Where to look in a 100 year old farm house?

[Kiros32]

I may have the opportunity to tear through an old farm house and take whatever I want. I need some advice, not only on places to search for caches, coins, bottles, etc, in the house, but what else might be of value, ie doors, trim, stone, etc.

So where did they hide their goods back then? Should I scan the walls with my metal detector?


Thanks!

 

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[diggemall]

I know of one old farmhouse where the family "vault" was beneath the floorboards in a small entry room (roll back the carpet, peel back the vinyl florring, lift the loose boards)

Fact is, somebody's "safe" could have been anywhere they imagined to be safe and accessible. In Northern climates, where the ground freezes in winter, it would likely have been indoors. Down south it could be just about anywhere.

Previously demonstrated places:

Chimneys - look for loose bricks that give access to cavities
Doors - hollowed out on top edges
Baseboards - loose pieces w/ cavities behind
Windows - the old counterweight cavities
Stairs - tread or riser boards that can be removed
Floors - anywhere a carpet might be pulled back to reveal loose boards
Attics
Dirt Basements - anywhere
Flower Beds
Fence post hole safes

Diggem'

 

[acedigger]

What Diggem said.

I also use my daily habits to figure out what they were doing 100 years ago.
Where are you more likely to loose change?
Driveway
Sidewalks

I would also look for stumps or large trees around the property. This would have been a meeting ground in the days before AC.

Also think like a child and where would you bury your ice cream money to hide it from a sibling.

We tore down an old house once, the only place we have found any money was underneath the floors. Where it was swept through a crack or fell by accident through one.

Basically take your time and search everywhere many times.

Good luck and HH!!

 

[rcasi44]

Besides all the other spots don't forget around the mailbox. They used to leave postage. I see you have an MXT. I tried scanning my walls and it picked up coins next to the nails pretty good so yes scan the walls. Just remember that the treasure was probably in a metal container or at least a jar with a metal top. The good stuff could come up as ferrous.

For bottles don't forget the out house. Also a long probe would be a good idea for finding the bottle dump. Rob

 

[Johnny42]

My uncle told me if I was ever detecting near a barn/house, to look in the builders' trench which is about a yard out from the house all the way around. Since that is where people were walking and possibly dropping stuff. You'll find old scrap like nails and whatnot.


I don't know if that will help, but hope it does!

JW

 

[Sandman]

These are all good places to look.

A friend and I searched an old house and he had his detector go off on the front door which was hollow with being loaded with silver coins. There was a slot in the top of the door where someone would drop coins when they came inside. I don't remember how much was in the door now as it was over 20 years ago and I can' t remember where I left the car keys now.

Also check around the old fuse box for pennies that were used in the fuses.

good Luck,
Sandman

 

[Shortstack]

All previous comments are ALL usable. My contributions are:
--under the door sills at the front and back doors. Individual coins can end up under the sills from years of the floors being swept clean. Also, check outside the back door within several feet for coins "thrown" outside when wives swept the dust/dirt outside.

---Check behind the covers on the openings where stove pipes go through the walls. Also, some of these covers are highly collectable. There were decorative covers made specifically to close off these openings when natural gas and propane became popular for home heating. These covers might resemble kitchen trivets. (which are also collectable)

---Check the backs of kitchen cabinet drawers. Paper money has been found tacked to the outside faces of the drawer backs. (also tacked to the bottoms) Take out all drawers and check.

---Trap doors in the floor in the back of kitchen cabinets.

---Unusually short sections of shoe mouldings at the base of a wall.

---Under stair treads and behind stair risers.

---Under clothes lines.

---The band of lawn within 4 feet of the edge of any porch. I've found "nest" of coins in this area left by kids playing just off the porches.

---If the house is at least 3 feet off of the ground, crawl underneath and look for coins and old toys. When I was a kid, that's where my friends and I would play "trucks and cars" because the dirt there was easy to dig in and NO GRASS to worry with. We'd make roads and little caves to park our trucks and cars in. We'd use big spoons to dig with.

---Look for old printed material such as calenders and advertisements. Old print material is collectable. There are some folks "out there" who collect this stuff.

---A good guideline to follow is: if it is old and identifiable, someone somewhere collects it.

---Feel along the top of all doors. There have been cases where people have drilled coin-sized holes in the top of doors to fit stacks of coins into then seal off with plugs made from wood or wood putty.

Start at the top of the house; section off each floor into manageable pieces and thoroughly search that section, then the next section, etc until that floor has been completed. Done this way, you'll be assured of hitting every square inch. If you do a hit and miss; running around like a chicken with its head cut off kind of search, you will be an amateurish loser. You need to open your mind and LOOK around you. Some types of old door knobs and face plates are surprisingly valuable.

I and these other posters have barely touched on the possibilities.

 

[gregd573]

This kind of brings back memories of when I was much younger and half witted....lol. I was told that I could have anything in an old house that was about to be destroyed. I picked up some small whatnot things and left 2 great fireplace mantels and some 10' walnut pocket doors and others treasures.......sometimes the treasures are in front of us.......I sure wish I could go back and take the place apart. Best of luck.......I hope you find whatever your looking for........HH...gregd573

 

[Keppy]

Yes they are all right on what to look for..............But i live in a 114 year old farm house i bought about 20 years ago and i never found nothing here...but a few old coins in the yard.......

 

[Silver Fox]

I found a "bank" right off the back steps. I got a high signal in DISC and large signal in ALL METALS. About a foot down I found the top of a lid. I removed the lid and there was a hole but it was empty. Took a while for my heart to go back to its regular beat.

Silver Fox

 

[findinglittle]

try to find the master bed room then look out the windows to see if there are any trees out side that are near. detect around that tree i have heard of people finding large jars of coins by these markers. the tree should be in ears shot of the window.

 

[fireman7115]

For bottles FIND THE OUT HOUSE.

 

[redpgmr]

Why are there bottles in the outhouse??

 

[fireman7115]

When the outhouse was moved to a new location the house hold trash would be thrown in the hole before it was filled with dirt. you can find a lot of old bottles privy digging

 

[TerryC]

Post hole bank! Look along any standing barbed wire fence. When you find a post that is not stapled to the barbed wire... you may have found the BANK under the post. Also, look for any ODD vegetation indicating the possibility of an over grown garden. No one would think twice of a woman digging in the garden.... burying something.... maybe even from hubby! All the above posts are good but hardly touches the amount of places to look. Good Luck! TTC