Where to look.

[PaigowPushalot]

So I've been picking up loose change for yrs. To date I'm up $1500 cuz I kept all I've found in a savings account to add interest to my finds. My first hunting spot was inside grocery store registers. The belt always sucks up change. I worked the night shift in several stores so on my breaks I removed the front panel and went in. Change (although very sticky and dirty) and sometimes bills. My first hunt netted over $40 in coins.
My 2nd spot was a car junk yard. Searched the seats and ripped up carpeting. Change and jewelry filled my pockets. Yeah most of the time it's pennies but they add up! The downside was cuts on my hands from sticking them in tight spots with broken glass everywhere.
My 3rd spot is new to me. I live next to a rental/firehouse for events. I walk my dog in parking lot every morning and was noticing I was finding an earring here and there. This place only has weekend events so when it gets warmer I'm going to start driving to places that have events every night of the week to see if the firehouse is just a fluke.
Hope this helps to people that don't wanna swing a detector for hours. All ya need is your eyes and the sense of touch.

 

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[PaigowPushalot]

Little tip on junk cars. Caddies and Trans Ams were the best cars. Caddies have a leather piece under the seat that catches loot. Trans Ams have very loose carpeting around the bolts that hold the seat in place. Change falls down and accumulates under the rug (also noticed plenty of emptied dime bags too).

 

[doninbrewster]

I've found earrings and all sorts of stuff just by keeping my eyes open. A good place to look for those that get a lot of snow in there area is where they pile the snow. It concentrates things in one area. Large shopping center parking lots are a great place to look. People getting in their cars will pull off their gloves to get keys and sometimes rings slip off into the snow. As you said, all you need is your eyes.

 

[Mr.T]

That's cool. There's a thread on here where people empty the garage vacuum cleaners in order to search for lost stuff.
Here's another story that may interest you
BBC News - Chinese tourists detained in Paris over one-euro coins

 

[PaigowPushalot]

I also have a water jug of mainly pennies and 1/2 dollars from Vegas 21 wins and started looking for wheats and errors. I came up with this great idea of buying the bags of separated coins from my TD Bank coin counter. They do not do it cuz a separate company handles it. Bank America near me said they keep Silver Certificate bills separate when they come across them and call a gentleman who collects them so if your friendly with a bank ask. Still going to find that 1969 DD $20,000 penny if it kills me or I go blind.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Thank you for the tips!

Another tip is check the areas where snow was pilled up in store parking lots. The plow collects lots of coins & jewelry and pushes them in one spot. I have found gold and silver jewelry items in this area.

Regards,

 

[Plumbata]

Sometimes when I'm feeling adventurous and the spots are on my way to or from home, I access trash compartments of the stationary outdoor car vacuums at gas stations, clean out the junk and take it home for sifting. Lots of places have locked compartments, so you'll need to look around for ones that are open access. Found a small 14K gold and faceted stone (not sure if a real diamond) pendant and about 5 bucks in change last time I did it. Also, the places that do have locked compartments often just dump it all in their dumpster, so if you feel like going hardcore-scrounger you can hunker down in the dumpster and poke around for a while .

 

[whammy]

I used to work at a major eastern college. On the weekends, or when the kids were gone on vacation, I would check the cushions in the chairs and couches in the building lounges. On a good weekend I could find 10.00 to 15.00 bucks in change. When I first started this, it had never been done before, and I really cleaned house, so to speak.

 

[ARC]

Back seats of cars... a lot of them lift out.
The local Wet Vac at your gas station...the canister removes on some on base. ... Loaded with change sometimes...
Been years since I looked in one... but when I was young... found jewelry etc.
Car parking meters... around the base in grass... or sand... if on concrete like sidewalk... look for grass or sand nearby.
Backside of benches... in parks and such.

 

[Argentium]

I just deleted a fairly long post in which I described my experiences detecting car wash vacuum dump sites because I found myself
cautioning everyone about possible trespassing and theft. Instead I will say: courteously introduce yourself to the owner /manager
and ask for permission to either empty the vacuum canister containers into a bucket , and /or- to run your metal detector over an area
(usually in the back of the car wash property ) where the aforementioned contents are emptied . I will say the potential here is huge
for both coin and jewelry ! (just keep it legal !)