I AM IN SEARCH OF AN ANSWER

[red fox bob]

I have been MD since March of 2015 . Since then I have found 2000 +- coins.I hunt the same kind of places I read of that you guys hunt.the old parks,beaches ,old gathering places.Why am I only finding clad and no silver? I did find one Barber dime & one Large 1820 Penny. Am I not doing something right? I don"t know where else to hunt other than where I am hunting.I have also hunted at old vacant properties ,old schools ,closed swimming pools .What am I missing? Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give.HH & GOOD LUCK::

 

[bikermike]

red fox bob,
Sounds like you have done well to me. The goodies will come. Be patient and keep having fun.

 

[releventchair]

Are you content with your deeper target recoveries. By that I mean you are confident silver under your coil at reasonable depth gets noticed?
If so your ratio of clad to older coins is 1 to 1000.
Not good or bad unless silver/nonclad is missed when coiled over ,or if silver/not clad is not there.
People been detecting for many decades. Some ahead of us on many sites.
Keep at it.
My little amount of silvers have come from mostly well hunted sites.
Most were with other target(s) including iron.
All were deep (for my ability anyway).
Most had been passed by other detectors I dare guess.
Stick with it and watch your ratio. Silver can be anywhere at any depth but can not always be easy ,or even existing in numbers.
Then turn up and it,s worth the wait and ratio....

 

[CTwoods]

Sounds like you hunt public places, and those have been found by decades of people before you.

In those spots, what is left might be under bushes, etc. Get your coil where nobody has before in those known places.

15 years ago when I was looking for silver in public places. I did well at older schools that had woods near the playground. Some woods were never hunted.

I have no interest in common silver, I hunt for 1700s stuff. It is not easy to find places that people did not find in the last 45 years. Same is true with common silver sites.

I did well in odd places; like a tiny grass traffic island near a hunted out town green.....nobody thought to try the island!

 

[CTwoods]

This thread made me think of a guy on youtube who started a few years ago. He bought a pricey unit and did find a few straggler silvers in local nice parks and schools...but that dried up.

Then he started going to very dangerous inner city parks and schools and had better luck, but he was always looking around for safety reasons, and I think he was armed!

Then that dried up, meaning ran out of places to try.

Then bought a pricey water machine and did much better, but even that dried up, not finding more places. He is not been on in a year!

Makes me wonder how tough it will be 25 years from now. I think MD'ing will be in much deeper water with scuba

 

[I C THE LITE]

Like others have mentioned, most public property has been hunted to death. Try knocking on doors and gaining permission. I have a detecting buddy that has access to old homes because of his job and does very well. Good luck.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

I've found 688 coins so far this year (yes, I do keep track). Of those 688 coins, 9 were silver. That's a ratio of 1 silver for every 76 coins. Not a great ratio, but amazing compared to your ratio! I can't imagine digging 2,000 coins just to find 1 silver coin. Something is wrong here!

How many different places have you detected? This year alone, I've hit over 40 different spots (all on public land). Most were spots I've done in the past, but some were new discoveries. Of those 40, only 3 produced silver coins. 5 in one spot, and 2 each in the other two spots. If you take that fact into account, I struck out at 37 spots (or more). Bottom line, you have to hit a lot of spots to find any silver coins.

I do a new spot at least ten times before I give up on it for awhile. And I go slower each time I detect the spot. I'm practically crawling along by the tenth time! I do an area in a grid pattern one time, then I do it diagonally. Mix it up. Many times, a silver coin will only ring up in one direction. Why? I have no idea, but that's the way it is.

Most of my silver coins were shallow. I would say less than five inches down. No explaining that one, either. I used to get excited when I got a deep target, but no more. The majority of time, it's just a clad coin from the 1970's. Hard to predict whether or not silver coins will be shallow or deep. You never know. Good luck and HH.

 

[b3y0nd3r]

How old is the area?
what type of machine are you using?

Did you do your homework?

IMO, you have been detecting only a year, you need a few more under your belt to get a better understanding of what is going on under the coil.

I live in NE PA IDK how far Apollo is, but if it isnt too far, i would be willing to share my experience.

 

[red fox bob]

Bikermike ,I am trying to be patient,maybe I am expecting too much too soon.I"ll work on more patients. revelentchair, Yes I am satisfied with my deep target discoveries.I have recovered clad 8 & 10".The Barber I found was only at 5",the Large Penny was at 4".Like said to Bikermike maybe I am expecting too much. CTwoods,Thanks for some different ideas on where to hunt.I never gave much though on hunting UNDER a bush. IC THE LITE,Did exactly what you said by knocking on doors,boy are some people rude.Still I haven't given up on that idea yet FreeBirdTim,I have found 542 coins as of 6/14/16 , I have hunted 19 different areas.The one thing you said about going over the same area 10 times I have never done.Once I do an area I rearly if ever go back,I will be changing that in the very near future ( GOOD TIP ) b3yOnd3r,Wish we were closer,I live in SW Pa, 25 miles North of Pittsburgh ( HOME OF THE PITTSBURGH PENGUINS WORLD CHAMPIONS ) I use a Whites Spectra V3 & a Whites Beach Hunter ID. Would you elaborate a little more on doing my home work ? Yes, I know I am still a newbee at this game. I also know that the machine that I have is way over my head, but the deal I got I couldn't pass up.The machine,wireless headphones,Garrett pinpointer,Garrett Digger,extra battery pack & charger & hard case,$700.

 

[relic nut]

This is just my opinion but I think you should stop keeping score. Just let it happen and enjoy the time you have to detect. I tend to make my best finds when I am not expecting them. Sounds like you are hunting good places and enjoying the hunt. Rome wasn't built in a day and nether are nice collections.

HH RN

 

[red fox bob]

relic nut,you are right ,I really do enjoy MD. befor this venture started I was ,& still am, head over heels into long range shooting ( 1000 yds. ) I am having a hard time splitting my time between the two.I do find myself spending more time MD than shooting ( My scores are proof ) HH GOOD LUCK

 

[can]

yeah I know what you mean. I see these guys pulling like 1000 silvers in a year and I am thinking...WHAT. Then I see others pulling like 1000 old rings in a year...WHAT I know I am hunting close to the same type spots. No rings so far and only one mercury. No gold. But I keep going. I like it. The scenery at the beach is like wow. Its been 10years since I was on a beach. I wonder sometimes if my machine has a gold block

 

[Terry Soloman]

The Following is Personal OPINION...

Get rid of the Whites machine. If you can afford to trade up to a Minelab Explorer; Safari; Etrac; or CTX 3030 - Do so. If you can't afford it, get a Tesoro Vaquero. Go back over the same places you've already hunted S-L-O-W-L-Y, listening for sounds you don't usually take seriously (that is the deep silver!

 

[red fox bob]

Terry, Thanks for the advice.I have been kicking the CTX 3030 around.I met a gentlmen at Mrytle Beach this spring and he just raved about it.

 

[CTwoods]

I have to disagree with stepping up to a very, very expensive detector, because someone says it will give up what you want at hunted out places.

if you are depressed now, just think how you will feel after spending thousands on a new purchase, and still not produce much.

Find a good site
I don't know your area, or how well it is covered by the map site below, but I've used it to find better sites in my own town. I can get into the 1700s within 5 to 10 minutes away. And I use my 2 older units that are about 15yrs old. I have a lot of learn time on these units.

NETR Online ? Historic Aerials

I also use what is called a GIS property listing site that shows who owns each land parcel in my town. Your towns might have this online, maybe not.

 

[red fox bob]

CT, tried the NETR Online and have already found 2 sites from 1952 where the water authority had purchased the properities and are completly gone.I will be checking these 2 places out as soon as the rain stops.Thanks

 

[old digger]

Hi There! While using your headphones just go slow and listen to those faint, but sure tones. It also helps if there as been a good recent rain. It helps your detector signal to penetrate deeper.

 

[red fox bob]

old digger, I see you use a Whites MXT ,what are your thoughts on the machine I have,Whites Spectra V3

 

[CTwoods]

CT, tried the NETR Online and have already found 2 sites from 1952 where the water authority had purchased the properities and are completly gone.I will be checking these 2 places out as soon as the rain stops.Thanks

Bob, It takes some time on the net to find sites to learn about my own area. In my State, google maps, not satellite, the areas shown in green are either: State Forest, Town Forest or Open Spaces, also "Land Preserves" owned by an organization. Then I look on the old maps to see if there were any homes there long ago. But, I found other State owned land that is not colored; these could be owned by different State Agency like former schools or hospitals, whatever.

I found many things from finding State owned land that is not colored green on the maps. These were virgin spots because you'd have to look on the propery owners list, to realize they are not privately owned, and not many people take the time to look on the records.

What I said about expensive detectors, I meant that some beginners that think they don't find much, can start to think that their own detector is missing many things.

When I first started 15 years ago, I had a friend who used a Whites 5900 Di-Pro for years, and showed me all the things he found. But he heard so much about the first Minelab Explorer, that he bought one. He went through all his best spots and said he never found much that the Whites missed. He moved away 2 years ago, but since then, I forced myself to learn those online maps and records, and my finds now are as good or better than what he found years ago.

It's more about learning every sound or technique of a persons detector, and gaining confidence in it, as well as confidence in your own skills as far as how to use it, which coils for certain spots, and how to sweep and grid in a known good spot.

Once you know that your machine is fine, and you know your skills are good, that along with research, will give you a good hobby.

 

[b3y0nd3r]

Just like anything in life, you need to practice to excel at something.
How many v3 vids did you watch?
Do you fully understand ALL the settings on your machine?
What type of tests have you done with your machine?
how many hours a week do you use the machine?

There is much more you can do, but those should be the primary concerns.