Trash-to-Treasure Ratio

[Texas Jay]

Results of a 90-minute metal detecting hunt at a park a couple of weeks ago. When you're hunting primarily for gold, as I am, you must be willing to dig a lot of trash targets if you want to have any chance at finding gold. I've learned that the ratio of trash-to-keeper targets is about 5 pieces of metal trash for every good target I dig. Removing dangerous metal scrap from park playgrounds and public areas, putting it into your trash pouch, and disposing of it properly is just one of many benefits that we detectorists provide to the community.
~Texas Jay

http://centraltexastreasureclub.webs.com - Annual Fall Open Competition Hunt - October 13th!

 

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[uglymailman]

The nail apron IS a good idea, but one side is always fuller on mine. Jay, have you ever gone down to Trickem & detected there? Good luck.

 

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[pulltabfelix]

for me it is just a good habit of removing most small trash including broken glass. I have formed this habit just like filling in holes even in the deep woods when I could easily leave them open. Now I don't large trash of the woods heavy like iron that won't fit in my pouch. I lay large trash and tin cans near a big tree so detectorist may easily see it. It is good PR in a park especially when park employees see your removing metal trash from the park and carefully filling my holes. Recently I dug out about a 1 cubic foot plug in my trashy (and I mean trashy park) and about 98% of the trash was at the surface or less than an inch deep. Most of it was light metals like foil and pop tops and bottle caps. These don't go deep in the packed sandy soil of the park area that is along the river with about 20 foot banks. This particular park area that I hunt has never been flooded in the last 50 years.

 

[Tommybuckets]

I do parks when I get desperate to dig but try and stay out to maintain my sanity. I can't handle when the trash to treasure ratio gets that slim. 5-1 is about all I can handle and i consider pennies trash. Wheat pennies, well , trash but a "good sign". Indian heads I'd consider treasure. Ok maybe Wheats from the 20s and down are treasure-ish. Nickels I get excited about since the detectors trying to find me something in the gold range. I've never found much in the way of real jewelry in tot lots but I hit them when convenient. I did get a silver Washington in a tot lot. That messed my head up. Best of luck boys.

 

[Texas Jay]

Texas Jay...you forgot one thing...does it have a holster for your sidearm? You are in Texas after all...sounds like a lot of those parks are pretty rough places by what your saying you find there. On a side note, I think I will look into getting something like that...its not fun hauling around everything and forgetting to bring a bag for the trash...I kept everything in my sand screen pan it made for an early ending the other day in the heat.

Kudzu, I keep all kinds of necessary equipment in my detecting pouch. There's only one way a no-gooder will know whether or not I keep firepower with me and that's to take their chances. ha.
~Texas Jay

 

[Texas Jay]

The nail apron IS a good idea, but one side is always fuller on mine. Jay, have you ever gone down to Trickem & detected there? Good luck.

Hi uglymailman. I detected at Trickham many years ago but haven't detected there recently. Another treasure hunter and I took a short trip to the ghost town last November to scout it out but the places I detected long ago were so covered with high weeds and little mesquite trees, that I couldn't detect those spots again if I wanted to. I took this photo (apologize for the blurriness) of the historical marker last year.
~Texas Jay

 

[Texas Jay]

I do parks when I get desperate to dig but try and stay out to maintain my sanity. I can't handle when the trash to treasure ratio gets that slim. 5-1 is about all I can handle and i consider pennies trash. Wheat pennies, well , trash but a "good sign". Indian heads I'd consider treasure. Ok maybe Wheats from the 20s and down are treasure-ish. Nickels I get excited about since the detectors trying to find me something in the gold range. I've never found much in the way of real jewelry in tot lots but I hit them when convenient. I did get a silver Washington in a tot lot. That messed my head up. Best of luck boys.

Over the past 49 years that I've been detecting, I've found lots of jewelry in tot lots. Parks and tot lots only make up maybe 25% of the types of areas that I detect. I found these two rings in June in a tot lot in a small nearby town's city park. They were only about 7 feet apart in the wood chips and were down about 3-4 inches. The small ring is a sterling James Avery. The large ring with the stones had my heart beating fast for awhile but it wasn't marked so I took it to a friend who owns a pawn shop in town. He tested the stones and the metal and said both were imitation.
~Texas Jay

 

[Rookster]

It depends a lot on the site. I believe it's around 70% trash. 30 % good. If its a virgin site. If it's been hit, That percent could be lower. And it depends on on the user skills also. Slow down and listen to your machine. Just my opinion. Good targets can be between the iron. Good luck.

 

[cashdoug]

If you ask my hunting partner, it's all treasure. I caught him trying to hold on to one of the bottle caps. Tonight was our first time out.

 

[A2coins]

I think Im 99 percent trash Im a garbage picker upper I should be paid by the parks dept lol you gotta dig trash to get gold and relics

 

[vpnavy]

If you ask my hunting partner, it's all treasure. I caught him trying to hold on to one of the bottle caps. Tonight was our first time out.

I noticed this was you and "your friends" first post - so, Welcome Aboard! Take a look at Sub-Forums: Michigan for information (i.e., clubs, etc.) directly related to your state.

 

[perry2]

I use an AT Pro and it tells me what the target is 95% correctly/ in ball parks and parks I dig All 52-53s and 79-88s
I will dig a 69-78 if it shows 2 inch depth---I get very little trash/// last year 1132 coins
I find the best places to mine clad are ski area parking lots(gravel) since they are hard to dig I use a Raobi drill with 5/8 spade drill with the point ground off.
The targets are rarely more than 4" deep
The drill often flops the coin rite out// 15-20 seconds per hole/// 211 coins in one 4 hr day FUN /// Perry