side walk strips

[whitesid]

does anyone ever hunt the strip of grass between the road and the side walk. i fell kind of funny cause its kinda like someones front lawn. does anyone ever get bothered by people when hunting in front of there houses even though its legally public property?

 

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[indepmo]

I've thought about this, but would never consider doing it.

Even though it may be the "easement" it would still generate a lot of calls to the police, plus the fact that many people take pride in their lawn for this debate to even come up.

There are plenty of other places to hunt, and if I even suspected it was a place I would like to hunt, I would still talk to the property owner.

 

[Sandman]

In many states this area belongs to the city, however it's under the landowners responsibilty for up keep. So it's his grass you should ask about detecting. Many people have dropped change there after getting out of a car or kids lose money at the ice cream truck. Though it is a smaller area, I've found it better than the front yard most times.

HH, Sandman

 

[Davisdog]

I have hunted there on my lawn, with some success. In my town, it's owned by the county, under the jurisdiction of the road commission. Even so, I wouldn't hunt on a neighbor's yard without permission, and wouldn't stand for anyone hunting on mine.

 

[stoney56]

Even though it's an easment, the property owner pays taxes on it to the middle of the street. It's always best to be polite and ask. Since that's usually where the water meters are, sometimes the soil gets turned when the city does any work on them thus bringing up stuff that normally is too deep otherwise. Just a thought.

 

[garrettfan2]

go with the golden rule here. what would you want others to do for you? be polite and see what other oppurtunities come from that. leave a biz card for contacting later. my wife calls these the tree lawn. i have not thought to check any of these. will look for some now.HH G2 in tx

 

[rvbvetter]

I generally will hunt the strips to the side of the house if it looks like it's not being maintained. I shy away from the ones that are well groomed. But depending on the age of the house, I'll sometimes hunt the front strip. If well groomed, I'll go to the house and ask if they would mind. Mainly as a courtesy. It seems most home owners aren't aware it's cty property. HH

 

[goldinmypan]

Be aware that there's probably re-bar in the sidewalk and curb.

 

[DPBOB]

I hunt the parkway ( between sidewalk and curb ) area all the time on houses that are going to be demolished.. I have had an awesome year with these areas...At older schools all the M D is done out in the open areas for years but nobody does the Parkway area so old coins are still there when the rest of the school yard has been done...You would be amazed at all the coins in those small areas.... almost 90 silver coins this year and 1/2 are from the parkway area... So yes it is a good area to hunt....when in doubt just ask....

 

[DPBOB]

Be aware that there's probably re-bar in the sidewalk and curb.

NOT TO MANY CITY SIDEWALKS HAVE IT SO DON'T LET THAT SCARE YOU AWAY FROM FINDING A GOOD FIND.. and if it does you will know when you go over a sidewalk so you stay away from it a few inches

 

[GunFarce]

Perhaps judging how angry a home owner may get, could be estimated by the number of Dog Craps' per Sq Yard.. Then mabe not! I get pissed when someone lets their dog crap on the grass stip infront of my house, but watching someone md it would not bother me at all, providing he/she cleaned up.. What WOULD bother me is seeing them pull up a good find that I missed.. Grrrrr.

 

[rcasi44]

The old sidewalks didn't have rebar. Old sidewalks = old coins. The strips can be trashy, so a small coil will help in the trash and get you closer to the sidewalks with rebar. Just my 2¢. Rob

 

[sounder]

I have hunted these sidewalk strips and done very well, but, even though they are city property, if the owner of the house gets upset because I am there, I remind him that the ground is city property, and I have permission to hunt it, but if he is still upset, I just tell him that I will leave the area, and then pick up my toys and move on.

In a small town such as mine, most everyone know everyone else, but the last thing that I want to do is upset someone, so I find that it is better just to move on, and not argue with the homeowner if he doesn't want me there.

sounder

 

[Max Smith]

hello everyone i started metal detecting about a months 2 ago so i am new. i would like any tips on how to find silver coins in the ground. thanks in advanced.

 

[TroutBumDave]

hello everyone i started metal detecting about a months 2 ago so i am new. i would like any tips on how to find silver coins in the ground. thanks in advanced.

It's easy, bud:

1) Turn detector on.
2) Swing it over dirt, grass, gravel, etc.
3) Dig the beeps.
4) Get lucky (and bags full of garbage and junk)
5) Rinse and repeat.

There's no special trick to finding silver, at least, that I'm aware of. It took me six months of frustration and learning my machine before I found my first silver, but man, was it worth the wait! Stay at it dude, it'll happen.

 

[Jason in Enid]

hello everyone i started metal detecting about a months 2 ago so i am new. i would like any tips on how to find silver coins in the ground. thanks in advanced.

Boy, you sure dug up an old thread!

Keep in mind that detecting as a hobby has been around since the 1950s and it exploded in popularity in 60s. so thats 60+ years of people hunting in front of you. If you want to find the old stuff you need to do a lot of research, and you have to ask a lot of permissions. Even most house sites don't have silver in the yards.

Also keep in mind that every square inch of land is owned, so if YOU don't own it then you need to know who does and get permission. Don't assume that someone won't care about you hunting that vacant house, or empty lot. Good luck in your hunts!

Oh, and you will dig trash, lots of trash.

 

[mreese1849]

I have had lot of luck around sidewalks. I found a lot of gold and silver jewelry around them as well as coins and tokens.

 

[Skippy SH13]

Remember that sidewalk strips are often technically and legally is still the property of the owner. Easements are provided to allow specific uses (like utilities) the ability to do their business. If you're talking about a strip of lawn in front of someone's house, it very likely isn't an easement of type you can detect without permission. It's their property that aesthetically (and often for safety reasons) separates the road from the pedestrian side-walk. Even the side-walk is the person's property (just ask anyone sued for someone falling on it). And, just because we have the accessibility to walk across it, doesn't mean we can dig in it.

The exception to this would be on public lands/parks property, where specific guidance is provided. For example, my city allows detecting on all city property within a specific set of guidelines (no trowels, ok to use an 8" probe less than 1/4 wide. Cut flaps must have a side still attached to the lawn (true flap, no plug allowed).) As long as we're following these rules, MD'ers can do public sidewalk strips.

Definitely NOT ok for subdivision strips though, that's private property, and requires permission.

I'm just using this as an example, of course, but simply put, just because a sidewalk strip exists, is not a guarantee it is public property... and easements are defined for specific use (utility, fencing, access, etc.).

Skippy

-Jerry

 

[dirtscratcher]

Remember that sidewalk strips are often technically and legally is still the property of the owner. Easements are provided to allow specific uses (like utilities) the ability to do their business. If you're talking about a strip of lawn in front of someone's house, it very likely isn't an easement of type you can detect without permission. It's their property that aesthetically (and often for safety reasons) separates the road from the pedestrian side-walk. Even the side-walk is the person's property (just ask anyone sued for someone falling on it). And, just because we have the accessibility to walk across it, doesn't mean we can dig in it.

The exception to this would be on public lands/parks property, where specific guidance is provided. For example, my city allows detecting on all city property within a specific set of guidelines (no trowels, ok to use an 8" probe less than 1/4 wide. Cut flaps must have a side still attached to the lawn (true flap, no plug allowed).) As long as we're following these rules, MD'ers can do public sidewalk strips.

Definitely NOT ok for subdivision strips though, that's private property, and requires permission.

I'm just using this as an example, of course, but simply put, just because a sidewalk strip exists, is not a guarantee it is public property... and easements are defined for specific use (utility, fencing, access, etc.).

Skippy

-Jerry

The are not technically owned by the homeowner. I pour city sidewalks all the time and property pins are at the back of sidewalk. They are homeowners responsibility to maintain but they don't own it. As far as city sidewalks and rebar are concerned they are not supposed to have any to facilitate easy removal for utility repairs.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Remember that sidewalk strips are often technically and legally is still the property of the owner. ....
Skippy

-Jerry

You can't make statements like that, because every city and town in the country has it set their own way. Just because your town does it that way doesn't mean others do. I have looked at the city GIS maps for my city and EVERYTHING from the sidewalk to the road is owned by the city.