Hello from Fredericksburg Virginia!

[micmccon]

I just got a detector for Christmas and can't wait to get started! I have already gone out in the yard and practiced a bit finding Iron bits of debris most likely left there when they built my house. This area is rich with history and opportunities to discover forgotten relics! :grin:

[Ill Digger]

Hey mic McConnell! :waving:
Welcome to the forum from the frozen cornfields of Illinois!
You're in a history rich area of the country for sure! I can't wait to see what your able to find.
What breed of detector did Santa bring you?

[micmccon]

My wife was kind enough to buy me a Garett (she went to Garrett, lol) Ace 350. I was going to buy the AT PRO for myself but she wisely suggested that I give the hobby a try before going all in. I found a large wire "staple" that was likely used for the silt fencing, a random piece of iron about 1/4" diameter and 6 inches long and a large nail/ spike which had a bit of orange ribbon on it. I figure it marked a property line (not mine though) at some point. All that stuff in about 30 minutes including digging, filling the holes back in, etc. Tomorrow I am going to dig a spot that I think might have been a moonshine still. I found about 15 feet of iron pipe (really old) in the vicinity of a large hole dug into the bank of the creek which runs through my back yard. I didn't dig the area around the hole but there were a TON of hits on the one side of it that I checked out. The hole looks almost like a grave site but I think I can rule that out. I can't wait to find out what is buried there!

[OxShoeDrew]

Sounds like you have some nice property to check. :) I had an ace 350 and founds lots with it. Best of luck with yours and welcome to the group! I anticipate you'll be posting banner worthy finds in no time!

[del]

Hello micmccon , welcome to the forum !:waving: I'm very envious of the kind of history you have in that part of the country and you'll be finding some nice bits of history soon i'm sure . Thanks for joining up and introducing yourself and best of luck!

Dan

[Digger_O'Dell]

Hello and welcome from the great white north (AKA Wisconsin)! You should have no problem finding some great things in Yue neck of the woods. Congrats on a good starter machine, I think you will have a blast with it!

[micmccon]

Thanks everybody! I am finishing a cup of coffee and going out in a few. Just on my property there is a site I started checking out yesterday and hope to dig some. Near the end of my property there ran an old road that is likely 100 years old and a pile of old bottles and cans, etc. I think I will walk the path of the road and see what's there. Just at the end of the street, there's an old home site that the builder just bulldozed but didn't dig up with a little cemetery still there. That site has been there for 100+ years ( There are roads and a gold mining museum named after the family also). I really can't wait to tear into it!

[aloldstuff]

Welcome from western MA. Even though xmas was just a few days ago, i feel you have been bitten by the treasure bug already. Thanks for joining and looking forward to seeing your finds.

[micmccon]

I have been bitten indeed. I got out yesterday and went to a farm house that recently got bulldozed. There were 2 houses, a barn, and a pole barn there a couple of years ago. From what I can tell, they were there for a long time. Perhaps more than 100 years on the original house. I was disappointed to do so much digging and come out with nothing of real interest. I found around 50 buried cans, foil, pieces of siding, barbed wire, an axe head, half of a 50 gallon barrel, a brass clasp of some sort, and a couple of other non magnetic pieces of metal. I didn't find a single coin. There was so much iron in the ground that I was getting constant tones and had to switch to coin mode and still got a ton of false hits on my detector. All in all it was good to get out and practice but the Monroe farm was a landfill. Oh well, maybe better luck next time. I did order and receive a Garrett AT pinpointer today so I hope to begin digging smaller holes and getting to my targets quicker!

[aloldstuff]

You'll find that having a pinpointer greatly enhances the experience. I went a year and a half without one. Don't know how I did it, or why I did it.

Keep practicing with that Ace 350.

[THing4CSA]

Hi My Fellow TH'ers and Happy New Year to all!
Micmccon, I do welcome you to this group! We have all been 'New to the hobby' at one point in our hobby's life. I started out with a Jetco Mustang in June 1976, just after ending my first tour of duty with the US Army. I do have a few suggestions for you; first read the user manual a few times and really get a working knowledge of the basics before you decide to go crazy with the more in depth programs. As you have noted already you are in one of the most historic areas of Virginia, so having to travel across the country to a 'good area' is not a requirement. Do research of your area and see what happened and where. You say that you started trying out your detector in your yard; great move! My suggestion is to use the all metal or relic mode that your detector has and then dig all signals. DO NOT THROW AWAY ANY OF YOUR FINDS UNTIL YOU HAVE CONFIRMED THAT THE ITEM IS NOT A KEEPER! Take pictures of your finds and post them on here, but not just a picture of it alone, include a coin as a reference so there is no question that your item is the size of a US Quarter and not the size of a Cent. If you look through the posted pictures on any site you will find an item by itself with no info as to the size. Another suggestion that I offer to all is what to do with all the 'junk' that you find? I for one sell all my scrap metals and save the money to pay for my metal detector(s) or accessories. I recycle around $500.00 per year and have paid for 3 of my 4 metal detectors over the years. I lived in Northern Virginia for 23 years and found many US Civil War relics and many coins. I do wish you all the best of luck. I also look forward to seeing pictures of your finds. The finds are out there just remember to dig all targets and do not leave anything in the ground! ;-)

[micmccon]

Thanks all, I really am enjoying this. I do try to dig all targets except for fence lines where I can follow a buried wire for a good distance. I was working a Gold Mine (literally) today and was blown away by the number of nails and iron debris. Almost thought it was intentional to obscure detection but likely not. I am enjoying getting out, doing the research, and meeting my neighbors. The area where I live is a bounty of historical targets, gold mines, and old house sites. If there were a beach in the neighborhood that would be the best of all worlds, lol! I live near the Rappahannock river in the Hartwood area of Stafford County Virginia. I am truly amazed by the history of this area and am really geeking out on it to the max!