Is it worth it?

tiburciovasquez · Jul 7, 2016

I have located a few potential sites on an old map from 1903 but I can't find any record of them when I searched online for them. There were no photos, dates, or anything. Generally I wouldn't even think of doing it but it seems like I've hunted out a lot of my favorite spots and if there is no record of them, then maybe other detectorists have looked over them too. Have any of you guys had luck on an unknown site?

Terry Soloman · Jul 7, 2016

You NEVER know until you GO! :skullflag:

seekerGH · Jul 7, 2016

You said you have a map of the sites, so I guess they are not unknown. Get the ownership issues sorted and good luck.

austin · Jul 7, 2016

What do you really have to lose? Gas and time? Go for it...

tiburciovasquez · Jul 7, 2016

seekerGH said:
You said you have a map of the sites, so I guess they are not unknown. Get the ownership issues sorted and good luck.

Yes I guess it's very possible they have been hunted but what I meant is that those sites are not listed on other websites or books that I know about.

kcm · Jul 7, 2016

If you've found 6 such potential sites through research, but only one or two of them is virgin ground, would it be worth your time to check them all? In other words, if you don't check, you'll never know.

There was another thread posted this very day about someone who hunted researched locations. Some had been hammered already. One couldn't be found. But one of the sites was ripe for the pickin'. ...Actually, there have been SO MANY great posts today that I'm losing track of which is which!

EDIT: Here's the post I was thinking of:
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...-flute-2-complete-shoe-buckles-much-more.html

Is a long but VERY entertaining post! Pics are in a post farther down.

luvsdux · Jul 8, 2016

Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's not, but you'll only know by swingin over it.
luvsdux

tiburciovasquez · Jul 8, 2016

kcm said:
If you've found 6 such potential sites through research, but only one or two of them is virgin ground, would it be worth your time to check them all? In other words, if you don't check, you'll never know.

There was another thread posted this very day about someone who hunted researched locations. Some had been hammered already. One couldn't be found. But one of the sites was ripe for the pickin'. ...Actually, there have been SO MANY great posts today that I'm losing track of which is which!

EDIT: Here's the post I was thinking of:
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...-flute-2-complete-shoe-buckles-much-more.html

Is a long but VERY entertaining post! Pics are in a post farther down.

Yes of course and any site could have potential but if there is nothing written about it, then I would think there is usually nothing there. The sites I've located are quite out of the way but they're not towns only a ranch, school, and what appears to be a camp. It is very possible someone else was looking at the same map I am but I don't think my sites are lucrative enough for most detectorists so there may be some potential yet!

releventchair · Jul 8, 2016

tiburciovasquez said:
I have located a few potential sites on an old map from 1903 but I can't find any record of them when I searched online for them. There were no photos, dates, or anything. Generally I wouldn't even think of doing it but it seems like I've hunted out a lot of my favorite spots and if there is no record of them, then maybe other detectorists have looked over them too. Have any of you guys had luck on an unknown site?

We follow people who were there before us. Those who dropped ,hid , or discarded things.
Some times on previously detected sites , as detecting is not a new thing ,one spot not detected over the size of a coil ...even on previously detected sites can be the big one/recovery.

Having had luck on known sites; suggests having luck on unknowns as well. As long as people were there.
Go for it if nothing else is pending.

kcm · Jul 8, 2016

Obviously you'll have the greatest chance of good finds from a site that has been lived on pretty much continuously since the Westward Expansion. However, there are LOTS of sites/homesteads that are on no maps anywhere. None at all. Many families went west and they either couldn't handle it and moved, looked for better area, were killed by Indians or bad people taking what they had, or died from disease/hunger/thirst. If you can find a possible location on a map, then you're off to a good start. In mining, they call it "prospecting", which means to "LOOK" for _whatever_. Same with fishing - you have no way of knowing if there are fish in a lake until you cast your line.

Keep in mind that in the old days, even though they mended their clothes, they also had times when there were holes in the pockets and they had nothing to mend their clothes with - so they'd lose much-needed coins. Also, they would hide their money - sometimes so well that they couldn't find it themselves. And, imagine all the holdups and robberies (banks and remote families and travelers) who would lose money during the process or lose it along their escape.

There's VERY experienced folks here that sometimes go for weeks without finding anything really worthwhile. But eventually they hit a find of a lifetime.

What I'm trying to say ever so delicately is, just try. If a spot looks well-hunted, doesn't mean they knew what they were doing or that conditions were prime. And if you find something on an old map, the quicker you check it out, the better your chances of being the first one to detect there.