A known cache located in a garage... questions...

[PJB (Ohio)]

I have some questions about cache hunting for you folks that have experience.

A friend of mine contacted me. His father died about a year ago and he said that his dad grew up during the depression and as a result, he liked to hide coins and money. A week after he died, they found a metal box with $3,000 in cash hidden in his bedroom. The man was extremely fastidious with his money, and in general, didn't trust banks.

Well, I was having a drink with him last night and he told me that he once saw his dad hiding a jar of coins in the garage, and asked if I'd bring my detector on by to help him find it (and anything else) for a 50/50 split. He believes that there's quite a bit there, and the house dates from before the depression. He's sure that it's never been searched. It has an unfinished basement with a coal chute room and the floor is poured concrete (not dirt) and he feels that his dad probably hid stuff in the basement because he spent so much time there..

My question is about detecting in an area filled with nails, brads, iron pipes, etc. Are there are hard and fast rules about detecting basements or garage walls? I'm thinking that there will be so much metal there that it'll be hard to pick out the coins from the mix. One area in particular is a one-foot-wide brick column located between the two garage doors... it has thick metal rails on both sides of the column.

I am hunting with a Minelab Explorer II.

Any suggestions, hints, tricks, traps, books suggestions or otherwise are welcome!

[omnicognic]

a high-end detector like the minelab explorer II should have no trouble at all discrimminating out the junk! 8)

[gldhntr]

if he hid cash then you want to check any signal for tops on jars or metal cans etc.... if it is all silver, which i doubt, then you can adjust explorer to miss nails and such on the iron mask or learn screen....don't forget to do visual search as there have been many small caches under houses that were cash bills in socks, envelpoes , just under a rock or brick, etc......

[jeff of pa]

You don't Mention, Do you have The Sunray Probe. ? if you do, use it, to get inbetween the tight spots. if not, your going to need your smallest coil.

[swizzle]

Who had the cement floor poured in? It seems odd that someone would bury a cache and then cement it over. Highly possible but strange. I would strongly consider moving my cache or leaving an cleared space under a large metal cabinet with an easy access door in the cabinet. Look in any rafters as well. If he spent a lot of time out there then maybe it would be wise to do the same. Have a drink and relax and look around and think of places that you would hide something. This way your gaurenteed to at least find a buzz. Jason

[CWnut]

my advice would be that nothing but a good thourough search will do, following a few guidelines.
1. Caches were made to be retrieveable
2. They like to hide them when they were out of sight
3. Look for the unusual or out of place item or object to indicate a cache may be located near-by
4. check around and under prominent features of the building
5. Check for loose building stones

not much but I hope it gives you some ideas where to start...........keep us posted

[spotz]

Sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff it out. Walls, floors, beams, posts, cealings, attic, bottoms of cabnets, headers above cabnets. Leave no stone unturned. Be patient. It's there. Can't you smell it?
This may be GOOD. Good luck. Spotz

[OnionRings]

My suggestion if your willing? Take pics of the area and let the hunters on this site look if nothing else we could give you ideas where you could look!

Onion

[Lowbatts]

My first suggestion is to determine what it is you're talking about. His garage or his basement? Most metal detectors wil be of no more use than a stud sensor in the basement with the exception of old stone foundations. Charles is right. Why would anyone who survived the depression and hid money go to great trouble to retrieve it? It will be amazingly easy to find if it exists. Stop reading and go dig. Keep us informed.

Remember the UV light, dental mirrors for honey holes and small snake lights.

[sgtfda]

Get a strong long wave ultraviolet light and go over the area.

[serb535]

if the house has a chimminey check the clean out. its not a place many would go because of all the soot...just a thought...serb

[weldermark]

I'm with swizzle

[Siegfried Schlagrule]

UV usually in the form a flashlight can be used to show you changes that are invisible to the naked eye. You will see the places where the walls have been patched and depressions and differences in dirt floors and walls. It will even show differences in the mortar around bricks and blocks if they haven't been painted. Not every variance will lead to treasure but all should be investigated. exanimo, ss

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

Been thinking about this one for a long,
long, long time.

May be a bit late but perhaps it will
still help.

The answer is dowsing.

all have a good un.......
SHERMANVILLE

[les]

Hi: I had a Friend/James that this same thing happened to ,only it was his grandfather, he found money everywhere,cigar boxes,in books,in the fridge, cabinets, there were also jars stuffed with change & bills down inside concrete blocks on top of the foundation wall in the basement,he found 100 dollar bills stuck all over the house,enough that he moved & bought hisself a house & property in another state, He told me that his grandfather had no Bank account at all. No one knows exactly how much he found but, it was a wad of Cash,search well more by site than with the detector inside the house & look for anything to be inside anywhere, leave nothing untouched, check for places you would hide something,check picture frames,pull dresser draws all the way out,even check in the sofa,you'll find more if it is there. hiding spots are endless in a house.
Les

[Shortstack]

The FIRST step is to get that agreement with your "friend" notorized in writing. There have been too many "friends" turn on their partners when the cash comes to light to take a chance. Your friend shouldn't be insulted when you mention it. You can tell him that it would protect BOTH of you from misunderstandings in the future. If he says "no", be thee then forewarned.

[Twisted Fork]

Ah ha...... You guys forgot to mention the o'l trusty method of double pours. If it's cash your after in the floor, try tapping around on the floor with a hammer and see if you can't find a spot that sounds hollow. Twisted

[DevinVersion1]

My grandpa told me that it was common for men to do that. It's probably in a place that is so obvious that nobody would think of it...
DV1