New to this, Just a few questions..

[Amex]

So while attempting to look up the value of a coin I found, I stumbled upon this website..
I've been reading for sometime now and find myself more and more pulled towards trying this out.. I've read alot about the different types of equipment and such that I'd need and I think I could manage it..

It seems though that the majority of the hunting takes place on beaches or old farm land and such..

I can't get to beaches however, and the farm land around me is either owned by someone else or deemed protected land..

What I do have though, are miles and miles of forest surrounding my house.

So I guess my question.. Is it worth it to get into this, if Im only going to have a limited area of woodland to hunt most of the time? I live in the New England area, so Im not sure what kinds of things I'd find in these untouched forests, if anything.

I can't see myself being able to get to a beach or other area of interest more then 2 or 3 times a year and Im not sure it's worth it to spend the money to get into this, if Im not going to find anything hunting around the woods...

Anyway.. Thanks for reading, hope you have some tips or advice!

 

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[Kentucky Kache]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Where did you find the coin you're researching? Is it a place you could go back to?

 

[artemis moon]

I'm pretty new to this as well. I bought an inexpensive MD for my daughter last Christmas. She showed very little interest, but, guess what? I got hooked!

My thoughts are that the NE area is chock full of history. If you look around on this site, you will see plety of posts from NY, NJ, DE, ME, RI and so on. You might also want to search for an MD club in your area. Oftentimes they have loaner mds. You could go out with them for the day, and see if this is something you might enjoy. This is also a great place to find good unprotected sites.

Don't discount forest land. Keep your eyes out for signs of habitation in the past-depressions or even remains of buildings. Look for anything out of place where you are. Sometimes it is subtle, so use your gut instincts.

Do some research and look at old maps of the area to find out where buildings used to stand. Don't be afraid to ask permission from landowners or owners of older homes. Most people are curious to know what is buried in their yards. Just assure them that you won't make huge gopher holes in their lawns, and of course, make sure that you fill your holes when you are done.

One more thought. On Treasure Net, as you go down on the home page, there is a section where you can hook up with hobbyists in your home state. Take a look on there and see if you can find a buddy.

Good luck and welcome to the addiction!

 

[Amex]

Well the coin was nothing special. It was a dime from 1965. I had heard some of those were minted in silver, but this one wasn't.

That coin though I just found in my pocket

But looking for info on it and such was fun.. Got me thinking about what I could maybe find in my back yard or other areas.

If you can't get to the beach or to an old historic site, where do you go? My real only option as far as somewhere I could go all the time is the large forest and small fishing area I have behind my house..

But I don't know if the money that I'd need to invest to get started, would make this worth wild if thats the only place I can really get to..

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Town parks, schoolyards, church lawns, riverbanks, boat ramps, campsites, neighbors yards, my yard.

Speakin of fishing area. I just stopped at one yesterday - too darned hot at lunch time for the park - and got a dime signal right at the water's edge on the Susquehanna River. Hot damn, thought I. Dug 8" into wet rocks and silty mud . . . and pulled a 1985 Roosevelt dime out. RATS! Probably dug and placed that deep during frosts or ice breakups. Just a ways further along and up the bank I found a wheat cent that was right on the surface of a flat rock in the silt and it was worn almost smooth but finely pitted. No date left. Probably been there on the surface for 50 or 60 years. Such things make detecting interesting.

Anywhere you find an old house foundation, or even a barn foundation or stone wall, is worth checking out. Remote woods would be a sparse area and takes a lot of dedication. I have 20 acres and have found some interesting bits, but nothing really worth keeping to speak of. Tags from hunting dogs, rusty knives, zillions of shotshell bases (sometimes fun to research and try to date). The very occasional coin.

 

[Amex]

Hm, well churchs, schools etc are definitly around. Theres actually an old textile mill that opened in the 50's I think but has since closed near my house that the fire depatment uses as a training ground from time to time..

Suppose that might be worth checking.

The forest would probably be boring.. As far as I can tell there hasn't been anything every developed back there.. But I can't really find any old maps.

I like the idea of checking it though because I often take walks through it.. And this would make it a little more interesting!

Are there detectors better suited for one thing that another? Like in my case, I won't be at the beach much.. I'll be mostly in deep wooded areas and by a few ponds and streams..

 

[Kentucky Kache]

Well the coin was nothing special. It was a dime from 1965. I had heard some of those were minted in silver, but this one wasn't.

Up to '65 they were 90% silver. You almost got one.

Sounds like you got some pretty interesting places to detect there. I would probably get a cheap machine to start with, just to see how you like treasure hunting. WARNING! Your first find and you'll be a nut like the rest of us.

 

[Amex]

Hah trust me Im worried about getting sucked in completely!

I've always enjoyed history and collecting things.. So this pretty much seems like the perfect thing to get into.

And, I truthfully don't want to turn this into a 'which detector should I buy' thread, because I'm sure you wonderful folks get those kinds of threads a lot..

But, I am looking at these, knowing pretty much nothign about the nature of this..

The Garrett Ace 250

The Titan Metal Detector XD 1000

Fisher 1225-X


So, basically Im lookint at the 150-300$ range.. From what I've seen thats a pretty decent price for a begining set..
Course I could be wrong..

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Everyone's got there own opinions, and there are certainly different things we ask of detectors. That's why there can be 12 different makes and 60 different models and six guys can each have what they consider the world's best . . . and all have different detectors and still be right. Two big "specialized" areas are the beach and trashy sites. You can find something at both, but a detector designed and set-up for those specities will be much more pleasureable (and successful) to use. If you're not on the beach (wet, corrosive salt water, wet sand is a difficult medium (the sodium in salt-water is a metal, after all) that opens up more opportunities. If you're not trying to pick out targets among pull-tabs, bottle caps, nails, old equipment, etc. that also helps. All detectors will detect something. Some are better at processing signals and returns and identifying good from bad. Digging trash all day and the occasional coin is a world different from digging coins all day with an occasional bit of trash and a gold ring or two.

Look around. There are good detectors for $200 or $250. Used detectors can be a good investment. Some give a visual ID that can help. (And some outright lie to you convincingly with those displays and are worse than not having one at all). When you get a budget in mind and a few secific needs, plus a few nice-to-haves, you can post here and get some feedback from owners. There have been some very nice detectors introduced in the last few years that have changed the hobby/pursuit dramatically. Some of he "close-and-play" units are challenging the techno-geek, 72 menu screen gizmo-phile units for performance.

We should come up with a first time buyers checklist, like:

Do you prefer a.) to drive a standard shift, or b.) an automatic.

Do you prefer a.) spending quality time, or b.) spending lots of money.

Do you like to a.) hunt, b.) fish, c.) golf, d.) PARTY!, e.) read to senior citizens.

Do you a.) shovel, b.) snowblow, or c.) get your butt south and away from that foolishness.

How much do you feel you should earn for digging holes in the hot sun with bugs biting your elbows and teeny-bopper 11 year old girls hovering around and asking you if you are poor? a.) $35.00/hr., b.) $0.35/hr., c.) Pay? I live for that in my free time., d.) Here's my wallet, just please let me dig, dig, dig.


Then you add up your choices and the best detector for you is given.

 

[Amex]

Hah, thanks for the advice there.

I mean as far as what Im looking for, I'm not sure..

I know I won't be doing much around salt-water, so I suppose I can try to focus on the ones that aren't geered towards the beach.

As far as being around alot of trash.. I don't plan to be.. Just mostly the forest and a few little bodies of non-salt water here and there..

But you're not kidding about how many choices there are! Its almost overwhelming!

 

[TonyinCT]

Of the three you mentioned go for the Ace250. Give me a call and maybe I can help you out.
860-623-1153
TonyinCT
www.tcmetaldetectors.com

 

[finderzzs]

You never said where you live did you? We could help more if we knew that. Also on another board I heard Big Lots got in a Bounty Hunter MD for $39.95 It's a start. Not a big investment if you don't like it, Heck some of you are still using Jetcos...