Need help with pointers of detecting an 1850s home/farm site

borntohunt460

Sr. Member
Jul 30, 2013
253
416
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, Tesoro Silver uMax
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Need help with pointers of detecting an 1850's home/farm site

To start off Im not a complete beginner (Ive had my Tesoro Umax since 2011 and detected on and off) I recently bought an At pro and have been learning in parks, tot lots , and my usual spots. Im looking to get advice in techniques, approaches for trashy areas, and general suggestions for old sites.

Ive happened upon what I hope to be the holy grail of sites-- house has been there since at least 1860's, the property is abandoned (there are seven buildings, most look to be newer like the late 40's), and since the city has noted it as abandoned they posted a note on the door saying theyre going to do general upkeep which includes the mowing. So I have close cut grass that undoubtedly will hold the old coins im looking for.

Problem is I've spent 4 hours there today and 3 hours there yesterday and didn't find a single old coin. The older house seen in the pic below seems to have had a lot of changes. 1. I think they changed it into a garage; notice the garage door at front 2. They have a newer side garage that's cinder blocks and newer 3. The rafters inside are charred telling me it was on fire at some point. 4. Chimney and other aspects look newer 5. Siding is plywood? That being said the front yard is as if someone set off a bomb full of iron and it covers the ground. My idea was to just take my time and weed out the iron nails that have the halo effect and eventually id find something good---- I found a whole lot of trash and nothing was that deep.

I think another factor is the new At Pro that Im using. I have about 40 hours on it and I think I have a reasonable hang of it, at least to the point I can find old stuff that's down deep.

What areas should I check to find these coins? There aren't fields that I see (the old ones probably are where the trees and overgrowth are). I also didn't see a clothesline that I usually check at old houses. I checked along the sidewalks but they looked newer and again I was overwhelmed with signals. Using settings: Full sensitivity (wanna get the deep coins), pro zero mode, trying iron discrim anywhere from 26-38, ground balanced away from targets and manually notched down 5-10. I am using the stock DD but I still think that it should still be able to find an old coin here. Im getting the 5x8 at the beginning of Nov.


Would running my coil cable up about a foot before I start wrapping it increase my depth that much? Please let me know what you all have done at old sites that undoubtedly have goodies but also hundreds of years of trash

I almost forgot---the last owner was GAY for gravel and the drive up to this house and the others is gravel and with my little hand shovel its basically kryptonite--how to approach if at all?

Shown below is the only noteable finds Id say---next to the horseshoe (which I hope is lucky) is what appears to be melted lead--what was this used for and why is it just a melted blob?
IMG_0537.JPG Stream house.jpg
 

Upvote 0

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,173
14,462
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I'd concentrate on the areas around the front door and anywhere there was a good shade tree. I'd dig every sound in a small.....say 10' X 10'....area and see if it's worth all the trouble to hunt the place. The amount of time you wish to dedicate to this property is pretty much up to you but if you don't find something really good in the test areas, I'd find a better site.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top