New to Forum with a weird question

[LuckyLori]

Hello, my name is Lori and I have been reading this site for several days now. So very interesting with some interesting stories and people. I'm one of those "Lucky" kind of people, and have always dreamed of owning a metal detector. (I can spot a Morel mushroom 100 yards away), and almost always find something interesting on a walk, and it's not at all uncommon for me to find a $5-10-20...bill in the Wal-mart parking lot...lol

Anyway, I'm thinking about renting a MD to see if it's something I really want to put some $$ into. I have a mission. My Mother-in-law tells a sad story about a birthstone ring (Gold & Amethyst) that her father gave her when she was really young. She lost it at a country school playground deep in the heart of hicks-ville Nebraska, (shortly before [her dad] died at a very young age). Fortunately, She purchased the 80 acres the school sits on back in the early 70's, and made my husband & I owners WROS. My dream has always been to find it and return it to her. She lost it back in 1935. Do you think this is a doable feat? Also, this is the weird question. There is a very old cemetery sitting on our property as well. It sits about 1 mile off of the Oregon Trail. The date of the latest death was 1890. About a dozen tombstones (all children no one older than 21 buried there) and MANY big Rock markers. The legend is a group of Oregon Trail settlers had an out break of Scarlett fever and many died. Would it be unethical to MD the cemetery? I'm really new to this, so please forgive me if this is a major no-no.

 

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[Gypsy Heart]

Welcome to the forum and run...dont walk to buy your detector. You will never regret it! Yes...the ring is highly likely to be found as well as other great stuff on that site.Are you running yet? As for the cemetary..if its on your own land...you can hunt it. But I wouldnt hunt a grave. All around the outside tho would be a really great site to detect. Looking forward to seeing some pics of the site as well as your finds with your new detector!

 

[diggummup]

I would love to be in your position! As Gypsy said,run don't walk! Yes it is feasible and my only question to you would be,"What are you waiting for?" An area such as the one your describing sounds like a detectorists dream.Probably hasn't been detected before,virgin hunting grounds with a past history such as you described are hard to come by lately.Little old schoolhouse from the early 1900's,Oregon Trail settlers,relics and coins alike are just waiting to be found by YOU! I wouldn't go digging around too close to the gravemarkers,but around the outside perimeter would be acceptable.BTW-Is the schoolhouse still there? Do you know the layout of the old playground/area?

 

[diggemall]

Lori;

My 2¢ worth:

1) Go to Radio Shack, buy a Bounty Hunter Discovery 3300. Bang for the buck it's a very good, inexpensive detector, and will detect down to the 8" or so needed if the fields were ever plowed since the ring was lost.

2) The sensing field under a detector looks like this: \/ The deeper, the smaller the field, so sweep in SMALL increments.

3) I agree with Gypsy on the cemetary, although I would consider swinging a detector over the BACK side of a headstone. (My guess is that anything that might have been put there deliberately would have been put on the engraved side)

4) If you haven't figgered it out from reading posts here - rings almost always come up as pulltabs !

5) If you're still reading this, you're moving too slow !

Diggem'

 

[hollowpointred]

i think the chances are good on recovering the ring. just remember that it will take some time to get good at detecting. it really does take some practice to be able to tell what the machine is telling you. the cemetary is a personal decision. since it is on your property, its entirely up to you, and how you feel about it. i personally wouldnt do it but thats just me. i wouldnt think bad about you if you decided to go for it. do what you think is right.

 

[chaindropz]

I am not sure that I read all the replies to your post but in some states if not all it is not just a morale issue but it is illegal to disturb a grave. It cost thousands of dollars each to move the graves to claim the land. In some states if not all the person occuping the ground owns his plot. Morale to the story it takes less time to dig into jail than it takes to dig out.

 

[theloadroom]

Go for it!

 

[Sandman]

I am with the others in telling you to run out an get the best detector you can afford for the hunt. The better the detector, the more fun and finds you witll get with it.

I've had to detect farm fields for lost rings before and with all that area it may take a while. Remember bushes may have grown where they didn't before too.

As for the cemetary, since it is on your property, I would search it, but be respectful. Don't go moving head stones, etc. The graves might not be as deep as you would think.

Keep us posted on the search.

Sandman

 

[Postalrevnant]

Welcome to the forum and hobby LuckyLori. Whatever you choose as a detector I wish you loads of finds and good luck with it. I think it doable to find the ring as long as the ground has not been covered deep in fill where the school was.

Good luck,

Postalrevnant

 

[Pimp Lenin]

Personally, I would not detect or dig the graves themselves, of course. But it is up to you. One thing to consider is this - you are not sure what they died of. You don't want to go digging something that could make you sick. Back in the late 1800's/early 1900's southeast Louisiana suffered yellow fever epedemics on a regular basis. One year 7,000 people died in New Orleans alone. Many were buried in my area in small unmarked mass graves. They wanted to burn or bury the bodies as soon as possible. A friend of mine, who has been doing this hobby for well over 30 years, always told me if I found a possible "yellow fever pit" to cover it back up and leave it alone! It is unlikey you would get sick but it is something to consider.

 

[stoney56]

Didn't know if you made the purchase yet but also make sure to get a good set of headphones. The ring may not jump up with a loud beep and say I'm here. It may just kind of whisper instead depending on how much gold it has. Good luck in your quest and HH!

 

[Night Stalker]

Welcome to the forum and the best Treasure site on the WWW!

 

[jeff of pa]

I don't see your Original Question answered here.

It probably is & I missed it.

But forget about Renting.

The cost of Renting at most places is too expensive
in my opinion.

Much cheaper to go to Wallmart, Pick one up & return it later if you decide against it.

 

[stoney56]

I don't see your Original Question answered here.

It probably is & I missed it.

But forget about Renting.

The cost of Renting at most places is too expensive
in my opinion.

Much cheaper to go to Wallmart, Pick one up & return it later if you decide against it.

Jeff's right. You might also check around for a local club. Most members own several models and makes and have a good working knowledge of their machines and would be glad to help you make a decision.
Our Wal-Mart doesn't carry MD but they do a different return policy on some items. They give you the money back on a gift card so don't expect necessarily to get cash back.

 

[wo2e]

that place would keep you busy for a while. GO FOR IT! have fun.

 

[Gribnitz]

With all that land I would get you a goodun from the start. A white's MXT is a great machine and not too terribly much for a lifetime of hobby. It has a jewelry mode as well to hunt for that ring. As far as that graveyard, STAY AWAY. It may be on your land, but it would be a bad habit to get into and an even worse endorsement to the detectorist hobby if someone would see you digging holes in there. You don't want to labeled by the locals as a grave robber. Around the perimeter is fine, just stay off those graves, it looks bad and you may not like what you find anyway (coffin handles and adornments).

 

[Dave N Japan]

I would just buy a well made low cost one and move up later if you like it!

I'm sure the dead would love to have someone around and find something from the past and make someone happy! Some old coins or other artifacts laying there forever does nobody any good!Then again, I would not want to dig right on top of the grave, but around the area would be fine.."""IMHO""" and I would leave the shovel at home "" and since it is not a active public cemetery""..Just if you find something of real interest..let the local historical society know about it, so it can be documented.

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Don't know if you can rent a detector and if you can, it does take many hours to get in tune with it or used to using it. There are many other advantages to detecting, the exercise, peace of mind and yes, the finds. It is possible that someone has already detected the school site and if not, you will probably get addicted with the numerous finds that come up from the school area. That Bounty Hunter would be a good starter machine or maybe a Garrett Ace 250. HH and good luck, Mike