Old Picnic Grove!

Colonial Zoyboy

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Apr 3, 2006
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Hey, guys, I just want to tell everyone about an old picnic grove that I have been researching for awhile. It began in the early 1880s and ended sometime around 1920. After reading many old newspaper articles from the late 1800s, I came across a heading in which it talked about a picnic at this grove that attracted 12,000 people in one day. This occurred in this grove during the entire picnic season and lasted for many years. So, while doyboy was detecting, my uncle and I went to scout out the location, and possibly obtain permission to detect.

After about a 20-minute drive, we found the location of the grove, but there was one small problem. The road that led to the grove was on private property and, yadda...yadda...yadda, we were granted permission by the land owner to detect after turkey season -- at the end of May. We are really looking forward to finding many old coins, considering that it was never hunted.

This picnic grove had many attractions throughout its history. The adults paid 10 cents and children paid 5 for admission into the grove. It also had a dancing pavilion, merry-go-round, soda booths, water booths, etc. Overall, this area should produce many old coins, since it was a "money" site. A "money" site is one in which people needed money for admission, food, activites, etc.
 

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goldencoin

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Sep 27, 2005
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Welcome to the forum. Sounds like a fantastic place to MD. hope you find something good.
 

Bavaria Mike

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Feb 7, 2005
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Awesome site, look forward to the finds! Great research too. HH, Mike
 

hollowpointred

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Mar 12, 2005
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sounds very promising. one thing though, dont assume that it has never been hunted before. you would be surprised at how many people over the last 30 years have hit these hidden sites. there always is the chance that it hasnt been hit though, in which case you will be very busy! hopefully you are the first to find it! good luck with it.
 

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southbound

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Sounds really promising! Looking forward to lots of pics from that site. Vern
 

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Colonial Zoyboy

Colonial Zoyboy

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If this place has been hit, there will still be hundreds of coins to be found. From my understanding, this grove lasted for over 30 years and thousands of people attended it each year. So, let's assume that 15,000 people attended each year, and each of these people had on average at least 5 coins in their pockets. In one year, 75,000 coins would have circulated throughout the area, and 2,250,000 coins would have been circulated throughout its entire history. Now let's calculate the amount of coins that were potentially lost. If we assume that .1% were dropped, then there would have been 2,250 coins in the ground. We still have to realize that some of these coins were picked up, so, ultimately, there would have been thousands of coins to go around for many detectorists. I am still remaining optimistic.
 

hollowpointred

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Mar 12, 2005
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i didnt mean to dampen your optimism, i would be optimistic as well. it sounds like the kind of spot that dreams are made of. dont forget to post your finds once you get out there.
 

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Colonial Zoyboy

Colonial Zoyboy

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I won't be hitting this area until the end of May, so I have a lot of dreaming to do.
 

trk5capt

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Oct 14, 2005
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ZOYBOY, Best Of Luck, Keep Us Posted. trk5capt...
 

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Mona Lisa

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Jan 13, 2005
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Zoyboy, research like that makes for some great hunts. :)

May will be here before you know it. Good luck to you and your brother.
 

bergie

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Aug 2, 2004
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That's such a good spot you might want to risk dressing up as a big turkey and sneaking in there with your detector. ;D
 

Mighty AP

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How bout some GPS coordinances? Or at least a crude map drawn on a napkin? Arent we all freinds here? ;D lol Im with Bergie, Id put on a bullet proof vest & a turkey costume & hit it hard! Cant wait for pics in May! Best of luck to you & your brother.
 

goldencoin

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You also have to account for the other items lost such a jewerly and other objects of the time, which have almost certainly gained value. Just something to think about.
 

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Colonial Zoyboy

Colonial Zoyboy

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Apr 3, 2006
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Thank you for all of the kind replies! Chris, doyboy, and I are really looking forward to detecting it at the end of May.
 

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