brianc053
Bronze Member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2015
- Messages
- 1,025
- Reaction score
- 3,753
- Golden Thread
- 0
- Location
- Sussex County, DE
- 🏆 Honorable Mentions:
- 3
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Equinox 800
XP Deus 2
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
Where I live in New Jersey has some real history, and I drive by it every day I leave the house.
I drive by the house pictured below about once a week, and every time I used to pass it I'd think to myself, "Wow I wish I could detect there." (you know what I'm taking about...). Research told me that the property itself is small (quarter-acre maybe); the surrounding property had been sold off and built on long ago. This 1750 house was apparently the boarding house for workers of a nearby mill.
When a For Sale sign appeared I realized I might have a chance to check it out, so a few weeks ago I contacted the realtor who told me the she'd talk to the owner.
Last week I got the call: I could detect there, but only this Saturday (yesterday). After that, no-go.
So I was there first thing in the morning yesterday. My expectations were high - but quickly came crashing back down to earth.
My first target in the side yard was... a Hotwheels. (Not even a Tootsie or Lesney). And worse: it was 6-7" down.
Right near that was a great coin signal, which turned out to be two memorial pennies, again at 6-7".
The side-yard had been filled, clearly.
That prompted me to look at the backyard, and my expectations fully evaporated: there were manhole covers over a septic tank, and it was apparent the whole backyard had been heavily modified and filled.
On the northern boundary of the small yard were bricks and other junk that had discarded during some previous renovation, and I could actually see how much fill dirt had been added by looking at this area (about 12" would be my guess).
I left after maybe 90 minutes on-site, disheartened but also a bit wiser I think:
- this experience helped me gain some perspective that some (many?) of those "dream" locations that we all want to detect may not actually be all that great, so it's not worth it to long over them. I'm going to appreciate the places that I am allowed to detect and be really thankful for the great things I've found there.
- Looking at this yard helped me to learn what fill dirt yards look like, and gave me some clues to look for in the future.
- The yard had a brick walkway with a metal guide to keep the bricks in place. I've detected those before but never seen them, but at this property it was visible above ground (ironic with all the fill dirt....)
I did walk away with one cool relic: a plaque from a 1941 RCA Victrola Anniversary Model radio.
Anyway, I hope I've helped a few of you with my lessons learned and perspective on the hobby that I've gained. Sometimes we need that reality-check.
Good luck out there!
Brian
Circa 1750
Targets 1 and 2 (see the fill dirt layer with the pennies?)
Ugh - septic work (lost history)
You can see roots on the left/side of the property....but they're covered with fill in the middle of the yard
RCA Victrola 1941 Anniversary Model
I drive by the house pictured below about once a week, and every time I used to pass it I'd think to myself, "Wow I wish I could detect there." (you know what I'm taking about...). Research told me that the property itself is small (quarter-acre maybe); the surrounding property had been sold off and built on long ago. This 1750 house was apparently the boarding house for workers of a nearby mill.
When a For Sale sign appeared I realized I might have a chance to check it out, so a few weeks ago I contacted the realtor who told me the she'd talk to the owner.
Last week I got the call: I could detect there, but only this Saturday (yesterday). After that, no-go.
So I was there first thing in the morning yesterday. My expectations were high - but quickly came crashing back down to earth.
My first target in the side yard was... a Hotwheels. (Not even a Tootsie or Lesney). And worse: it was 6-7" down.
Right near that was a great coin signal, which turned out to be two memorial pennies, again at 6-7".
The side-yard had been filled, clearly.
That prompted me to look at the backyard, and my expectations fully evaporated: there were manhole covers over a septic tank, and it was apparent the whole backyard had been heavily modified and filled.
On the northern boundary of the small yard were bricks and other junk that had discarded during some previous renovation, and I could actually see how much fill dirt had been added by looking at this area (about 12" would be my guess).
I left after maybe 90 minutes on-site, disheartened but also a bit wiser I think:
- this experience helped me gain some perspective that some (many?) of those "dream" locations that we all want to detect may not actually be all that great, so it's not worth it to long over them. I'm going to appreciate the places that I am allowed to detect and be really thankful for the great things I've found there.
- Looking at this yard helped me to learn what fill dirt yards look like, and gave me some clues to look for in the future.
- The yard had a brick walkway with a metal guide to keep the bricks in place. I've detected those before but never seen them, but at this property it was visible above ground (ironic with all the fill dirt....)
I did walk away with one cool relic: a plaque from a 1941 RCA Victrola Anniversary Model radio.
Anyway, I hope I've helped a few of you with my lessons learned and perspective on the hobby that I've gained. Sometimes we need that reality-check.
Good luck out there!
Brian
Circa 1750
Targets 1 and 2 (see the fill dirt layer with the pennies?)
Ugh - septic work (lost history)
You can see roots on the left/side of the property....but they're covered with fill in the middle of the yard
RCA Victrola 1941 Anniversary Model
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