Silver is still out there

[skierbob]

Managed to get out today after the rain finally stopped. Got a couple silvers in another "hunted out" park.

 

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[DelcoGreg]

That is good to hear because I have been starting to wonder. I used to go metal detecting with my Dad 25+ years ago and we always seemed to find enough silver to keep things interesting. It wasn't so much whether we would find silver, but more of a question of how much we would find and how old it would be. That was with a middle of the road (at best) White's Coinmaster detector.

Recently I had the opportunity to buy a XLT, so for nostalgia's sake I went ahead and bought it. I figured that with the XLT I could hit some of our best spots and clean up. So much for that plan. I am still learning the nuances of the XLT, but so far the old spots haven't been productive at all. One was the former site of a very large mansion where I once found a nice large cent (maybe half cent). I didn't learn much there this time around because everything I dug was a pull tab, bottle cap, or a can (as in a whole can). I kept trying to figure out how to find the signal in the noise, but I am not sure there was any signal there to find. I didn't find one thing that didn't go in the trash. An old school yard was a little better. We used to find a lot of old silver there - mercury dimes and even barber quarters. As it turns out, they have since paved most of the areas adjacent to the school for parking lots. They were the prime areas because I think that was where the kids used to play years ago. I at least found some coins there and made some progress learning the XLT, but none of the coins had any age.

Anyway, I was thinking maybe the time for making those kind of finds has long since past, but your results suggest that is not so. I guess I will have to keep looking for spots and put in some more time before I decide to hang it up.

Thanks for the post and congratulations on your finds.

Greg

 

[Blackjack77]

Greg, don't get discoraged. The public places are tough to make good finds. So far I've dug lots of clad and stuff.
My own older property has been better, but of course that Well is close to dry. I think research nowdays is the key. I wish I'd been MDing years ago.
Congrats Skierbob on your finds--
HH

 

[Burdie]

You guys are what keeps the rest of going. Thanks for the post. HH Burdie

 

[DelcoGreg]

HH - thanks for the advice. I've been thinking that doing some research and trying to get in on an old homestead or something might be worth a shot. At the very least I need to get out into areas without so much trash so I can dig more targets and get a better feel for the XLT.

As for 25 years ago, it could have been 30 and I think a lot of the places we worked had never been hunted before. It was especially good for my Dad because he had a little mole to dig all of his targets! Before metal detecting it was bottle hunting. I am still amazed how dad would walk out in the woods, poke around a while and come up with spots chock full of old bottles. I don't know why we stopped doing that - maybe it got too hard to find those spots nearby.

Greg

 

[skierbob]

Greg,
To the woods, young man. To the woods. I'm assuming you're from Delaware County in PA. We've got plenty of woods here in Penn's Woods. Just make sure they're not private property where you hunt. Just a couple years ago I ventured into a wooded area of a park, up a hill and come out to a golf course. I stopped right there and started hunting at the top of the hill next to the golf course. Started finding Boy Scout Bolos. Pretty soon the wheaties started showing up, then the silver. Found about 15 silvers that first day. Ended up with 70 silvers, including a Walker and a Franklin after about a month. Took some friends there and they found silver too. It was an old Boy Scout camp that nobody discovered before. Even though the open park area had been hunted pretty hard, there was still a lot of stuff in the woods. Keep that in mind when you're out looking for places to metal detect.
Bob

 

[DPBOB]

That is good to hear because I have been starting to wonder. I used to go metal detecting with my Dad 25+ years ago and we always seemed to find enough silver to keep things interesting. It wasn't so much whether we would find silver, but more of a question of how much we would find and how old it would be. That was with a middle of the road (at best) White's Coinmaster detector.

Recently I had the opportunity to buy a XLT, so for nostalgia's sake I went ahead and bought it. I figured that with the XLT I could hit some of our best spots and clean up. So much for that plan. I am still learning the nuances of the XLT, but so far the old spots haven't been productive at all. One was the former site of a very large mansion where I once found a nice large cent (maybe half cent). I didn't learn much there this time around because everything I dug was a pull tab, bottle cap, or a can (as in a whole can). I kept trying to figure out how to find the signal in the noise, but I am not sure there was any signal there to find. I didn't find one thing that didn't go in the trash. An old school yard was a little better. We used to find a lot of old silver there - mercury dimes and even barber quarters. As it turns out, they have since paved most of the areas adjacent to the school for parking lots. They were the prime areas because I think that was where the kids used to play years ago. I at least found some coins there and made some progress learning the XLT, but none of the coins had any age.

Anyway, I was thinking maybe the time for making those kind of finds has long since past, but your results suggest that is not so. I guess I will have to keep looking for spots and put in some more time before I decide to hang it up.

Thanks for the post and congratulations on your finds.

Greg

I think the XLT is a very easy machine to learn.I use to detect with a whites 6000 di for several years.88-96 ( sold it 96 ) I haven't detected much for several years up until this year.Inherited my fathers XLT spectrum tried it for a month and desides to get a new XLT. Fantastic year so far.. Check out my previous post . I have well over 85 Silver coins from Barbers to halves and dimes. A few gold finds as well.
To HELP in PINPOINTING ALWAYS TURN THE VCO " ON" It helps soooooooooo much in pinpointing.. I don't understand why it isn't factory set like that..

 

[DelcoGreg]

Thanks for all of the replies.

(skier) Bob, it kind of seems like I am hijacking your thread - I hope you don't mind. You are right about my locale. I never have been much for online handles and such, so I am not especially inventive about mine. I like the woods advice. Of course I wouldn't mind finding some old coins, but the bottle digger in me is thinking that some relic hunting might be fun too - even if it doesn't lead me to a scout camp.

(DesPlaines) Bob - I'll have to try the VCO. I've been reading a lot about the settings, but I've been sticking with the stock programs for now. I have been using the bulls-eye coil because of all of the trash and I have found that I am able to pinpoint almost perfectly with it now, but my eyes are glued to the display to watch for the lowest depth. I guess with VCO on you can take your best shot by ear and then just glance at the bars to confirm. What I really need is to get better at reading the signals. I am thinking about trying tone id - some seem to like it, but others don't. It seems like a no brainer to me, but there must be some down side to it since it is not the default.

Greg

 

[hollowpointred]

nice digs! i especially like the half dollar!

 

[DPBOB]

Nice digs