprise of something I didn't expect. It's when you go out with a mind set that you think you are going to find wealth that you will become discouraged. All detectors can find treasure, and your Cibola is better than most at doing it. You just need time to create the partnership needed to do so.

Dan

 

[tabdog]

n/t

 

[tabdog]

Good post Beal,

The only thing I might add is that some times like in Little Rock

you can go to the library and smile at the lady and she will show

you where the old city maps are.

These maps show where things were before it got like it is to day.

And they give a progression of changes and approxamately when

they occured.

They have maps in our library that are not on the internet.

I started doing this about 26 years ago.

I've forgot most of it and lost my records.

I really need to start over again. No telling what I'll find.

HH,

 

[Gunnar of bradford MN]

my first detector was a bounty hunter it was a 150.00 machine got it in the 1970s i was then a kid i went to the beach and stardet winging i found strange coins i never seen befor one was a walking half dallar two whear silver quarters frome the 20s and 2 merc dimes and some wheat cents after that all i ever found was bottle tops and pull tabs so i quit and only last year did i get back into detecting and i have hit it hard very hard and i have not found even one silver coin so far you know whear the tree falls thear it will lay in most cases old coins are in old eares of habitation pre 1965 i was digging out an out house and found an 1876 indian head penny in mint condition but the way the detector companys make it seem is if you spend 900.00$ on thear brand then you will find treasure its not true time and chance happen to all but do some research and think about the way people lived it may get you closer to some silver i have no accsess to old sites now and the one guy who owns an 1800s house would not let me seach his yard he told me thears nothing thear O,K but they still do make gold and silver coins so dont be so sure you sont find one to da loo ohh and by the way whear i found those old siver coins thear used to be a house thear owned by a J.T Elwell the richest man in anoka county i dug the old out houses and found bottles worth hundreds of dallars one was a J.T DAVES fine wines and lsigars transite house new brighton minnesota this was a big hotel next to the kattle yards and ellwell would go thear and take a train to mineapolis and trade also elwell was into kattles cows cowees moo moo but as we know farming went bad and so did elwell he had to sell most of his land and went broke seek and you will find

 

[Wayne/TX]

Yes, excellently written, Dan!
..W