hidden caches

releventchair

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Marked one with a old toilet seat. One with a rototiller. One non valuable to anyone else marked with a nickle a partner sent to place where multiple holes had been dug, above a board buried above cache. Fail! wrong hole marked..board not found probing either, on my property..:icon_scratch: Another site almost touches the north side of a support post.
One site had a bizarre elm tree I dug well under and reused multiple times. One current cache is off a distinct point, within a foot.
After one divorce, decades ago I was hasty checking sites,(time and access) and missed one. So a total of two have not been recovered.
No maps, but appears to not be a bad idea unless I misplace the map... l.o.l..
Here an out door dig not carefully insulated from freezing can be off limits for many months. Or a fire built above it to thaw, or a pick or spud to make a messy, hard labor attention getting recovery, or more risky when messy, addition to an existing cache or new dig started. Pre prepped in workable weather with a clever cover that blends in and can tolerate weight or by placing an obstacle above it, can work with care.
Many possibilities beyond digging but that's not your question...
 

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MUDSLINGER

MUDSLINGER

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thanks rchair for response. I think most people would have to mark the location with some sign or marker. I suspect trees and rocks were some more of the common ways to mark a spot. and i know fence posts were used by farmers. the old cabin dweller may have looked for the biggest tree in the woods. just think it would be wise to educate ourselves with other forms of signs or marks. not really inquireing about old spanish symbols just average joe's way of marking his caches.
 

releventchair

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Lots of options but depends on what access cache maker wants. Triangulation if privacy and lite allows, or a cache that can be recovered in the dark?
One guy knew a divorce was inevitable and had been stapling twenties to the underside of his workbench for years...
Study of an area you would cache in over time will reveal a limited number of prime choices really. Depends on multiple factors, some personal ,but privacy, drainage, being able to get to it if not allowed in area anymore,accessibility due to climate or human traffic/witnesses, all can be involved. That old car sitting out in the field,dead lawntractor in corner of yard, patio block number four, under the downspout, ect..
 

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MUDSLINGER

MUDSLINGER

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I remember an old farmer that used to drop silver into a pipe that led to a buried milk can from his shed; of course this was probably 50yrs ago and his wife got a nice cache with hundreds of silver dollars and halves. she evidently knew where to look or he told her before he died. My point with this story is no visible sign was marking the spot but an open pipe in a shed that most people wouldn't think twice about. chicken coops were also a great hiding spot for obvios reasons
 

releventchair

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Under the dog house. Still bugs me one site of interesting history a later generation dragged an old car up front and posted it for sale. I knew I should have looked it over and knocked on the gas tank....
 

Frankn

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I hid $13 silver dollars in a silk change purse when I was young, about 10. I hid them under a rock in a rock garden. Might still be there, but I doubt it. It's kind of a bucket list thing now. It's about 40 miles from where I now live. Frank five star.png
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Peyton Manning

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silver dollars when you were a kid would be what? 1850?
 

mlayers

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I used to buried money when I was a kid back in the late 60's
 

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MUDSLINGER

MUDSLINGER

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thanks frankn and mslayer for response; kinda figured we as kids might use something simple. It's the caches hidden by grandpa that intrigue me most. what would he have used to mark his spot or did he use reference points? like was it 10ft from rose bush north? just wondering what others think. i think alot of small caches are hidden on property of old timers.
 

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MUDSLINGER

MUDSLINGER

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I did find a kids piggy bank buried in yard back in the 70's. it contained a Vnickle and wheats and merc but at the time i didn't ask myself why this spot? I remember it was along the house foundation. it was a cast iron bank in the shape of blue postal box.
 

Frankn

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I have found that old (suspected) people bury caches mostly near markers like large rocks, the corner of buildings, by big trees etc, and these locations are usually viewable from there house window. This has been my experience. Frank five star.png
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Old Silver

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Standing directly in front of a well house to my left, and directly in front of me is a large oak tree. I raise my left arm and point directly to the well house, and I raise my right arm and point directly in front of me to the oak tree, making sure my arms form a 90 degree angle. The point where I'm standing can easily be found again by lining up the two objects to my left and to my front (90 degrees).
 

Frankn

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True, you could use coordinates like that or you could use, say so many paces or feet in a certain compass direction from a prominent marker like a tree, rock, or building. Frank five star.png
 

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MUDSLINGER

MUDSLINGER

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true enough oldsilver and frankn. I have trouble remembering my passwords. so did they have trouble remembering was that six paces from the well or twelve. I find old age a real pain. but I'm not really old until i go to the bathroom and forget to unzip! so guys which method was used more the rock over the cache or the six paces due north of the well? someone mentioned it was usally hidden within eyesight of window or back porch. now i got to figure out if this applies to homes here in florida. what you all think?
 

Higgy

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When I was a kid in the mid-60's, I took an old steel box with a handle and hinged lid (it may have been a typewriter case), and put in a whole bunch of stuff that I, as a kid, would have considered to be treasure. Then I took it out into the back of our property and flung it into a cranberry bog, which was formed from some granite-quarrying. I tied a cheesy piece of sisal rope onto it, and chucked it right out into the water, while standing on a ledge. I would occasionally drag it up, crack it open, and pretend I was a pirate with some treasure. After a year, the rope broke and the "booty" remains there to this day as far as I know. Its located in a spot where the surrounding is wetland and a boggy heath.

Inside the box there were a few dozen coins of all denominations. This was all pre-1964. so there is a good chance there is some silver in there. I remember when I was a kid that Indian Heads were common pocket change, so perhaps there are a few of those in there. There is definitely a cap gun and some old matchbox cars. Mom gave me some jewelry to put in there, some with stones, but I cant remember if they were anything of value.

I've often thought about going back and trying to fetch this treasure, but we are talking 50 years ago. Its probably mired beneath 8 feet of organic crud. with 6 feet of water over it. I guess I made my own oak island, haha!
 

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Old Silver

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true enough oldsilver and frankn. I have trouble remembering my passwords. so did they have trouble remembering was that six paces from the well or twelve. I find old age a real pain.

According to many treasure tales/leads, a lot of them didn't remember. And that's why those treasures are said to still be there to locate. When a person first does something, like placing something in a certain spot, they tend to think they'll have no trouble remembering where they put it, because it's fresh on their mind. However, even a small amount of time can wipe away those fresh memories. Good for us cache hunters, huh.
 

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Old Silver

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True, you could use coordinates like that or you could use, say so many paces or feet in a certain compass direction from a prominent marker like a tree, rock, or building. Frank View attachment 1072670

Yes, pacing is a well known method used. I was giving a method that many people may never have thought of, including myself. If you have a spot that had a couple of features that could have been used as landmarks, it might be worth trying that right angle thing.
 

Frankn

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Yes, pacing is a well known method used. I was giving a method that many people may never have thought of, including myself. If you have a spot that had a couple of features that could have been used as landmarks, it might be worth trying that right angle thing.
I have only seen this once. I found a small cache dead center of a yard. It appears they used the four corner posts to get a fix on the spot. Just my guess. Frank five star.png
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