Weekend at the vacant lot

ducktrapper

Jr. Member
Nov 24, 2009
37
8
NW Wisconsin
Detector(s) used
Minelab Etrac and Bounty Hunter Pioneer 202 with 10" coil, Garrett Pro-pointer.
Finally, after 3 years of effort, something worth writing about!

Last fall I was working an old ballfield and found some "deep" (5 inch) 1965 dimes down the right field line, in foul territory. I figured that was maybe where the lawnchair brigage hung out years ago, so I made a mental note to work it again, slowly in the spring, I knew there had to be some silver there. We have had good rain this week, so I thought the ground might be finally wet enough to allow those deeper signals to pop up. On Friday night I made it back there, and along with a bunch of clad, found a 1958D quarter about 6 feet away from where I thought the silver might be. This was my first silver quarter ever. I also noticed a vacant city lot across the street from the field and thought I would spend a few minutes there before I went home. I found enough clad (mostly quarters, they seemed to be everywhere) in that time to know I had to go back. Saturday found me working the lot and finding lots of clad, again mostly quarters! Later on, under a tree, about 8" down (measured it) I found a 1953D quarter.

Today I returned, along with a friend who uses a Minelab. We worked the vacant lot together. I found a ton of clad (again, mostly quarters), but no silver. He only found a little clad, but did score a 1941 quarter, only about 3 inches down, plus one wheat. My total was $15.34 in clad ($13 was quarters) plus the silver.

This lot is about the size of two football fields. I have never seen anyone use it, but obviously something goes on there. I may finally have found my "it's never worked out" spot where I can detect in peace, work it slow, and have a good chance to find something.

Why do think most of the coins found were quarters? Even the older coins were mostly quarters (3 silver quarters, and no silver dimes and only one wheat). Tells me the dimes and wheats are still there, maybe deep and will take patience to find. If my silver quarters were all 6"-8" deep, how deep would dimes and pennies be that were dropped about the same time?

I'm sure I will have better coin hunting adventures someday, but right not it seems hard to top this one. . .
 

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Wow some nice finds, and a lot of them. Love the silver. HH.....
 

Good question as why they were mostly quarters,,,,,,but dont look a gift horse in the mouth. Sweet finds and congrats on the silver.
 

nice haul!!!! with a 10 in coil on the BH. i always run auto notch and full Sens.. and dig all the iffys.. i recovered tons of great finds with mine.. MR TUFF
 

Mr Tuff said:
nice haul!!!! with a 10 in coil on the BH. i always run auto notch and full Sens.. and dig all the iffys.. i recovered tons of great finds with mine.. MR TUFF
Thanks for the suggestion, I am planning to go back for a couple hours this weekend and will give it a try. My buddy with the Minelab went back this week and thoroughly worked a small section that I had already done. He found exactly nothing (other than nails, wire, pull tabs). While I was sad for him, it did make me feel good to know that at least on that day, in that section, my Bounty Hunter did not leave much behind!
 

Nice job ! :thumbsup: any day you get some silver is great! and look at the quarters!
Better change yer name to quartertrapper ! lol
 

Mostly Quarters? IMO , As old as the lot is, the answer is as simple, Kids years ago carryed more Quarters in order to use them in the arcades. :coffee2:
 

Spent a couple hours there today, working perpendicular to the direction I worked it that first weekend. I covered about a 15 yard wide strip during that time, making about 6 passes to cover that 15 yards (2.5 yards per pass, should have probably done it in 8 passes just to cover it more thoroughly).

No silver today, but still 4 quarters, 6 dimes and 10 memorial coppers in that one pass. And 5 similar-sized sections left to cover in that manner. I'm sure there is more here, and I'm betting there is more silver.
 

Good haul friend ! Silver quarters are a tough find - get back there and go low and slow !
Argentium.
 

Congratulations on the quarters! Nice haul.

I'd go back several times. You state the area was about the size of 2 football fields. It would take me MUCH longer than 8 hours just to hunt a single football field. In fact, I don't think I've ever done that. If you are not overlapping your coil by at least 50% each swing, you will miss deeper signals. And as you already said, the area requires careful searching.

This is an area you might want to consider digging most of the larger signals, or at least anything that doesn't sound like iron.

Surface junque can obscure deeper coins. The only way around that is to dig the junk too.
 

A lot of clad for sure plus 2 silver to top off the hunt :icon_thumleft: i had days where quarters were endless at a old school yard 1855 plus a few deep silver that was when the soil was still moist a month ago now its bone dry like dust and quarters drop off and penny,s dominate .Good hunt Dd60
 

Thanks for all the advice. I worked it again yesterday, slowing way down and worked a 10 foot wide section perpendicular to the way we hunted the first time, taking about 2 hours to do this section. Trying to overlap coil swing of previous pass to a significant degree. Amazing (to me) was that I found 5 quarters, 7 dimes and 4 coppers. Out of a place we have hit "pretty" hard. It might just be that without all the hurrying to find more quarters, the dimes are starting to appear now. Many of them are an honest 4-5 inches down and are dated in the late 70's. How far might something from the 50's sink under those conditions I wonder? (Rhetorical question, every situation is different, I know); but I'd sure like to pull one silver dime just to find out how far down they are. They HAVE to be there somewhere!
 

That's a nice chunk of change you are pulling out of there, keep at it. Congrats
 

ducktrapper said:
Thanks for all the advice. I worked it again yesterday, slowing way down and worked a 10 foot wide section perpendicular to the way we hunted the first time, taking about 2 hours to do this section. Trying to overlap coil swing of previous pass to a significant degree. Amazing (to me) was that I found 5 quarters, 7 dimes and 4 coppers. Out of a place we have hit "pretty" hard. It might just be that without all the hurrying to find more quarters, the dimes are starting to appear now. Many of them are an honest 4-5 inches down and are dated in the late 70's. How far might something from the 50's sink under those conditions I wonder? (Rhetorical question, every situation is different, I know); but I'd sure like to pull one silver dime just to find out how far down they are. They HAVE to be there somewhere!
DT, I've hunted a football field exactly like that, in use since the late 40's early 50's. The clad is down to 5" or so, but the silver dimes (that's all that is left,) are all at 7-9" deep on average, all mercs. Did score one silver quarter there, and about 12 mercs. ffd
 

ducktrapper said:
Why do think most of the coins found were quarters? Even the older coins were mostly quarters (3 silver quarters, and no silver dimes and only one wheat). Tells me the dimes and wheats are still there, maybe deep and will take patience to find. If my silver quarters were all 6"-8" deep, how deep would dimes and pennies be that were dropped about the same time?

My guess is that you might have stumbled upon a lot where a county fair or circus might have been held. I remember my dad pitching quarters for dinner plates when I was a kid. Different monetary amounts got different items. When the fair came to town when I was young, they spread sawdust down. If a quarter went into that it might be lost for awhile.

Scott Derrick
 

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