where to look for older coins?

[richard thompson]

Perhaps you guys can help me out a bit as I am kinda new to this. I have a fisher f4 and live in San Diego Ca. I go to the parks, schools, beaches etc but all I am finding are newer coins. I come to this forum and see postings of older coins as if they were nothing to special. Where do you guys go to locate older coins? I know, were no one has gone before?

 

[rick in mi]

Research and in my case a lot of luck!!!! Look around where your at,note the types of houses,buildings,or other structures in your area and determine how old they are.Go to your local library and learn the history of your town or state.Most of all the internet,its a very powerfull tool,after all it got you here!!!....hh rick in mi.

 

[PulltabPirate]

Seek out older folks! Places where kids play ball & churches had their picnics are NOT where they do these things today. "old" folks love to talk about days gone by. Let Them! They can be an awesome resource about new (to you) places to hunt! Don't worry much if the area has been hunted before. I site is RARELY "Cleaned out" plus, it may have only been hunted with much older machines! Listen for those faint deep signals and dig 'em all! & yes, libraries are EXCELLENT resources! If your nice & explain your fascination with your local history, often the librarian will HELP you in your search! Just don't come across as a "Pirate" - Show genuine interest! Always FILL YOUR HOLES!! Good Luck & HH!!

 

[jim tn]

Finding those older sites like parks, school yards, those great old fairgrounds, picnic groves, old home sites and so on, is really the easy part for possible old coins. First, you can pretty well assume you will not be the first to have detected the site. Hence, most of the easy pickings will be gone. That, however, is still o.k. In all likelihood there are still more old coins remaining then have already been found. Many will be masked by trash. Some will be fairly deep. But, good numbers will still remain. First and foremost, you have got to learn that F 4 well. Secondly, you must be inquisitive and willing to dig many iffy targets. Once you know your detector well, some of those iffy targets become less iffy. When in doubt, dig it. I personally like to hunt the fringe areas of these kinds of sites. Targets are usually fewer, and because they are, others probably haven't spent much time on these fringe areas either. Good luck and if you are hunting spots that have seen activity prior to the mid 60's, it will be just a matter of time before those older coins will see the light of day for you. HH jim tn

 

[richard thompson]

A lot of good information. Just came back from detecting at the old trolley barn ( turn of the century trolley work shop for San Diego) but only found about 3 bucks in clad coins. To morrow I will go over to the Spring Valley Historical Society and see if they can help me with some areas close by. Many thanks to all, your most kind.

 

[osgood]

Sometimes you gotta clear that top layer of clad coins. Dont forget to get back there and work your sense etc, generally look for good depth targets.(say generally cause once I went to a park with a ton of old coins literally on top or an inch deep) Fringes ARE good, sometimes the boundaries of today or where they put a modern fence is right where the main walk way was in the past, and detectorist might keep away from there etc. I try and read the dirt, sometimes you can tell its been back filled, it will be elevated, maybe with small hunks of concrete beneath the surface, etc. Or note the trees, the roots spreading out from the bottom of the trunk might not be evident if its been back filled, its like the trunk rises straight up out of the ground, without any tapering. Yes I also look for the round or square large whole where trees where removed. It is true that roots "hold" things. I ve found many old pennies and silver dimes nestled withing some roots. In the old days I thought wow, the trunk must have minerals in them etc and didnt dig them till I started learning different. In a neighbor hood of old homes I like seeing those "sunken" (low) yards with huge trees and yes , a lot of moss around. Really old large tree are where kids climbed many many years ago, where people sought shade many, many years ago. These are only a few of the considerations that can work in your favor. good luck, CO

 

[TerraDigger]

I'll say it for the bizillonth time........check with the city first to ensure its their property & legal to detect..........SIDEWALK PARKING STRIPS......yeah....you will get the occasional irate homeowner claiming its their property......just move on to the next strip....always be courteous.......let's see...I dug a 1916 s Barber dime last Saturday doing this..........while the parks in my city produce nothing but clad. And they are old parks...........but either have fill dirt.......or are soo trashy.........no detector will find the old coins beneath the trash. I have the Teknetics T2.

P.S. I used to be stationed in San Diego..........how is your luck at Balboa Park???

 

[Cajuncoinhunter]

My #1 favorite is OLD homesites. They usually havent been "cherry picked" like most other spots (parks, ballfields etc) which MAY produce a silver coin on rare occassions if any. Do your research. Friends and friends of neighbors can turn you on to these old homesites / spots where an old homesite used to exist. #2 favorite is next to old sidewalks. Mentioned in above comment. Especially when they doing construction on and/or demolition of these walkways. Make sure its ok with city/county gov't to dig next to sidewalks. Good luck. CCH

 

[richard thompson]

To tell you the truth I have not worked the park too much as I figured it had been worked over already. I did find some clads but few at best. After 3 months with my F4 I have gotten $60 in quarters $45 in dimes, $7 in nickels and about $27 in pennies, six rings some gold, 5 star war medallions one silver chain and a silver dog tag with 29 diamond chips. I did get my first silver dime last month at a school. But what I have found in my new retirement hobby is a great bunch of very nice people willing to help me. That is one of the best finds to-date!

 

[TerraDigger]

I would work the area in front of Balboa Naval Hospital (stationed there). There have been bus stops there since WWII. I would hit almost all signals. People would always be lounging/goofing off in the grass of that area (bus stop) while waiting for buses. Was there in the early 70's.