observation about "tot lots"

[flash5153]

I have noticed latley , many have been finding some very nice items in these "tot lots." We are refering to the usually small areas with spring type play horses ect ,monkey bars or whatever. Often lined with pea rock or bark chips.
Some one may want to slap me ,but I have always avoided these areas like the plague!

I'm coming around to thinking that maybe I should give them a try. There is not much competition in my area. They could be loaded. I know where there are several tot lots.

My reasoning for avoiding these areas: Some have seen my posts in the past. I hunt areas that are more likly to turn up old coins. Its what I like. Have several times been out 4-5 hours and only found 2-3 coins.Yes,,, terrrible! But it can and does often pay off well. I find it refreshing to sometimes go to a school and dig more modern coins and there still is a small chance of finding something old and maybe some rings. But the tot lots are almost certain to never have a old coin in them.
Guess it what I'm trying to say is. I should try a tot lot or 2 and try to find some gold. And once again, I say this because of the posts I have been reading. Also as the ground starts to freeze, these areas may be much easier to retrieve items.

 

[metalhead]

Best of luck to ya'I hope ya' find some diamond rings and jewelry lost by all those mommas chasin' their tots around.Happy Hunting!

 

[dahut]

I have noticed latley , many have been finding some very nice items in these "tot lots." Some one may want to slap me ,but I have always avoided these areas like the plague!

I'm coming around to thinking that maybe I should give them a try. There is not much competition in my area. They could be loaded. I know where there are several tot lots.

My reasoning for avoiding these areas: Some have seen my posts in the past. I hunt areas that are more likly to turn up old coins. Its what I like. Have several times been out 4-5 hours and only found 2-3 coins.Yes,,, terrrible! But it can and does often pay off well. I find it refreshing to sometimes go to a school and dig more modern coins and there still is a small chance of finding something old and maybe some rings. But the tot lots are almost certain to never have a old coin in them.
Guess it what I'm trying to say is. I should try a tot lot or 2 and try to find some gold. And once again, I say this because of the posts I have been reading. Also as the ground starts to freeze, these areas may be much easier to retrieve items.

Never be too sure about the competition. WalMart sells thousands of BH detectors each Christmas. Radio Shack has been at it for years, too. Own Charles Garrett has ensured that tens of thousands of his Ace 250 have been sold. Now Whites has their new entry level model, Fisher there's and so on. Not to mention the detector hiding in half the closets around town.

Yeah, never write off the opposition.

But no place is ever hunted out completely. Most people are also not too good with a detector, even those who should be. They either go too fast or cherry pick or don't understand their instruments. This means they miss all sorts of things and best of all gold is easy to miss. Even a blind detectorist can hit a quarter and know it, but gold is a different matter. The yellow stuff is harder to find, and still harder to know when you have found it. These things work in your favor.

Tot lots are easy diggin,' too. No weeds or branches or roots, the substrate is just laying there. You only have to flick it over much of the time to recover your item. Now most of what you find in tot lots is low grade. For every godl ring there are untold hours of detecting for foil, buttons, hair barrettes, pencil ferrules, pulltabs, Hot Wheel cars, zipper pulls, keys and about a gazillion other trinkets. But people are active there, including adults, and they lose things. Sometimes that is jewelry.

SO give them tot lots a shot. It aint gonna kill you to recover something that isn't old, and you might find the experience enjoyable.

 

[oldranger]

Around here this past Feb it was so cold that the Wood chips were
like frozen dirt!!! Iknow because i was out tecting in 20 degree weather

am i NUTs ???

or ADDICTED????

Ron
rangers Lead The Way

 

[TXPIRATE]

Except for one Diamond ring on the beach every piece of gold I have found have been on tot lots. 1 was a nice gold nugget ring, 1 was a little diamond ring that I found 12 years ago now my 4 y/o granddaughter wears it. 1 diamond ring with a butterfly shape appraised at $300 and a few gold chains eyeballed on the ground.

 

[jasper12]

If it wasn't for the tot-lots I wouldn't have any Gold.This is what I've found in the Lots in the last twelve months.Everything pictured is 10K or14K.Plus all the clad .

 

[tab-nabit]

What I find about tot lots is some seem to give something making it worthwhile to hit on a routine basis while others don't. Maybe someone else is hitting them. Anyway, always watch out for needles etc. If hitting the ones at schools, best wait till school is not in session.
Normally I'll use small coils to work up close to the equipment. Run sensitivity down when needed.
One tot lot I hit a couple times gave up a variety of foreign coins. I think a dad has a kid doing bad things.

 

[slingshot]

Not only that-kids have a bad habit of grabbing old coins out of their parents collections on the sly and then losing them at these places. I know-I got the what for whenever I was small for doing this. Fortunately, they were just coins from the war at different countries.

 

[Uncle Willy]

Some of my better finds have been made in tot lots and bark chip playgrounds, including diamond rings, gold wedding bands,and other type rings. One of my nicer finds is a religious pendant showing a small angel standing in front of a large angel, made of Gorham Sterling silver. The wings of the angels are 24 KT gold, and there is a small diamond in the center. You've been missing a lot bud.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

Go to my field test of the Pro-Pointer at the top of the page and take a gander at the three Franflin halves I pulled up from a bark chip playground. Not all old coins are buried where you think they are.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

n/t

 

[Groundshaker]

Woodchips hold moisture.during the winter it all freezes into a solid chunk (well at least here in N/E PA).Not too many THer's here,so the finds are plenty.

 

[oldranger]

Its thesame here in Western Pa ground!!!
Ron
RLTW

 

[flash5153]

I knew I was going to be slapped for my observation.lol Will definitly look at these areas in a different light.Seems tot lots are right up there with the beaches for finding rings. Some very nice finds, for sure. I will spend some time in these areas from here out.

Friend of mine called me yesterday, knowing I detect, had to rub in the fact that he found a 14k ring with 4 diamonds while jogging. It was in the crack of a sidewalk. He had to let me know that no detector was needed. What are friends for?
I had to give him some "raz" back, so I said. "I find that really hard to believe". He says, "No I really found a ring,,it was on the sidewalk" lol. My response: " I believe you found a ring,but you was JOGGING?"
Its all good.

 

[fongu]

whoever designed that angel pendant was a craftsman, because it's an eye catcher. Great Find!!