reasearch weekend (pics added!!!!)

[Carson Coin Master]

well this weekend totally sucked, i hate how the wheather guy is out to get us, supposed to be sunny all weekend and of course we got dumped with rain. oh well i didn't let that stop me from taking a drive. i went around to some older historic towns in the outskirts of Reno and boy did i find some spots for this next this week. i was driving down the main highway and peaked through the trees at what looked like an old run down shack. i made a u turn and sure enough there was no fence no signs and back along the tree line was an old shack that had to be close to a 100 years old or better. i started walking around the old property and actually found the old out house. looks like someone had tried digging it up already but it was in tack. only problem was there where allot of holes on the property looked like someone went out there once before mding, but I'm sure they missed some stuff. also found to yard sticks nailed together into a cross that said rest in peace on it. I'm sure theres a dead pet out there somewhere. also found in another town an old 1800's school house and an old house that had burned down only the chimney remained. so this week is supposed to warm up and i will definitely have to head out to these spots. i have pictures of the old shack i will post later this evening.


Well here they are they actually came out better than i thought. anyone have any ideas on where i should hunt first? i was also going to ad this was the only spot it wasnt raining for some reason. probably why i took my eye off the road for a minute to check out the scenery. i wish i had my detector with me.

 

[piggman1]

Re: reasearch weekend

Looks like you found some pretty good spots.

 

[49er]

Re: reasearch weekend

Interesting research there Joe. I am a firm believer in research, studying the facts and separating the fiction. Have you ever hunted up near Kiddie, CA? There is a lot of good history in that area, but watch out for rattlers. Good luck and keep your detector head to the ground.

 

[Carson Coin Master]

Re: reasearch weekend

Interesting research there Joe. I am a firm believer in research, studying the facts and separating the fiction. Have you ever hunted up near Kiddie, CA? There is a lot of good history in that area, but watch out for rattlers. Good luck and keep your detector head to the ground.

never been. where abouts is it. and how far do you think it is from reno. oh and dont mind the rattlers too much i grew up in the desert and i was bitten once when i was 12 years old. it sucks. thanks for the heads up

 

[Carson Coin Master]

does anyone have any idea how old this property may be im guessing close to 100 years or more.

 

[Skipper]

I saw an episode on the Discovery Channels' Best Places to Find Cash & Treasure, about outhouses and the bottles and stuff found in them. You may find old gold coins under there....nice area. Good Luck....

 

[Skrimpy]

Just because they dug around the old outhouse doesn't mean they did it right. Move that outhouse to the side, piece by piece, and see if it was completely excavated. Heck I would think about taking the outhouse itself and refurbing the thing. I hear that if you can find an old outhouse, the physical structure itself could be worth some scratch, but don't quote me. Anyway, move that sucker to the side, and excavate it properly.

 

[Carson Coin Master]

Just because they dug around the old outhouse doesn't mean they did it right. Move that outhouse to the side, piece by piece, and see if it was completely excavated. Heck I would think about taking the outhouse itself and refurbing the thing. I hear that if you can find an old outhouse, the physical structure itself could be worth some scratch, but don't quote me. Anyway, move that sucker to the side, and excavate it properly.

it almost looks as if the outhouse was filled in under the part where you go i guess. and then it looked if someone dug out a 12 by 12'' hole maybe 4 inches deep in that spot. and isn't it true the further you dig the stinkier it can get.

 

[piggman1]

No pain, no gain. If it's dry the smell isn't that noticable, but if it rains or gets wet, sometimes it can get pretty smelly. Just hope they didn't fill it with you know what.

 

[Skrimpy]

...and isn't it true the further you dig the stinkier it can get.

Like piggman said...no pain, no gain. If that privy is as old as you hope it is (hope pre-1870s), and it hasn't been dug, there is very likely to be bottles in there, and a good chance some of them are worth some good scratch. There are valuable bottles post 1890 but to me they are harder to find because the ABM was post 1890s, making it easy to produce large volumes of bottles (ie most of them are worthless). Whether or not the soil smells depends on when the last time the privy was used regularly, and how much air and water is present in the soil. If the last time it was used was 1890, and there is a lot of air in the soil, it might actually smell pretty good (a bit like dirt on the forest floor, or a batch of earthy compost ready for use). If it was used recently or there isn't much air in the soil and lots of moisture, it might smell a bit like a septic tank. Only way to know for sure if it stinks or if there are valuable bottles there is to dig it up. Take a buddy and be real careful if you dig further than shoulder height (ie shore it up before going too deep because if it caves your buddy can't dig you out before you stop breathing). Some privys are only 3-4 feet deep and some are 10-20 feet. On occasion I have heard of 20-30 foot deep privys but they may be more myth than fact. 3-4 foot privys tend to be dipped (regularly cleaned out) privys and may not yield many bottles and artifacts. The deeper they are the better chance that they haven't been dipped or the privy dipper couln't reach the bottom. Good luck! Don't forget to sift or detect the dirt you pull from the privy. Buttons, coins, buckles, relics, bullets etc will all be in there.

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Nice research! Dig the outhouse, if it is old, should not be smelly or anything. The discoloration of soil will also tell you when you are deep enough. The house area, find the southern side, should have been a clothes line there and the direct line from the house to that outhouse should be good, I'm sure there were a few emergencies getting to the outhouse and cloths were coming off on the way, LOL. Check around the front door area. Find where the water source was. Check around any landmarks like large rocks and big trees, could be a cache buried. Looks like a great spot and it is not overgrown to bad. HH and good luck, Mike

 

[paul1410]

Cool site, Joe.

Looking forward to seeing finds from here.

Nice pics too!

Thanks for sharing.