Serious Question abpout Old School Houses

[gunsil]

My experience has been that really old small schools produce few coins, kids didn't carry much in the way of money back in the 1800s and early 1900s. I have done extremely well at schools that were in use from the 1930s-now. Like others have said, early on kids brought their lunch to school but later on carried lunch money. I was the first to hunt several elementary schools in my area back in 1970-1972 and we cleaned up on silver, like sometimes over forty-fifty silver coins a day. After the first summer hunting my girlfriend and I each had a pint jar of silvers (war nickles didn't count). These were schools that were still in use but had been there since the early 1900s. We actually found few coins from the early days the schools were used, most coins were from the 1930s-when we hunted. Of course in 1970 silver was only six years out of circulation. Churches have been better for early coins but I live in an area where there are many churches that are two hundred years or more old and they were there before any schools in many cases. More social events were held at churches than schools 1700s-1800s, they were the community centers. Of course, schools and churches along with parks and picnic areas have been written about in treasure hunting books since the 1960s so it is pretty hard to find virgin ones any more. There are likely a few left, but very few, there is somebody with a detector in most towns all over the country these days. The #1 spot was by the swings, second the slide, then jungle gym. Hunting a ball field, second, third, and home are better than first, nobody slides into first. Detecting is tough nowadays, so many hunters, so little virgin ground. Yes, still a lot of good hunting for those with patience, but the days of finding fifty dropped silver coins in a day are pretty much gone in most areas.

 

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[Iggyks]

my best site was a circa 1910 school. A Walker, three Barber dimes, three Mercs, two silver GWs, 7-8 each Rosies and IHPs, 3 V nickels and a couple Buffs, lots of wheats, a carriage company watch fob, and more. And i doubt i was the first there. I sure wouldn't skip detecting an old school site.

 

[CASPER-2]

usually i can tell houses that were school houses just by their design
but as a kid i would go thru map books and search
old school house road
schoolhouse road
Academy rd
sometimes just school rd
almost every town in new england will have at least 1
some will have more
good luck

 

[jeff of pa]

usually i can tell houses that were school houses just by their design
but as a kid i would go thru map books and search
old school house road
schoolhouse road
Academy rd
sometimes just school rd
almost every town in new england will have at least 1
some will have more
good luck

yes most schools and churches have a unique look

 

[pepperj]

I drive by schools now thinking that most that have any age to them have probably been hit over the past 50yrs.
Sure the replenishing of drops will seed the grounds and fields as most public places, and if a person enjoys those then there's plenty to do.

Though I do remember the first one room school house in our little town.
This was a easy for coinage and it had plenty it seemed at the time mostly pennies, though the silvers were there and by today's standards a honey hole of sites.
What comes to mind the most was the amount of coins in groups-not a spill but over a 10ft circle area-many over lapping into another circled area dates ranging from the 1920-1950's. After one of many returns I questioned this out loud on why would we be digging a dozen coins from in a almost perfect circle all from a certain date range-then another grouping?
My mother said when she went to school in the 1920's it was a common thing to do every fall when all the maple leaves were racked into piles was for the kids to play in the piles by jumping into them and rolling off-hence loosing a penny out of their pockets and other little treasures.

Still to this day over 50 yrs later I can remember 2 finds that I got from that little school yard.
One being a 1936 penny and I ran home thinking I had found a real key date coin (but it was missing the dot)
The other was a Little Orphan Annie decoder in working condition-kind of strange how two little treasures can influence a person for 5+ decades more with the passion as it was when those 2 finds were dug.
I guess today it's whole easier, as the detector doesn't weigh so much it takes both hands to swing it,-maybe it was just because I was too young, and it was heavy and awkward. White's GoldMaster 14 AA batteries.

 

[tinpan]

Hi ,Why would a school house have a lifting device up into the loft ? Some where to store the gold bars ? tp

 

[jeff of pa]

You always Hang-em-High so the Feet don't hit the floor before the noose Tightens.
a broken ankle would be cruel.
Not to mention a Do-over after setting it, is a waste of time !

 

[FreeBirdTim]

My success rate for schools is usually a couple of silver dimes and maybe a war nickel. Most have been picked clean for decades. I will mention one exception, though. I once found a 1940's bottle dump in the woods behind a 1930's school. After I removed about 300 bottles and moved a ton of broken glass out of the way, I started to eyeball coins! My first one was a Barber quarter, so I knew it was going to be a fun spot. I ended up finding 78 wheaties and 15 silver coins. All were from 1910 to 1943.

My theory is that it was a dumping ground for a bar that went belly up in the 1950's. It had hundreds of liquor bottles and literally thousands of bottle caps in it. I'm thinking the coins were swept up with bottle caps after closing and no one noticed them. Maybe only one or two were missed a week, but it added up to 93 coins over time.

But a few may have also come from the school's trash, since I found some 1930's Crackerjack toys and marbles in the dump. There were some pens and pencils in there and a few ink bottles as well.

Moral of the story? Check out those old schools and keep an eye out for a dump site nearby. You may find some really good stuff back there!

 

[fistfulladirt]

I have one rural schoolhouse site every square mile from me here in lower Mich…a few still standing have been hunted repeatedly over the years. There’s one highly visible schoolhouse in which the farmer gives everyone that asks permission. I first hunted it when I was 16 in 1978. Recently, a father/son team spent an entire week hunting it!

I like to hunt the invisible schoolhouses that I’ve researched, and I’ve done very well at those sites.

 

[Trezurehunter]

Someone (school teachers) ? carried money at the school houses, because that is where I find a lot of old coins ! A lot of people visited and carried coins at school houses, and the students did carry Indian Head pennies. They were almost a staple for the little boys playing marbles. Yes, even back then they gambled. In a bean field where a school house once stood, I found a Morgan Dollar. Could have been a weeks wages for the poor teacher that lost it.

 

[stoneshirt]

Go Navy!

 

[islamoradamark]

They lost coins when teachers bent other teachers over the desk thats why old schools are good

 

[crashbandicoot]

They lost coins when teachers bent other teachers over the desk thats why old schools are good

?

 

[crashbandicoot]

They lost coins when teachers bent other teachers over the desk thats why old schools are good! Say what?

 

[crashbandicoot]

Damn,double posted again!