Good place to hunt?

[LWH36]

When my great grandfather died four years ago, I got his medal detector. I've gone out in my yard a couple of times, but I usually only find five to ten cents and maybe a button or nail. Considering my house was only built in the '80s, I think this is pretty good.

Just down the road from my house, there is an old mill--probably built in the 1890's. The mill building was torn down and the stones were used to build houses. The mill family moved out, and some people moved in and raised many dogs. The dogs' flat gravestones are now completely covered with grass and dirt. Sometime, a small pool was built, but was covered again to make a garden. Now the inhabitants of the house--which is still original--are our friends and just adopted two kids. Their dad was gardening and found a 1900 penny in the soil. I brought the medal detector to the garden, but found only thick old nails. I hadn't a clue how to use it because until that day, there were no batteries in it. There are some really old photographs of the mill on a shelf at the house.

Is this a good place to hunt even with all of the modifications to the property?

[Nolifeking]

When my great grandfather died four years ago, I got his medal detector. I've gone out in my yard a couple of times, but I usually only find five to ten cents and maybe a button or nail. Considering my house was only built in the '80s, I think this is pretty good.

Just down the road from my house, there is an old mill--probably built in the 1890's. The mill building was torn down and the stones were used to build houses. The mill family moved out, and some people moved in and raised many dogs. The dogs' flat gravestones are now completely covered with grass and dirt. Sometime, a small pool was built, but was covered again to make a garden. Now the inhabitants of the house--which is still original--are our friends and just adopted two kids. Their dad was gardening and found a 1900 penny in the soil. I brought the medal detector to the garden, but found only thick old nails. I hadn't a clue how to use it because until that day, there were no batteries in it. There are some really old photographs of the mill on a shelf at the house.

Is this a good place to hunt even with all of the modifications to the property?

Any old house is a good place to metal detect. I would be more worried if there was a lot of dirt brought in or taken away since that would really disturb the yard. If the pool is above ground it probably didn't hurt much being put in. If it is a below ground pool chances are they spread the dirt around the yard to level it. That may be to your advantage though as they may have been coins deeper down that then got place more to the surface. Digging a lot of iron nails is part of the hobby believe it or not. People who avoid them will be missing a lot of nice old coins I guarantee it. I've detected at old houses and I dig just about any signal. I've found 1800's dimes in holes that also had 3-4 nails. If you have a lot of time to cover the yard since the owners are friends of yours I'd say go for it. Work the yard every which direction and cover it good. I've taken 20+ hrs to cover a half an acre of lawn and even after all that I still kept finding old coins to the end.

[LWH36]

How deep should I look? I was stopping at six inches.

Oh, and the pool was only about eight by ten feet, and it's below ground. There was a diving board too. It was probably deeper than it was long.

[Daniel]

Six inches is average but sometimes items can be buried up to twelve inches because of construction or when a person buries coins. The depth you get can depend on the metal detector's coil size and your experience. I totally agree with nolifeking's advice so that's a good words to keep building on.

[Nolifeking]

If you don't mind the question what kind of detector do you have?

[LWH36]

a White's 5900/Di Pro sl with a Deepscan 950

[Nolifeking]

That one should get you down fairly deep. I have hit signals down to 10 inches with mine. If you don't have one you might want to invest in a pinpointer. Harbor Freight sells pretty cheap ones that are as good as some of the expensive ones. Here is a link to a thread talking about it.

http://coinauctionshelp.com/TPGS_FORUM/ ... =13&t=1961

[LWH36]

I don't really want to spend much money on a pin-pointer, but if I see one cheap at a yard-sale or something, I'll probably get it. It would make searching so much easier.

Also, how do you dig the hole to get the coins out of the ground and still keep the grass alive? My yard has a couple brown spots in it now. My great grandpa, when he just found some change that wasn't very deep, he just popped it out with a screwdriver. I still can't figure out how he found exactly where the coin was with only the metal detector. I'm pretty sure that normally the arrow on the display points to what it thinks the object is, and once the trigger is pressed, the display shows the depth.

[Nolifeking]

I don't really want to spend much money on a pin-pointer, but if I see one cheap at a yard-sale or something, I'll probably get it. It would make searching so much easier.

Also, how do you dig the hole to get the coins out of the ground and still keep the grass alive? My yard has a couple brown spots in it now. My great grandpa, when he just found some change that wasn't very deep, he just popped it out with a screwdriver. I still can't figure out how he found exactly where the coin was with only the metal detector. I'm pretty sure that normally the arrow on the display points to what it thinks the object is, and once the trigger is pressed, the display shows the depth.

It sounds like he was very good at the sport. I've been detecting for 9 years and I still get frustrated trying to use a screwdriver to get the coin out. It can be done, but it is tricky to do. Plus you can scratch the coin sometimes. I would pick up a nice garden digging tool at a hardware store. Just make sure you get a hefty one. I've broken flimsy ones after one hole. I still suggest a pinpointer and the one I sent you in the link is only $16. Most are well over a hundred so that one is as cheap as you can get. It will read a coin 1-2 inches away.

As for digging holes without killing the grass one thing to keep in mind is "Is the ground fairly moist?" Even the best detectorist usually won't dig unless the ground is fairly moist. When the ground is dry there is almost no chance of the grass coming back. I even try to wait for better ground conditions. A metal detector will read deeper when the ground is wetter anyway. One you have your spot to dig you want to cut a "U" shaped hole around the target. Then you carefully flip the "U" back being careful to keep it attached. I like to carry an old towel with me to put next to the hole to put any dirt removed from the hole on. You can also use the towel to spread dirt out on and search better for the target. When you found your treasure you can take the towel put all the dirt back in the hole and flip the "U" back into place. Flatten down good with your hand and give the grass a little brush with your hand to spread out any remaining lose dirt. With practice you won't even be able to find the holes you dug after a walking away.

Hope that helps. Let us know if you need any other help. Metal detectors can be intimidating at first especially when all you find is nails.

[LWH36]

i guess 16 dollars is a good price. This morning I went out in my yard and spent 15 minutes digging for a half inch nail. pretty deep at seven inches. When the grass is flipped back, how would I get the coin out if it is in the thing of grass without killing it? Also, I spent ten minutes on a 1965 quarter. It was under my deck, and all of the dirt is really loose, so the quarter probably kept falling back into the hole.
Yes, the ground is very moist today.

[Nolifeking]

i guess 16 dollars is a good price. This morning I went out in my yard and spent 15 minutes digging for a half inch nail. pretty deep at seven inches. When the grass is flipped back, how would I get the coin out if it is in the thing of grass without killing it? Also, I spent ten minutes on a 1965 quarter. It was under my deck, and all of the dirt is really loose, so the quarter probably kept falling back into the hole.
Yes, the ground is very moist today.

A pinpointer can help with not killing the grass if the coin is still in the plug of grass. You can use the pinpointer like a probe to push into the plug and root around for the coin. It is hard sometimes though. Really practice makes perfect. I haven't really come up with an ideal cheap way to solve that one. I bought a more expensive pinpointer just to combat this problem. My pinpointer will detect a coin up to 6 inches away. So most coins don't have a chance :l Most I can pinpoint directly on top of before I even dig. My holes are smaller because of it. Then ones I have the plug I can pinpoint exactly where it is in the plug. Just keep at it. I swear by pinpointers though. Having something is better than nothing.

[LWH36]

Thanks for the info.