I need some input please.

[Wingrad]

Hello, I am new to metal detecting. I've been searching around in my yard and finding a few things and learning and now I have a few questions for the experts. My house was built in 1937 and there has been activity at my property since the 1830s as far as I can trace back through research. Which leads to my first question. The back yard is FULL of hits. Alot of iron and weak better hits. I have probably dug about 100 nails in the past 4 days. Is this common? Would this be a sign of the original homestead? I've also been finding peices of broken ceramic dishes in the holes as well. These hits have all been showing 6 inches on my machine, but in ending up finding them at 10-12 inches. I have also been finding 1930's and 40's zinc jar tops left and right at over a foot deep. Did people just chuck their jars in the yard back then? I get iron hits deeper, but I've gone 3 plus feet on holes and not found anything. As far as coins I have found some clad and one 1950 wheat penny all at 3 inches.. My question for that one is. If I am looking for older coins, should I be digging all these random deep trashy hits looking for coins 10 inches deep? It's just very confusing that I am only finding clad at shallow depth and iron and mystery jar lids super deep. Not much in between. Thanks for any info on my new hobby and my seemingly odd situation. I'm loving it!

 

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[Wingrad]

Wingrad, Welcome to T-Net!

In my previous life, back in the 1970s, I got the family a White detector, that I turned to be the only user. Go figure. It used about 14 AA batteries and had no discriminator.
But I had lots of fun with it. Nothing of great value, but lots of wheaties and silver. Good Luck!

That's what it's all about! Mine takes 8, but they last a good long time between the wife and I excavating our yard. Today I pulled out another 8 zinc lids, a few bits of iron junk and a weird, old looking pendant or ornament. I think its stamped tin or something... Starting to figure out the borders of the trash filled area, and its definitely seeming like a structure was there. Burnt wood, nails and jar tops. We also found an old cast iron knob.

 

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[Nitric]

I read the first post and jumped to the end...so all of this may have been mentioned....

My Dad's house was built around 1860, there is no exact record, they just guessed off of building style and materials used. Anyhow, him and I have been through that property no less than a 1000 times combined. Since we lived there we would go through different sections over the years, then when I moved out we still do it every once in a while 20 some years later...We still find the occasional coin!! Deep and from late 1800's to early 1900's. We have dug buckets of nails over the years, trash, and whatever else. Once we got most of the trash out is when we started digging the chirps, which usually ended up deep coins. We never found anything super rare or any gold. but a lot of indians, wheats,and silver.

No matter what anyone tells you and I don't care what machine...The nails and trash will kick out the deep coins. Even on my old analog machine. If you put the time in you will find something. But it may take a long time..If your in a rush to just dig coins? your going to miss some because of the trash. Concentrate on sides of driveway, side walks, path to and in front of outhouse etc...Where you think the most traffic was..Then work out from there. Take your time, use it to learn what each blip and chirp is telling you, since it is your own yard!

Not sure if any of that helps, that has been my experience. Like I said 20 some years later my dad and I could go out in a one acre area we have searched a 1000 times and still find a coin. Not as many as we did, but you never seem to get them all!!! When it's wet out you will get the deeper stuff too for some reason.

 

[Wingrad]

I read the first post and jumped to the end...so all of this may have been mentioned....

My Dad's house was built around 1860, there is no exact record, they just guessed off of building style and materials used. Anyhow, him and I have been through that property no less than a 1000 times combined. Since we lived there we would go through different sections over the years, then when I moved out we still do it every once in a while 20 some years later...We still find the occasional coin!! Deep and from late 1800's to early 1900's. We have dug buckets of nails over the years, trash, and whatever else. Once we got most of the trash out is when we started digging the chirps, which usually ended up deep coins. We never found anything super rare or any gold. but a lot of indians, wheats,and silver.

No matter what anyone tells you and I don't care what machine...The nails and trash will kick out the deep coins. Even on my old analog machine. If you put the time in you will find something. But it may take a long time..If your in a rush to just dig coins? your going to miss some because of the trash. Concentrate on sides of driveway, side walks, path to and in front of outhouse etc...Where you think the most traffic was..Then work out from there. Take your time, use it to learn what each blip and chirp is telling you, since it is your own yard!

Not sure if any of that helps, that has been my experience. Like I said 20 some years later my dad and I could go out in a one acre area we have searched a 1000 times and still find a coin. Not as many as we did, but you never seem to get them all!!! When it's wet out you will get the deeper stuff too for some reason.

Thanks! That's helpful advice. I have been going out here and there and digging targets with no rhyme or reason. Sometimes it's a coin. Most times it's a nail or a zinc lid way deeper than the machine reads. Havent gotten any silver yet. Just one wheat, a couple copper pennies and a decent amount of clad. It will come in time... its great practice having unlimited targets in the yard though! I went to a park yesterday just to see what it was like to not work in a trash heap and it was so easy to pick out targets. Ended up with a few peices of clad and some pop tabs but I found something in every hole! This is a very fun hobby i must say.

 

[Nitric]

Thanks! That's helpful advice. I have been going out here and there and digging targets with no rhyme or reason. Sometimes it's a coin. Most times it's a nail or a zinc lid way deeper than the machine reads. Havent gotten any silver yet. Just one wheat, a couple copper pennies and a decent amount of clad. It will come in time... its great practice having unlimited targets in the yard though! I went to a park yesterday just to see what it was like to not work in a trash heap and it was so easy to pick out targets. Ended up with a few peices of clad and some pop tabs but I found something in every hole! This is a very fun hobby i must say.

It's a blast to detect!! I have to dig every target. I can't sleep not knowing what that target was!! I've started digging thinking it was a pop tab or nail and sometimes it would be a nickel. That's pretty common with my machine. It loves nails. But that's fine with me since I dig everything anyhow. Sometimes they will fool you!

 

[Nitric]

Sorry for so many posts...I just thought of a couple of other things...And you made me laugh about you and your wife out there digging...Been there done that in a house we lived in, in the city. we were out at night with flashlights at times...Alcohol may have played a part I'm not sure... But we found a mercury dime before it got dark...we were so excited we weren't going to stop!!! "go get the beer and a flashlight!!!!" By then our neighbors were use to us and they sat and watched from their porches..."those crazy people are out again!!!"

You can also do something like....Imagine a grid, pick a square and clean it out of all targets, then move to the next square, etc....That's what we did in the yard mentioned above.

Also, if your into history? save everything for a while that you dug in your yard....Sometimes, the oddest looking thing has another part. We did that in my dads yard for years. he threw the coins in one box and the trash into a bucket in the basement. He still has every coin dug out of his yard, along with bullet casings and whatever else. From the start we said any coin is going to stay with the house as a part of it's history. He made a divided type shadow box to keep everything in.

 

[oldkoot]

It's a blast to detect!! I have to dig every target. I can't sleep not knowing what that target was!! I've started digging thinking it was a pop tab or nail and sometimes it would be a nickel. That's pretty common with my machine. It loves nails. But that's fine with me since I dig everything anyhow. Sometimes they will fool you!

Nitric you do what I do dig every signal I get I hunt by sound exclusively with a Xterra 705 I run in prospecting mode which with the 705 in prospecting mode it does not show any TIDs the way I look at it if you do not dig every thing you are really never going to know for sure what you are passing by I do not worry about what the depth meter is saying I dig until I find the target although a pin pointer does help tremendously

 

[Nitric]

Nitric you do what I do dig every signal I get I hunt by sound exclusively with a Xterra 705 I run in prospecting mode which with the 705 in prospecting mode it does not show any TIDs the way I look at it if you do not dig every thing you are really never going to know for sure what you are passing by I do not worry about what the depth meter is saying I dig until I find the target although a pin pointer does help tremendously

I still don't use a pinpointer but need to get one when I dig the detector out again. The last time out was a couple years ago now...I chased a BB for 15 minutes. I turn discrimination low. And try to get the most noise out of the detector I can...That's how I've found some pretty deep stuff chasing the blip..and every once in a while it turns out to be a deep penny,V nickel,mercury on edge, etc.... That was in Ohio, here in GA I have to learn all over because the soil around here is so full of minerals..




Ok..I'm being a thread hog! I posted too many times in a row!! This thread just got me excited!! Hope you find something great!!!

 

[Truth]

That's awesome! Did you guys find anything interesting? My wife and I have been going out after our daughter goes to bed at night and hunting. I'm sure the the neighbors think we are nuts! As far as my upgrade statement, it does work well. It does lack a few features I would like, it has a 10.5 coil, so getting the right general area is kind of tricky (pin pointer will fix that) and it is pretty heavy for my wife. (Website says over 5 lbs). I'm pleased with the performance, but I do see us getting another one in the future and would like a few different options. Its keeping us digging for now though!

Oh it gets better soon the whole town will know you’re nuts.

 

[Wingrad]

Update on today's finds that got my heart racing a bit. Had a solid hit along the edge of my driveway. I found 2 pennies both 1982 d. Ended up with one small date zinc and one large date copper out of the same hole. I thought I may have become a rich man with a small date copper d penny but unfortunately the small date one was zinc. Still cool to find both variations of the 82 penny and both materials in the same hole! And my most valuable coin finds to date.. lol