Any Finds in your Own Backyard?

[Larsmed]

Hi,

I am new to treasaure hunting and I have found nothing but trash
in my backyard.

Has anyone here found anything of value digging around in their
backyards?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[Natman]

Yes, I've found all sorts of things..toy cars, keys, coins, AND trash!

What you will find in your yard will depend on how old the house is, how many families have lived there, how many people were in the yard every year, etc.

Don't be discouraged..if you enjoy hunting yards as I do, find a neighborhood that's 40 or more years old and get permission to hunt a few. You WILL find things other than trash.

Good luck
Nat

 

[diggummup]

A couple dog tags,clad,a key or two,plenty of roofing nails,a big piece of copper wire,other unidentifiable junk and about 6 Busch Bavarian beer cans in various spots.Nothing valuable yet.Haven't searched the front yet,present house was built in the 70's.Was another small "Florida cracker" house here before that.The front yard is soon to be detected if I don't get a day off of work soon! .I have read that the front yard will produce more than the back as far as good finds go,especially near the edges of driveways and such.As Nat said,there are many good finds to be had in private yards.That's about all that's left to detect down here,legally that is,besides the beach! Don't get too discouraged,it'll come to ya eventually.The good stuff that is!

 

[PBK]

I once lived in a house that stood on part of an old picnic ground. Found a couple of Indian Heads, a handful of Wheats, and a few silver coins. Actually, I thought there ought to be more, but I worked it pretty thoroughly. Also hit two neighbors' lawns, with about the same results. Found a .58 Minie, too, but just the one— also a man's 14K wedding band, but it was modern.

 

[Digginman]

Sure, I have found stuff in my yard. My house was built in 1930. I don't know of the history of it before that, but I have found 2 V-Nickels, a 1916 Mercury Dime, 2 Indian Heads, lots of Wheat Cents and this:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,38876.0.html

The Civil War find didn't surprise me, the area has a good history during that time.

DM

 

[randall61]

my backyard finds include a mans gold wedding band,wright bros engine pin,1926....22 c/w 3 ring miniballs and a ton of melted lead.....old plow parts the house is about 80 yrs old ,another house was burned down during the civilwar
where mine was built.so you just never know also some wheaties.old houses can be a gold mine of finds.
goodluck and keep diggin.
randall61

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

This house was built in 50's. I found a gold childs ring, a WWII brass navy button and a bunch of 60's clad a few months ago under the old clothes line. I dont know why so much was under the clothes line? Dont they empty the pockets before washing? Wouldnt it be in the washer? Maybe it falls out of the clothes basket.

 

[halfdime]

I was inspired to get a metal detector in part because of the old coins I was finding just by accident in my yard. After I got the detector, the silver and wheats just kept coming. The oldest coin in my yard is an 1893 Indian head penny, though I suspect I may have discarded a Reale. It was a thin disk with little or no detail and it wasn't until I found another with only slightly more detail that I thought anything about it. As for clotheslines, most people way back did clothes by hand or with a wringer. Anything left in the pockets could fall out if pants were hung upside down, though my mother taught me to hang "tops by the bottom and bottoms by the top." Now you also know laundry hanging theory!

 

[lordmarcovan]

Yeah. I tried my backyard once.

Once.

Hoo boy, hang onto your hat, 'cause my finds are gonna knock yer sox off!

Ready? Are you sittin' down?

OK, here goes.

1. Crap. (A pulltab).
2. Crap. (Wow, another pulltab.)
3. Crap. (The top of an old aluminum can. I'm seein' a pattern emerge, here.)
4. BIG crap. (A lovely, large chunk of old aluminum siding. What a joy it was to dig up.)
5. Hey, wow! A COIN! (Ooh, yay. A 1962 Memorial cent.)
6. Crap. (A tiny piece of aluminum. Cool. We're back to the pattern.)
7. Crap. (A Coca-Cola screwcap. Yeehah.)
8. Crap. (A .22 cartridge casing. Fun to pinpoint under those roots.)
9. Crap. (A wad of tinfoil. Hey, maybe I can take all this aluminum to the recycling center!)
10. Crap. (An old fuse. I think. Let's just call it a "whatzit" and be done with it.)


Y'know, it's a good thing our yard is all fenced in. Otherwise it might be a problem, with all those eager detectorists lined up, wanting to have a crack at finding the fabulous treasures we've got buried out there. I know a bunch of you are gonna be sending me PMs or emails, wanting to come and hunt such a bountiful site.

 

[Night Stalker]

A few years back, we rented a home from an old fellow, I dug up a dog tag, I called our landlord and asked him if he knew the guy who was on the tag - the landlord hung the phone up in my ear!?

Just a few minutes later, he showed up at our doorstep - turns out the dog tag belonged to his son who was killed in Vietnam. He came to tears and started telling me how the dog tag was on his key ring for a long time, and one day he noticed it gone.

 

[Natman]

He came to tears

So did I..great story.

Nat

 

[packerbacker]

I found a heavy, silver, men's ring. It originally had a stone on it but I didn't even think to look for it at the time. It was probably right there in the same hole. (Technically it was in my FRONT yard. Found a bicentenial Eisenhower silver dollar in my backyard)

 

[Stacylee926]

My house was probably built in the 60's or 70's (should ask the landlord - she lives next door).
I have dug up about 5 clad pennies, trash, a silver spoon ring (very cool BTW), more trash, a 1975 matchbox and Bud bottle caps - apparently the beer of choice for the recent renters.

I do wonder if the landlord ever looks out the window and wonders why I am doing digging all those holes in the yard!!
My husband refuses to let me do the front yard - we live on a busy street - and he thinks I am nuts anyway! However, HE is the one who bought me the MD for Xmas!

 

[Larsmed]

hey fellow Hunters!

Thanks for responding! u are giving me some hope here, heh. Maybe once I get my hands on some good 17th centruy maps the trash will turn into treasure..lol..I live in Jacksonville, and I am always trying to find a Reale, since the Spanish
did heavy trading here. I might just go to st augustine beach since it is closeby and has significant Spanish history.

Keep on diggin guys and if any of you need a partner, email me.

 

[halfdime]

Stacylee - do the front yard when hubby's at work

 

[Blind.In.Texas]

Hi,

I am new to treasaure hunting and I have found nothing but trash
in my backyard.

Has anyone here found anything of value digging around in their
backyards?

My house was built in 1950. Dateless Standing Liberty, 43 Mercury dime, 43 Jefferson, 45 Jefferson, 61 Rosie, and now a buffalo that I cant see the date on. Not clean enuff yet. About 40 or 45 wheat pennies. The oldest of which is 1926 and in really great condition. There is hope....somewhere. ALL were found in my front yard except the wheats. Only a couple of wheats came from the front yard.

Laater...

 

[Mona Lisa]

I would have found a lot more if we didn't bring in seventy dump truckloads of dirt into the back yard!

My house was built in the 1850's. I did manage to find quite a few wheaties, a buffalo nickel, a shield nickel, and around 7 musketballs..........and 67,584,578 nails!

 

[lordmarcovan]

hey fellow Hunters!

Thanks for responding! u are giving me some hope here, heh. Maybe once I get my hands on some good 17th centruy maps the trash will turn into treasure..lol..I live in Jacksonville, and I am always trying to find a Reale, since the Spanish
did heavy trading here. I might just go to st augustine beach since it is closeby and has significant Spanish history.

Keep on diggin guys and if any of you need a partner, email me.

I'm just north of you (Golden Isles of GA- Brunswick), and I've found a little Spanish silver. (The first one I dug is in my signature line picture.) I used to live in Fernandina, which is between you and I now.

Do y'all remember several years back, when the senseless murder of Dr. John Britton at an abortion clinic in Fernandina, FL was all over the national news? (I'm not defending abortion, but the murder was just... evil.) His killer later got lethal injection.

Well, anyway, Dr. Britton was one of my first numismatic mentors, back in the 1970s. He he was our family doctor and a good friend of my parents. We were pretty poor then and he helped us out a time or two. He also did favors for his other patients.

Now, back to the topic of Spanish silver. Dr. Britton gave me a 1773 half-real that an elderly patient of his had found in her flower bed there in Fernandina! Let me tell you, that rocked my kid-collector world, since it was my first coin from the 1700s!

Look me up sometime, if you like. I'm not that far from you. If you get hold of some 17th century maps and can pinpoint sites and get permission on 'em, I'm your buddy! I'd exchange visits on my sites for visits on yours.

 

[Larsmed]

Lordmarcovan:

Thanks for the information. I am trying to obtain any information about the Fort caroline and a place called pirates cove over by huegenot park righ neear fernandina. I have a hunch those sites could have been very active in the 16-1700's. I am not sure if Mding is allowed at fort caroline, but imagine the French weapons or things that could turn up.

 

[pickaway]

I've probably found 15 bucks in clad 2 wheaties numerous odds & ends.
2 of the neatest things i found were 2 rose tags dating 1961 for hybrid teacup roses from americana.