Only new coins at old park ?

[patiodadio]

After a few trips (3 or 4) to a nearby State Park I have found 7 quarters, 6 dimes, 6 nickels and 117 pennies. The oldest coin was a 1977 dime Think the place has been hunted a lot in the past and maybe no one has been here in a couple of years ? Any one else ever had a hunt with only new stuff ? Lots of old pull tabs tho .....

 

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[pepperj]

There's a couple of things first the park could of been landscaped pre 1977, park could of been detected hard for 15 yrs prior to 1977, the 4000/D just doesn't get that deep.

 

[patiodadio]

I think why I found so many new pennies is because no one picks them up anymore.

 

[MrMikeJackie]

The older coins are under the newer coins. You have to remove the newer ones first. That much clad means the place hast been hit that hard. Keep going back

 

[Tom_in_CA]

As mr-mike-jackie says, the old coins are under the newer ones (ie.: deeper). You can try the strip-mine method (as you appear to be doing), and then go back through a 2nd time and chase the deeper whispers.

Or do what I do: I REFUSE to dig any coin that is less than 6" in a situation like that. Yes I realize that a zinc or a pulltab can be "masking" the older deeper coin, but ........ my life & time is much too precious to be digging scores of clad coins and tabs. There's too many parks where I can go to, and dig *strictly* old coins, while passing all the clad. So .... why dig clad at all ? Unless you simply have zero places to go, and no choice but to strip-mine.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Post-script: Notice I said that after you'd cleared an area of shallow clad and tabs, that you could go "back through...." (implying a 2nd later hunt slot time). The reason for this is that if you try to do it ON THE SAME HUNT (ie.: dig BOTH deepies AND shallows), it NEVER works out that way. By stopping to dig all the tabs and clad, your mind will become subconsciously tuned to the loud bongs. You will miss the deep whispers. So when you go to hunt a site, you have to go in with the agenda/goal of whispers, and utterly ignore the shallow stuff.

For turf, it never works out to be the "best of both worlds". JMHO.

 

[patiodadio]

Thanks, never really thought of "strip mining" but it makes sense. I will go back to the same place. I went to a different park today and only found one 1990 penny so this place must be hunted really hard. Makes me think there could be some good stuff back at the first park.

 

[patiodadio]

Good & bad news ... I went back to the park. Found a 1965 dime , 1971 penny and a cool brass token. Thats the good news.
Bad news is I got run out of the park by a cop. I had talked to the park Naturalist and got the ok to look around parking lots, pick-nic tables etc.
The cop said no metal detecting in any KY State Park period ! He was very official talking etc. I had to leave and guess I can't go back. I looked it up on the State Park web site and I does say no metal detecting so it looks like it over for that park .....

 

[Loco-Digger]

How old is the state park? I have a state park 1/2 mile from my house. It was established in the early 50's. I have only found clad except for 1 coin. It was my 1st merc and was dug last July. When I got my permission slip from the park manager, I asked how many permissions has she written. She stated about 40 per year. Most of them are for people who camp there throughout the summer.

 

[Loco-Digger]

I did look up the KY state park Regs and it dies state "Collecting or digging for artifacts is prohibited". Sorry

 

[Tom_in_CA]

..... I got run out of the park by a cop. I had talked to the park Naturalist and got the ok to look around parking lots, pick-nic tables etc.
The cop said no metal detecting in any KY State Park period ! .....

Yes, KY is one of the few states with an out-right "no" in their column. Be aware that that's only for state parks, and has no bearing on any other type parks (city, county, fed, etc...). Also only applies to state park land, not other forms of state land (ie.: road right-of-way, etc....).

I find it funny that you actually got the following factors in your story:

a) that you had been to this park a good handful of times up till now, and never heard so much as "boo" till now.

b) that you actually got a "go ahead" from a duly appointed park personell. Granted, it just meant they didn't know the deeply buried minutia, but ....... still, funny that you got a "yes". Whether or not that was authoritative, I'd have "run with that" too.

c) that eventually you bumped into someone who knew the minutia. Yet the most you got was a "scram". No tickets, no confiscations, no jail, no fines, etc... (though these are the things that some folks tell us is imminent and certain).

 

[Captain Caveman]

I was kind of wondering about the state park part of your post. Mississippi state parks are strictly off limits.

 

[Argentium]

From my experience the words "State Park" almost always means - off limits to metal detecting .

 

[Tom_in_CA]

From my experience the words "State Park" almost always means - off limits to metal detecting .

Not necessarily so. Only 14 of the 50 states have a distinct "no" in their column. And even some of those that have a "no" is NOT d/t specific dis-allowance. But only d/t something *morphed*, like forbidding to remove items from the park (ie.: collect/harvest type clauses).

On a related topic: Strangely, I bet that even those with a "yes" in their column likewise have "harvest/remove/collect" verbage in their rules. Yet it was never "connected" to metal detecting. So as you can see, whomever "fielded the question", way-back-when, it was simply up to their mental images of what md'ing constitutes, entails, etc.....

 

[Sandman]

On a side note, ya gotta remember any park was just land before it became a park. No telling who traveled there many years ago. Camped there or lost something.

 

[patiodadio]

This park was founded about 1946 but was in private hands before that. Also gunpowder was made for the war of 1812 there, so there could be some really good stuff. But I was only detecting around pic-nic areas, soda machines etc. Not disturbing any historical place etc. I have been to another state park in the area and employs there saw me, waved and never said anything. But now that I know the law and have been warned by the man, that place will be off limits. Any groups speaking in defense of or in favor of metal detecting ? We need to have a voice in the laws that affect us.

 

[Honest Samuel]

I find many cents on the sidewalks including near schools. I am not that lazy, and I pick them up most of the time. Some may be worth then face value.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Same thing with old houses, the older doesnt make it the easiest to hunt. You have years and years of trash and coins to get there before the old stuff pops up. I proved this to a buddy where we would hit a place that was a swimming area that was booming in the 20s. We hunted there a few times and found tons of mondern trash and coins. Well the area was the only safe area i knew about to hunt alone and would go there just to mess around. After about 20 hunt there i found a silver.. Then another. That spot became our new hot spot and we found probally 30+ silvers from this tiny area. There was just so many years o and layers of new stuff that will block or throw off a signal.

of course there are parks that have complelty redone the whole park and may have added a couple feet of fill dirt

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.... Any groups speaking in defense of or in favor of metal detecting ? We need to have a voice in the laws that affect us.

Yes. That is what the FMDAC was formed for in the early to mid 1980s-ish. But their hands are largely tied. Because un-like the NRA or something with scores of hobbyists, md'ing is a geeky niche small hobby. Un-likely to raise up the type funds to buy lobbyists, lawyers, etc... Just too few in our ranks for that kind of finances.

And actually, the more we (groups like the FMDAC) go to bat to "make a stink" and "fight", it actually often only works to back-fire and bring about more laws against us In other words: sometimes the LESS visibility is better, not the MORE. Because we are in a hobby that has admitted connotations . That you might be about to (gasp) find something old. Or that you might be about to "remove" something. Or that you might about to "dig", etc.... And the less those things occur to people , the better. Yes I know that's a "catch-22", but ....... just sayin' .......

..... I have been to another state park in the area and employs there saw me, waved and never said anything. .....

So too has this humorous same thing happened to many others. They simply had "no idea". And ironically went for even up to years, with nothing but a friendly wave. No one ever said so much as "boo" to them, and it was painfully obvious no one cared.

Imagine their surprise later, when someone on an md'ing forum (or club meeting or whatever) tells them "isn't that place off-limits?". Hmmm, So you tell me, since it's become painfully clear that no one at said-location cares less, what do you do? Give up your honey-hole ? Go "alert those rangers who previously never cared so they look it up in their dry dusty minutia and tell you 'no' " ? (and then start booting others?)

 

[ivan salis]

newer top soil might have been trucked in burying the old stuff under it.. way deep