Old roads?

78CJ · Aug 17, 2017

I am somewhat conflicted on if I should search a private parcel I only have access to for a little while longer. As with others I am sure there is just not enough time. How much luck have you guys had in the past searching old roads? This parcel has a road that would have been a major connector between two villages and easily pre dates cars. I don't currently own a detector but have borrowed a cheap one once to search an old homestead.

Is it worth renting/buying one?

MUDSLINGER · Aug 17, 2017

yes yes now get busy

GB1 · Aug 17, 2017

yea buy one

78CJ · Aug 17, 2017

What do you recommend? I assume coins would be the most prevalent? I am sure there was probably stuff thrown off of wagons and such but doubt there is any value. I am a novice coin collector.

GB1 · Aug 17, 2017

i use a bounty hunter time ranger

78CJ · Aug 17, 2017

Funny, I was looking at the Bounty Hunter Quick Draw Pro

GB1 · Aug 17, 2017

i use to have one of those

coinman123 · Aug 17, 2017

Don't buy a metal detector, it will steal your life, escape while you can :laughing7:

!! Old roads are interesting, I always figured there would be a lot of stuff on them, but only found one tombac button on one. If you find a cellar hole along one, then you might have a honey hole, just take it slow and filter carefully through the iron. Good luck!

GB1 · Aug 17, 2017

i went along old road bed one time i found a horse shoe and a bunch of parts to a stove and a blue bottle

diggerdave46 · Aug 17, 2017

YES!!!!!! it can be the start of a lifetime of fun .

4x4x4 · Aug 19, 2017

78CJ said:
What do you recommend? I assume coins would be the most prevalent? I am sure there was probably stuff thrown off of wagons and such but doubt there is any value. I am a novice coin collector.

...."junk" will be most prevalent (treasure) and COINS / jewelry will be the icing !
Remember , many old roads were riparian like in that they moved about a bit , rarely remaining perfectly straight. An old road may have deviated for many reasons.....water courses changing , detours due to wash-outs , breakdowns left behind etc . . .
Be patient ! Pack food and water and be sure to check back here to post your finds.....and remember , you must bring enough to share . &#55357;&#56842;

CASPER-2 · Aug 25, 2017

coinman123 said:
Don't buy a metal detector, it will steal your life, escape while you can !! Old roads are interesting, I always figured there would be a lot of stuff on them, but only found one tombac button on one. If you find a cellar hole along one, then you might have a honey hole, just take it slow and filter carefully through the iron. Good luck!

when I was a kid - would go on club hunts to cellar hole areas - usually they had been peppered--so while the grown ups would hit the
holes looking for left overs - I would hit the road(s) - I would always get indian heads and now and then a large cent - now and then a piece of silver
they never thought to hit the roads - so for awhile I went back to hammered cellar hole sites and did the roads - then others caught on and started doing the same - some can be trashy if near newer areas or where kids hang out - others can be loaded with shot gun shells - but you get a real old colonial one or ones
off the beaten track or private land - who knows - good luck

islamoradamark · Aug 25, 2017

Treasure comes in all sorts of sizes and shapes

diggingthe1 · Aug 25, 2017

Somtimes bushes or different vegetation will grow around trash piles. I would look for ravines along the road at the edge of town, and bushes with piles of bottles hidden below

Tom_in_CA · Aug 25, 2017

I'm going to jump in and be a kill-joy (I'm good at that) and say that randomly hunting "old roads" is not the best/wisest use of md'ing time. Rather than just wandering old dirt roads with a metal detector, your time is better spent md'ing where the travelers STOPPED at. Eg.: stage stops, over-night camp spots, water-holes, cellar holes, etc....

coinman123 · Aug 25, 2017

Last weekend my father hit a colonial road, and I hit the cellar. I found a ton of buttons near the cellar, and he found a beautiful 1831 large cent and a seated dime on the road.

Tom_in_CA · Aug 25, 2017

coinman123 said:
Last weekend my father hit a colonial road, and I hit the cellar. I found a ton of buttons near the cellar, and he found a beautiful 1831 large cent and a seated dime on the road.

But was your dad hitting the road in the proximity of the cellar hole ? Ie.: the road as-it-passes by the cellar hole ? Or was he just in the road somewhere else random far off ?

boogeyman · Aug 25, 2017

4x4x4 said:
...."junk" will be most prevalent (treasure) and COINS / jewelry will be the icing !
Remember , many old roads were riparian like in that they moved about a bit , rarely remaining perfectly straight. An old road may have deviated for many reasons.....water courses changing , detours due to wash-outs , breakdowns left behind etc . . .
Be patient ! Pack food and water and be sure to check back here to post your finds.....and remember , you must bring enough to share . &#55357;&#56842;

Also, don't limit your search to just the road itself. The brush etc. might have been farther from where it is today. Try working out 20 or so feet from either side. Think, if something fell off a cart or wagon where would it end up? If people were lightening loads they'd throw it off to the side not in the middle of the road. Just my experiences talking hope it helps you out! Have you thought about Craigs list or pawn shops for a used machine? Some good deals to be had on Craigs list. If all lese fails Fleabay is ok.

coinman123 · Aug 25, 2017

Tom_in_CA said:
But was your dad hitting the road in the proximity of the cellar hole ? Ie.: the road as-it-passes by the cellar hole ? Or was he just in the road somewhere else random far off ?

He found them within thirty feet of where the road was from the cellar hole. I am guessing that is why he found stuff there. I tried far off away from the cellar hole a few days later, and found nothing except for shotgun shells. Then I went in the woods between the road and cellar hole and barn, and found five buttons in half an hour. Stay near the old homesites when metal detecting an old road.