Just think of it this way --
If you have fresh good batteries and dig everything in all metal mode (No Discrimination),
You are going to clean up all of the trash and goodies down to 4 inches deep,
for all of the guys with better detectors.
Otherwise, have them spot the targets, mark them, and move on,
then you can follow through and dig the finds in group hunt.
Most places are going to be littered with trash, nails, pull tabs, metal chunks in the surface layers anyway.
Farming regions will abound with broken bolts and metal pieces from agricultural equipment.
Anywhere along old railroad tracks will be littered with metal chunks, nuts, bolts from rail joining plates and packaging, rail spikes, you-name-it. Old metal was brittle and would crack and break, not to mention the vast collection of discarded metal pieces used for rail switching turnouts, sidings, road crossing, train bridges, trackside structures, and freight sheds. Old factory sites somewhat the same, though mainly machine parts, depending on what was made there.
If you watch the posts here, best items are usually homesteads or gathering places where money changed hands, general store, railroad freight terminal, fairgrounds/parks, (later) country gas stations, and roadside fruit/vegetable stands. Unless something is hidden as a cache, the era of the coin corresponds to the time someone inadvertently dropped the coin while putting it into his/her pocket. And the more times someone reached into their pocket to pay for something, the better the odds of finding something. So, in the old ghost towns, search every square inch around the saloon and livery stable, where all the drunken cowboys were.
Garretts book Modern Metal Detecting has some real good advice for beginners as to where to look.
However, the treasure trove is beach and shallow water, because of suntan lotion, wetfingers and gold rings/chains/bracelets/watches. Not going to find those every time, but when you do, the payoff is well worth the effort.
Keep the Detector in the trunk of the vehicle, opportunity to hunt is the most important thing, even if only for short periods of time, and you do not bother to take major digging tool with you. Even if you only scan an area and do not dig anything, you can make quick surveys of many areas and get an idea of future hunting success. Whatever you do, log everything (including landmarks) in notebook for future reference, so you do not forget.
Get simple digging tools, Fibre trowell, Long Nose Fishing Pliers (extra reach), Phillips head screwdriver (probe), Putty Knife or Blade digging tool, and some kind of pinpointer (I use Harbor Freight, Centek - stud finder in metal mode - 2 inch range). Some kind of long handle probe or digging stick cuts down on crawling on the ground as much. Remember, as opposed to the other guys who are digging a hole to China, you are looking for something lost in top soil layers or even roots of grass.
