Story of research & success

[steve in so la]

Some years back I decided to look into an old mining area that had quite a few people at it's height - yet was small by today's standards. I poured through the library and eventually found a study that a company did on the mining site.
The study was very detailed, showing all the buildings and distance between each one. I found the old school house and decided to start there. It was located near where two roads met and so many feet off the road. Here's the pic of it from the book, about 1890.
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I took 2 friends with me and we readily found lots of old trees still there but, moreso, we found the 2 old cement slabs that had been under the school. All the building was gone as wood was a valuable thing back then. As I said the company had done a thorough job of reporting and here's a pic of the slabs from the book. The red X is where I dug the dollar coin.

So we started detecting all over , covering all near & far ground. We all dug some odds & ends but strangely enough the only coin found was this 1879 silver dollar dug by me right near one of the slabs.

You can see the old slab in the background. The grass was not too high so that it was hidden. I couldn't believe that the coin came from the most obvious place there - almost at the front door.

Being charged up by this find we started detecting even moreso but no one dug anything else exciting. There was also this old structure that goes unexplained so far. It's cement , had a cement floor and one opening. It's located about 30 feet from the slabs & 20 feet from the dry creek.

Since this trip I have been back detecting the rest of the camp but no great shakes like the silver dollar - yet ! steve in so az

 

[michaelnc]

That looks like a promising site Steve. I would detect there everyday after finding a Morgan silver dollar. I just wish I could wrap my thoughts around research.

 

[Mike from MI "Iron Brigade"]

Thanks for sharing it. I have a similar story.

 

[Philo_NY]

Hunted spots which I caught from the corner of my eye while walking in the woods, and returned after surveying the area...

For example, while hunting a park here in NY, I caught what look like old stone stairs that lead from the path we were walking up to a much higher ridge. While there we dug some old golfing stuff which was understandable as we were right off a golf course. While working the stairs and working myself up each side, I came upon a very large tree, and on it's south side to my right, a very nice high signal. I dug, and out came a beautiful 1914 Barber Quarter in very near mint condition. We work that area well, for at least 3 hours or more and not another silver coin emerge from the area.

So, the most found coins were Wheaties as always, a few Indians Heads, but that was it. Along with those finds, golf club heads, a couple of ID tags, one dated 1927. So, that's the way it is with sites, somethings you get good erosion going where targets are easier to find, but you get instances where that same erosion covers other good targets. I have found that each year is different when hunting certain spots, where I come back and find more targets including silver, but, remember, this hobby is all about the angle in which you approach a site, because you may not pick nice coin while walking in one direction, but lo and behold many a time I get them coming from another angle or direction, the speed of your swing or sweep, and how well you can keep that coil on the ground with a swing or sweep that will detect the targets we are looking for.

I am one that will hunt an area where I find old relics and artifacts, especially bottles, as I went back to a spot where those old milk bottle were present in a few areas, and walk away with some nice silver. Usually, where I have found these older milk bottles, have always produced barbers, Indians, Buffalo's, V nicks, older Mercs, and not one Memorial penny.

Then again, in picnic areas, a variety of coins both old and newer clad. By the rest room at the main building in Silverado... I came upon a tree with a program I was testing on my Mind Lab, after years of that park being hunted, I dug a 1739 or 49 King George II large cent. Now, what were the chances of finding a colonial coin in a park that has seen development through out the years, and ironic, that fifty feet away on the same day, your hunting buddy, digs an American musket ball. I was recently in a hunted out part of a site that I love because I keep finding older buckles and coins. The last time there, I dug a 68 caliber British Musket Ball, and I'm starting to zero in on the path or trail or camp where the British were or had taken that trail on their way to do battle with Col. John Glover. At this site I am recovering some very interesting finds and will post them soon... So, Steve, work that site well, from all angles, in areas of fifty by fifty feet, and try to listening to those deep signals as I am starting to figure out and understand if they are false signals or targets well worth digging 10 or more inches for... Very deep stuff...Happy Hunting...

Phi lo_NY

 

[steve in so la]

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[PeggyK]

Both Research stories were great to read -
Congrats on the Silver dollar - Very nice condition.

 

[Anonymous]

Congrats again on the Silver Dollar and your post on how you did research and found it! Takes dedication to the hobby to be patient in researching and finding the goodies! God Bless! Betty

 

[Pete in MI]

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[Philo_NY]

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[kcroyalnut]

Super find Steve ----- way to go !!!!! Never have dug a dollar coin ...... several halves (2 "walkers" in my own back yard) but never a dollar. Maybe this year ...... hmmmmmm ----- and maybe not !! Haha

Great stories from you and Philo_NY both ..... thanx

 

[Greg from Mi.]

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[Mike Chgo area]

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[steve in so la]

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