First opportunity to detect part of an Indian Wars battlefield, seeking tips.

[BABALONGOGGLES]

I was very lucky to get my first permission ever outside of family and friends. Oldest home previously was a 1911 home and didn't even find a wheat penny. The property is on part of the Four Lakes Battlefield in Eastern Washington (1858) and the owner told me he found a cannonball there. I don't know if I'll get more than one opportunity to detect it, but I want to make the most of my time while I'm there. The property borders a creek and appears to be mostly flatland. The home was built in 1914 and I'd welcome any coins from that era, but I'd really like to find some Indian War relics.

I'll be using the Simplex+, so any sort of info on VDIs for significant objects would be helpful. What sort of signs/landmarks should I look for? In rocky soil, assuming it hasn't been tilled or excavated, how deep should I reasonably expect to dig? Obviously there are many factors to consider, but would I absolutely need to get more than 7 inches of depth for coin-sized targets? Did soldiers even have coins with them on the battlefields (forgive me if that's a stupid question)? I am currently doing research now, but would appreciate any pertinent information.

I'm very excited, even though the property owner wants to split the findings 50/50. Not exactly sure what that means yet, but I'll take the opportunity anyways.

 

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[RustyGold]

The owner wants half of anything found. Seems reasonable. Good luck!

 

[Coinboy]

On my YouTube channel I have a simplex VDI chart with lots of information it’s on a spreadsheet in the description.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu-vR9HK_ls

 

[A2coins]

Good luck and have fun.....Tommy

 

[CalReg]

Never hunted sites that old, so no VDI numbers here. Good luck with your hunt!

 

[smokeythecat]

Ok, first, get a firm understanding what "50/50" means. Is it flip a coin, winner gets first pick, loser 2nd and then repeat until all the items are gone? Or does it mean you lay out 50 items on a table, he picks the 25 he wants, you get what's left over? Something to think about.

Also, you will need to dig EVERYTHING. Plains Indians had iron arrowheads. Also brass ones. You must dig it all. No easy ways around this one. The brass and iron arrowheads are worth much more than most silver coins you would pull out of a site.

 

[Lucio21]

For sure get the details of a 50/50 split before you even get in the car to drive there. It's fine to split finds but I have seen guys "split" the finds which means they walked away with all the trash they dug. We don't do this hobby for riches, but we also don't do it to waste time and gas.

 

[Toecutter]

50/50 Im out aint playing that game...good luck to ya

 

[smokeythecat]

The deals I always make with any new permission is on one standing condition only. IF I were to find a cache of gold coins (5 or more is the definition), which I tell the owner, we will split it, using the flip a coin for first dibs method and then not tell anyone of the find. Loose lips sink ships.

Fortunately, at my age I'll probably never find a cache of gold coins.

 

[Toecutter]

The deals I always make with any new permission is on one standing condition only. IF I were to find a cache of gold coins (5 or more is the definition), which I tell the owner, we will split it, using the flip a coin for first dibs method and then not tell anyone of the find. Loose lips sink ships.

Fortunately, at my age I'll probably never find a cache of gold coins.

I would agree to that and that seems to be what most of my land owners mention... " I you find a jar of gold coins I get half " I always laugh and say " you defiantly will "...

 

[BABALONGOGGLES]

Guy was perfectly reasonable. When I asked what he meant by 50/50 he said he just wanted half if I found a gold cache. I only searched for about 2 hours. I spent a lot of time near the creek, but there was a lot of mud and overgrowth. Got some good signals but couldn't locate some of them in the mud. There were nails and shredded bits of metal all over so it was hard to squeak out many good signals. I found a modern pocket knife, a few modern bullet casings, a pulley, and two pennies. I put it all out on a table and told him he was welcome to anything there. He said I could have it all and I asked if he wanted the pocket knife. He decided to keep that.

He told me I was welcome back as long as I texted him first, but I need some real practice before I go again, I think. I talked to him a bit about the property and he said there was an old trading post where the house is now and people would take their horses to the creek to drink, so I know there's good finds somewhere, I just need to get through the trash or be more meticulous and slow. I'm guessing anything old in the mud would be too deep to detect with the Simplex, but I don't know how deep things sink in a muddy creek.