what am I doing wrong??????????????

[bootybay]

ok in all fairness... I have had a detector for 3 months..but...I cant count the first two months since the ace250 was not working here in nj for me..( which got taken care of by margaret at kellyco) anyways, in the meantime..I have the new whites M6... and just got the new garrett 1350.. Today I went out to an older school, hunted the soccer field..hunted the sanded tot lot... and came home with a total of 31 coins...nothing old... nothing silver... dont get me wrong here, I am not giving up..but I am so dam disquisted... I am not finding anything of any value but normal clad.. and here I go again tomorrow..to the beach, low tide..and gonna dig n dig every dam signal I get.. just am frustrated at not finding Nothing worth anything... hell, I dont even have 20.00 in change yet..The only thing of any value I have found is two silver dimes from the sixties.. just kinda frustrated..as much as I love it... I have nothing to post but normal clad, which I am not gonna waste your time or mine posting that... ok am done ranting.

rae whose determined to be one of the best women detectorists ever.... if thats possible..

 

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[Jeffro]

You're not doing anything wrong, you're learning like the rest of us did..... LOL!

Finds are everywhere. Stick with the tot lots and such and you'll get clad a bunches, plus the occasional ring/jewelry. Fun for quick thrills when you don't have much time or if you have an itch you wanna scratch. I do it when I can't get outta town.

If the good, old finds are what you're after, well that takes research. Old fairgrounds, chautauquas, tent revival areas, riverboat landings, etc.

Get out away from town to the old areas that haven't been used in quite awhile. You won't find nearly as much, but what you do find will more than likely be better.

Take a look in the research forums-

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/board,36.0.html

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/board,29.0.html

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/board,37.0.html

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/board,69.0.html

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/board,19.0.html


You'll see that the goodies come with patience, perserverence, skill, luck, and lots of research!

(Plus, it's fun- and I hated history in school!)


PS. I just found this thread pretty good

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,112879.0/topicseen.html

 

[NC_Horn]

In your part of NJ, how old are the houses. How many friends and acquaintances live in older houses. Gain permission to hunt some of these places, and usually one place can lead to another. These places are one of my favorite places to hunt. Public property gets hammered, good finds are still there but private property doesn't get the attention and you may find what you are looking for. Look for lawns with a flat area where kids could play. Hit the parkings and the paths between the drive and the house. You may hunt a number of lawns and not find anything then find one that is littered with old coins and such.

Don't know what your weather has been like this summer but here in the Carolinas, we are in an extreme draught. That dry soil has and impact on your ability to find older, deeper finds. Also, I don't like to hunt lawns unless the soil is moist. I like to cut a clean plug and with moist soil, the grass has the best chance to recover and the recovery area not be visible.

Keep at it, you are off to a good start. Get out there and learn your machine, dig everything so that you know what your machine is telling you, and try to find some different places.

HH

 

[ivan salis]

ok lesson #1 if you want silver coins -- since it cut out in 1964 you must go to where folks in your area hung out in 1964 -- just like the "modern clad" you find today that was lost in recently built parks --after 1964 ---(folks in the old days to lost money too --the differance is their dimes and quarters were silver)
so look for places that were used then -- old fairgound areas --old swimming hole areas -- some might still be in use today others may not be --the older not currently used ones might be less known and thus get less "pressure" from other detectorist --- heck chat up the "old folks" about the what and where things used to be at in the past --old train station stops ---- where kids might play pitch a penny against the building wall while waiting for the train to come. --stuff like that--- often getting to know your local history will tip you to spots to check out-- a bit research can pay off nicely in many cases--- Ivan

 

[Michigan Badger]

ok in all fairness... I have had a detector for 3 months..but...I cant count the first two months since the ace250 was not working here in nj for me..( which got taken care of by margaret at kellyco) anyways, in the meantime..I have the new whites M6... and just got the new garrett 1350.. Today I went out to an older school, hunted the soccer field..hunted the sanded tot lot... and came home with a total of 31 coins...nothing old... nothing silver... dont get me wrong here, I am not giving up..but I am so dam disquisted... I am not finding anything of any value but normal clad.. and here I go again tomorrow..to the beach, low tide..and gonna dig n dig every dam signal I get.. just am frustrated at not finding Nothing worth anything... hell, I dont even have 20.00 in change yet..The only thing of any value I have found is two silver dimes from the sixties.. just kinda frustrated..as much as I love it... I have nothing to post but normal clad, which I am not gonna waste your time or mine posting that... ok am done ranting.

rae whose determined to be one of the best women detectorists ever.... if thats possible..

Those of us who date back a little bit in the hobby say to you: Welcome to the real world of detecting. Don't believe all those very entertaining stories you read.

Now, having written this, let me say that good finds do come but you have to work hard for them. The real finders on here get what they dig by hard work. This means research and complete dedication.

I don't have the time to travel for the hobby but if I did I'd find much more than I do. As it is I dig maybe $1000 worth of old coins and relics during each summer. This would be a general estimate because I don't sell everything I dig. But, many things some on here think worthless bring very good money on ebay. I recently sold an old nasty broken axe head for $20. Save anything iron that is old and is anything--it's money! Some old blacksmith tools can be worth $100's.

So, don't get discouraged because the stuff is out there but like the old Spanish found out it takes a lot of work and sometimes it can get risky.

What you found at that hunting site is just what I've found at those sites over the last 40 years. I've never yet found anything decent at a "tot lot." Some do and I'm glad for them. But for me their not worth the batteries.

Look for old home sites.

Badger

 

[hollowpointred]

you aren't doing anything wrong. its just not as easy as it looks! if you are finding clad coins you will find a silver one when you come across it. its just that most schools and parks have been hammered over the years and good finds are scarce. try hunting in spots that others may have avoided like along a busy road or on a steep hill. often times you can coax a good oldie out of a spot like that. the best piece of advice i ever got was to slow down! slow down to a crawl, not your swing speed so much but your forward movement. overlap all of your swings by at least a half width of your coil. its sooooo easy to just go too fast trying to cover a lot of ground and you wind up missing 3/4 of the stuff that is really there. that's why you can go to the same spot you have hunted before in the past and still find things. take your time and be thorough. you will hit silver sooner or later......oh yeah, i almost forgot, you wont find silver where it ain't! if you hunt a school built in 1970 you ain't going to find silver coins. hunt places that have the potential to hold good finds.

 

[Ryan1979]

I don't think you're doing anything wrong either. I'm kind of in the same boat as you. My best find is a tiny sterling silver ring and I started in late winter. I know I need to research more and I'm working on some good prospects right now so that I can find the 'good' stuff. We just have to keep at it and research more.

 

[oldplacesnofinds]

The first thing I noticed is that you said you have been detecting for 3 months and you have 3 machines! I spent 1 year on my first and 7 years on my second and I just picked up my third. You need to learn your machine. Go out and bury some coins in your yard at different depths. Different coins at different depth. All will read different. Put a dime on its side and a cent. They read different. It is work but it should be fun. You need to metal detect places where you can find old stuff. If the school you are at was built in 1972, you probably won't find anything old. Schools are great for practice. Keep trying.

 

[Sandman]

Don't get discouraged in not finding the old stuff. You have good detectors and they just need to be waved over ground that contains older coins. A book by Charles Garrett called Sucessful Coin Hunting will help a lot by sugesting places to look that you might never think about. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/102-2736920-7187307?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=successful+coin+hunting&Go.x=11&Go.y=6


Over lap your sweeps some and move slowly. Don't use it like a grass whip and keep the coil even with the ground. All them bushes might not have been there years ago, get close to them to see what might be there.

Last, there is no magic machine. good luck,

Sandman

 

[re-tek]

took me about 8 years in and out of this hobby to finally find silver. when did i find it? in an area that was part of an old horse stable. i went fron no silver to finding 2 silver rings and a ladies hair broche. it happens. same thing with coins. never found a silver coin till about 2-3 months ago. found a quarter and came back a few days later and reworked the area and found a silver dime just a few feet from where the quarter turned up.

last week, smack dab in the middle of a soccer field in an old park, i dug a crusty 1957 quarter.

hit old parks. look for the older parts of town and check those out.

 

[rsc]

You will not find anything old in a tot lot, except maybe someting that was swiped from dads collection. The first yeay I hunted I hit it hard and only found about $100. No jewelry. Hang in there..You are in a learning curve. Tot lots do give up clad and rings. Just step back and look where the people hang out. YOU WILL find good stuff. HH Gayle

 

[bootybay]

I am not giving up.... One...I love doing it... and yes, I know I am not the most patient person..I get aggravated at myself ( like when I am wirewrapping a new item in jewelry..I just expect more from myself thats all.. I am my own worst critic) two..I know I am still learning...and I have so many old places in mind to hunt but so far, none have given me permission yet... but I will keep trudging along..and I got that super old book on ocean city loaded with maps and a great photos...its just trying to figure out where the heck these places are.... so I am hanging in there n keep on swinging...and I dont swing fast either..I am in slow mode..lol

 

[hollowpointred]

I am not giving up.... One...I love doing it... and yes, I know I am not the most patient person..I get aggravated at myself ( like when I am wirewrapping a new item in jewelry..I just expect more from myself thats all.. I am my own worst critic) two..I know I am still learning...and I have so many old places in mind to hunt but so far, none have given me permission yet... but I will keep trudging along..and I got that super old book on ocean city loaded with maps and a great photos...its just trying to figure out where the heck these places are.... so I am hanging in there n keep on swinging...and I dont swing fast either..I am in slow mode..lol

also remember, just getting out and enjoying the day detecting is a beautiful thing as well. you will be surprised how fast that clad adds up, and sooner or later you will find something great! persistence definitely pays in this hobby!

 

[EBCIII]

I do know how you feel. I find a bunch of clad, with an old item here and there. i have not found silver either.

Keep up the hard work and it will pay off in the long run. Good luck to you in thw quest, Beale.

 

[doozis]

You may have to settle on one machine and work it as much as
possible. If you don't know how to fly an airplane .....buying more airplanes won't make you a pilot
Hang in there ....you'll win

Doozis

 

[Old Relic]

Yeah, you probably won't find anything old in a tot lot, but don't sell them too short; they're great places to learn what your machine is telling you. When you get a target, listen to it, check the ID, compare it to other signals that have sounded the same and/or read the same, then dig it and see how accurate the machine and you are. The nice thing about wood chips is that you can readily dig everything with little effort.

Try not to be so hard on yourself. I figure enough other people are willing to be hard on me; I ain't gonna help 'em!

 

[bootybay]

well so far, YOUR all right..lol but I will stick to my m6 first... the gtp1350 can wait.. but I just had to try it out for 3 days straight... chin up... looking up stuff to find places here that are older..and hoping they arent all paved over or privately owned...either way ...I have no intentions of giving up my hobby here..sides, I like getting dirty lol

 

[JOe L]

Yes Booty, your doing it all wrong. I think you should quit this hobby and send all your MD's to me....
Cause I know I'm doing it all wrong too..... Clad, clad, clad...

SO, I think if we both take the above advice, slow down, keep concentrated, we will start being successful as others.
I'm willing to go on, as I see you are too.
So to all of us NEWER MD'ers, lets be patient and stay out there. I think our time is coming... Slow finding Joe.

 

[Michigan Badger]

I have so many old places in mind to hunt but so far, none have given me permission yet...

This is the way it is anywhere in this country unless you've got connections. To just walk up to a stranger and ask permission almost guarantees a "no."

I have friends who won't even let me hunt their property. Most people today see it as asking them to take something out of their bank accounts.

But keep asking because some will say "yes."

Badger

 

[ivan salis]

it like a guy asking beautiful women for a date ask enough of em often enough -- ones bound to say yes sooner or later.