Am i doing something wrong?

[tiburciovasquez]

I just want to know. I have been metal detecting for almost 2 years now and I have followed all the tips from the pros.
I have hunted ghost towns, old parks, schoolyards, you name it. Though I have done all this, I have yet to find a single silver coin, ring, or notable relic. I didn't get into this hobby to make money or find treasure but I do want to find something other than clad and bottle tops. Any other people with this experience?

 

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[WHADIFIND]

You'll probably get better discussion in the General Discussion forum here. But, detecting for 2 years? If you break that down I suspect it's not a full 2 years of detecting.

 

[dirtydigger322]

Keep swinging you will find it,it will come all at once

 

[davidj4220]

I didn't find much in the first 2 years either. Hang in there! Learn your machine through trial and error and watch videos to pick up some pointers.

 

[Roger Mn.]

All the old silver coins are out in the woods near an old quarry or the woods at the parks. If you have bike trails than detect in the woods. What detector do you use?

 

[Argentium]

What state/country are you in ?- Research is key , as is asking old timers about the area you live in ! keep searching - you'll score .

 

[BladeRunner2019]

Sounds like you are hitting the right kind of places. I have been at it about 6 months with most of my time spent at school playgrounds. I work full time so I usually go on the weekends and occasionally in the evenings. I probably average about 6 hours a week.

The only 2 silver coins I have found were a '64 Rosie and a '28 Merc and I found those at a friend's house. I have found a few silver rings and trinkets at the school playgrounds.

2 years is a long time, so I'm a little surprised you haven't found anything other than clad yet. Just keep hitting the right areas and eventually you'll find some interesting things. Good luck.

 

[OhioDigger24]

Same here. I live between Cincinnati and Dayton. There are no beaches to find gold goodies, but I am sure the coins are there. I think my best find so far is an 1896 indian and a silver dime. I just dont know if I should be spending more time at parks and public areas or in woods or what. Little frustrated, but never discouraged

 

[BamaBill]

I know how you feel. I have been doing it, off and on, for about 7 years and really don't have much to show for it either. One IH, pile of clad, 2 CW bullets and various odds and ends. I have a pile of trash. But, you know why I don't give up? I love being outside, love meeting new people and adventures we wind up in sometimes, like the time I got my wife's minivan stuck in the mud, the time we drove up the side of mountain with sheer drops on either side and didn't realize how dangerous it was until we got to the top and looked down the path we had just negotiated. What's that line about it's the journey, not the destination?

 

[Doug H]

Same with me...little over two years and the only thing I've got other than some clad and trash is a 1894 barber quarter. There's another good thread about not getting frustrated digging trash because everybody does. Read that one if you get a chance and it will make you feel better...I promise.

 

[Boatlode]

How many tons of trash have you dug? My records indicate that for every ounce of silver you find, you must dig 1.72 tons of trash.

 

[justdon]

After 10 months of detecting i can only tell you this.Practice and Patience can go a long way.If you have learned your md pretty well maybe a little more research will work.Like was mentioned what md are you using.Somebody might be able to give you some good tips and pointers.Look on you tube to see who uses your md.I have found a lot of good vids there.I also feel we chose a hobby that can be the most rewarding or the most frustrating.Good luck to you in the future.HH

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

First, go to a coin shop and buy a couple "filler" silver coins; or even a few modern coins. Then bury then at 4" to 10" in a spot in your yard that you have searched carefully to remove metal bits. This becomes your test garden where you can become familiar with your detector over known objects. I even have a few coins under pull tabs and nails in mine.

Then, hunt where the coins are. The best detector model and detectorist in the world can't make coins appear. They have to be there to begin with. Hunt old picnic grounds, parks, churches that had ice cream socials, fair grounds . . . anyplace someone would have reached in their pockets. Some spots truly are duds while others produce loads of coins.

 

[airscapes]

Gota get the coil over the silver with no iron in between.. Only silver I found was in my mother in laws front and back yards.. dimes from the 50s. Gota find some older yards that have not been hunted or covered in 12' of mulch..
I have been told by others that the woods is where you find silver.. I just can't wrap my head around why there would be so much coin out in the woods..

 

[TNGUNS]

If there is any way you can get hooked up with an experienced hunter I think it would help. Just wondered if you have tried getting permission in some older yards.

 

[BC1969]

What kind of detector are you using ?
Also it can depend on your area, are there a lot of other detectorists in your area, and was the past population high ? Plenty of old towns and parks out west, but they never had the population numbers that say east coast had.
Or considering anything that was easy to find could have been dug up by old timers like me back in the 70's and 80's, I still find silver, but certainly not the volumes like back in the heydays.
But its still there, probably out of reach of most machines now, since back then I'd find coins in my area in the 6-10 inch range, so I'm guessing the oldest coins now..per my area are in the 10-14 inch range, but there are a lot of variables to that, for things like frost heave.

I'll help you anyway I can, but I need more details, machine, experience with said machine, and style of how you use it, that way I can offer solid advice.

Mike

 

[tiburciovasquez]

What kind of detector are you using ? Also it can depend on your area, are there a lot of other detectorists in your area, and was the past population high ? Plenty of old towns and parks out west, but they never had the population numbers that say east coast had. Or considering anything that was easy to find could have been dug up by old timers like me back in the 70's and 80's, I still find silver, but certainly not the volumes like back in the heydays. But its still there, probably out of reach of most machines now, since back then I'd find coins in my area in the 6-10 inch range, so I'm guessing the oldest coins now..per my area are in the 10-14 inch range, but there are a lot of variables to that, for things like frost heave. I'll help you anyway I can, but I need more details, machine, experience with said machine, and style of how you use it, that way I can offer solid advice. Mike

I use a Garett at pro and I live in California. I know others hunt here but around me there is absolutely nobody. I guess there could've been others way back when, but I don't know of anybody and whenever I go out there are plenty of signals but their usually trash or clad coins. I usually hunt in grid fashion to get faint signals. The ghost towns I've hunted May have been hunted before but I think their virgin because I get tons of signals and they are real deep but then when I dig them I get bullets and tin cans.

 

[CASPER-2]

I STARTED IN 1975 AT AGE 12 - DIDNT FIND MUCH AT ALL
I HIT PARKS AND SCHOOLS BACK THEN - ONES THAT THE PROS HAD ALREADY HIT
1976 - I DECIDED TO DO MY OWN YARD AND THATS WHEN I FOUND THE SILVER AND LEARNED MY MACHINE
BEEN DOIN GOOD EVER SINCE - KEEP AT IT - IT WILL COME
SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA TRY WHERE OTHERS HAVENT - SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA SLOW DOWN AND GO FOR THE FAINT SIGNALS
OLD HOUSES IS A GOOD SPOT IF YOU CAN GET PERMISSIONS - CAUSE IF NO ONE HAS BEEN THERE BEFORE - YOU HOPEFULLY GOT VIRGIN SOIL
AND THE HOUSES DONT HAVE TO BE 1800S TO FIND SILVER - IVE HIT A FEW FROM THE 40s AND 50s THAT IVE DONE JUST FINE AT
GOOD LUCK

 

[tiburciovasquez]

I STARTED IN 1975 AT AGE 12 - DIDNT FIND MUCH AT ALL I HIT PARKS AND SCHOOLS BACK THEN - ONES THAT THE PROS HAD ALREADY HIT 1976 - I DECIDED TO DO MY OWN YARD AND THATS WHEN I FOUND THE SILVER AND LEARNED MY MACHINE BEEN DOIN GOOD EVER SINCE - KEEP AT IT - IT WILL COME SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA TRY WHERE OTHERS HAVENT - SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA SLOW DOWN AND GO FOR THE FAINT SIGNALS OLD HOUSES IS A GOOD SPOT IF YOU CAN GET PERMISSIONS - CAUSE IF NO ONE HAS BEEN THERE BEFORE - YOU HOPEFULLY GOT VIRGIN SOIL AND THE HOUSES DONT HAVE TO BE 1800S TO FIND SILVER - IVE HIT A FEW FROM THE 40s AND 50s THAT IVE DONE JUST FINE AT GOOD LUCK

Thanks Caspar! I just really haven't understood why there is no silver or other old coins. At one townsite I had found a lot of non metallic goodies on the top of the ground like pretty pottery fragments and buttons but nothing metal. the sad thing is that today nobody respects it and so there is probably about 4 tons of modern trash and wire.

 

[GranvilleATPro]

I have been told by others that the woods is where you find silver.. I just can't wrap my head around why there would be so much coin out in the woods..

Anybody have an answer to this. I've asked myself the same question.