Lard Can

[RPG]

I have been told by the man that owned my house before me that there is a lard can with money in it buried somewhere in the yard. His family owned the land and house for more than a hundred years. Originally there was a log cabin in front of the present house. His grandfather built the log cabin in the 1800's and is the one that buried the money. He told me that his grandmother said his grandfather died without telling anyone where he buried the money. Now, I know there is a story about buried money at every old homesite in America but if I don't look for it I will never know. I don't have a lot of land to cover because the house sits on top of a small hill. I would guess maybe an acre. Now a couple of questions. What kinda shape will the lard can be in after 100-150 years and how will my Vaquero respond when the coil passes over the can? I know if the can were in good shape I should be able to pick it up from 2-3 feet away. But if it has rusted away, what should I expect? The entire yard is red clay. Thanks for any advise you can give me.
Randy

 

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[RPG]

Wonder if the money was coin or paper or mixed? If paper you may not get any signal or never find it. just food for thought
J-G

Yep...I thought about that as well. I am hoping for coins or at least part of the can. I have found old pieces of thin metal at 1800's sites before and they ring loud and clear on a detector.

 

[Kentucky Kache]

Yeah, I would hope for coins, as there probably won't be anything left of paper money. I wouldn't think there would be anything left of the can, either.
...Hope you find it.

 

[RPG]

Yeah, I would hope for coins, as there probably won't be anything left of paper money. I wouldn't think there would be anything left of the can, either.
...Hope you find it.

You're probably right about the can so lets say it has rusted away. That would leave a large rust halo in the ground. Will a detecor still see the halo? If not then the coins are going to be deep. especially if the can was only partially full. What will a large pile of coins in the ground sound like and how deep will I be able to detect them?

 

[savant365]

Better plan on digging every signal. Good luck, Charlie.

 

[Kentucky Kache]

Yeah, I would hope for coins, as there probably won't be anything left of paper money. I wouldn't think there would be anything left of the can, either.
...Hope you find it.

You're probably right about the can so lets say it has rusted away. That would leave a large rust halo in the ground. Will a detecor still see the halo? If not then the coins are going to be deep. especially if the can was only partially full. What will a large pile of coins in the ground sound like and how deep will I be able to detect them?

I would think you could pick up the rust signal, but if it were me, I would still use a deep seeking machine. It's a small area, so you should be able to go over it thoroughly. As far as how deep and how it would sound, that depends on a few things, like type of detector, type of ground, size of target, etc.
I doubt that it would be buried deeper than arms length.

 

[RPG]

Better plan on digging every signal. Good luck, Charlie.

Yeah...At least all the larger signals.

 

[RPG]

Yeah, I would hope for coins, as there probably won't be anything left of paper money. I wouldn't think there would be anything left of the can, either.
...Hope you find it.

You're probably right about the can so lets say it has rusted away. That would leave a large rust halo in the ground. Will a detecor still see the halo? If not then the coins are going to be deep. especially if the can was only partially full. What will a large pile of coins in the ground sound like and how deep will I be able to detect them?

I would think you could pick up the rust signal, but if it were me, I would still use a deep seeking machine. It's a small area, so you should be able to go over it thoroughly. As far as how deep and how it would sound, that depends on a few things, like type of detector, type of ground, size of target, etc.
I doubt that it would be buried deeper than arms length.

The deepest thing I have is the Vaquero. I'm hoping it will pick up something of the can when supertuned with minimum discrimination. All I can do is try. There are alot of other relics in the yard so I will have fun digging. Wish me luck.
Randy

 

[Kentucky Kache]

Yep, use what you have. One good thing about it being a small area, you can go over it again later, if you get a deeper detector (if needed).
May you have great success.

 

[jog]

I have dug several old cans and the rolled ring from the lid will usually outlast the can.There should be something there.Hopefully there is enough for a signal.GOOD LUCK!

 

[lastleg]

RPG: If the lard can was buried on high ground like you said
it wouldn't be lying in wet ground all this time and may be intact
till now. I heard years ago from the guy (Ty Brooks ?) who wrote
for W&E that some Alabama red dirt was hard to detect in.

If you cannot get a solid signal try a PI. That is one great lead.
Did all-metal on any solid beeps. Lard is a good preservative.

lastleg

 

[PBK]

If you do locate a cache including paper money, handle it very carefully. Regardless of how bad its condition might be, as long as it's identifiable U.S. currency, it can be redeemed. See the following webpage for more information:

http://www.bep.treas.gov/section.cfm/8/39

 

[RPG]

Thanks for all the replies. It's going to be a few weeks before I get back there. I will let you know what happens.

PBK...That is a very helpful link. Things I didn't know.

 

[GrayCloud]

your target should not be more than an arms length from the
original ground surface. A good quality detector in all metal should pick up the signal, if the cache is not located under the present house. Are you by chance located close to Mobile or hwy 98?

 

[RPG]

your target should not be more than an arms length from the
original ground surface. A good quality detector in all metal should pick up the signal, if the cache is not located under the present house. Are you by chance located close to Mobile or hwy 98?

That's good to know. The people that originally owned the house before me swept their yards and if you look under the house the ground is about six inches higher than the rest of the yard. Sweeping and erosion has lowered the level of the yard. That means the can is not as deep as it origanally was. I thought about the house being on top of it. I have a crawl space and "will" get under the house if need be. I am about 1 1/2 hours north of Mobile.
Randy

 

[EddieR]

You shouldn't have any problems as far as depth goes with the Vaquero. Tesoro machines are awesome cache hunters.I have a Vaquero now and the depth on relics is unbelievable. Years ago I had a Tesoro Bandito and it would get an iron dutch oven full of coins at 3 feet. I know that from experience ....

 

[allen]

wouldnt it suck if the cache was buried
under the house you live in now

 

[Moonshadow]

If you do locate a cache including paper money, handle it very carefully. Regardless of how bad its condition might be, as long as it's identifiable U.S. currency, it can be redeemed.

Right on PBK! I worked as a bank teller a while back, and a customer came to my window and told his story about how he hid 3,000 dollars from his wife in the furnace. Yep, she got chilly one day and cranked it up. He was beyond upset! We told him to scrape up as many of the remains as he could and put them in a zip lock bag. He did. Brought them to the bank, we sent them to the feds and Viola! He received a check for 2600.00! He lost a couple of hundred, but recovered most of his money. It took about six to eight weeks for his check to come.

I hope you find a fortune!!

HH,
Moon