Whats wrong with my schools & parks.

[BioProfessor]

What's wrong with my schools & parks.

I decided to hit the local schools and playgrounds the past few days. The weather is warming up and the kids are out playing more so I thought the timing would be as good as it gets. I have noticed quite a few recent posts of some pretty fantastic finds in these type areas so off I went. Hit about 10-12 playgrounds, 4 sand volleyball courts, 4 tot lots, 6 pavilions, a horseshoe lot, a bandstand, and while on the way home hit an old campground. No bling. No rings. No earrings. No necklaces. No pins. No bracelets. No chains. Just new clad. The only surprises were a rolled penny token from The Dells, a 1906 V nickel at the campground, and two Sacagawea dollars (1 at the campground and 1 at a playground). Now for somebody who just found two gold coins and doesn't think they will ever find another, it DOES NOT do your heart good to flip out a Sacagawea dollar with your trowel. Nope. Not good at all.

So my question is, what is different about the schools and play areas I am hunting (and probably others as well) and the ones that seem to hold much more interesting things.?? Are these places in big cities, intercity, rich suburbs, isolated places where there may be nobody detecting?? Where?? If the places I hunted were "hunted to death," I would not have found the clad or the Sacagawea dollar. Can those members who have found the neat stuff while competing with the kids for space around the swings :-), provide some information about the number and characteristics of the kids who use the area? About how often do you find things better than clad? Anything that can help those of us new to finding the good places narrow down where we need to be going. I don't think it is just luck. I think there is something about the people or the place that makes it yield what it does.

My take - $6.95 for two days in about 10-11 hours = $0.63 cents an hour pretty much right on target for our calculated yield.

Daryl

p.s. At least there aren't TOO MANY pop tops at the elementary/middle schools.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Upgraded Night Vision Monocular Digital Infrared Monocular Telescope for 100% Darkness with 8X Zoom - Grab it through Amazon!

[Natman]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

Your detecting experience depends on the area, time spent searching and the kind of machine you are using. As mentioned, it can also depend on who has been there before you. On the other hand, some people have found some very old coins just a few inches below the ground with a cheap machine, others can just as easily use an expensive one and come home with very little..your experience will be different on each outing because of these variables.

We all have are high and low moments. I have worked for as little as .30 cents an hour. I guess that is why it is a hobby. I try to compete with myself.

That is a very good point..we all live in different areas and our successess will vary..if you try to compete with people who find old coins, expensive jewelry or rare items all the time, you're likely to be very discouraged very quickly..make a reasonable goal or challenge for yourself, then when it's met or surpassed, go for another goal.

Don't even turn on your detector, if you don't think you should be there, anywhere! You MUST be in a more or less, positive state of mind, to begin your search.

Larry brings up another good piece of advice..when you set high expectations and don't meet them, it's a let down..so I think the best thing to do is go out to have fun, be patient, think positive and enjoy your day..your best day is coming soon.

HH,
Nat

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[BioProfessor]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

Thanks for all the comments. When taken all together, it seems that there may be somewhat of a "reason" for the finds. One is being able to hunt in an affluent area that has little competition with other detectorists. One may be that older kids tend to hang out there. They play rougher and tend to wear more "Bling" than the younger kids. Older areas that are not well hunted yield more than clad. Timing and luck seem to play a big part in it but there are at least some things to look for that may increase your chances of finding more than clad.

It also seems that the norm is pretty much what I found. Lots of clad and not much else. Granted it was not a long look at the chip and sand areas but 12 hours of hard detecting with a small sensitive coil when no kids were in the lots should give a pretty good snap shot. I think that by law being restricted to the sand and chips only does have an effect of what I can hope to find - no soccer fields, no softball areas, no bleachers, etc. Those of you who are lucky enough to look elsewhere are lucky.

Thanks for the info and I hope it helps others think about where the best hunting may be.

Daryl

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

You is hunting where the parks and schools is. If you want older coins hunt where the parks and schools was. Check around the offsite edges where the kids who smoked hung out (have to reach into pockets for lighters or matches). I don't hunt school yards, but at the parks I start with the spots folks may have draped or tossed their jackets when playing. Split rail fences can be hot spots. If you can find old images thst show fences where none are now they are still good starting points.

Now a' days the kids carry cell phones and credit cards and they are easy to spot when dropped.

 

[Boobydoo]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

Hi Prof!!

Well, if you don't get out and hunt areas like this, you definitely wouldn't find anything there, so more power to you for the effort. I think a lot of it is being in the right place at the right time. Also, which detector you use has a lot to do with it also, but the DFX is a proven good one for these types of hunts I think so that's not it and you are obviously a very experienced and talented detectorist, so that isn't it.

So, I would say that someone has cleaned them out before you got there.

I would estimate that about 10% of my gold and silver jewelry finds out of the woodchips are items found sitting on top, recently lost things. Again, being in the right place at the right time.

Iteresting food for thought BP... thanks for posting!

Smiles!
BDoo

 

[ivan salis]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

part of it is - the age of the parks--old parks MIGHT have old stuff---many parks are of recently make and thus are not as likely to have old stuff--- a big part of the bling find factor is the use of the park by "upscale" bling owing types and their kids ----poor kids mainly have cheaper or faux jewelery----tot parks and playgrounds will differ from teen hang out parks sometimes the same park will have zones were each differant group tends to hang out at---seen lots of teens swinging on the swings----I always check out the swings!!! kids jumping off the swings shakes change out---mom pushing kid back forth --loses ring----older kids goofing round who knows what? just a few thoughts ---some times you have a dry spell ---its just paying your dues. Ivan

 

[Dimeman]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

Prof,
I don't think anything is wrong with your parks or schools. The success of detecting is research, being at the right location at the right time, and most of all....luck.

You might try and research the oldest park areas, or schools in your location, they usually have the playgrounds in the same spot but just have the woodchips or sand over the base ground.

And as Ivan says the swing areas are very good for lost items. Moms pushing the swing can lose bracelets or rings, the kids can lose coins out of their pockets, any jewelry flying off the ears, fingers..etc..



A suggestion:
If they didn't put a liner under the woodchips you can dig to China, and won't be digging in the grass.
We have some older parks where I live that have tot lots that have some very shallow woodchips ( 3 inches) right over the ground. I hunt one tot lot in particular that I detect on the playground and have dug down past the woodchips into the dirt and got some silver coins, at 7 inches. You put the dirt back and then put the woodchips back. Nobody can tell you dug any deeper.


Your DFX is a fantastic detector and you already are good at finding gold coins.. ( I am soooo jealous !!)
Like the old slogan says "Think outside the box"

 

[waseeker]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

I'll trade you the $200.00 or so in clad coin I've found in schools and playgrounds over the past 6-7 months for the two gold coins

As others have mentioned it seems to be a matter of timing as to whether or not you get to a park, playground or school before someone else. I have 6-8 elementary schools I hunt on a regular basis on the weekends. I generally go to 2 of them on a saturday and rotate them so I don't go to one more than once a month. Sometimes it is a bonanza and others it zip.

I went to one local park a few weeks back and since one of the park employees was repairing a swing, I started at the other swing set. First thing I found was an 18" gold 10K chain laying on top of the ground. I found a couple of cents and then the park guy comes over to see how I'm doing. I told him about the 2 cents and he bragged that he had found 20 cents at the swing he was working on. I didn't tell him about the chain . In that case it was just a matter of being there early and that the employee didn't check out the other swing area 1st.

Some retired guy hits all my old schools, parks etc I had for years. They are always totally picked clean. He has took a lot of joy out the hobby for me.

He has a hobby as well... lol

I'm one of those retired guys in SW Washington and I confess that over the last 6-7 months I have hit the wood chips around here pretty hard. Now that the weather is better I'll be spending more time playing golf and working some older historical sites and not the wood chips

 

[dave-enc]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

Hi professor,
I think that a lot of the folks have hit on it really good. Your finds are typical of others. Persistance is the key here like in all forms of treasurehunting. You develop a system built from your own ideas and augmented by others One thing you can do is develop a system of recording your sites and when you last hunted them, as well as anything else you feel important. For instance I use a file that lists all sites by county but also what their playground composition is ie mulch, tires, sand,etc. It also contains what type of playground equipment is there. We have another file that is a running total of silver and gold by county for every year.
I am fortunate to have bobbie as my huntng partner as it lets us stay out and detect more and thus increasing our chances of finding some goodies.
It is not uncommon for us to take off and head to a completely diffrent area if we arent finding anything. I joke with Bobbie on regular basis that we are like bass fisherman, not getting any strikes you just dont just sit there and keep casting , you pull anchor and try another spot.
Good luck and keep us posted
hh
dave+bobbie

 

[Prober]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

Hi Bio, I just started MD around the last week of March, but I was beginning to wonder if I would ever find anything worthwhile. Check my post for today. I hit about 10 tot lots/park playgrounds today. Mostly clad. I did find 3 rings...none of them are worth anything (I don't think)...they are the first rings I've found. I haven't found any silver in the places I've been hunting but I'm not real worried about that. I don't expect to ever find gold coins; at least not here in Western Michigan. All of the lots I did today were in a city about 75 miles from where I live. I'm waiting for good beach weather and will hit the beaches as often as I can...the rapidly rising cost of gas may slow me down some. I think the beaches will produce the bling once summer gets going so in the meantime I'll take the clad and enjoy being out looking. Have fun!

 

[Yarrum]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

Now for somebody who just found two gold coins and doesn't think they will ever find another, it DOES NOT do your heart good to flip out a Sacagawea dollar with your trowel. Nope. Not good at all.

Nope it sure wouldn't, wish I had that problem though

 

[BobPA]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

Good luck on vacation. May your luck be as big as your heart.
Bob

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

i agree with you Professor, .63 an hour is not good! I think if you are not finding at least a dollar an hour when you are looking for clad, you may be looking in the wrong place! OR...a hunted out place, detector not working properly, lack of skills (whether pinpointing or otherwise), digging to slowly. I am not saying this directly applies to you. But if I am hunting in an area and not finding anything after an hour (which with my dfx is rare), it is time to shift locations.

 

[Kas]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

.63 an hour or a 1.00 and hour.

Some don't want to dig fast and be in a rush.

For me this is a hobby of leisure.

And, I don't think anyone is going to get rich digging clad.

JMHO

 

[BioProfessor]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

I think the dollar figure is being taken a little out of context. There was a previous topic where we joking calculated "an average" per hour wage of about 53 cents an hour. It was not meant to be taken too seriously. It was meant to imply that we don't do this for the money and we wouldn't work this hard in a regular job for 53 cents an hour, pay for your own transportation, buy your own equipment, etc. but we gladly do it for the sport because it is for enjoyment not profit or wage. if you stop and think about it, you really don't get that much money when you hunt - on average - and that's OK. It's not about the money. It's about the hunt.

Daryl

 

[Natman]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

It's not about the money. It's about the hunt.

Here here!

Reminds me of an old gent who was watching me detect in a neighbor's yard recently. When he asked me if I found anything, I told him I had found a brass hose nozzle. His response, "Well, you might get a couple dollars for the brass!" I told him I found a silver dime and he says, "what are they worth, about a dollar?" GGRRRRRRRR! He just doesn't get it..

Nat

 

[Ray S ECenFL]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

Hi Professor,

Congratulations on you gold coin finds. Bet that was a day to remember?

As for your clad finds, you did about average if not better than average. I was not aware that you could not hunt outside the play areas in MN. We do not have that restriction here in FL.

I hunt the playgrounds, schools and campgrounds and find that the areas under the swings and around the play sets are picked clean. I then hunt the parking areas and picnic areas. Also look for near by grassy areas that may have been used for a friendly game of football. More often than not, those areas are where I find my clad when the play areas are cleaned out. Most folks are into surgical strike detecting. They rush to an area, hit the most productive spots and move on to the next playground, leaving lots of clad and other goodies behind in the not-so-productive areas.

Not too many folks find as much clad as you did in one day, even if it was only 60 some cents an hour . As you said it is about the hunt. Fresh air, exercise and the excitement of what will be in the next hole you dig.

Happy Hunting

 

[Michiganne]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

BioProf: I think your demographic idea could create a difference in what people find. We are new to MDIng and haven't hit our local tot lots really hard (weather is finally warm) but I'd be very surprised to find much bling here. We live in a rural community and I don't see kids around here wearing much jewelry. I'm sure in different areas of the country that will differ and with different economic levels.

But I guess the fun is never really knowing what one might find.

HH

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

Re: What's wrong with my schools & parks.

I think the dollar figure is being taken a little out of context. There was a previous topic where we joking calculated "an average" per hour wage of about 53 cents an hour. It was not meant to be taken too seriously. It was meant to imply that we don't do this for the money and we wouldn't work this hard in a regular job for 53 cents an hour, pay for your own transportation, buy your own equipment, etc. but we gladly do it for the sport because it is for enjoyment not profit or wage. if you stop and think about it, you really don't get that much money when you hunt - on average - and that's OK. It's not about the money. It's about the hunt.

Daryl

Exactly i would not dig 100 holes in 4 hours for $4bucks if someone asked me! Its a hobby, but you can still set goals. Some days i go out just trying different programs and some days I go out and set goals for that day. For me that makes it a little more fun instead of strolling around all day for .63!