What to expect around abandoned houses?

[hedshot56]

So, after finding my first item yesterday, I'm eager for more. There are about 3 abandoned houses near my house, 1 trailer from the 70's and 1 old shed, and old molasses mill with lots of jars ( found my first item near here), and the actual house where my grandmother grew up. So what would be common place for these types of structures? I really want to find some coins, so any advice on searching around here would also be appreciated. Thanks!

 

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[wheatfinder13]

When I first started, 2 years ago, there was an abandoned house on our block that I went to. I probably found 20 wheat pennies and 6 silvers. If its an old house, there's bound to ce at least one old coin!

 

[worldtalker]

You will not know till you dig it!!

GOD Bless


Chris

 

[Davers]

In my experience (Hunting 1965+ era sites) expect LOTS of Aluminum Small to large along with a few Copper / Clad coins , Brass & copper (Fittings / parts of pipe) (all brass and copper is good for recycling money) along with iron Junk.
maybe a silver or gold ring thrown in , rarely! BUT it's like playing lotto , You won't find out , until you hunt the site.

I like to keep my old home sites in the built in 1960+ - range.
Newer sites will be good practice at Iding the type and size of targets
Good Luck
Davers

 

[DDancer]

Hehh, as most anyone *a few have already* will tell you expect a lot of "junk". Many old sites are full of iron and aluminum litter simply because only the really big stuff got hauled off to the local dump (depending on the age that was usually a gully or pit within about a half mile of the house out in the woods somewhere... btw those area's are good for screening). Beer bottle tops, mason lids~heck any lid, pull tabs and pull tops *Vienna sausage tops sound great and are very common* are what I found to be the most common.
As to coins I've always found it good to imagine myself as living there and from the front or back door *if I can locate it* and picking out the common paths to and from things like the car, barn, clothes line *excellent if you can find them*, chicken coop or other structures. Old tree's are good area's too. Look up in them and sometimes you can see the rope burns from old swing lines. Other than that large open area's were kids might play.
There is usually at least one coin. For area's with a lot of shallow litter and are not to grown over a rake can help.

Good hunting.

 

[Tonto]

The trailer from the 70's would be my last hunt. I'd start at Granny's house, and look for places where people could beat the heat outside, like shade trees. Try to visualize where children played, and where dad's might wrestle with their boys. Such things were done in those days. If there was a shed or small garage, check there, because we lose coins taking a knife out of our pocket, or reaching for a lighter. Find where Granny hung her laundry to dry. Some of the older washing machines didn't spin, and coins sometimes fell from pockets while hanging out to dry. I once read where a man found a small cache of gold coins buried near the base of a clothesline pole at his Granny's homestead. If there is a cellar, you may want to check it out, too, but watch for critters. Spiders and snakes like the cool atmosphere. I have found lots of coins in old yards, but oddly, the more poor the occupants, the more coins I find. The more wealthy the historical owners, the less I would find. I have given thought to this, and think that when people are poor they feel empowered and content with a little extra money. They may give their kids a few coins to jingle around in their pockets to help boost their sense of security. It worked for me when I was a boy, and back then the coins were silver. They sure had a nice ring to them. Boys lose coins. In richer homes, there was not as much insecurity about money, and consequently, parents may not have been giving coins to their children to boost their sense of empowerment and content. Thus, less coins in wealthy people's yards.

There are probably photographs of the mill at your local historical society, or in the library. I'd give them a look and see if there was a parking lot, or an outside area where the employees ate lunch or took breaks. I searched a local cannery once and found two Barber dimes and three Inidan Heads from the late 1800's, along with a 12 karat gold lapel pin set with a small ruby. But the trash was horrible. Use a small coil, and learn to set the detector up properly for high trash hunting.

 

[JunkShopFiddler]

Poison ivy

 

[l2hunt]

First I usually hit around the door ways then under and around clothes lines, then around the outhouse if there's one on the property....ultimately I'll hit pretty much the whole location, good luck.