Am I expecting too much?

[mallardman68]

I have had my Whites Prism 3 for barely a week now and have found a couple of dollars in change maybe. Today I went to an old farm and everything that set it off showed as a nickel or a nail, I dug 80% of those and got lots of trash but never a nickel, dime or quarter. I did manage an old horse shoe,2 pennies, and 3 bricks still attached with mortar. My question is.....am I expecting too much thinking I will go to an old house and find old money, rings, or anything other than trash
So far none of the money found has been old, in fact my best find has been a .50 piece in my own back yard.
Just wondering what you all thought on the matter.

Thanks!

[julieburger]

I have the same situation with a family farm. When I got my minelab I was not finding all that much but once I actually learned more about my detector I started finding more and more interesting things. Hang in there you will start to get better stuff soon.

[FinalLastDays]

I have to agree with julieburger. I believe the more time, patience & practice you spend with your metal detector, the more you will begin to understand what it is telling you. That is when you will be able to find more items and better items. I also believe that research has a lot to do with finding the older items. Your metal detector will not be able to help you find an old coin if that old coin is not where you are swinging your coil. Learning more about your area and the history behind it will help you find where the older coins and items are located. Even if you do not find anything that you consider valuable or worthy, just remember when you return home that you have spent that time learning more about your machine. I hope this helps some.... good luck!

[bigbillinsc]

one thing people forget is.... people dont throw money away... PEOPLE DO LITTER... it just goes to reason that you will dig more trash at first... i did a lil figuring... i may have to dig 5 to 10 pull tabs to dig a single clad penny.... and i will dig 5 to 10 pennies to every dime and nickle... and i may dig 5 to 10 dimes and or nickles to get a single quarter.... and silver is a lot rarer than a dropped quarter. even digging an old site their is gonna be a huge trash to money ratio. its just the nature of people to throw down a pop lid or pull tab but hold on to money. be very patient and the finds will come. newbies read the post of finds on here and think the silver comes out of thr ground. but ask the guys and gals finding silver and they will tell ya it took a lot of nails and trash to get that silver. good luck , dont give up hope, and happy hunting

[Nighthunter]

Quite honestly, I'm done hunting yards....The coins are just too deep!!!!

I hunted an 1860's era house Saturday and was pulling memorial pennies up from 5-6".

I'd imagine any barber dimes etc. would be at least a foot. Give me a spade and an open field where there was remanents of a house and I'm much happier.

[julieburger]

My dad made a good point yesterday when I was complaining that my oldest find was a 1940 nickel on our homestead that goes back 150 years or more and has never been hunted. He said that people didn't have manicured lawns in the country and that my great grandfather would plow and till the yard, so we don't know how deep things will be. They also used to burn trash, including foil, in the yard and then bury over that. They also moved the outhouse around and they would bury that. So.... we have to be patient because if the coins are not right beside the house it is just going to be a little tougher to find them. Maybe try right after a good hard rain. I have not had any rain in 3 months so I am doing a rain dance today. Good luck and Happy Hunting.

[I Can Dig It]

I have been doing the hobby for a lot of years and I have concluded that the enjoyment for me is more in the hunt itself and the anticipation of what it is I am about to dig up rather than what has been dug up. If you are new to the hobby then I agree that you probably need to get to know your detector a little better. The thing is, you, like the rest of us will dig up your share of junk regardless of experience or quality of detector. I promise you however that if you keep at it and not discriminate too much you will begin to find the old Good stuff. Hang in there
Carl

[mallardman68]

Thank you all for your input. I do agree with what all of you have said. I was thinking about changing my name to junkman since I was digging so much of it until today. I went out this morning and hit 2 tot lots for 39 coins and considerably less trash. Not great but alot better than yesterday. I think the ground has to play a big factor in this as well, like Julie we are in need of rain pretty baddly here, that makes me alot less likely to dig deep for signals out of respect for the landowners, the ground just crumbles into a mess right now. So I will let the blister burst and go again when I can.

Thanks!!!

[RingDancer]

39 coins.......sounds like you are getting the hang of it!!! I have to agree with everyone here!!!!

Keep on Diggin!!!
Pat

[dooby]

WOW, well said Bill !!! well said !!!

The hardest thing to do is imagine a yard as it was 100 years ago. I had hunted my parents yard in the late 70's, I searched all the areas I had played as a child assuming the property had ALWAYS been this way, I found very little and the coins were reasonably new.

It wasn't until a neighbor showed up with a picture of the house from the early 1900's that showed a long gone tree and a rope swing. That area of the yard produced several buffalo and Indian heads ............