My "other" hobby

[schrackman]

I came across a section of sidewalk in an old part of town that the city had tore out and, I assume, is going to lay down a new sidewalk. So I ran home to get my metal detector to sweep the area and came across these two finds: a 1925 wheat penny and a 1901 Winchester No. 16 shotgun cartridge. I was looking for old silver but I'll settle for these.

In a couple weeks the wife and I and my youngest daughter will be going on vacation to an old gold mining town up in the Sierra mountains (where I kinda grew up in the summers). I will be taking my metal detector along, looking for old chinese coins (found two a few years ago) and also gold nuggets. Yes, GOLD NUGGETS. I dredged a nice one back a few years too. My friend is also lending me his PI (Pulse Induction) metal detector to take along, which should enable me to detect targets deeper than my VLF machine. I can't wait!

[jorgemonkey]

Sweet! I remember once I was playing in my yard as a kid with one of my friends, and we found a couple pennies buried in the dirt. After looking at the dates, I saw 1965 and told my friend he could keep it. He took it home, his parents helped him clean it up, and noticed the date was actually 1865. Doh!

[Greg McCary]

If you strike it rich remeber who your friends are.......

[Axle]

Very nice. Yeah, I have an old metal detector in my closet, it isn't really that good, but I was able to find some items around the site of the old Martin Grist Mill in Milton.

[schrackman]

Scott, that is quite a blunder!! I bet you won't make that same mistake again, hehe.

Greg, if I ever strike it rich, the forum may never hear from me again, LOL.

Axle, what kind of metal detector do you have? Some of those older ones may be worth some money on Ebay.

When I get back from my vacation, I'll post whatever finds I come across. But beware...once you see the color yellow come out of the ground, it tends to produce what is known as "Gold Fever." Once you're bitten by it, there's no cure.

[Greg McCary]

Scott, that is quite a blunder!! I bet you won't make that same mistake again, hehe.

Greg, if I ever strike it rich, the forum may never hear from me again, LOL.

Axle, what kind of metal detector do you have? Some of those older ones may be worth some money on Ebay.

When I get back from my vacation, I'll post whatever finds I come across. But beware...once you see the color yellow come out of the ground, it tends to produce what is known as "Gold Fever." Once you're bitten by it, there's no cure.

Just buy me a Leica and I want bother you any more.LOL.

[schrackman]

Just buy me a Leica and I want bother you any more.LOL.

After I get mine, sure!! LOL

[Tyson L. Sparks]

I heard that looking around old out houses was a good spot. I guess when the guys drop there pants to do a #2 coins would fall out and stick in the dirt. Just a thought.

[schrackman]

I heard that looking around old out houses was a good spot. I guess when the guys drop there pants to do a #2 coins would fall out and stick in the dirt. Just a thought.

That is TRUE! But on the same token, them toilets became so full of trash (including heavy iron objects such as nails) that trying to detect it with a metal detector is almost futile since it would be almost impossible to distinguish a coin signal from so many other signals coming from metal objects of various kinds.

Some of the best places for old coins are, believe it or not, on the dirt easement between the street and an old sidewalk, or, when construction workers dig up the asphalt of an old street, bearing the original dirt that wagons and horses used to tread upon.

My oldest coin detected (an 1893 Indian Head penny) came from an old "tent camp" up in Bishop, CA. Driving by one would never have known a tent camp once existed there, which is why on top of being a good detectorist one must also be a good researcher.

[scott-devon]

Nice wheatie Schrackman, I see the shutgun hull is a 16 gauge which isn't very common. Sidewalk removals will always catch my eye too...

HH

[Axle]

I heard that looking around old out houses was a good spot.

Looking around old houses is my other hobby, not only houses but old hospitals, mental hospitals, power plants...basically anything old and abandoned.

[GraveyardMistress]

That is so cool! I've always wanted to get a metal detector, but I just can't decide on what to get... I have the same problem with cameras

[mjs1973]

My dad brought home an old metal detector that belonged to the company he worked for once. A friend wanted to use it for something, so I took it out to his place one night. He was looking for something in the back yard, in the dark. The signal went off, and he started feeling around in the grass and found a drywall screw. He handed it to someone else, and started working his way down the yard. The guy who now had the screw, tossed it back into the yard right in front of the guy with the metal detector. Since it was dark, he didn't notice. Low and behold, the metel detector went off again!!! He found that same screw over and over again that night. I don't think he ever figured out that he was finding the same screws!!