I just dont get it.

[Blythe_Spirit_50]

I just don't get it.

There is this old farm we have been hunting. The house, probably built around 1900, has been torn down and all the trees rooted up and put in a big pile. There are still 2 "huge" barns and in the back an old cellar hole where there must have been a house at one time. We have been out there several times and still haven't found so much as a new penny. Lots of old nondescript metal and I have found some glass, a glass canning sealer, parts of crocks and dishes and a window weight. If people lived in this place for over 100 years you would think there would be something!. I am really discouraged and baffled by this, any advice would be appreciated.

 

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[Sandman]

Re: I just don't get it.

It could have been hunted a few times. Maybe the prevous owners just did not carry change to lose. But I'll bet some is still there as even an army of th'ers couldn't have gotten it all. Try to view it as it might have been years ago and then hunt it.

 

[Blythe_Spirit_50]

Re: I just don't get it.

Sandman, it occurred to me today that I could look at Google Earth and see how it looked before it was torn down, exactly where the house was and I went back and hunted where I thought the front and backyards were as well as around where the house would have stood. I was thrilled just to find the old sealing lid!

 

[MD Dog]

Re: I just don't get it.

Blythe I'm guessing you've come across something that those of us who hunt allot of old homesites learn early on. There was a family back in the day that moved from house to house to house, their names were the Frugals and they were known for losing very little money especially in the depression era days.

 

[flyinguy]

Re: I just don't get it.

the poor people probably didn't have much to lose but there is probably some thing there. i have hunted some great looking spots and found nothing but trash. try to find the place where the kids have been, the well, orchard, out house, walk ways from one building to another, the dump, clothes line. good luck and have fun!

 

[al-nm]

Re: I just don't get it.

and most things lost were lost by children. if they had no children it lessens your chances for finds. as they said adults had to make money count.

 

[sqwaby]

Re: I just don't get it.

Have been told by some old timers, when people were broke during the depression they would sift the top layer of soil in their yards for coins. One of the things you find at places like that are areas where they would discard the trash metal from the sifters.

 

[Pa.Billy]

Re: I just don't get it.

don't despair Bly,I've hunted about 5 homesteads the last 2 weeks with only a few wheat cents to shown for it. All of them were Frugal family homesteads and I don't think any of them were hunted before. I don't like to talk badly of people but that damn Frugal tribe multiplies like rabbits !

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Re: I just don't get it.

My experience at country farm houses is that, unless they also served as some sort of community gathering place (stage stop, post drop, country-picnic staging for all the neighbors, etc...) then they won't necessarily have lots of coins. The exception would be if the place was abandoned very early on (before the age of electricity and autos. Say... pre-1910s), then you're dealing with older eras where you don't have to weed through as much of the "throw-away generation" type debri. In the extreme old country home sites (cellar holes, etc...) ALL signals are "interesting". But contrast that to a site of that might be just as old, BUT was inhabited till, say, the 1960s, then you have to deal with foil, aluminum, car parts (chrome, spark plugs, etc...), electrical junk (light bulb sockets, wadded wire, fuses, etc...) and so on and so on. Worse yet, if the house burned down, then you're dealing with molten debri. So there may be coins mixed in with all the junk, but you'll simply never know it, because of the vast quantities of junk and modern stuff to weed through, masking, etc... You might just want to look for greener grounds. Ie.: sites abandoned earlier on, or sites that co-operated with some sort of commercial/recreational ventures.

 

[MD Dog]

Re: I just don't get it.

Just to point out the flip side of this coin. Old home sites can also be very profitable. Educate yourself on where to look for cache's. Since even the Frugal family was known to hide some away for a rainy day.

 

[Pa.Billy]

Re: I just don't get it.

replying to Tom's post,those junky places are frustrating to hunt for sure. I'm now at the stage where sometims I don't even consider finding a cellar hole to be a really old place. I like to find those places that just have one layer flat rocks formed into a rectangle.
Here in pa I think this means early to mid 1800's. If you find a cellar hole you might want to see if you can find that first dwelling place (shack,log cabin) sometimes you can walk right over these old "foundations" without knowing it.Look for right angles of flat rocks.There's not going to be much junk around these locations,except maybe a metal post hole where the satellite dish was mounted ;-)

 

[Blythe_Spirit_50]

Re: I just don't get it.

Thanks for your ideas. I had a little better luck today at a school they are getting ready to tear down. I found a few newer coins. It was built in the early 1900s but a house was there prior to that. It started storming before I could get a good start. I will be going back there, hopefully this week.

 

[Yeasty]

Re: I just don't get it.

I've been having similar poor luck at some nearby but long gone farm homesites. This was a very depressed area back in the day and I dont think many rural people had much change to lose. I have, however, somewhat persevered and found a couple old wheaties and an 1880 IH in a small area I suspect was where the clothes line was located. I gotta wait till the corn is harvested till I get back there.

Pete