sidewalk

[george decker]

I have the job responsibility of determining replacement of sidewalk in my city. Occasionally I will check the sidewalk areas that have the concrete removed prior to forming up the sidewalk areas. I have Never found anything below the old sidewalk area but I get numerous good signals right at the very edge of where the dirt removal work has been done and the adjacent level area of the tree row. Would this be "falsing" because I have never found anything except one 1953 wheat. This area is where a 1890 house is. Also I cannot find any silver. Aim almost to the point to give up and sell my XS and replace it with a White. or totally give this hobby / activity. I use mostly preset settings.

 

[montanagold]

I had a guy tearing up the sidewalk in front of my house the other day so of course I grabbed my E-Trac and went over it like crazy. I was getting some good signals that ended up being falsing and ended up with nothing. I'm not sure why you would want to swap your FBS detector for another brand, haven't you read the forums. these three forums have a massive amount of silver being found. ( at the risk of having our houses broken into and held at gunpoint for a little silver.) anyway sorry to get off track I'm not sure what to say about you not finding silver. I guess it would depend on where you are hunting, settings on your detector, how often are you out detecting, and so on I think coin hunting is allot like gold prospecting the silver is where you find it. the best advise I could give is hook up with someone so that they can look at how you are doing.

 

[drkp88]

I would agree re the settings (sensitivity etc). I find that sidewalk replacement areas are hit and miss, but especially if it's an older area SOMETHING
interesting usually shows up. Directly under the sidewalk bed is usually "iffy" but the area to each side can be fertile (remember, the sidewalk was originally laid over an older foot traffic area).
Keep at it and try different settings. How about some opinions on settings from others out there? Being privy to replacement areas gives you an unbelievable
edge !!
Bruce in Ct

 

[drkp88]

n/t

 

[Elton]

Maybe it's under the old Blue Stone sidewalks people are finding things. Those pieces were pretty much just leveled, out laid over the old paths people walked on.. Not many of those left in my area..

 

[DirtFlipper]

Over time, I've been able to search several blocks worth of removed sidewalks in various places. And I have actually found items from underneath where the sidewalks had been, and those finds have been old. However, the ratio of finds to area searched was really pretty poor.

Having said that though, I still seek them out, because while the exposed underneath portions have been slim pickings, the exposed sidewalls and median/curb sections have been fabulous!

And I think part of it is timing. The underside area from removed sidewalks I've seen contain sand and gravel before getting to a real dirt level, so depending on what's removed, how far they've scraped, and what's been brought back and re-leveled, the stuff could be gone or deeply buried. Just very hit and miss. I've also seen street reconstructions where the curb is gone, and the street layer is gone, and you can see the sidewall down to three or four feet from the sidewalk level. I've seen red brick and glass down at the two and three feet levels in the sidewalls, so just getting under where the current sidewalk was isn't deep enough. (And yes, I've found some stuff scanning the sidewalls down that deep - but nothing good yet!). The curb level and median areas have been best.

HH,
DirtFlipper

 

[Jason illinois]

I don't know I can't hunt much underneath old brick sidewalks here because they laid the bricks over the top of coal slag and all i hear is coal slag. I dug an 1898 barber in excellent condition next to a 1900's sidewalk, under where a driveway used to be. Here is what I have learned about hunting where sidewalks...

The side walks were built above ground, on top of the original ground level. They were not ordinarily dug out so that the walk was level with the ground as we are used to seeing today. What it means is that the ground that was bared when the sidewalk was built is level with the very bottom of the sidewalk. From there it has likely settled, or perhaps not. But what I am trying to get across to you is that the coins are a lot deeper than you assume- the ground has been accumulating deposits each year and the coins likely sink some each year. When you search a high traffic area the coins are shallower (and possible more worn or damaged) than what you find in low traffic areas. When I think about it most of the finds I have made close to a side walk had damage from deicing chemicals after years of deicing sidewalks and one poor old barber quarter seemed to have been stomped on hundreds of times.

what gets me excited around here is when i find a grass area with the top few inches scraped off or disturbed during construction. I have found a couple older LC (1828, 183X), a 1876 seated dime on top of the ground (visible to the eye) etc., that way (the only ones i have found).

Anyways my original point if you cannot tell anymore is that generally speaking the old coins are as deep, or deeper, than the level of the ground that the sidewalk was put on top of in the first place. They did not usually set the side walk level with the existing ground they built on top of it and the ground eventually filled in, either by fill (usually after basements had been dug), or through natural sediment accumulation.

Also coins I find near sidewalks are often on edge or damaged which makes the coin detect different than the generic target profile you expect from a coin that was lying flat. They are iffy signals that I usually pass because i get tired of digging junk.

 

[TokenDigger]

I haven't found much directly beneath a removed sidewalk but I agree with DirtFlipper - the exposed areas next to the sidewalk and between the sidewalk and curb usually are great. People would get out of cars and drop coins or drop them on the sidewalk and they would bounce in the grass. The only drawback is that there is usually a lot of junk from people putting their trash out for pickup near the curb. Since the ground is scraped, most of the stuff isn't too deep so a small coil works wonders around the junk. Since the cities usually replace sidewalks right away, there isn't a lot of time to hunt so I usually dig just the high tones. Another spot is the dirt that is sometimes piled on the side of the sidewalk when they dig them up. The signals aren't as crisp but there may be coins in there. Don't give up and good luck!

 

[onemore]

Sidewalks are hit or miss. Some produce, some don't. I agree that the area immediately next to the sidewalk is usually better.

 

[Josh(ND)]

There has to be silver there to find it and maybe there just isnt any there. Its probably not what your doing or anything wrong with your detector its probably just not there.

 

[gitterdug]

Just my 2 cents worth.....I have found a few coins under sidewalks, most old because I hunt in older areas. IF the sidewalk is being replaced, it is unlikely you will ever be able to hunt it again, which means that if coins do exist, you better get to them when possible. I recovered a NICE Virginia Military button from underneath a sidewalk in Fort Worth, Texas. Same trip, I found a couple of mercs, several Indian Head, and Wheats.

In the older parts of your town, especially, I would certainly take the chance and hunt them. How many yards, parks, etc., do you hunt where you don't find much? I have swung many a feet of search patterns, and I will stop anytime I can and search along old removed sidewalks. You are searching virgin ground, which is getting harder to find around my area.

Keep looking when and where you can. Sidewalks can be a very productive area.

I love the scraped lots too. Hate the slaw, but love the finds.

HH

 

[weston]

coins can only be found where they've been dropped if your using a minelab it will find them if their there, enough said

weston

 

[cmtoys]

I didn't find much silver at all until I switched to my Explorer II, and I had several whites detectors.

Don't switch.