Treasure at MY HOUSE?

[legoandmars]

So my little cousins were over today, and they wanted to dig in the dirt.
We went over to the side of my house and started filling up a bin with dirt.
When I saw something shiny; I cleared the dirt off of it, and lo and behold, it was a shiny 1944-S Mercury dime! (My house is a ~1901 farmhouse)

So I was looking for suggestions on what to do, should i dig out the area and look for more, or could this have just been a lucky one time find?
(P.S, I don't have a metal detector, how else would i easily find coins? And would it be worth buying one for this?)

 

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[BagLady]

Welcome to Tnet. I would buy a detector for sure if I lived in a house that old!

 

[flyadive]

You need a metal detector, it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack without it.
BUT be warned!, you will become a Metal Detecting freak shortly afterwards! Lol
Where are you located?
HH

 

[Oddjob]

So my little cousins were over today, and they wanted to dig in the dirt.
We went over to the side of my house and started filling up a bin with dirt.
When I saw something shiny; I cleared the dirt off of it, and lo and behold, it was a shiny 1944-S Mercury dime! (My house is a ~1901 farmhouse)

So I was looking for suggestions on what to do, should i dig out the area and look for more, or could this have just been a lucky one time find?
(P.S, I don't have a metal detector, how else would i easily find coins? And would it be worth buying one for this?)

Welcome to T-Net.

Congrats on your find; feel like posting a picture?

You do not want to dig out and sift your entire property; because by the time it is over with you will compare what you found to all the work you did and chances are you will hate treasure hunting so much after that.

MD's all have their own level of complexity, yes some can take so time to get use to but the sort of machine you are looking for can be picked up in no time.

Is it worth buying a machine; no, not all if you base it on just one coin you found. If it is a hobby you feel you may want to become moderately active in then yes it is.

I would suggest reading through the site for good machines, check the thousands of others threads that start with Which Machine Should I Get. Have look at all the finds, if you are still motivated then go out and get you a machine. Nothing complex, something simple like a Garrett AT Pro would do you just fine, that is what I started my son out on when he turned 12 and he has done amazing all alone and is very happy with how his bank account looks now.

Best of luck to you and congrats again on your find.

 

[Bruce R]

Just find a used one in the paper and get the guy to come over to your yard and demonstrate the machine for an hour or six.

 

[xr7ator]

Or, rent one.

 

[legoandmars]

Welcome to Tnet. I would buy a detector for sure if I lived in a house that old!

Thanks!

You need a metal detector, it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack without it.
BUT be warned!, you will become a Metal Detecting freak shortly afterwards! Lol
Where are you located?
HH

I'm located in the Auburn, Washington area

Welcome to T-Net.

Congrats on your find; feel like posting a picture?

You do not want to dig out and sift your entire property; because by the time it is over with you will compare what you found to all the work you did and chances are you will hate treasure hunting so much after that.

MD's all have their own level of complexity, yes some can take so time to get use to but the sort of machine you are looking for can be picked up in no time.

Is it worth buying a machine; no, not all if you base it on just one coin you found. If it is a hobby you feel you may want to become moderately active in then yes it is.

I would suggest reading through the site for good machines, check the thousands of others threads that start with Which Machine Should I Get. Have look at all the finds, if you are still motivated then go out and get you a machine. Nothing complex, something simple like a Garrett AT Pro would do you just fine, that is what I started my son out on when he turned 12 and he has done amazing all alone and is very happy with how his bank account looks now.

Best of luck to you and congrats again on your find.

Thanks for your advice! I might post a picture in a little bit.

Just find a used one in the paper and get the guy to come over to your yard and demonstrate the machine for an hour or six.

XD

Or, rent one.

Where could I rent one from? Home Depot?

 

[BigWaveDave]

Don't rent one... Learning curve to master any machine far longer than a rental...
Research as much as you can for detectors within your budget, then use one of our vendors...you will find package deals that will give you all you need to get your treasure hunting groove on...

Good luck!

 

[legoandmars]

The one problem with buying a metal detector is that my parents never take me anywhere, and i'm not 18 yet so i can't drive.
So I doubt i would use it very often at all, besides my house.

 

[Bruce R]

How isolated are you ? Don't your friends and relatives also have yards ? A useful detector can be had for $150. Sometimes even cheaper on sale. Check out the " Bounty Hunter " brand and start leaning on dear old Dad.

 

[Loco-Digger]

I see beginner detectors all the time on Craigslist for $50-$60. Like stated above you can detect relatives and maybe even the neighboring farms and fields. Depending on the site, if it's manicured lawns and highly visible I will use a hand digger. In non manicured areas or if the soil conditions are right a small $9 shove from WalM@rt will do the trick. The best MDers leave a site so it is darn near impossible to find any of the plugs they've dug.

Good Luck, hope you get a detector soon so you can begin your dirt fishing adventure.

 

[Bruce R]

I've found that old wood chisels work great for cutting plugs.

 

[legoandmars]

I've found that old wood chisels work great for cutting plugs.

Can you please define "cutting plugs"?

 

[Bruce R]

When you zero in on a target such as a coin, you don't want to start a major excavation. I cut out a circular plug of sod roughly the size of my fist and two or three inches deep and set it aside after scanning it. Search the hole, find your target, replace the dirt and the sod plug and tamp it down. The trick is to do as little damage to your lawn ( or someone else's) as possible.