25 years of silver missing

[JDW]

Hello every one,

I will try to keep this short. ;o) I have never metal detected in my life but always wanted to, so my wife and I ordered 2 at gold’s and hopping the FedEX man would deliver today.

So here is the deal. About ten years ago I bought this old Farmstead, no one had lived here for more than 25 years before I bought it. the place has 13 structures including a house, barn, tractor shed, horse barn, pig shed ect. Completely over run with tall grass and newer trees and 27 pieces of old machinery, most half buried from years of mother nature, horse collars were still hanging on the wall. The house was ransacked over the years by kids no doubt but all of the belonging were still there, the old folks had died and their kids didn't want anything I guess.

Anywho, shortly after purchase my son and I started to clean the place up, every day was a treasure hunt finding all kinds of relics. One day as we were working a car pulled in the yard and 2 older gentleman approached us with metal detectors, come to find out they were the son's of the previous owners, grew up on the property and asked if they could meta detect in hopes of finding their fathers stashes of silver and said they would split any finds 50/50. As intriguing as this proposition was; I denied their request. through some research we found that more than 25 years of silver saving had been buried somewhere on this property. ( sound intriguing?)

We have cleaned this place up quite a bite in the 10 years since that day and now that my wife and I are getting up in age a little we thought detecting would be a great hobby starting with our own back yard. I have always heard that the old timers that did not trust the banks would hide their stashes by some old tree or fence post ect. There is still a foot of snow on the ground here but soon the birds will be laying eggs so we have been watching all the vids and doing as much research as possible which lead me to this site.

We know there will be a massive amount of iron buried here and I can only imagine if there are stashes of silver here what they may be contained in, old jars, tin boxes, cloth or leather wrappings, ?
I have no Idea where to start looking, all of the old fence lines were most likely ripped down by the farmer who continued to cultivate the land after the abandonment, older trees may have died and are now gone.
No photos are available of that time period but we took several hundred in the first few weeks of purchase and clean up. I can post these if it would help.

I am asking for any insight on how to approach this or where to start, even some of the best settings for the detector to minimize targets, This should be quite a venture and will post pics of our finds.
Really excited about this, not for the monetary value but just discovery.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions or help you may offer. Happy hunting everyone!! Cheers - Jeff

 

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[stickyfingers427]

Hey Jeff I was just wondering where your located? I'm very jealous of the land you own, it's beautiful in those pics... I'm on Long Island and it would cost millions for land like that here... Happy hunting.. Brian

 

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[gman17]

I've always heard they would of buried it where they could see the location from a window in the house. But only heard, not found anything.

 

[JDW]

Sadly, you may have already lost the silver. Those kids of the guy who buried the silver were your one human link to the real information. They may have known where to start or where it actually was. If I knew it was my father who buried a bunch of silver on what used to be our land and if I had some idea of where it was, I would have made the polite offer to you and, when you said no, I would have come back after dark and acquired the silver for myself. It may or may not still be there! Getting 50% of that silver with their help was much more of a sure thing than 100% by yourself, and it really was quite generous of them to suggest a 50/50 split of their family's silver with you just because you happen to be there now. Other folks might have just waited for you to turn your back and figured, "I grew up here and it was ours when it was buried."

If you're looking for a place to start, there is no better resource than those kids who grew up on the property. They knew their father. Even if they didn't know where he buried it, they could probably tell you lots of places that he didn't bury it. They could tell you where he would spend time on the property. Think of it like man-tracking. People tend to keep valuables close to where they feel secure. If the house wasn't secure enough, then the silver is likely buried next to some old fishing spot, where no one else goes anyway, but, even if they did, they could walk right over it and never know. Never underestimate how well something can get hidden on a farm!

If the acreage is big enough, your odds of finding it without help are slim. If I were a farmer, I might consider burying a big stash about 3 to 4 feet under a plowed field. It could be paced off from significant structures or trees (that may or may not still be there), so that only one man knew exactly where it was. If that happened and the field fell out of use, then there would be absolutely no surface trace of where it's buried (could be in the middle of an open field; could be in the woods; could be under the house or barn). Contacting those kids seems to be your only way of increasing your odds (and it would be something nice to do for them). If you call them up and neither one is interested anymore, then you know the silver is no longer on the property.

P.S. It might also be a good idea to check and make sure they are who they said they were. You never know. :P

Good morning olfacere, TY for the response. Unfortunately the son’s have passed away. I would not have been so against them searching, but it was the way they approached us, like they had the right to come in dig holes everywhere and anywhere they wanted, the acted like they were above us, almost demanding they had the right. A lesson I will take when asking permission from other land owners.

I have a feeling that they had only general idea of where to look and their MD’s looked like toys, I doubt the father buried it deep, you dig 2 feet deep on this land and you will hit water, going to try and stay optimistic and cover all the bases.

Great thoughts and info. Thanks again, Cheers - Jeff

 

[Tackem]

I could hunt that place forever and never worry about looking for another place to hunt If its there hope you find it and good luck in your search as well thanks for the pics the place is Awesome

 

[JDW]

Hmmm, You've already received thoughts of typical locations in the home, barn, shop, chicken coop, walls boards, attic, fence posts. Common walkways would be another location: from house to barn, from house to chicken coop, next to the front/back door. Various people stash things in places that make sense to them so possibly learning something about the family could help, old news papers and the like. Did they need to get at the money quickly or was it ok to take an hour or so to pull it from the hiding spot. Making a list of common places to look could be helpful.

You've been told already that cache hunting takes patience and it will to locate whatever might be out there. Make a map of your entire property then on the map cut the property up into chunks/smaller patches of ground then one by one you and your wife together detect each patch slowly with each of you going in a different direction so your detecting paths crisscross each other as sometimes detecting at a different angel will cause a target to "speak to you". Clearly mark each patch of ground and mark them off as you detect them. Lots of work but it will be time spent out doors together and make a picnic out of it with a basket of food and something comfy to sit on, do whatever adds something special to the time you two are working on this project.

Good Success..............63bkpkr

Hello 63bkpkr, Good stuff written, Thank you! One of the other thing I may have to consider is that every building except the carriage shed are made of concrete with steel roofs, even the fence post were made of concrete, I wounder now if it would be possible he had a concrete vault buried somewhere, I wouldn't put it past this man, most building of this era where made of field stone or wood and now fallen down in a big rubbish pile. these building were so well built that we discarded the house and live in the barn. (barn conversion) Think this is possible?

One again great info!! cheers - Jeff

 

[Chug And Red]

Here is a Great Idea, Check your local Resources For Pictures Library, land office, ect There may be Areial views of your property that May show the location of the Garden and Possibly Buildings that Were removed long ago!!! HH and Good Luck Chug

 

[JDW]

If the barn had feed bins,under them could be disturbed with out notice.
Any/all walls including under outhouse seat,look for a discrepancy in dimension,a few inches difference could be a false wall. corners of out buildings in earth inside and out. Around posts and beams at floor. Under thresholds. Basement floor,cellar indoors or out. Tool or workshop worth a hard look. any pipes or beams that don,t make sense for location or routing. Check out repaired areas in concrete,brick or wood. Odd length board compared to rest of pattern. Inspect any junk removed and ground under it. Milk cans,drums,barrels. Fuel tanks on equipment,vehicles.
In time you,ll get ideas by being there and thinking where you would hide things. Have fun!.

More great info!! TY Releventchair, ;o) There are 2 silo's, one on each side of the barn with silo rooms attached to the barn with concrete floors but nice hiding spots around the outside. This place is out in the county a ways on a dead end dirt road, if we see 2 cars a day, that's heavy traffic. lol point being that spots seen from the road will still have to be considered I think. There is a cellar here, more like a bomb shelter, solid concrete wall 3 feet thick and ceiling 2 feet thick, half buried and 8 feet of huge boulders covering the whole thing. we didn't even know it was here for almost 2 months because it was so over grown. Wonder if one of those boulders has something under it.



With all of suggestions, it got me thinking about the wells, there are 3 cistern wells here about 3 ft in diameter and 20 plus feet deep, ya you guessed it made of concrete with concrete lids and hand pump on each, the lids could be slide and containers hung above the water table, maybe now at the bottom.

Here is a pic one of the wells, all of the mowed area looked like what is around the well, would have been difficult to MD in that stuff.



This is what it looks like now.



This is the one that interests me the most, inside the old horse barn. Away from prying eyes and the lid could be easily slid aside. Not sure how to go about checking the bottom of a well full of water. Hmmm



Thanks for stopping by and suggestions!!!! Cheers - Jeff

 

[old digger]

You have done an awesome job of fixing up the farm! I don't mean to stray from the subject, but what have you planted in the circular containers?

 

[cudamark]

You might try an underwater camera.......like the plumbers use.....for inspecting the wells.

 

[JDW]

JDW {aka: Jeff},
My you've put in a great deal of wonderful work on the "old place", lot's of sweat equity! Looks lovely.

Were there ever any comments about how long he was gone from the house 'burying an animal'. The amount of time he was gone could be a clue and did he bring the shovel back with him and was the blade dirty or different when he left with the shovel?

Quite a treasure tale you've got going here! With the man being that cautious I would also consider that he was likely to not put all his wealth in one hole/spot/cache/depository/tree or timber. I read a story about a fellow doing a rebuild on an 'old' barn, as he pulled down one particular beam it broke in half and when it hit the ground silver coins fell out of the hollow timber.

You've many more thoughts and plots going on about your location. As far as the amount that is there, if you were interested in making a better estimate of the possibilities you could look into old town records of grain sales or whatever the fellow did to make a good living and have a better idea of his status. Sounds like someone with a dread of bank failures and lots of family stories of the horrors of the Great Depression as well as someone with a great fear of having his buried wealth found so be careful as he may have set some traps.................63bkpkr

Hey 63bkpkr, My father didn't mention how long it toke em and even if he did time to a child is different, lol remember asking your parents: "How long before we get there" ;o) Dirty shovel? no idea ;o(

I am really hoping that the man buried in more that one spot, gives credence and continuing enthusiasm to continue.

When cleaning out the house we found many yearly ledgers pertaining to all of his purchases and sales, I skimmed through them at the time but now may warrant closer scrutiny.

I certainly hope that he didn't set any booby traps, We did Find 12 + cases of dynamite on the property, Bomb squad showed up to dispose of it. Yikes

Thanks again for your thoughts, Cheers Jeff

 

[JDW]

Hey Jeff I was just wondering where your located? I'm very jealous of the land you own, it's beautiful in those pics... I'm on Long Island and it would cost millions for land like that here... Happy hunting.. Brian

Hi stickyfingers, I live in Wisconsin, Can't say much beyond that for obvious reasons. No need to be jealous, It's just an old farmstead in the middle of nowhere. We only have 46 acres, The price $22,000 Robbery I tell you. ;o(

Cheers Jeff

 

[JDW]

You have done an awesome job of fixing up the farm! I don't mean to stray from the subject, but what have you planted in the circular containers?


View attachment 756528

My other passion, Hot peppers, 4 to 6 thousand every year. ;o)















Cheers, Jeff

 

[cosmic]

As stated before, try looking out of the master bedrrom windows, also the kitchen window to see if you can find any markers..

 

[stickyfingers427]

Thanks Jeff... $22,000 for 46 acres... Holy cow!!!! I have absolutely nowhere to ride my atv without running from the cops.... Thanks for responding and good luck with the hunt!!!

 

[JDW]

WooHoo, look what came in the mail today!! ya I know but I'm really excited anyway. lol

Played with it in the house for a little while, darn snow!! go way.;o)




Cheers - Jeff

 

[mcb]

I love the before and after pictures of your farm. I've been looking into properties that have more acreage so I can plant our own garden. In addition to more freedom for the kids to roam and less neighbors LOL.

 

[Delpirt]

Beautiful property you got your hands on! As far as the silver goes my first thought would be right behind the house close to the foundation.

Also, I would get my hands on a good sized magnet and some rope and do some magnet fishing in those old wells!

 

[WVPapaw]

A friend told me a story about a man who went to an abandoned property where the owners had been dead for many years. He entered the house and found the main bedroom. He figured the owner did not trust banks and would have buried his money someplace. After a lot of thought, he figured it would be buried where he could keep watch on it...like from the bedroom window at night. The guy goes out in the yard and starts metal detecting the line of sight from the window to the property line. He gets a hit and digs down and finds a crock jar with a lot of money in it. You might want to try this. It was probably not too far away which was why he made the kids go in the house. If it was a lot of money, he would not have been comfortable burying it where he could not keep an eye on it.

 

[keepsake]

Alright, already! I live in Neenah- I can be there in an hour and a half or so! :-)

 

[ivan salis]

most likely the burial location is within sight of the the "main house" --folks who buried silver often had it hidden within visual sight of the homestead so they couild keep a eye out on it -- they often hid it outside of the home since if they had to go into town and someone broke n the home and ransanked it , they would not want them finding it --some folks were quite clever and made hidden cashe spots within the homestead -- loose brick over a hiddy hole in the fire place -- floorboards that would lift up coveing r a hole --old paving type stones going from the home towards a building ,( a hole under one of the paving stones) , a fence post that were shorter than the others ( with a mason jar under it it--the jar took up space so the post had to be short ) --it was short to match the height of the others * so it would not stand out --if one fence post seems a bit taller or shorter than the others check it out * --chicken coop areas are also well known hiding spots as the chickens were a built in "alarm" if anyone was snooping about --any of the "dirt" floor areas of builds might have buried coin in jar cashes --since the men brought "detectors" most likely the coins were "buried" in the ground , I would think

honestly I know you "own" the land now --but being that the money was the old mans -- at the time of burial * , I think you messed up by not going 50 /50 with his "heirs" when the chance occured --they might have just slipped in while you were away and "nighthawked" it --saying we were trying to be fair but he said "no" so , so be it. -- they most likely had an ideal where 'gramps" was likely to have buried his money at * however since they are dead now theres no "redoing" the deal --but stop and think when they talked to you , where they looking at anything or direction in general ? did their eyes seem "fixated" at the time on anything on the farm (the eyes often betray the minds thoughts) --if you do hunt it down and find it --best to keep quiet about it * serious bad blood could be caused by you finding "the family" money as that family might veiw it * both legal and illegal troubles could occur if the word got out about "your find".--the tax man and / or court dealings with the other "heirs" being the least of it.