Pickins are slim in the Blue Grass

sixguns

sixguns

Full Member
Oct 19, 2006
142
9
Kentucky
Detector(s) used
White's Prizm V
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

I have had very little luck in the way of old coins in Kentucky, about all I find is clad, a few wheats is about it..... Then I started thinking about it, I have lived here most of my life, and money has always been scarce, I know when I was little and Dad gave me some coins, if i dropped one, I looked until I found it. So I started thinking, unless something was dropped un-beknownst to the person, they would try and find it... So I have started shifting my research more toward finding relics. Kentucky has a very long history, and I think I will start having a little better luck finding good relics, and hopefully the occasional coin? I currently live in a very historic part of the State, and I have gotten permissions to MD in several very old and established places, a college est in the early 1800's, several churches during that same time frame, and have yet to find anything more than some clad. Alot of the cities have grown, and with growth, alot of good places are paved over or built over.... And alot of farmland, has probably been just that, farmland..... Just wondering if everyone else thinks along these lines????????
 

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Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

How long have ya been detecting
took me about a year befor I started finding what was in the ground worth diging.
 

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Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

The coins above are just a few from 2006
the Confederate half is a copy I found ( Not real )
 

Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

Took me about a year as well. That was back in Virginia, even! Now I'm in KY, and I still find nice old coins and relics regularly. I think the key is research and making contacts with people. Listening to their stories. Especially research. No replacement for that. I feel like I know more about my area now than most people do, and I think finding places where there used to be something long ago is the best. If no one has known about it since the 1930's or '40's, it is bound to be an un-hunted site. Hope this helps. Keep us posted. And if you need any research tips, let me know.

Buckleboy
 

Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

Thanks for the tips.... I will keep trying, I know its just a patience game, but as bad as its sounds, clad is getting kind of old, hahahaha.... I am researching several places, so as soon as this rain breaks, I am going to try again... Have been MDing for almost a year, and knew when I started that patience was a have to have attitude, so I will just keep plugging away. Thanks ;D ;D ;D

pacman
 

Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

try skipping over your penny signals and just go after the quarters in a high clad area it keeps your morale up
 

Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

I would have to agree with Sixguns in this regard. The Ky homesites that I've hunted rarely give up coins from the 1800's. While researching many, many photographs over the years, very few yards and churches are ever pictured with grass! This would make finding a dropped coin much easier. I have spoken with two older families about the homes in which they mentioned "sweeping" the yard to keep it clean. Again, no grass. When detecting older homesites, I tend to gravitate towards the yard edges hoping to find a coin that may have been swept there...sometimes it pays off but not very often.

My research has also concluded that for the most part, not much money swapped hands in the 1800's around here. Most goods and services were traded/bartered. Perhaps because there wasn't any money in the State?! And don't be fooled by log cabins in Kentucky! Many rural log cabins were built right into the 1950's. These cabins will further fool you because they have a rock lined well and/or detached cellar. Again, many of those were dug and constructed right into the early 50's. The outhouse will draw you in further! My grandfather built two such places and I would swear to you that it would pass for a homestead built in the 1800's. One of the cabins that he built has newspapers stapled to the interior and exterior walls. The paper was used for insulation. All of the newspapers are dated 1899! The uninformed detectorist would scratch his head after spending a couple hours swinging there!

To further support guns thoughts, I don't subsribe to the thought that the old coins have sunk beyond detection, at least where I detect. Nothing gets below the clay layer, which normally can be found at 6 to 8 inches.

To increase my odds of finding the older coins, I focus on the high density (Churches, meeting places) spots and hunt with little or no discrimination. It's hard to find an old Ky coin that doesn't have a nail right beside it or on top of it! Thanks to the screen ID on my machine, it gets a little easier to make a dig decision based on the numbers.

Also, don't be fooled by a lonely little church sitting out in the country side that says "Established in 18xx" It may even look a gazillion years old. It was very common back in the day to move church buildings (and small schools) to different locations. Even homes. So, where it sits today, may not be the location you're seeking. Another thought, alot of Churches were burned or out grown by the congregation resulting in a new church building/location...guess what....the Church would still keep their "Established in 18xx" and would proudly display that fact on the new church that was built 75 years later.

If you were to drive thru my hometown and see the many early 1900's homes, you would probably say...man, that looks like a good place to detect. But your thoughts change when you learn that nearly every one of them was moved more than 10 miles from their original location when the Corps of Engineers built Cave Run lake. Yikes!

And boy oh boy if research isn't nearly impossible in the small towns since every Court House (with records) was burned at least once!

Yeah, relic hunting is starting to sound real good to me!

Jamie
 

Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

Finally, someone with the same luck as me, hahahahahahahahahaha.... In my way of thinking, its about 80% research, and about 100% luck... I think the next time I go out I am just going to run wide open, discriminator off, and dig everything with a signal.....
 

Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

mine have mostly been round, with pull tabs tied around them, hahahahaha..... Hey Jamie, do you know anything about Blue Grass Depot? May be able to get us in, if there is any thing worth looking for besides chemicals, hahahaha
 

Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

You know, it's weird but it took me almost exactly a year to find my first silver coin, and they just began to fall like rain after that. Somebody should research this 365 day phenomena.
 

Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

well i wish it would rain here soon af, hahahahahaha.... working it now Jamie, there are some places we wont be able to go, and there may be some places they wont let me take you?????? but I am trying to work it. I have a buddy that retired last year, worked with him about 18 years, and when he retired he got a job at the Depot, so as soon as he can find out a couple of things, I will go to the post commander and see what we can do....
 

Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

Hey there sixguns... and any others who read this who feel "snakebit" on old coins...

Don't get discouraged! I'm brand new to the forum but not to TH'ing, CW relic hunting, Coin hunting and bottle digging. With 35 years experience behind me and over 12,000 CW relics and over 75,000 coins found (Sorry... any old pro worth his salt never discusses "treasure caches found" other than to tell you about the ones that got away) and 20 years of hunting in Kentucky I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THERE ARE MANY OLD COINS AT THE OLD HOUSE AND BUILDING SITES IN KENTUCKY WAITING TO BE FOUND YET!!!

I would be happy to go out with you on any old site in Kentucky and share some secrets of how to find the old coins. Or... if you want to visit me in Northern Kentucky I will show you some of my old coin finds and we can go to some of the sites that continue to produce them over the years. Better yet... I would be receptive to working with a small group of you Kentucky coin hunters who are not yet pleased with the results of your hunts. A lot of old-timers certainly helped me along the way and now that (to my complete surprise... ha... ha...) I have awakened and found an "old-timer" staring back at me from the shaving mirror I figure that its time to give back some of what was given to me.

My "treasure resume" (for whatever that is worth) includes being a former writer/columnist for Lost Treasure mag, Treasure mag and freelance writer for W & E mag with over 80 articles and columns published in the 70's, 80's and 90's. I also served 3 and 1/2 years as marketing and advertising director for Garrett Metal Detectors back in the seventies. Sponsored the worlds biggest organized treasure hunt ever done by a private individual back in the mid-90's and won several trophies competing in some of the hunts myself. My pro TH'ing activities have taken me to 6 countries and 42 states to date (Gotta get those other 8 states on the list before I get too old for field work! ;>) May have forgotten more about the KGC (Knights of the Golden Circle) treasures than most hunters will ever know... was a personal friend of Jesse Lee James III before his tragic death... worked with him on a number of KGC projects.

Been keeping a low profile for the past 10 to 12 years because my visible activities caused a number of unscrupulous wanna-bee Th'ers to shadow me wherever I went to try to steal sites and the things they contained without having to do their own research. Finally shucked them all off and have been able to "take care of business" long enough to accomplish much of what I wanted to do in this great activity of Treasure Hunting.

Anyway... probably way too much information.

If I can be any help, the offer is genuine... hate to see a discouraged treasure hunter ;>)

Best of luck to you and all of you Kentucky coin hunters that read this!

DC
 

Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

Someone put up a post a recently, asking the question "what makes a metal detectorist good"....well, DC sums it up for me in his post. Not because of the resume but for the willingness to share know how as well as potential hunting spots.

I assume DC is a "he" since a shaving mirror was referenced!

Hats off DC, I would enjoy hunting and/or chatting with you.

Jamie
 

Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

I agree with you, Jamie.

Kindness, generosity, and humility go a long way in our hobby. Thank you for your post, DC. I'm sure you'll be a treasured asset here, and I look forward to reading your posts on TNet.

Buckleboy
 

Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

Have to conccur with Jamie and buckle, old pro, and I will be picking that brain soon, hahahahahaha Thanks...
 

Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

Wow! Thanks for the kind words, fellas. I'm just like the mafia... I aim to please!

And yes, 1320... I am a "he". If you look at that picture that appears along side my posts you will see the White House... and me... holding a $10 gold coin just dug out of the south lawn. Don't ask me how I avoided all the buried electronic sensors, motion detectors, SS agents, land mines, shoulder-fired missles and news reporters... SOME things just gotta remain a "trade secret". ;>) Only thing that puzzled me... Bush's picture was on the front of the coin and a plucked chicken on the back. Anyone remember when THAT coin was issued?

Also... just one favor... when you guys get done pickin my brain... leave me enough to remember how to turn on and tune-up my detector. :>)

As soon as I can get a new battery for my digital camera I will try to take a few pics of some of my finds... especially the old coins dug in Kentucky... and post them for your "viewing pleasure".

DC
 

Re: Pickin's are slim in the Blue Grass

Wow! Thanks, DC. Lay it on us! We're waiting for the pics......!!!

Cavers5
 

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