What are the chances and how many of you have hit your back yard?

mrpaseo

What might I find in my own back yard? Do you think it would be worth it? I know when I first got my MD I hit around the back deck and found a beer can What if I move away from where the builders were and hit the lower back yard?

Basically what I'm looking for is, what is your opinion on MD'ing an open random field?

Just looking for opinions,
Thanks,
Ray

MJPHELAN

I scanned my backyard (house built 4 years ago). Found a coke can about 10 inches deep (first find with the MD). I think I will stick to areas with more history and traffic.

mrpaseo

<< <i>I scanned my backyard (house built 4 years ago). Found a coke can about 10 inches deep (first find with the MD). I think I will stick to areas with more history and traffic. >>



Hmmm, I'll probably bring my littleone out there to give her some experiance....maybe I'll drop a few coins out there for her to find

Thanks for your thoughts.

Dockwalliper

I did my backyard first. Picked up almost $30 in clad. Mostly where my son and his teenage friends had the trampiline.

Ever yard is different, save it for days when you don't have a site or only a few minutes to hunt.

phut

<< <i>What might I find in my own back yard? >>


Anything!! It depends on the history of the lot.



<< <i>Do you think it would be worth it? >>


If the little one enjoys it, yes.



<< <i>What if I move away from where the builders were and hit the lower back yard? >>


Good idea. The builders probably left the beer can. Galvanized nails(roofing) are hard to discriminate out without giving up some better targets.



<< <i>...what is your opinion on MD'ing an open random field? >>


Half of my finds are from random open fields. The other half are from random, not so open, woods.

morgt

my house was built in 1998 on what used to be farm land. the things i found give me clues to how people lived here 150 years ago.

StrikeOutXXX

<< <i>Ever yard is different, save it for days when you don't have a site or only a few minutes to hunt. >>



I agree with that!

I've done my yard about 100 times over the years. My house was built in the 1870's. Unfortunately, I had a barn in the back yard that was tore down in the 70's that gives me lots of debris. Found lots of indian heads, kids "Trinkets" over the years, jewelery items and coins from the families that lived there in the 50-80's, but nothing "Earthshattering".

Most of the back yard has been landscaped a few times, and I graded it about 6 years ago unfortunately.

When I have the bug, but weather or time prevents me from going anywhere, I rely on the old back yard (and the neighbors either way). Don't ever plan on doing the yard - save it for when you can't go anywhere else for whatever reason - if you're like me, you'll do it a few hundered times eventually.

I live in huge corn country - there are plenty of random fields here, but I stay away from them unless research shows there was some activity on it long ago. Personally, I'd rather do the school yard than an empty field with no known history, but that's just me.

BentFork

I started MD with my father when I was a teenager in the 60s. Sometimes where you find goodies just doesn't make sense. As an example. In my immediate area there are a number of houses and old shacks (circa 1910-1950) that have fallen down, burnt down, or were just demolished. I live outside the city limits up in the hills on 5 acre parcel zoning. I have detected all these old places several times and have come up empty handed as far as older coins. And as far as modern coins, I have found very few. Can't figure out why. Nearby is an open field that is approx 10 acres. In it I have found numerous coins older than 1960s. People in the area (some in their 80s that have lived there for 50 years) have all told me the field has always been just that - an open field. Not used for farming because it's in the desert foothills. And there isn't evidence whatsoever there have ever been houses there. This has been a quandry for me. Some folks on message boards and my MD buddies have suggested the open field was used by people living in those shacks for get togethers of some sort like BBQs or satanic goat killing rituals, etc. Oookay I guess that could be. Recently I dug 2 Walking halves on a creekbank about a mile away that was near where some old houses definitely used to be. But I only found a few clad coins where the houses used to be. Didn't make any sense. Lastly, last weekend I hit an area where there used to be a CCC camp in the late 1930s. I found absolutely nothing after 2 hours. Just iron and old beer and soda bottle tops. Not even a modern Zincoln or clad coin. As a rule of thumb, I wouldn't MD in open fields unless I knew there has been the possibility of dropped or buried coins. But there"s always exceptions to the rule. Sometimes without any known valid reasons as in my case. Take a chance, you never know.

DesertRat

I think you need to look at the construction methods as well. Did the contractor simply level the current lot and build or did they bring in fill dirt to raise the foundation above a local flood level? What's the history of the lot? Are you the first house built there? Any local history of the area that it might have been a natural place to camp 150 years ago? You just never can tell what you will find.

mrpaseo

<< <i>I think you need to look at the construction methods as well. Did the contractor simply level the current lot and build or did they bring in fill dirt to raise the foundation above a local flood level? What's the history of the lot? Are you the first house built there? Any local history of the area that it might have been a natural place to camp 150 years ago? You just never can tell what you will find. >>



Thats a good point, lets see, as far as I know, this is the first house built here, I purchased it knew in 99. This house was the second on the street and there were just fields on the rest of the street... now, there is about 25 hourses on the street. (Missed opportunity to MD the street) your last point hit a note as the land I am on is prime for people to "squat" on as there is a stream that runs by about 200 yards from my house (Down hill). This house is not in a flood zone, and there was no back fill brought in (Again as far as I can tell).

Thanks everyone for your thoughts,
Ray

lordmarcovan

Where've you been, Ray?

Yeah, I hit my backyard. Once.

Once was enough. Wanna see the results?

1. Crap.
2. Crap.
3. Crap.
4. BIG crap (piece of aluminum siding).
5. 1963 Memorial cent.
6. Crap.
7. Crap.
8. Crap.
9. Crap.
10. Crap.





I recently had to dig in the backyard to make a grave for one of our poor cats, who was a casualty of the road. (Cat versus car, car wins- every time).

It was like trying to dig in concrete there. Not my idea of fun diggin', even if I had been detecting rather than gravedigging.


PS- as to your random field idea- well, you never know. That's the thing about random fields. Could be all crap like my backyard, could be nothing at all, could be a few pleasant surprises.

mrpaseo

LordM,
How goes it? Yes, I've been busy, you know the whole war thing I finally got my MD out and put it in my trunk, now I'll have it when the mood hits. I'm still not sure of the local laws around here but no one has said anything yet.

It's good to be home, and good to be back on the forums...

Ray

lordmarcovan

<< <i>Yes, I've been busy, you know the whole war thing >>



D'oh.