Depths of history in the earth

49er12

Bronze Member
Aug 22, 2013
1,238
1,630
Rolling Rock, Pennsylvania
Detector(s) used
Minelab xterra, Whites DFX, Notka Makro Simplex. Folks the price don’t mean everything, the question is are you willing to put in the time to learn the machine, experience will pay off I guarantee it.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Question, again asking don’t take it as stupid. Consensus would say more finds are deeper in earth which all of our detectors wouldn’t detect regardless of finding and digging then. How are some things close to surface considering many years of laying there vs many inches or feet deep. I wish I had a pull drag detector u can just drag vs swing and cover more area and vs on screen. I’m not trying to cheat at the hobby but coils r small and sweeping can over pass if u go to fast. I think u a understand my view here. Please give me your thoughts I’m sure u have a opinion
 

There are such things. I have seen the rigs meteorite hunters tow behind their 4X4s that search an 8 ft x 8 ft grid probably that deep . . . but would likely miss a ring or coin near the surface.

Larger = less sensitive. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
 

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Many times the current structure (house) on a site, may not be the original dwelling, thus when they upgraded from a log cabin to the new built home they may have wanted a cellar. Where do you think they flung the dirt from digging out the cellar? Right over the ground outside the cellar boundary and tapered away from the foundation. This means the old drops that occured while the occupants in the first structure may have gotten buried a foot deep from the newer construction.

The area I am residing in now was once very marshy. Over the past 2 centuries many had fill brought in to raise their yards so as to not stay wet and breed mosquitos and other critters. At the few virgin sites I've hunted, most of the keepers were only 5" to 7" deep. On other sites that have had landscaping and other remodels, some of my finds were 8" to 12". Both sites are in the same town, and only a few hundred yards apart.

There was an old house in town a couple got on the cheap, a real fixer upper. They lifted the structure and dug a basement. That dirt now covers the entire back yard and has added a foot or more soil over the old dirt level. The back yard is approx. 60' by 60'. Many houses that get torn down now in the local cities, get demo'd and hauled off, then they bring in topsoil and lay about 6" to 12" where the house once stood and other areas of the site to level it out.

I dug a LC in the yard of a house built in the 1980's, it just so happened to be next door to a house built in the mid 1800's and the 1980s house was on a slab so not much dirt was moved on that lot during construction.
 

I like hunting real old sites after a hard rain, it seems to me that my machine can detect deeper in the wet soil. I have 4 coils for my machine, a 5" DD, a sharpshooter coil, the stock 9" x 11" DD and a 12" x 15" butterfly coil.
 

If I may sir, u r in Ohio I’m in Mercer county pa, right on the Ohio border of Trumbull county Ohio. My question to u is in your years of detecting in Ohio have u been disappointed or surprised in your finds. Both of r states r similar in many ways
I wish I could find more than a recent coin, not many relics in my area, I go to parks, rivers, lakes, traditional places. What your experiences in your state u can share, thankyou
 

I have been blessed to pull good finds here in my area. Many sites disappoint, but others will hold some awesome keepers and a bucket lister or two. I've not found many keepers in public places in a 40 mile radius of my house. I have a couple of clad honey holes that have produced over $500 and one also gave up about dozen keeper coins and jewelry. Like most I rather dig old coins, but I am not opposed to have a cladfest.

I pulled most of my good finds in older yards in town, off the main road. People have been detecting here since the 1970's. I had a guy pull up when I was hunting an old yard once. He said we hit that back in the 1970's you won't find anything. I did pull a few keepers, the best being an 1812 French 5 Francs (large silver) about 10 to 10.5 inches deep. Too deep for the machines from the 70's. I made a few post of the site back in 2015 (Brick House posts). Many relics come from those yards, many from where they used to burn trash.

I have hunted a few fields in the area and have yet to find a keeper. You might want to go a town over and hunt curb strips in the older parts of town that are around public property or in front of businesses that are closed. I pulled my 1780 Real from a curb strip in front of an foreclosed house in town. On a whim one day I drove to a town and hunted 2 small curb strips and eked out an IHP. I normally do this on a Sunday when more business are closed.

I have cold knocked to hunt some local old farm houses. Everyone of them said the place had been detected about 5 years earlier by a little old lady. I bet that lady pulled many good finds, but she'd only cherry pick for a few hours and move on. I have pulled a few keepers from all of them, but I normally hit a permission a few times and grid it in at least 2 directions. and get under the trees and shrubs, places she would not have gone.

The local state park was originally 4 farms that were made into the park back in the 1950's. I have pulled a Merc and a cool relic or 2. The beach gets used, and I have pulled some clad and junk rings.

I have met many people from Treasurenet and have hunted with many in NY, PA, VA, and NC. There are many more I know here from my time here on Tnet that I want to visit and hunt with with or vise versa.
 

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If you want to go deep try this machine. My father had one years ago. This youtube video shows some guy testing the Garrett GTI 2500 treasure hound

 

If you want to go deep try this machine. My father had one years ago. This youtube video shows some guy testing the Garrett GTI 2500 treasure hound



That looks a lot like the old Fisher M-scope. Good machine for the day.
 

If I may sir, u r in Ohio I’m in Mercer county pa, right on the Ohio border of Trumbull county Ohio. My question to u is in your years of detecting in Ohio have u been disappointed or surprised in your finds. Both of r states r similar in many ways
I wish I could find more than a recent coin, not many relics in my area, I go to parks, rivers, lakes, traditional places. What your experiences in your state u can share, thankyou


Your in Mercer county that's the problem, I'm just North of you in Greenville and feel your pain.
Relics are around but coin wise is few and far between, I think they bartered more so less coins around the area.
Might have to see about detecting around the Buhl mansion and some areas around Sharon.
You might go talk to Bill at the historical society in Mercer he has a wealth of knowledge on the area, he mentioned to me an area down by the river in Sharpsville that was a summer picnic swimming area back in the 1800's that would be fun to check out as well.

I wish you good luck!
 

Loco hit on this, but also see if you can go to the city or county courthouses or wherever the planning commission is taking bids for road, commercial building, hiway or home development construction.

A lot of stuff can be found in the cuts and fills.

Kace
 

Thankyou have talked to bill, like anything else it don’t hurt to ask and talk to people, that’s how I learned in life ask questions and observe and go from there, my name is Lenny contact me anytime I don’t mind sharing what I’ve learned.
 

Im sure the technology is out there but we wont see it
 

Yeah my current and only detector is the whites dfx, probably 20 years old, hey works great, I haven’t mastered it but it gets job done, I have 2 coils small and dd coil so, I don’t need the lastest and so called greatest detector but didn’t no I guess it’s like cars , u might like Chevy or ford etc, so inoits betterto go slow
 

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