Best part of the US of A to live, in terms of the metal detecting hobby?

[perdidogringo]

Hi All,

I've lived outside the US for 20 years and have had some success uncovering some decent finds around the world. I might need to repatriate to the US in the next few years and I can pretty much find a job in my field in any of the 50 states. I'm a native of the Chicago area but the metal detecting is poor there due to the lack of history, draconian laws (i.e., no detecting in Cook County forest preserves), winter 4-5 months a year, etc.

The treasure coast is my first thought and I spent some time there last summer. That was a blast although conditions have to be just right in order to have success. Then I was thinking somewhere on the East coast but not sure of the laws, etc. The West has always appealed to me but until the gold rush there wasn't really that much history except for a few places by the Spanish (and most of those places, I imagine, are cities now and paved over, or not allowed to search, protected?). These are just my uneducated, random thoughts at this time (please correct me if I am misinformed).

I realize that some will opine "you can find history anywhere" but let's face it, you can't compare the Chicago area (for example) with the treasure coast.

I'd appreciate any feedback from those with strong opinions on which parts of the US are ideal for metal detecting (decent amount of history), reasonable laws, and more moderate weather to enjoy the hobby year-round. Thanks in advance!

 

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[ToddsPoint]

Just judging by the finds on this forum, and factoring in the weather, my vote is for SC. Gary

 

[BigWaveDave]

Plymouth MA
Which is where I lived for 25 years before I discovered our hobby...

 

[jewelerguy]

I don't know about the best, but the worst seems to be where I live.

 

[golddigger14s]

I don't know about the best, but the worst seems to be where I live.

I'm in OK and we have some serious history. Found some cool stuff on Fort Sill. 8 degrees today and a foot of snow predicted.
Stay away from the east coast and west coast. (High cost of living). If I sell my house in WA it would pay for my house in OK.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Just judging by the finds on this forum, and factoring in the weather, my vote is for SC. Gary

Real detectorists could care less about the weather. Best time to dig here in New England is right after the snow melts. Muddy as heck and cold a lot of the time, but the colonial coins and relics pop in the saturated ground. We have 1652 tree shillings, Rev War buttons, George Washington inaugural buttons and tons of Spanish reales just waiting to be found! Not to mention all the colonial shoe buckles and 1700's flat buttons that are regular finds up here...

 

[perdidogringo]

Just judging by the finds on this forum, and factoring in the weather, my vote is for SC. Gary

Yes, the Carolinas seem like promising areas. I've watched enough Nugget Noggin videos to know that there are plenty of colonial sites around his area in N.C. I imagine S.C. would be just as good and perhaps better.

 

[perdidogringo]

Plymouth MA
Which is where I lived for 25 years before I discovered our hobby...

I have similar regrets. I wasn't into metal detecting while living in Venezuela and Hungary and surely, I would have found some great stuff in those places. However, I got into the hobby while in Panama and that might be the best place in the world to practice the hobby, if you love Spanish colonial history, cobs, relics, etc.

 

[jewelerguy]

I'm in OK and we have some serious history. Found some cool stuff on Fort Sill. 8 degrees today and a foot of snow predicted.
Stay away from the east coast and west coast. (High cost of living). If I sell my house in WA it would pay for my house in OK.

golddigger, that's just mainly my dry sense of humor. I'm 30 miles East of you in Marlow. I've made some cool finds, but always a little jealous of the folks on here from the eastern states with all their large cents and seated and bust coins. I've never been able to devote as much time to the hobby as I'd like or I'd have even more cool finds. Always working too much and now health issues are dragging me down as well.

 

[smokeythecat]

East Coast, South Carolina to Massachusetts. Within 100 miles of the coast.

 

[IDXMonster]

East coast hands down for the oldest and likely more valuable finds. I’ve seen ridiculous finds come from every state along the eastern seaboard, upstate NY, etc. Not saying that’s where ALL the nice finds are....more gold coins seem to come from California, but not nearly the numbers. If you are like almost all people, work and family are the two biggest factors regarding where you live, detecting comes after that.

 

[perdidogringo]

East coast hands down for the oldest and likely more valuable finds. I’ve seen ridiculous finds come from every state along the eastern seaboard, upstate NY, etc. Not saying that’s where ALL the nice finds are....more gold coins seem to come from California, but not nearly the numbers. If you are like almost all people, work and family are the two biggest factors regarding where you live, detecting comes after that.

Very true. However, my work provides me with quite a bit of free time so want to devote more to the hobby.

The Carolinas sound like a good area so far and more mild winter means more time to detect. California gold rush history always intrigues me as I detected on a gold rush site in Panama and found some incredibly interesting finds.

 

[IDXMonster]

Very true. However, my work provides me with quite a bit of free time so want to devote more to the hobby.

The Carolinas sound like a good area so far and more mild winter means more time to detect. California gold rush history always intrigues me as I detected on a gold rush site in Panama and found some incredibly interesting finds.

If your work allows, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the places you’re thinking of. Just remember that the nicer a place is, the more competition you will have.....EVERYBODY wants to hunt where it’s nice and there are old/valuable things! Good luck where you land and keep us posted as to how your detecting is coming along!

 

[birdman]

New England is loaded with colonial history but I think I would pick South Carolina, less brutal winter.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

New England is loaded with colonial history but I think I would pick South Carolina, less brutal winter.

South Carolina has brutally oppressive humidity most of the year. I'll take detecting in the cold over sweating to death every time I dig a hole any day.

 

[Aeds151]

Probably up there in Yankee land. Leave the CS to us down here

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Probably up there in Yankee land. Leave the CS to us down here

The Civil War has been over for 150 years and you guys lost! Let it go and move on with your life.

 

[ToddsPoint]

On my first post above I said SC has my vote. You think I'm kidding? Look at this post from the Cane Bandits: Gary
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/649969-cane-bandits-2020-year-review.html

 

[perdidogringo]

On my first post above I said SC has my vote. You think I'm kidding? Look at this post from the Cane Bandits: Gary
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/649969-cane-bandits-2020-year-review.html

Wow, that's an impressive haul! Says they are down in Louisiana, though, not SC. Or did I read that wrong?

 

[brianc053]

perdidogringo, no one has commented on New Jersey and Pennsylvania, so I'll chime in with my thoughts about those states. I live in NJ, which is apparently the most densely populated US state, yet I still find plenty of great locations to hunt just in my town. I have so many permissions and other sites lined up for 2021 that I've stopped researching more. And with George Washington encamping his troops in northern NJ for two years during the Rev War you know there's history here. And when there's 20" of snow on the ground (like now - although this is very unusual) I can drive down to the Jersey Shore and detect.
BUT - it's crazy expensive to live here. Taxes, property values, and the cost of day-to-day stuff are all high. And many sites have been detected many times over (though with my Nox I'm still pulling good stuff).

Next door to us is Pennsylvania, and there are a couple of forum members that pull some amazing stuff out of that state. PA still has a lot of very open farmland that is actively farmed, meaning the plow it and bring good stuff to the surface. But - it's cold there too, and it's further from the coast/beach.
I like what Smokey said: anywhere within 100 miles of the coast is a good choice. And your inclination toward the Carolinas seems to be wise, although I bet there isn't as much history to pull from the ground down there.
Hope this helps. Good luck with your repatriation.

- Brian