new to the forum, just throwing some ideas around...

[wyndsurfr]

Bought my first metal detector, should have it tomorrow It's a beginner model the garrett ace 250 but seemed to have decent reviews and should get me started anyhow... I've been thinking about this alot lately, where I live and the things that are probably around here and thought it would at the very least be fun. I've been what I call "treasure hunting" for years, I always carry a snorkel and mask in my cars and if I happen to be near a boat ramp on a hot summer day with some time to spare, I'll snorkel a bit and see what i find, usually come away with something worth while and had one whole summer where I was able to have plenty of pocket money from this little trick... that seemed to be a fluke though, haven't had a ton of luck since then haha...

anyhow, I now own my family land, it's been in the family since before the civil war and I know for a fact there hasn't been any hunters here before. We were always poor though, so I don't expect to find any caches here, probably will happen across plenty of loose coins though (that's the best I hope for out of my own land), but ya never know... we've never trusted banks and a few family members died in accidents before they moved away. Mainly what I'm interested in, is the house I grew up in (we rented), it was about 250 years old when the fire department burned it for training, but the old fella who lived there previous to us committed suicide when he found out he had cancer. Couple that with a 250 year old history and I get the feeling I need to go over there and poke around. I am 99% sure there wasn't anything inside that house, living in it as a kid with a treasure hunting mindset, I explored it pretty heavily looking for just that sort of thing, there were plenty of weird little passages and such like closets connecting 2 rooms, but other than neat little items I never found anything real valuable. I made sure to go back before it was burned and tear out a few walls that had suspect areas in them, found a few more lost items in those but aside from a few boxes of ammo, nothing really substantial (the fire department boys should really thank me for removing that ammo, would have scared the poo out of them at the very least). Now that I have a better tool though... It seems like a return visit is in order. This was very near a 150 year old prison as well, so I really want to go back to the old powder rooms and other little prison outbuildings to poke around a bit. I'd be willing to bet no one has ever been anywhere on that property with a metal detector

Aside from obviously getting permission from the family that owns that land, I was curious about what problems have arisen from folks who actually found caches? I would imagine I would have a hard time keeping anything large I found on the land that isn't mine, but what about on your own land? I'm interested to hear stories about this and say if I did find something (and didn't just keep my mouth shut) is it possible someone could take it from me? I do have a mortgage on this land that I used to pay off the remaining family, so would the bank have any claim to it? yeah, I know, lawyer... but I'm just looking for stories mainly for curiosity sake.

Lastly, just pure speculation, what would you folks place odds on of people who actually do find substantial caches that never say a word of it to anyone?

 

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[wyndsurfr]

one thing that I am really kicking myself over is never looking in the old abandoned hand dug well on that property... after the fire department burned the house, it looks like they just bulldozed the area around the well to make it safer... But, I did forget to mention, when I was 12 a university came to that property (the field across the street) and did a real archaeology dig and found 160 slave graves there... we're pretty sure a couple of the old oak trees on the place were hanging trees, they're the largest oldest oak trees I've ever laid eyes on. So there is some real history to that old place... I'm really itching to go out there, I'm sure the owners will give me permission, just gotta wait to get in touch with them.

 

[lastleg]

Welcome to the cache hunting fraternity. I would not worry too much about needing a lawyer
just yet. Just learning to detect properly will keep you busy. Visions of sudden wealth easily
evaporates.

 

[wyndsurfr]

aint nobody taking my pop tops!!!


well, I appreciate the reply.

 

[wyndsurfr]

I know I'm suffering from the 'new detector' bug haha, I do however think I stand a very good chance to find some very neat stuff at both properties. I know some of the history at the 250 year old house that I haven't mentioned for fear of it being easy for someone else to find before I get to go over it well, but my land while I highly doubt anyone buried and large caches of money, I do think I could find some very nice relics. My family used to hide civil war deserters here and at least 2 of those old buildings are still standing. I think a cache is more than reasonable at the property that isn't mine though, at least from the old fella who committed suicide, he had no will and only one sister (and her family) that he was not on good terms with. I know for a fact the stories I heard about him are true because my bedroom (yes, as a child) still had the stains on the panelling where his "accident" would not scrub out of... For years people told us to look around very well (including his sister) because unless he gave everything he had away to someone before he died, then it was still there somewhere on the property.... although, it is a VERY large property and incorporated quite a few of the old prison outbuildings.

 

[DiggerGal]

Welcome to Tnet!
firstly, if and when you find something say nothing. There are Caches everywhere that wait to be discovered by us.
Second, follow the story and develop the lead that you have. Did the old man ever leave the property?
You stated that he didn't trust banks and many many people did not. It is very true that people would bury their money to where they believed it was safe. The area would have been one that was easily seen from the living areas as well as the Master Bedroom.
Did he have chickens or any type of animals kept in a particular area? That is a built in alarm system! Check that area.
Fence lines, fence posts, old trees and visual markers of the same. Check them all.
You need to think like he would have thought. The well is also another place of hiding valuables, many a cache has been found at the bottom of a well.
Things buried in ground are typically not buried deeper than an arms reach so pay attention to the "faint" signals of your ace.
Also, many coins were buried in Mason Jars or clay jugs. For the sealed mason jar or tobacco can make sure you are in "all metal" mode as you won't pick up the silver or gold coin inside the jar or can. Dig everything!
Work the property like a grid in all 4 directions. And take your time! Swing low and slow overlapping one swing to the next.
Great luck to you and say nothing of your finds! HH!!!

 

[wyndsurfr]

No one around here trusted the banks, we were all a bunch of hillibillies. My family was always pretty poor (but even a small cahce of silver coins here would be an awesome find). The other property that isn't mine is where I would expect to find anything of real value as they were a very wealthy family, with 160 slave graves on the property they would have to have been wealthy. The old fella I was referring to died in the late 1980's and he raised cattle while he was still able to however there were a couple chicken houses near the home... I really wish I had explored that well, I'm afraid it's gone now though, it had been covered with a large chunk of cement that was removable, but it has been dozed now.

The best I could hope for on my own property is as said, maybe a small cache of silver or some lost artifacts. I'm really excited, but I know my chances for something 'big' are probably less than winning the lottery. The really hopeful property is pretty large, at least a hundred acres, but as you said it would probably be somewhere that he could either keep his eyes on it or in a very inconspicuous place. I don't think I'll find a big cache of money, even if it is there, the chances would be pretty low, but I know I'm going to find some very nice artifacts on both properties.

If I do find a large cache on the other land, I would have to alert them to it, they were very good to my family over the years, I just hope that IF (huge 'if' there) I do, they would let me keep some of it :-)

 

[lastleg]

Yeah and let us know too. You can use a secret word to let us know you hit it big. You pick
it. Something like bonanza or maybe something less telling I Picked a Banana Today!

 

[DiggerGal]

I'm so excited for you! Wish I were closer and I would help you grid the place.
Looks like you will have a great journey ahead of you in discovery!
Make sure you invest in a pinpointer as it will make your digs much easier.
Don't forget to post some pics of some of your finds. And if you do find that huge cache that awaits, just take a picture of a few of the items.
Have a great time and HH!!!!

 

[DiggerGal]

Yeah and let us know too. You can use a secret word to let us know you hit it big. You pick
it. Something like bonanza or maybe something less telling I Picked a Banana Today!

😂....I like the "I picked a Banana Today!

 

[wyndsurfr]

thanks folks, I know I'm over-excited about it, but that doesn't mean I'm not excited haha... I know I'll find enough silver around my place to pay for this thing, no where near as much as if I just mowed lawns with the time, but who wants to do that? hahaha I own a farm here on the old family land, so even though I have plenty of winter work, I've still got free time to goof off, so maybe I can pay for my new hobby just goofing around here and maybe take a deer or two in the process (we get depredation permits for hunting out of season).

The other land I'm talking about I am 99% sure is virgin ground as well... Some of it will be off limits for reasons I'll not discuss right now, but I'll respect the laws regarding that, but the plantation house area and part of the old prison are gonna be for sure ok. Depending on how things go, it would be really cool to get some experienced folks on here to come help, but if you never hear from me again, I'm probably driving around in a new truck hahahaha I'll have to see how it goes with the family that is still alive that owns that land and what they do if I find anything decent.

 

[wyndsurfr]

I do REALLY need to get a pinpointer, been looking at my options. I don't have alot of money to play with though, so not sure what I'll end up with. It's gonna be HARD going here on my farm for sure, just the amount of bullets and brass casings that are mine that I'll be digging up will be maddening, but with all the other stuff that could be laying around, I'm not sure if setting my discrimination would be a good idea. With all the brass that is mine and the junk of several hundred years of my family's leavings, I'll be sifting through alot of 'trash'.

 

[DiggerGal]

You can start by scanning the casing of the bullet and see what it reads. If it is in the "trash" zone you can notch it out. However, you may notch out something really cool by doing that.
By the time you dig 50 or so casings you will know what it is before you dig! 😆
Just have fun, go slow and learn the language of the machine.
HH!

 

[wyndsurfr]

Picked up my detector this evening, can't wait to get out and start using it tomorrow! Still a little confused about discrimination settings and the 'dig it all' mantra (I have a thread over in the MD forum regarding that so I don't bother you folks in here more)... There are a couple likely places I'll be starting, I want to do VERY thorough searches of all the areas here, so I know I've gotten them completely, seems like I need to go over each area at least twice in different search patterns. It will be good to learn on my own land since I know there will be some treasure to keep me interested, but LOTS of trash to learn on. I have a few chores that have to be done tomorrow though... BOO... Have to go pick up a car to repair for a friend, gotta pay the bills though and this repair will pay for the expense of my detector so I was able to justify it to the wife.

Anyhow, I'll be sure to report back after my first day of digging with some pics. I have a pretty good feeling about this first day though, I'm heading right for a spot that should produce some silver flatware that was lost, I just hope after the heavy equipment work some years ago, they aren't buried too deep. I don't think that'll be the case though, the things I'm looking for are pretty large so, they should light up even with my lower grade machine.

If anyone feels like hopping over to the M.D. forum and helping me with the question I have there, I would appreciate it, I'm very ingorant and 'green' about the settings and don't want to miss anything.

Now, to just find the time to get some work done and go out and detect around these properties! I know I've got enough to keep me busy on just one of them if I do it right. I have another question for you folks as well... It would seem that having different machines go over the same area would be a good idea in places like this, should those machines have different frequencies or does that matter as much for the types of things I'm looking for (coins/jewelry/caches)? I'm asking because a good friend of mine seems to have gotten the bug from me telling him the history of the two properties, he comes up here a few times a year and spends a couple weeks helping out on the farm, fishing, hunting and just visiting. I have the garrett ace 250, would there be a good entry level machine (near the same price point of under 300 bucks or so) that would complement the one I have but still perform well for him on his own?

 

[Slingshot]

Sounds like you have a good spot to hunt, and a machine that will exceed your capabilities starting out. Experience will come with the time you spend using your equipment, and you learn the special language your unit talks, provided you stay with it for a couple of years. You will want to re-hunt the places you first hunted at some point down the road when you realize how much more skill you have acquired over time. As for your friend getting a machine too, just be aware that if he gets a 250 also you will not be able to hunt close to each other as the machines will cross talk to each other and drive you both crazy unless you are 50 to 100 yards apart. I think a used Tracker IV would be a good entry level detector, or better with a few more bells and whistles, but more expensive, would be a F2, or BH 202. I would recommend searching out a used unit that has no problems. Just my 2 cents worth of opinion. Good luck on your detecting, and I hope you find some really nice stuff.

 

[wyndsurfr]

either my 'puter is going buggy or my posts are going into never never land... anyhow, thank you for the advice, it is much appreciated. I'm having lots of fun so far and found some interesting and useful things! I already found a better trowel than I had!

 

[signal]

Let us know if you find anything. With property that old, you should find "stuff", whether valuable or not. Start with the most obvious areas

 

[FragFox]

one thing that I am really kicking myself over is never looking in the old abandoned hand dug well on that property... after the fire department burned the house, it looks like they just bulldozed the area around the well to make it safer... But, I did forget to mention, when I was 12 a university came to that property (the field across the street) and did a real archaeology dig and found 160 slave graves there... we're pretty sure a couple of the old oak trees on the place were hanging trees, they're the largest oldest oak trees I've ever laid eyes on. So there is some real history to that old place... I'm really itching to go out there, I'm sure the owners will give me permission, just gotta wait to get in touch with them.

Abandoned wells really have my juices flowing right now. I have one by me that I just started working on. I am guessing it is from the early 1900's from the research I have been doing. It was back-filled with large field stones. I started removing them but as I get deeper I will need to bust out the tri-pod and winch to remove them. It looks like two old outhouses on the property have been dug up ages ago as there are two large holes with different piles of bottles all around. Almost like they were categorizing the bottle piles. I detected there today and found a silver spoon but other than that it looks picked clean. I hope the well has more in store at the bottom.

It would be cool if you could find the bulldozed well as it may still hold some surprises.