Finds from Metal Detecting?

I am in southern california, so no finds past 1980 yet, but I was hopeing to see some photos of other people's finds to lower the discouragement I am having. Post your photos!!

also any tips diging, etc.

 

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Heres one

My finds are mostly coins old and new, tons of bullets, a few railrodspikes from old logging lines, military buttons, but for some reason I like this bottle the best. My small towns main street was torn up all summer to put in 4 lanes and they used a large amount of fill. While detecting I spotted this bottle sticking out of a fresh pile that the dump truck had just unloaded, it went thru excavation and dumping intact. Interestingly it still has cork and contents. Researched it and it's a bottle of Listerine from 1908. Beaches are the most productive for me. Once found 29 old pennys in one little hole. My first find was a rock with gold in it right next to my house. No longer detect as my wife has taken over the detector.

 

very cool! perhaps the bottle is worth more then you may think? what kind of gold did you find? any tips of places to search?

 

I dont know gold is gold as far as I know and it really sets the detector screaming. Always fill your holes back up! Search for old homesteads, schools, beaches any old site where there is no longer much sign of a building that once was. Frankly I have been amazed to find things even along remote and lonely lakeshores that rarely ever see a human. Last fall I was on one lonely lakeshore and saw wolf track every where but no human tracks and I found 4 old silver dimes and beer bottle caps from long ago. Her in Wi. bullets are just everywhere and are a real pain in the butt. Good Luck!

 

sorry, I meant was it a gold coin? ring? etc? i'll keep in mind those places, I have been getting a ton of pull tabs and nals, a few soda cans crushed, and some olds and ends, so far only two pennies, (zinc) and one dime (2004) there is a old house 1847 next to a park I am thinking of trying. I think I will give that a try.

Anybody else have anything cool they found and want to share?

 

In 2004, I traded an alternator to a guy for a Whites Prizm IV. I've since found just shy of $400. in coin and a coffee cup full of jewelry and tokens. By far the best find was a tennis bracelet with 29 diamonds. I found it in tall grass at the edge of a soccer field after my sons weekend long tourny. The bracelet isnt real valuable, its total diamond weight is only a half carat. But just the excitement makes it my best find. As for coins just 1 wheat cent and one silver dime (1958). I stick to elementary schools and parks. I'm kinda impatient, I like to find things quickly or I lose interest.

 

i've found really nothing old, just a few modern coins. i did find an old coin at this old house before. 1957 wheatie. my friend found a 1948 wheatie. both in horrible shape. my cent was coroded, bent, and scratched.

 

Keep looking, I have gone mouths without finding anything. But what I have found is a 1882 cent, 1906 cent, 1906 O Dime, 1912 Quarter and a 188? Morgan just to name a few older coins. I have been Metal Detecting for over 25 years and I have found everything from jewelery to junk to coins, some thing have value some thing are worth nothing, it is the hunt that counts the value of the thing you find is just the frosting on the cake. Good luck and good hunting.

 

As the saying goes "A bad day detecting is better than a good day at work."
I've been detecting since 1989.
Best day ever was during severe erosion at a beach when I found 6 gold rings and a couple of silver ones. Usually I'm lucky to find a couple of gold rings a year, but then, I usually do parks and schools.
Good luck!

 

Hey mpaulson,

Do a search in the forums for 'Jim C'. That guys finds some really cool stuff!

 

Here is a picture of all my finds at a church spot here in Michigan this past summer. This was my first visit there. A 2 center is amoung the coins shown. This was a great hunt and they don't all turn out this good. BUT..if you do your research and put yourself in old spots where coins may have been dropped way back when you increase your odds greatly. Location location location.
My 2nd trip there I found two seated dimes and two fattie indian heads. That spot was a blast. Jim

 

Jim:
Nice finds, especially that Barber half!
Most detectorists don't find the 2 cent pieces, since, according to my Whites, they hit dead on a bottle cap! That's why some guys never get them.
Good luck.

 

Nice Finds! I don't have a detector yet, but I did get a snail-mail recently from a person, inside was a letter that said 'found this at the beach - thought you might want it'

was a dog-tag (i'm not in the army I got it made at an army-surplus store) I lost about 8 years ago while sitting at the beach.

I sent him a nice card back and a 2dollar 'Toonie' that I picked up while visiting canada... thought it'd be nice to give him a token of appreciation even though I didn't have much to offer.

Metal detecting seems awsome... i saw a program recently where people go out and find meteor pieces... they are worth somethin like 100bucks a gram? some guy out in iowa or idaho designed a detector that hooks up to his 4wheeler and he buzzes around til he hears somethin , just the day of the program he got two meteors worth over $100,000! last year one worth a million... seems like a pretty smart idea... couldn't do that around here because of all the iron deposits (southern ca)

 

p91:
That was very nice of you to send the finder (and returner) a Toonie as a thank you.
Many people do not return items, there are a number of instances where someone tried to return a school ring and had the police called on them, who showed up at their door stating the the owner claimed that it was stolen.
The finder was simply trying to return the ring, no money was asked for, and that was the thanks that they got.
Thanks for the story.
Frank

 

I just got a metal detector myself, and don't even know where to begin. I joined a metal detecting forum, but its not very good. So far I've just been in my yard with different kinds of coins that I already have, trying to get used to my detector.

 

Adam:
Which forum did you join?
What machine? And did you read the instructions? And then re-read them twice more.
That is usually the biggest problem that new detectorists have.

 

Frank:
I received a Bounty Huner Lone Star for Christmas. I've read the instructions many times, and have been toying around with it. I still just don't know where to start. How to dig, and find the target, how to get permission to go places etc. The forum I joined is treasure quest. I think the problem with that forum is that they have way too many categories and sub-forums.

 

Adam:
Go to FMDAC.org, a treasure hunting forum.
Check for Chapters and send an e-mail to your chapter President, he should be able to get someone near you, and possibly a club in your area.
Also, post some questions to the Forum, just sign on and go.

 

I'll do that. Thanks Frank

 

thanks for al the replies, everyone!
Regaring digging, I am having trouble finding the objects, I usually dig a very large hole and then give up after 40 minuets of beeping and not finding anything.. still looking for the old item none yet.
I have decided to search a park next to a home bult in 1848 and an area where a souther pacific rail road station was in 1989, that is about the oldest it gets in my parts of southern california. I wrote a letter to the city for permission to detect on their land, hopefully I will here back.