An Open Invitation to a Hunt (Pictures Added!!!)

EastCoastCurrency

ATTENTION!!!!

If anyone out there lives some where in/near the upstate of South Carolina I have the ultimate untapped site for you to search. About the area:

The area to search is where an old grinding mill still sits today. The mill is on my familys property and has been since the early 1950s. The mill was at its peak production in the 1890s. I feel about 100% certain that this site has never been searched before. Not only was this a place of business, but to my understanding once a week/month people from town and mill employees could bring their family out to the mill for picnics and fun on the river. The mill itself is three stories and probably no more than 5,000 square feet. I think this could be a very promising location. I would hunt it myself but I don't have a detector. If someone is interesting in searching the site please post your comments on the board and we can discuss other details later.

The mill is in Fountain Inn, SC zip 29644. About 2.5 hours north of Atlanta and less than 2 south of Charlotte.


I will be posting pictures soon.

Scavenger

If I were closer I'd take you up on this offer. Sounds like this could be promising.

BobGreene

Wow, I wish I could but it's a long way from the West coast. Thank you for the generous offer! I'm sure you won't have any problem finding some takers.

30AnvZ28

HHI, SC right here my friend. Im about 2.5-3 hours from Columbia. Would definately love to assist you...

ricko

Wow.. intriguing adventure... wish I could go.. but West Coast... keep us posted on results. Cheers, RickO

wazari777

I am very interested. I live in the upstate, about an hour away from you.

ROCKETMAN

Nice of you to offer!!!! To far from Oregon! As a new MD'er its hard to find untouched locations or know where to look!! Rich

EastCoastCurrency

OK here are the pictures as promised. I took these this afternoon, the site has grown over a good bit, but I am going to take care of that before it is searched. Read the sign next to the road, it pretty much tells the story.

BunchOBull

I have family in Rock Hill and a lake house in Waterloo, I'd love the opportunity to hunt the site sometime. I live between Atlanta and Houston, but I'm in the area several times a year.

MPeter

Why would you offer up an untapped sight like that to total strangers? Why not get a detector and hunt it yourself? What's the catch? If I were you, I would keep the location hidden and keep it all for myself. Do you plan on keeping all the valuables that people find?

DesertRat

Unless that is a gated private road, then that site has been hunted many times.

I like the idea of a organized hunt there but alas I live on the left coast.

EastCoastCurrency

To handle desertrat's comment, the road is of course public, however the mill itself sits over 100 yards from the road and unless you are looking for it you would never know it is there. The sign is a very new addition, and has been there less than 3 years. And as I mentioned in my post, the mill is on private land that my family has owned since the 50s; I have asked around and no one has ever been given permission to search the site. Several of my family members police the site fairly fiercely so if someone did try and sneak on they would not be there for long. As for why I don't get a detector myself, at some point I would like to get one but right now I don't have the time to really get into hunting. And lastly, as for the loot, who ever does come search the site will get to share in what we find. I'm not a serious coin collector or history buff, I'm really just curious to see what's under the ground out there.

If I thought this was too good to be true I wouldnt be wasting other people's time with the idea.

MPeter

"And lastly, as for the loot, who ever does come search the site will get to share in what we find."

So basically you want someone to do the hard part for you. No thanks!

CROCKofCOINS

E.C.C.,
You will find people to come and hunt your place! ! !
Many of us love to hunt JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT ! ! !

And many of us have more than one detector, and would love to get you hooked on the fun of hunting.

Just sit back and wait for the replies to come in. You put the word out- THEY WILL COME.

Jerry

phut

Nice offer. If I was closer, I'd be all over it just for the history lesson. As for the loot.....Share is fair. Some of the stone wheels(the ones with grooves) go for big money up here.

EastCoastCurrency

Thanks for everyone who has been supportive and shown interest so far, although I have been really surprised by the negativety from some posters. I'm not trying to get someone else to do all the work. I'm going to be right out there digging too. I just don't have the expertise to adequately search a site like as my first hunt. And to be realistic I would say that 99% of anything found metal detecting could be bought on ebay for $5.00 or less. I was under the impression that serious hunters just enjoy the experience and aren't out trying to make a buck.

However, to 30AnvZ28, wazari777, and BunchOBull thanks for contacting me. Hopefully I can have everything cleared and ready to go within a few weeks and maybe we can find a date where a couple or all of us can get out there and really hit it hard.

30AnvZ28

DEFINIATELY...

I own my own business... so I can sneak away whenever... just let me know!

William

BunchOBull

EastCoastCurrency, thanks for the opportunity. I hope we can work out a time schedule that is accommodating for everyone. To address some of the negativity that's going around, yes, serious metal detectorists are into the hobby for the experience, not for potential profit. I know my personal goal while metal detecting is to catalog history, keeping an accurate record of the events surrounding my finds and protecting my find from mother nature's demise. I think the problem lies when treasure hunters feel that the person offering an opportunity, like the one you've proposed, are themselves trying to profit off of the experience. I myself have never spent a penny, literally, that I have found metal detecting, nor have I sold an item I've found. When I find an item on a hunt with conditions (i.e. the owner may take their pick of the finds and leave me with whatever they wish not to keep), my only desire is to know the finds I turn over aren't going to be sold as whimsical profit. However, this isn't to say I'm against the sale of the items when the cause is worthy. Typically, when an owner plans to sell the finds I make, my only request is that he or she give me the first opportunity to purchase the finds. I truly hate knowing a piece of history, that I now share part of a story with, is going to be lost in the name of profit.

As for your being at the organized hunt, most certainly, however I would recommend you allow the experienced MDists to do the majority of the digging, being close by the learn the proper pinpointing. Unfortunately, there is a learning curve when pinpointing, and subsequently digging, an object. With experience, you learn how to dig, while minimizing the chance of damage to both the find and the property. While, I don't have a spare detector that I would recommend you learn on (my spare detector is a 1967 White's Goldmaster, with odd batteries that are extremely expensive to replace), I'm sure someone may be able to accommodate you, and we will all enjoy teaching you the tricks of the trade.

Again, thank you for the opportunity and I hope I've accurately relayed the true concerns of the vague posts that have had negative vibes. This is my take on things.

windwhispersintrees

Yes there is some negativity which perhaps comes from misunderstandings etc. some detectorists have had with landowners.
It's important to have a clear agreement ahead of time about who gets what.

Years ago, I read of one detectorist who was hunting someones yard and pulled up something nice, I think it was a gold thimble or something.....the homeowner grabbed it and went inside and never returned.

What if someone finds a gold coin on your property? A jar of coins? A silver ring? A confederate button?
Figure out the possibilities ahead of time and make sure everyone there understands what is going to happen when the digging is done.

Good luck. Hope you find some family history.

BobGreene

How about the finders get to keep what they find? Just a thought.

30AnvZ28

Exactly. It might not seem like a big deal... but let someone pull up a 1795 half dsime and watch the fireworks fly...

Must be a firm agreement prior to anything begins. I know damn well if I pull up something valuable (numistic wise) that I dont want to let it go, and I dont have the money to cover "half" of its worth. I also am fascinated with old stuff... so I have a hard time letting go of that stuff, and cant pay for "half" of its worth. Maybe you could "charge" like a fee for letting us detect there. Like $20 a day or something of the like, or maybe thats to much... or if someone can provide you with a detector, it would be a free for all... I know when lordmarcovan took me to one of his good spots and I found to this day what is my best find ever... he was awestruck, and told me in all the years he had been detecting had never found one of those... and didnt say a word about it other then... "If you want to sell it, its worth $20 to me."

Being that it was my first find EVER other then modern change (was dated 1927) there is no way im selling that one. I have seen them sell for $8-$15 on EBay before so he was giving me a deal at $20... but never ever, mentioned "his spot". Just something to think about. Keep in mind, I want this to all be fair, for everyone.... because I am very interested in this site, but dont want to lose friends or cause trouble over it.

30AnvZ28

Oh yeah... anything that may be in the house... I would be willing to pay for, or if its something that could be sold (i.e., not for my personal enjoyment and I KNOW its worth money and your clueless) there could be a profit split or something of the like. You never know what you could come across.

I know a few years back (7 or 8) my dad was in charge of demolishing 3 houses on a lot for a church to be built. He said one of the houses was like the people just dissapeared, and he was taking a lot of the stuff out. There was even a car in the garage. He took the cabinets, granite and marble counter tops, windows, sliding glass doors, ect... Down stairs in the basement... there was all kinds of machine shop machines, and in the "office" were tons of old, old, old, books, including ORIGINAL repair manuals for things like Ford Model A's, Model T's, ect... I was to stupid back then to think about their worth, and they went down with the house. Thousands of $ worth of money went down in those books and manuals, all because I didnt know.

EastCoastCurrency

Don't think I've forgotten about this one, more details to come soon.

demodigger

wow don't know how i missed this posting. if i lived close, i'd definatly go. i don't really care about the coins, the relics would be the treasure for me. seeing how its your land, i don't see why sharing would be a problem.

lordmarcovan

William, you should take him up on that, and head upstate!

As to your 1927 chauffer badge, I am glad you're not selling it- it's a cool find, and, being your first worthy find, it should be held onto. Many's the time I sold something I dug and later regretted it, for sentimental reasons, if not for monetary ones. I've never sold any of my dug coins, but have sold some of the buttons and relics. Usually I would have been better off keeping them, because they tend to be worth more to me sentimentally than they are monetarily to somebody else. (The one exception to this being the War of 1812 Light Dragoons beltplate I sold for $990- my most valuable find. I do not really regret selling it because it was in rough shape and had little display appeal, but it was rare, and the dealer who won it on eBay later told me he'd have gone as high as $1250 on it, it was so rare).

EastCoastCurrency

OK, one last bump.

It's hay baling season, and the site has been cleared.

As for loot sharing. I would like to keep anything historically related to the mill. Any coins can be kept by the digger (or I reserve the right to replace the coin with the exact coin of equal or greater value). I mainly just want to show them off for a little bit to any interested parties.

If you have an extra detector, I'd like to help out.

You'll get lunch on me, and just in general I think it will be fun.

Please respond or PM, if interested.

millennium

This will be a shock to you...but I am pretty sure have been there when I was going back and forth to Greensboro, NC....My wife and I, and friends looked around the place, but did not do any detecting. I didn't have it with me, and wouldn't have anyway without permission. It's a neat site, but it is close to the highway, and even though there wasn't a sign there until recently, I'd be willing to bet it has been searched...Now a days, unless it is completely unknown or "lost" in woods so thick you can't see it, you can bet it's been hunted..But if I were headed that way, I sure would love to search it myself. I am sure that are still some goodies in the ground.

Good luck, I can't wait to see the results.

EastCoastCurrency

You wouldnt pass this locale on the way to Greensboro unless you took a half hour detour of 85. And it's not on a highway either. To my knowledge there is no record of it on the internet, but who knows anything is possible.

Next time you come by, let me know, I'll give you a tour.

millennium

We did take a detour.....We were looking for land, and were all in the Fountain Inn area...But it's possible it wasn't the same one. I'm sure there was more than one grist mill in that area....If I get up that way again, I'll get with you. It would certainly be a treat to hunt it.

kiyote

<< <i>Nice offer. If I was closer, I'd be all over it just for the history lesson. As for the loot.....Share is fair. Some of the stone wheels(the ones with grooves) go for big money up here. >>



About the wheel-- Please leave it!

Take the stone wheel out and it's no longer an old mill, just some old shack.

BooBooBillQueen

Hey Manning,

I have vacation coming soon and I am the proud mother to a 2 week old White (or is it White's)? I am completely new to this, but having a ball. So far, by best find was a 1943 nickel, but it was on my first day!

millennium

LAURA...A SILVER WAR NICKEL ON YOUR FIRST DAY?! WOW!......That's a heck of a good start!

BooBooBillQueen

I was thrilled! Then an hour later it was a 2002 State Quarter from the same location. My first trip (other than my back yard) was to a piece of land on the east coast. The fair grounds were there from the late 1800's. They tore that down and put in a Speedway, which was torn down in 2006. Now they are excavating to build a super wal-mart. I've also found some other coins, a junk earring and a silver thimble. I've managed to upset my mom with the digging in her backyard, which she takes pride in, made a trip to the beach and a local park a couple of times.
Last night I buried a couple of silver dollars for my daughter to find. she was 3 for 3 and is now interested. Anything to get her of the play station and out doors! Amazing how I walk over pennies on a side walk, but when I dig up one- I want to post pictures and blog about it!

millennium

<< <i>Amazing how I walk over pennies on a side walk, but when I dig up one- I want to post pictures and blog about it! >>



No doubt about it...your hooked.......

EastCoastCurrency

Do it to it Laura!

I've often wanted to get a detector, but then I remember it is just time and money I can't put towards currency.

Your daughter is going to be pumped when she finds those silver dollars. I remember when I was younger, we used to always go to my uncle's house for the July 4th and every year he would organize a treasure hunt with such finds as cokes, candy, and animal skulls. Looking back the animal skulls sounds strange, but to an 8 year old boy they were awesome. We used to get so excited, I'm sure your daughter will feel the same way.

But if you do get out round my way on your vacation, and you bring your White, let me know. I'm sure I can round up a promising locale to check out. And if the old mill hasn't been tapped by then, you will be in luck.

kiyote

Anything historical you find of real interest you need to find someway to keep connected with the site. A little toe tag, for example, something. Once you remove it from the site it looses almost all archeological context unless you record it.

MPeter

It's coming up on a year since you first started this post..........when is some action going to happen?

BooBooBillQueen

<< <i>Do it to it Laura!
Looking back the animal skulls sounds strange, but to an 8 year old boy they were awesome. We used to get so excited... >>



I look forward to using this information to my advantage!



<< <i>But if you do get out round my way on your vacation, and you bring your White, let me know. I'm sure I can round up a promising locale to check out. And if the old mill hasn't been tapped by then, you will be in luck. >>



You can plan on picking me up from the airport. I will be the idiot traveling with a metal detector in a canvas guitar case (which I might add works quite well).



<< <i> Anything historical you find of real interest you need to find someway to keep connected with the site. A little toe tag, for example, something. Once you remove it from the site it looses almost all archeological context unless you record it. >>



As obvious as that advice may seem, I never would've thought to do that. I did put the first coin I found in a flip with the date and where I found it, but only because it was the first. When I buy paper money or something for my collections, I always put the month, year, and price I paid for the note. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to do the same for my MDing (saying "MDing"like a seasoned pro ) finds. Tips like yours may seem like common sense, but I had obviously neglected to think of it. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Thankfully, my finds are under 20 and I know where everything came from, so it's not too late to start.