Hunting for caches around old homesites, check the hollow doors.

[Sandman]

A friend and I were hunting this old abandoned farm house out in the boonies many years ago, which I later learned he didn't get permission to hunt the property. We hunted the yard which was overgrown and found a few Indianheads and one silver ring. So we went inside to see what was there. Kids had about recked the place. On leaving my buddy happened to turn on his machine before we walked out and it went off on the front door. On checking the door we found it to be hollow with coins inside which must have been dropped in thru the slot on top of the door. Most of the coins were silver with no gold, I forget now the actual amount of money, but it took us a couple trips back to his truck to get it secured. The door was about a quarter full of coins. We left before checking the rest of the doors or walls. A few days later the owners bulldozed the place. It had a nice stone fire place too.

 

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[Waco Kid]

That's a place I never would have thought of. People are ingenious.

 

[stevesno]

I once found a roll of bills stuck into a drilled hole on the bottom of the door. The person who deposited the roll would have had to take the door off of its hinges to put the stash in place. This was found by pure luck. But I always keep my eyes open...Steve

 

[konnon6]

Doors aren't the only place.try the wall switch plates the door frames.Kitchen and bath sinks.the closets for false backs.cupboards for false bottoms

 

[stefen]

Following my parents funeral, my aunt disclosed where my father had fitted a false panel in the corner of a kitchen cabinet...asked if I was aware that it existed...which I hadn't...I had never lived in that particular home...

She showed me how it opened and in it we found Insurance Policies, Land Deeds an extensive coin collection, bank books and other papers...

 

[Timberwolf]

Here is a book that I have, that has some wonderful ideas on how to hide things.
It might give you some ideas when searching homes

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Amazon. com has it: http://www.amazon.com/How-Hide-Anything-Michael-Connor/dp/0873642899

Happy Hunting,

Timberwolf

 

[Timberwolf]

Treasure Tales,

I understand that....it would take a kingsize stereo cabinet to cover up all this old skin
It is a pretty interesting book though

I have others that you would probably like....but if I listed them here, black helicopters would be hovering over my house again

Timberwolf

 

[lou423]

I guess I have to think of another way to hide stuff.
I always thought of the door to hide coins.
No more.

 

[konnon6]

Seems like you guys missed the best one! A waterheater can look like it works but in reality can be a safe! Even the sheriff and F.B.I. miss thing's. I don't!
I found money the F.B.I. hunted for days and couldn't find!( under the dog house in the back yard) I couldn't keep it but it was fun!

 

[Woody14]

It is amazing where people come up to hide things. When my grandmother died back in the eighties, my uncle found that the soap dish holder in the bathtub wall actually pulled out and there was over 20000 dollars in the wall. My grandfather didn't even know about it, and she obviously didn't tell him. She was a smart woman, must of been stashing cash a little at a time forever, lol.
Of course all I can think about is how many times I took baths there when I was a little kid... If I would of just known, I could of had an endless supply of comic books and candy.

 

[Timberwolf]

The best place to hide things are in plain sight. Things and places that people take for granted and never think twice about.

This would be true.

Back in my P.I. days, I once hid a video camera in a box of Kleenex, right on the dinning room table.
The target never noticed it, and my client got the video he needed for court

TW

 

[SaintSea]

I had a friend whose job it was to bring home the take every night from the bar she owned. She believed in the "hide in plain sight" approach and would put the cash into unused vacuum cleaner bags that she piled in the corner of her room.
Another story: My grandmother used to have a bit of trouble keeping her husband out of the "house money". My mother said she caught her unscrewing the huge wooden dining room table top to drop money down inside the hollow support post in the center. Now that's ingenious!
Ruth

 

[WV Hillbilly]

Keep it coming folks . I'll find the ole ladys stache & get that jug of Jim Beam yet .

 

[BigChief14]

I sometimes come across old houses in the National Forrest where I hunt. I for one have no problem looking around these falling down sites. At least where I live, the Authorities turn a blind eye to people who don't cause trouble to anyone else.

Keep the ideas coming please,

JS

 

[Connecticut Sam]

Always keep your eyes open.

 

[carpetman]

Check under the the corners of carpet, behind heaters, and down heat vents.

 

[Tuberale]

Check under the the corners of carpet, behind heaters, and down heat vents.

Check under any carpet which isn't secured tightly. You'd be surprised how much padding can be put in the padding...

 

[boogeyman]

Always check the bathrooms very carefully! An excellent place for privacy and no questions while adding to the cache. Example, always check the wall below the medicine cabinet. I searched a house that had a nice medicine cabinet in the wall. The wall below it didn't sound like the rest of the wall when tapped. Seems the old boy stashed his money in the wall by pulling the medicine cabinet out to do his hiding. The give away was there were only two screws holding it in. Be very careful, don't stick your hand down the wall without gloves!!!!!! Over the years I've found it was pretty common to drop the used razor blades down the shelf slots in the side of the cabinet. If razor blades were worth something, I'd be a rich man.
ANY pipe that appears to be capped off or seems to be redundant. Looks like they ran new plumbing & left the old plumbing in place should be checked.

Window sills - even if the frames are broken, check the frames carefully. Good spot. Note old wood frames will have sash weights in the side that are made from cast iron. They will get your heart pumping before the big let down.

If the fuse box is inside on the back porch/wash kitchen, check it.

These are places I've had luck with. The best tool I've found is to stand in the middle of the room for a few minutes & think where would I hide stuff. Then start looking for odd screws/nails & cracked paint especially around moulding cabinets etc.

The best tools you can have for hunting you've already got! Your brain & eyes. Use these tools and you'll do well.

 

[Kentucky Kache]

Always check the bathrooms very carefully! An excellent place for privacy and no questions while adding to the cache. Example, always check the wall below the medicine cabinet. I searched a house that had a nice medicine cabinet in the wall. The wall below it didn't sound like the rest of the wall when tapped. Seems the old boy stashed his money in the wall by pulling the medicine cabinet out to do his hiding. The give away was there were only two screws holding it in. Be very careful, don't stick your hand down the wall without gloves!!!!!! Over the years I've found it was pretty common to drop the used razor blades down the shelf slots in the side of the cabinet. If razor blades were worth something, I'd be a rich man.
ANY pipe that appears to be capped off or seems to be redundant. Looks like they ran new plumbing & left the old plumbing in place should be checked.

Window sills - even if the frames are broken, check the frames carefully. Good spot. Note old wood frames will have sash weights in the side that are made from cast iron. They will get your heart pumping before the big let down.

If the fuse box is inside on the back porch/wash kitchen, check it.

These are places I've had luck with. The best tool I've found is to stand in the middle of the room for a few minutes & think where would I hide stuff. Then start looking for odd screws/nails & cracked paint especially around moulding cabinets etc.

The best tools you can have for hunting you've already got! Your brain & eyes. Use these tools and you'll do well.

Very good advice.

 

[maipenrai]

I wonder how many fortuns have been hauled off to the dump, by the families of the ingenious people that hid things. I was cleaning out my fathers property, and had a load of plastic bottles and other junk, ready for the dump. My father was on his way to the doctor, when he seen my load for the dump, and said, "dont throw that away, thats money". Of course as soon as he was out of sight, off to the dump I went. Later, I discovered his hiding place, in plastic containers, so whether I actually hauled money off to the dump, or not, I will never know, although I thought I checked everything well enough.

I liked the idea of a water heater bank, that is the last place someone would look. The dog house might be good too, but now days, I think its a well known hiding place.

As Boogeyman said, best is to just take some time, sit down, and Think, where could someone hide something. Im sure the police have a list, a mile long, of hiding places, but that is their everyday work, so they get pretty good at it.

Hope to hear of more ingenious hiding places.


Good Hunting!