n00b questions

[Glock232]

Hi all,
New to the hobby and thought of some questions but after browsing the forums and other websites I don't think I have found an answer. So if anyone can answer or point me in the right direction that would be great!

1. Is it smart to clean items you find, and if so, whats the best / safest way to clean it without causing damage or removing natural petina. I was thinking a tooth brush and water?

2. Is there a way to guesstimate how long something may have been buried? I know a lot of factors will come in to play, but say I find something in the woods is there a way I could figure out how long something 4 inches has been buried vs. something 8 inches?

3. Other than a small trowel style digging tool, what are some other essentials I should look into getting / or making?

4. Any good sites that would list old woods roads or wagon trails or such? Even old town maps to compare then vs. now?

5. Any other tips / tricks / advice you wanna throw at me

Thanks in advance, and I apologize if this is a duplicate thread!

-Joe

 

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[Coinstriking Michigan]

Hey Glock, Welcome.

1. I clean clad so it can be returned to the bank. I never clean anything that could be of decent value.
2.I find you can't really tell. I've found 100 year old coins on the surface and newer coins fairly deep.
3.A pinpointer will aid in faster target recovery, and some folks use a screwdriver or brass tipped probe to get shallow coins out of the ground.
4.Not sure about that, your local library would probably have some info on old times and places though.
5..Hit areas hard, when you think they're hunted out, hit them again. Don't get discouraged, don't plan on getting rich by way of detecting, do it for the enjoyment of it,dig neat holes and cover them well.

 

[boris]

Hi all,
New to the hobby and thought of some questions but after browsing the forums and other websites I don't think I have found an answer. So if anyone can answer or point me in the right direction that would be great!

1. Is it smart to clean items you find, and if so, whats the best / safest way to clean it without causing damage or removing natural petina. I was thinking a tooth brush and water?

2. Is there a way to guesstimate how long something may have been buried? I know a lot of factors will come in to play, but say I find something in the woods is there a way I could figure out how long something 4 inches has been buried vs. something 8 inches?

3. Other than a small trowel style digging tool, what are some other essentials I should look into getting / or making?

4. Any good sites that would list old woods roads or wagon trails or such? Even old town maps to compare then vs. now?

5. Any other tips / tricks / advice you wanna throw at me

Thanks in advance, and I apologize if this is a duplicate thread!

-Joe

First you need a geiger counter{MD} It should have "all metal" be good near salt water, and also discriminate, if you want keepers and rings,nickels and small gold use all metal and go very slow,then go slower. Olive green means very old and should be soaked in olive oil a long time. Welcome to the zone. careful not to scratch old silver and gold coins and beware of the trolls. Parks and beaches are productive in East Coast. Find old screwdriver and old toothbrushes. And always keep the coil flat and do fill holes so no one knows you were there, look for water sources and cigarette butts and remove all trash to the barrel. Do not throw away finds until you get home. Get a loop and diamond tester for rings, one K is a keeper.

 

[Sandman]

CoinStrike and Boris gave good answers and advice. I would add to get Garrett's book, Sucessful Coin Hunting. It covers where to detect that you wouldn't normally think of hunting for all items in the ground. Also you can't tell how long something has been buried as there are many factors involved. All clad coins I take to a Coinstar machine and don't have to even clean them.

Joe, I like your username, Glock232.

NRA member
Sandman

 

[Ammonhotep]

If you want to know how long a coin has been buried, check the date on the coin. It's probably not been in the ground longer than that. If it has, then please let me know.

 

[rickjr]

Welcome Glock 232....All the advice is good. I would add that cleaning coins is a tricky thing to do. First off if it is old DO NOT clean it, use water and a very soft brush just to get the dirt off. Clad coins and the new zincolns put in a tumbler and clean away.You can use finger nail polish remover to get the green off of gold, use a Q-tip to put it on and leave it for a few seconds and the green will disappear. As far as depth of an item a ring will find it's way deeper than a coin for obvious reasons less surface area than a coin. I have heard that a coin will sink about a half inch a year. But, like Coinstriker says I've found old coins close to the suface and newer ones 4 or 5 inches deep. I just recently found a pull tab almost 6 inches deep that made me P.O'd. Definitely buy a pin pointer. Leave it like you found it. GOOD HUNTING!!!!!!

 

[Glock232]

Great replies guys, appreciate the advice, I think for father's day im going to ask for the garrett pointer. I went out in the field behind my house again, but other than a few ticks (the bugs) and a mangled soda, I found a "State of NJ" fork to match my spoon. Soon I'll have a great Christmas gift for my wife.. new cutlery

I think im done in the field for now until we get a frost, I'll try parks and *Shudder at the thought* but the beach... (I hate sand!!!) but I like money!

My daughter was given a state quarter collector book when I bought my detector. I think I may occasionally "Find" a quarter for her book to keep her interested. It's great walking around with her, although she thinks she knows more than anyone lol

 

[Glock232]

Joe, I like your username, Glock232.

NRA member
Sandman

Thanks!
Years ago, I was cleaning my Glock 19 at my computer desk while browsing the web I had to create a user name for a site, so I looked at my gun, and my rescue squad operator # was 232.. I had a unique name and to this date, the only person that I have to worry about stealing my name is me when I forget the password and it's been so long my recovery email no longer works.. Yes, I'm my own worst enemy lol

 

[dustytrails123]

Great replies guys, appreciate the advice, I think for father's day im going to ask for the garrett pointer.

You will love the pro pointer ...ive left places after 3 holes when i forgot mine and had to use my backup bounty hunter ...its just not the same using a cheapy