R
robert roy
Guest
Yesterday was a great day for metal detecting here in Indiana; the temperatures
were in the mid forties.
I took out my MXT and headed for an old house on the Hendricks County line.
The house was built in the early 1900’s and part of a long gone ghost town called Joppa.
Actually Joppa still exists but only as a growing residential development. The farm land in the area is gradually being bought up and turned into housing developments. Only a few old houses remain. All the old houses from the early 1800’s, except for a small handful, have been razed to the ground. As to be expected, metal detectionists had already visited these sites and carried away just about everything of any historical value
from the surrounding ground area and that included the house I visited yesterday.
When I pulled up into the driveway I could see the owner, an elderly gentleman I had interviewed two weeks earlier in is home just a mile from the present site. I had explained I was gathering information and “old photos” about the “old” Joppa for a short written piece that would go into the files of the local public library’s History Room.
Along with my MXT I brought along my disposable camera and took a couple of photos of the front of the house. After some friendly conversation I asked permission to use my metal detector.
After about ten minutes of swinging the MXT it was soon apparent that someone
else had already detected the area and not very long ago. Whenever I got a signal and started to dig, it was like digging into a hole that had already been dug. Still I would find some object in the hole: an old spoon, a spent bullet shell, and pieces of metal of unidentifiable origin. At first I thought I had uncovered targets that the other detectionist had failed to find but it soon became apparent that was not the case; the other detectionist had left the unwanted piece of junk for someone else to find rather than carrying it away.
After three hours I managed to zero in on a 1936 Wheat Cent and a 1935 Mercury Dime; they were found around at the outside foundation of the house. The Wheat Cent was just three inches in the ground. The Dime was surprisingly only one inch deep. I was not surprised because I could see that the dirt had been carried in from another location and packed in around the house; perhaps it was had been an attempt to start a flower garden.
Below is a picture of the Wheat Cent and Dime. Photos of the house have not been developed yet. The coins were found using the 950 standard MXT coil.
were in the mid forties.
I took out my MXT and headed for an old house on the Hendricks County line.
The house was built in the early 1900’s and part of a long gone ghost town called Joppa.
Actually Joppa still exists but only as a growing residential development. The farm land in the area is gradually being bought up and turned into housing developments. Only a few old houses remain. All the old houses from the early 1800’s, except for a small handful, have been razed to the ground. As to be expected, metal detectionists had already visited these sites and carried away just about everything of any historical value
from the surrounding ground area and that included the house I visited yesterday.
When I pulled up into the driveway I could see the owner, an elderly gentleman I had interviewed two weeks earlier in is home just a mile from the present site. I had explained I was gathering information and “old photos” about the “old” Joppa for a short written piece that would go into the files of the local public library’s History Room.
Along with my MXT I brought along my disposable camera and took a couple of photos of the front of the house. After some friendly conversation I asked permission to use my metal detector.
After about ten minutes of swinging the MXT it was soon apparent that someone
else had already detected the area and not very long ago. Whenever I got a signal and started to dig, it was like digging into a hole that had already been dug. Still I would find some object in the hole: an old spoon, a spent bullet shell, and pieces of metal of unidentifiable origin. At first I thought I had uncovered targets that the other detectionist had failed to find but it soon became apparent that was not the case; the other detectionist had left the unwanted piece of junk for someone else to find rather than carrying it away.
After three hours I managed to zero in on a 1936 Wheat Cent and a 1935 Mercury Dime; they were found around at the outside foundation of the house. The Wheat Cent was just three inches in the ground. The Dime was surprisingly only one inch deep. I was not surprised because I could see that the dirt had been carried in from another location and packed in around the house; perhaps it was had been an attempt to start a flower garden.
Below is a picture of the Wheat Cent and Dime. Photos of the house have not been developed yet. The coins were found using the 950 standard MXT coil.
