Hunterhound
Jr. Member
I kind of stumbled onto this site while researching how to smelt precious metals online. I thought about trying to get into metal detecting years ago and never pursued the endeavor. I haven't read much from the site yet but am looking forward to getting into the meat of the research and finding treasures of my own. My primary interest is finding old coinage and relics though I have a strong interest in gemstones as well. I've always had an interest in history and the opportunity to combine that with getting out to enjoy the nature God created is highly appealing to me.
I plan to look over much of the forum information before I start asking too many questions but I do have a few starter questions I'd like to ask in conjunction with what I've already read.
1. With my primary interest being in relics and coinage, especially from the revolutionary timeframe, I'm a little worried I will have a hard time finding things near the surface if at all. I'm thinking the best way to get started after reviewing the information on the site is to look at local records for deeds and homesteads in the oldest towns and war troop movements in my local area. I'm close enough to West Point (the oldest registered town in Kentucky - I believe 1775 anyway) where I could likely search the surrounding area with approval of course. I stopped by our local library today just to see what type of research materials they have and came across a small book describing the early history of Kentucky. It talked about the first 4 families that attempted to start a settlement at the mouth of a local river. While it didn't state anything about the location of their homesteads, I feel like a little more research and cross-referencing may yield an approximate area. Also, the book talked about the efforts of a commanding officer to disrupt the train supply lines to area forts. A specific statement provided a date and near pinpoint location of a camp site for the soldier's squad. Is this type of information reliable and worth pursuing or do I need to look for more specific information.
2. Can anyone give me some information supplemental to what's on the site on how to read geological information? I tried to look at a USGS document for Kentucky but it didn't make much sense to me. I did read from another site that the presence of many gemstones/precious metals in our state will be slim due to there not being much prehistoric volcanic activity in this area. I'd like to be able to figure out what I may be able to hunt for and in which areas.
I'm looking forward to jumping into this hobby and making connections with fellow hunters while a member here.
I plan to look over much of the forum information before I start asking too many questions but I do have a few starter questions I'd like to ask in conjunction with what I've already read.
1. With my primary interest being in relics and coinage, especially from the revolutionary timeframe, I'm a little worried I will have a hard time finding things near the surface if at all. I'm thinking the best way to get started after reviewing the information on the site is to look at local records for deeds and homesteads in the oldest towns and war troop movements in my local area. I'm close enough to West Point (the oldest registered town in Kentucky - I believe 1775 anyway) where I could likely search the surrounding area with approval of course. I stopped by our local library today just to see what type of research materials they have and came across a small book describing the early history of Kentucky. It talked about the first 4 families that attempted to start a settlement at the mouth of a local river. While it didn't state anything about the location of their homesteads, I feel like a little more research and cross-referencing may yield an approximate area. Also, the book talked about the efforts of a commanding officer to disrupt the train supply lines to area forts. A specific statement provided a date and near pinpoint location of a camp site for the soldier's squad. Is this type of information reliable and worth pursuing or do I need to look for more specific information.
2. Can anyone give me some information supplemental to what's on the site on how to read geological information? I tried to look at a USGS document for Kentucky but it didn't make much sense to me. I did read from another site that the presence of many gemstones/precious metals in our state will be slim due to there not being much prehistoric volcanic activity in this area. I'd like to be able to figure out what I may be able to hunt for and in which areas.
I'm looking forward to jumping into this hobby and making connections with fellow hunters while a member here.
