Another searched out yard.

[Sovereignelite]

Not having much luck with the yards lately even with the Etrac. I received permission a while back to hunt 15 properties all of which have houses built from between 1870 and 1920. Hit first house/property and took two days of searching to pull 2 Indian head cents (1899 &1891) and 3 wheat cents. One Indian head cent was found between huge rusty nails with FTF (Four Tone Ferrous) It was the 1891, which was the same year the house was built. The second property yielded 57 coins(in one days search) all modern except a 1916 and 1939 Wheat. Today I searched the third property and got ZILCH except 3 modern pennies. It's obvious these houses have been pretty well searched out (I know I know nothing is ever "searched out" but these are awfully close to that and the diminishing returns are not worth the time) These houses are the ones built by the richest people in the early days of a town and have stood out to every person with a metal detector for the past 50 years. Well a few blocks away are a couple less prominent properties that may have not been hit, or at least not as bad. I'm hoping to hit those tomorrow morning. I know it's impossible for every house in town to be hunted as the first one I used the Etrac on yielded about 18 old coins. Anyway trying to keep my enthusiasm up but after 3 virtually dead yards it's tough. Here are the few things I've found lately and wish me luck tomorrow HAPPY HUNTING!

 

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[Sovereignelite]

The 1889 is from an earlier hunt at a really old, but heavily searched house.

 

[Davers]

The IH cleaned up nice ,I also feel your pain the last few older home sites ive hunted 1920s-1935,[built] have turned up very little one the nice lady said she lived there all her life and said it had never been hunted the 1920s site in over approx 11+ hours turned up a few wheats maybe 7 clad coins in all . Then hating to be skunked hit the front yard one last time and dug a 1964D Rosie one they minted over a billion of ,but better than 0. The most productive sites have been homes built in the 1950s one that was on a 1/4 acre lot I dug 10 wheats a 1941 Quarter and a 1964 dime [to go with my 64D] and that was in the front yard 40x30 ft [back was all fill dirt] & the best was a home built in 1959 that gave many wheats clad & 8 silvers 1 Quarter the rest dimes 3 Mers 4 Rosie's . Im 41 & my day said a Nickel went along ways in the 50s so I suppose in the begin 1900s loosing a dime was a BIG DEAL wich makes old silver even harder to find among all those "HUNTED OUT" sites. Best of luck ..

 

[Sovereignelite]

That's true about the value of money back then BUT it was just as easy to lose as now. I managed 5 wheat cents yesterday...but no silver. I need to hit less obvious places...Sounds like you've not done too badly especially for not-so-old sites!

The IH cleaned up nice ,I also feel your pain the last few older home sites ive hunted 1920s-1935,[built] have turned up very little one the nice lady said she lived there all her life and said it had never been hunted the 1920s site in over approx 11+ hours turned up a few wheats maybe 7 clad coins in all . Then hating to be skunked hit the front yard one last time and dug a 1964D Rosie one they minted over a billion of ,but better than 0. The most productive sites have been homes built in the 1950s one that was on a 1/4 acre lot I dug 10 wheats a 1941 Quarter and a 1964 dime [to go with my 64D] and that was in the front yard 40x30 ft [back was all fill dirt] & the best was a home built in 1959 that gave many wheats clad & 8 silvers 1 Quarter the rest dimes 3 Mers 4 Rosie's . Im 41 & my day said a Nickel went along ways in the 50s so I suppose in the begin 1900s loosing a dime was a BIG DEAL wich makes old silver even harder to find among all those "HUNTED OUT" sites. Best of luck ..

 

[dougofpa]

Nice finds sov

 

[Sandman]

Everyone has to remember that if a house was built, say back in 1890, the land could have been walked on by lots of people that could have lost something or hid something.

 

[Sovereignelite]

I ended up finding 5 Wheat cents in the next yard I hunted...then the next yard one tiny silver ring...Not spectacular but a little better than nothing anyway. I am really starting to think the earths magnetic field and the moon phases really can hinder finds. I'm serious. That stuff was mentioned recently in W&E Treasures,

 

[Sandman]

I ended up finding 5 Wheat cents in the next yard I hunted...then the next yard one tiny silver ring...Not spectacular but a little better than nothing anyway. I am really starting to think the earths magnetic field and the moon phases really can hinder finds. I'm serious. That stuff was mentioned recently in W&E Treasures,

An don't forget solar flares....I once had a lucky pair of socks that I had to wear. Then one day the washing machine sent one sock to another dimension during the spin cycle.

 

[Sovereignelite]

Managed to find this 1923-S Merc today: first silver coin I've found in over a month. Better date too!

 

[wvwildman]

nice finds congrats HH

 

[bevo]

Runnin my f2 on all metal, it will sound a solid iron tone, then on the next swing(same target) it will stop short of any sound, just a small "thump" in my head phone. Then it will give high or medium tone. Thats when I dig for sure. usually its a nail, but sometimes it will be something cool. mostly I do this in my back yard, which cant get pounded
much harder. My point? not sure. anyway nice finds.

 

[Twinkletoes]

That Indian Head has a beautiful patina! Nice cleaning job!

 

[foiler]

Large prominent older homes can produce some nice old coins. These would be victorian style homes built before 1920 the older the better. Keep in mind that landscaping most likely has changed over the years from its original look. A house built in the 1890's may not have a single original tree or shrub left nor would the currant landscaping be anywhere accurate to the original layout. First place to hunt is the east side of the house, then north. South and West would be least productive in that order. If you don't understand the methodology I will explain if asked. It's pretty simple really if you understand the basic environment that dictated the lifestyle of the times.

 

[Sovereignelite]

Thanks...the few coins that came out of that yard (2 in 1993 and the one shown this year, always have a good patina)

That Indian Head has a beautiful patina! Nice cleaning job!

 

[Sovereignelite]

Thanks for the tips...I do have some techniques. I can usually tell if the soil has been changed or disturbed in these older yard. The yard where I found the 23-S Merc was almost totally redone with only a few places having the original loose black topsoil. The rest was mixed with the clay subsoil. The 1891 Victorian had no original soil in the backyard and part of side yard. The place I found the few old coins was dark black for at least 10 inches down. I generally find some old coins at any house that is 40's or before. Many in the section of town I have been hunting have obviously been searched. I have started concentrating on the section of town where I found the 18+ old coins in one yard. I found the 23-S Merc in around 15 minutes in a nearby yard there are. There are at least 40 old homes in this area most are 30's or earlier. I am sure several have not been detected .They are off the beaten path in town so less people see them while driving down the street. I am pretty hopeful!

Large prominent older homes can produce some nice old coins. These would be victorian style homes built before 1920 the older the better. Keep in mind that landscaping most likely has changed over the years from its original look. A house built in the 1890's may not have a single original tree or shrub left nor would the currant landscaping be anywhere accurate to the original layout. First place to hunt is the east side of the house, then north. South and West would be least productive in that order. If you don't understand the methodology I will explain if asked. It's pretty simple really if you understand the basic environment that dictated the lifestyle of the times.

 

[Sovereignelite]

Hmm not sure the Etrac and F2 give the samre responses but Ill keep that in mind. I have a good sense on when to dig, although I do not care for the trac's love of deep nails(and some not so deep)

Runnin my f2 on all metal, it will sound a solid iron tone, then on the next swing(same target) it will stop short of any sound, just a small "thump" in my head phone. Then it will give high or medium tone. Thats when I dig for sure. usually its a nail, but sometimes it will be something cool. mostly I do this in my back yard, which cant get pounded
much harder. My point? not sure. anyway nice finds.

 

[windage]

Yup, silver and square nails; breakfast of Etrac operators. Seems like my Sovy GT doesn't "buy" the rusty nail trick as often as my E does

 

[Sovereignelite]

That's possible. I have more experience with the Etrac than GT, just been too lazy to try to compare. I would have to take both detectors to a site that I know has good and bad targets and compare responses. I have been switching to all metal and/or using Four Tone Ferrous, it's made a world of difference. I can safely say the Etrac is the best detector I've had.

Yup, silver and square nails; breakfast of Etrac operators. Seems like my Sovy GT doesn't "buy" the rusty nail trick as often as my E does