New to this... Post hole bank help

[Fenrir]

Hi, I live in a house that was build in 1904 / 1905.

There are like 3 metal fence posts that are right in front of the start of the yard and there is no fence attached to them, they're very rusted and very dated looking -- they show their age.

I'm new to this -- I have no tools, but how far down are post hole banks anyway and any tips while looking/digging?

 

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[Red James Cash]

Theres no set rule on how deep.But nobody in their right mind is going to bury something very deep if they plan on continually adding to it.

 

[Fenrir]

Ok thanks, and for pipe safes -- if you unscrew a cap on one, can it be dangerous?

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

And probably not out front in plain view of the road.

 

[littleneckhalfshell]

my understanding is that 'post hole banks' were related to 'wooden' not metal posts.
Picture a split rail fence, one of the posts has in the bottom of it's hole a can or mason jar of coins.
The owner could just go out, slide the rails out of the post, lift the post, and access the container of coins to add or subtract.
It would be a quick transaction, so the post would not be as securely in the ground as the other posts in the fence line.

Now fast forward into the present, the original owner has long passed, The post of the post hole bank may be leaning a bit more than the others in the fence line, (or they all may be leaning due to age and rot ;-) ) In some cases the indication of there ever having been a fence line may be largely obliterated by time and weather. But any indication of there having been a fence line would make it a fine place to run a metal detector. The depth would not be more than the depth of a present day wooden fence post, roughly two feet.

Your metal posts could indicate a former fence line, the other posts, possibly wooden but no longer present, but I doubt that a post hole bank would be under a metal post as the idea is that the removal of the post alone allows for the removal and planting of the container with limited ground disturbance. Maybe your metal posts were Gate Posts and the rest of the fence was wooden, I would follow the line that the metal posts suggest the fence line followed and carefully check with a good metal detector. or look for subtle depressions that might indicate where posts formerly existed. Good Luck

 

[Old Silver]

Post hole banks would probably be no deeper then a man's reach. Also, even if you take those rusty metal posts out of the ground, there's a good chance that the rust will prohibit your use of a metal detector. You may have to just dig.