Metal detecting

Just wondering if/who anyone here enjoys metal detecting? I got a detector for fathers day this year from my mother (a strange sentence, lol) that was for sale by my uncle. Well, I didn't have the time to really sit down and figure everything out myself, so it sat in the garage. This last month I finall managed to hook up with my uncle and went out with him to have him show me the ins and outs of the machine and hobby in general.

I have been having a blast! Been out maybe 5 or 6 times now, mostly coin shooting but I dig up some interesting things! Best find yet is a sterling silver ring with (presumed to be) a citrine stone! Bonus, it fits the wifes hand perfectly.

I think I'm going to go get a pinponter this week as well, makes life a bit simpler.


Also, if there is anyone close by id love to get together and go hunting.




-Xander

That's a good looking ring! Metal detecting always fascinated me. I had one when I was a kid. Never found anything of value.

There has to vast amounts of treasure buried in our back yards.

I've always wanted to get one, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Back yards, too funny, that ring was found in my mother in laws back yard! She doesn't recognize it and she has lived there only 8-9 years, so it was mine (meaning my wifes) to keep. In my back yard (house built in 1920) I found 5 nice wheat pennies in 20 minutes! My dog went behind me nd redug all th holes I filled in as well.

It is fairly cheap and can pay for itself rather quickly, finding free money and other fun stuff while also cleaning trash out of parks for our children. Win-win.


-Xander

fast14riot said:

Back yards, too funny, that ring was found in my mother in laws back yard! She doesn't recognize it and she has lived there only 8-9 years, so it was mine (meaning my wifes) to keep. In my back yard (house built in 1920) I found 5 nice wheat pennies in 20 minutes! My dog went behind me nd redug all th holes I filled in as well.

It is fairly cheap and can pay for itself rather quickly, finding free money and other fun stuff while also cleaning trash out of parks for our children. Win-win.


-Xander

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I remembering finding wheat pennies now that you bring it up!

Sounds like your dog has caught the bug "there has to be more in here, don't give up!"

Are their any laws/regulations for metal detecting on public land? parks, beaches, ect....

Yes, it is and can be highly regulated. Depends on the area though. Some counties require a permit, some charge for it, others are free. Some places its a felony to possess a metal detector within certain gov't land boundaries. Artifact/relic collecting is usually more regulated than finding change at a city park. Here, no permit is needed in public/city parks. County parks are $5 on weekdays.

I highly suggest one reads their local municipal codes for the regulations, also if hunting county parks ask a ranger. Also, there is a code of ethics one usually follows; not on private land without permission, fill your holes, do not destroy buildings/structures, take any trash with you (pull tabs, bottle tops, etc) and things like that.

If you want to hunt private land (your own or with permission) you don't need much except written prmission if it isn't your land.


-Xander

fast14riot said:

Yes, it is and can be highly regulated. Depends on the area though. Some counties require a permit, some charge for it, others are free. Some places its a felony to possess a metal detector within certain gov't land boundaries. Artifact/relic collecting is usually more regulated than finding change at a city park. Here, no permit is needed in public/city parks. County parks are $5 on weekdays.

I highly suggest one reads their local municipal codes for the regulations, also if hunting county parks ask a ranger. Also, there is a code of ethics one usually follows; not on private land without permission, fill your holes, do not destroy buildings/structures, take any trash with you (pull tabs, bottle tops, etc) and things like that.

If you want to hunt private land (your own or with permission) you don't need much except written prmission if it isn't your land.


-Xander

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to be honest here...I was fully expecting a "no rules, just grab a detector and get going" response.

I had no clue there could actually be permits needed and fees involved. Thanks for the insight!

Yeah, that's what I thought as well, but considering how easy it is to sell historical artifacts online these days and the case of a few irresponsible people create the laws affecting everyone else by digging up parks and ghost towns and battle fields, it does make sense. Basically, don't leave a trace and pick up any trash (great ammo for quickly settling a confrontation with an annoyed citizen, "you want your kids playing in this?"). Most city parks are fair game though, and permits are usually annual so not a big expense.

I am using an old Radio shack model (Discovery 2000) which can be had for $20-$50 used these days ($150-$200 when new) and is an excellent detector for coins and such. It does not have a depth read out though which is a nice feature to have. Recovery tools are simple to make your self, a large flat blade screwdriver rounded over, a probe made from brass rod and a narrow short handled trowl. A pinpointer detector really keeps from digging huge holes and pushing your target around. A pinpointer is a hand held wand with a 1-2 inch target sensitivity that will "pinpoint" your target in the hole or excavation pile. I actually am in need of a pinpointer now, but will get one this week.


-Xander

Btw, this should be what you need to figure out where and what is needed to detect in your region...

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/programs/dayuse/metaldetect.htm


-Xander

edit: Looks like Aurora has done what many cities have done, they can't stop metal detecting but they can stop digging. They do however give exemption with permit/permission from superintendant of parks. Sec. 30-24 of Aurora Municipal code..
http://www.municode.com/Library#/IL...OR_CH30PARE_ARTIIPARE?searchText=use of parks

fast14riot said:

Btw, this should be what you need to figure out where and what is needed to detect in your region...

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/programs/dayuse/metaldetect.htm


-Xander

edit: Looks like Aurora has done what many cities have done, they can't stop metal detecting but they can stop digging. They do however give exemption with permit/permission from superintendant of parks. Sec. 30-24 of Aurora Municipal code..
http://www.municode.com/Library#/IL/Aurora/Code_of_Ordinances/COOR_CH30PARE_ARTIIPARE?searchText=use%20of%20parks

Click to expand...

wow thanks man! You need a permit for pretty much anything here in Aurora. I never see anyone with a metal detector. I don't think the folks around here bother with all that is needed.

Been into this hobby since last summer. I have found everything BUT coins. I have a lead on where a family member may have buried a jar of coins long ago so maybe I'll find that cache before long. If anyone is in metro Atlanta let me know. I'm thinking of packing my detector for a ride back home to upstate NY as my poor dad lost his wedding ring doing yard work - and the house was built almost two hundred years ago so there has to be a coin or relic around. I used to dig up old coins and bottles in the yard when I was a tyke.

Live in nys, just look up the regulations and at least for NYS state parks you do need a permit.

A metal detector is one of those things in my list to get.

I got the Tracker IV at Hobby Lobby using the 40% off any item coupon and garage sale money, so it was in essence, free. It finds stuff. I dig up a lot of pull tabs and foil but eventually a relic or something else interesting is found.

Last time out, I found a buffalo nickel of indeterminable date. Been in the ground so long it was red looking. Found a couple of coffins as well. Located the square nails that held 'em together.

Before anyone gets silly about metal detecting in a cemetery, I was on a state sponsored excavation that was attempting to locate a "lost" cemetery. WE knew approximately where it was supposed to be. So, we brought in a Gradall and started shaving the dirt back in a trench 4' wide and taking off a couple of inches at a time after each pass, I'd shoot the area. When iron started showing we went to work with hand tools. Managed to find 5 lost graves in two days.




One of the reasons the cemetery got lost was the railroad. The other was a gas pipeline. All of the graves were supposedly moved, but apparently not. Here is some furniture off of what was a very fancy coffin. It was more than likely a child's coffin as it had a viewing window. Apparently destroyed and disturbed by a 20" gas line that we were working around VERY carefully.


One of the coffins we unearthed.


NOTHING from the graves was removed from the site. Everything was identified via GPS, bagged and returned to the grave.

I found the nickel near there but not in the cemetery proper. The area has been a hobo camp for many years until recently. The hobos destroyed a lot of the remaining grave stones over the years.

It was interesting.

Thanks for that Wullie. That was really a fascinating account that goes to show you never know what history is right under your feet.



While I was out metal detecting in the woods behind our home I found this - near a spot where a dug up a cast iron stove. It's almost a perfect triangle and seems to have notches on the sides. I've found a number of arrowheads, axes, ancient pottery and vintage bottles when digging as well as what the detector finds.

Looks like it might have been a leg for the stove.

It is amazing what's under our feet. Have yet to find any axes. Found lots of points over the years and a couple of tons of "leaverite".

That's what we called junk cause you'd leave 'er right where you found 'er, cause it wasn't worth hauling off.

What part of the world are you in?

W

Georgia. The object in the photo was hewn from rock though. There's a lot of quartz points here. I found what looks like a granite core axe right near the house too.

Interesting. Looked like a stove leg covered with clay in the pic. LOL

Ought to be a LOT of neat stuff to dig up in JAW-ja.

THe longer folks been around a place, the more crap they left behind for us to find and ponder "WTH??"

Glad to see this thread back up!

I'm actually planning to go digging tomorrow morning.

That buffalo nickel is a "no date" which never had a date stamped on it. Worth about $0.08 these days. They make excellent practice for your own hobo nickels.

I don't dig many relics, even the parks that I hunt that have been around during for about 100 years don't have much. Round here stuff sinks pretty quick though, lots of peat dirt. Usually I find coins, zipper pulls, earrings, dog tags, and lots of bottle tops.


-Xander