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Thread: Cellar hunting-Is it worth it?

  1. #1
    Senior Member RIdirtdigger's Avatar
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    Cellar hunting-Is it worth it?

    I've been detecting cellars for about a year and a half and have found basically all of my older coins here. Only recently have I began to get permissions to hunt older homes. Anyway, it seems that just in a year the amount of sites that have been depleted of their resources is astounding. Is it really worth it to spend a winter doing research, hike a mile into the woods, jump over a river, walk up steep hills, only to find that the cellar not on any maps and in the middle of nowhere, yields only a handful of buttons and maybe a large copper. It just doesn't seem worth it. Now, by no means would this mean the end of cellar hunting for me, but older homes seem to have a lot more potential. I don't know why but my preference has always been quantity over quality even when it should be the other way around
    Oldest coin(s): 1600's Spanish copper maravedis Oldest American Coin: 1797 Large Cent. Oldest silver: 178? Spanish 1/2 Reale
    Best Relic(s): Pre Civil War US Revenue Service Button, GW Button, Best Find(s): 1790 King George III Gold Guinea/ "Long Live the King" Button

  2. #2
    Administrator del's Avatar
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    was your Gold Guinea worth it ??
    "Honesty is an expensive gift ,
    so don't expect it from cheap people"

    XP Deus II , DFX ,TDI sl -

    Click here to view my finds album


  3. #3
    Senior Member Isaac's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by del View Post
    was your gold guinea worth it ??
    this
    I <3 colonial relics!

  4. #4
    Senior Member RIdirtdigger's Avatar
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    Yes it was worth it, thanks for knocking some sense into my head
    Oldest coin(s): 1600's Spanish copper maravedis Oldest American Coin: 1797 Large Cent. Oldest silver: 178? Spanish 1/2 Reale
    Best Relic(s): Pre Civil War US Revenue Service Button, GW Button, Best Find(s): 1790 King George III Gold Guinea/ "Long Live the King" Button

  5. #5
    Senior Member RIdirtdigger's Avatar
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    I'm sorry for posting this thread. It was not the right thing to do. I realize now that the best thing about metal detecting is never knowing what is hidden under our feet, whether a place has been hit before, or whether it is filled with targets. The most important thing is simply having fun and enjoying time in the outdoors and the actual finds come second. Thank you for making me realize this
    Oldest coin(s): 1600's Spanish copper maravedis Oldest American Coin: 1797 Large Cent. Oldest silver: 178? Spanish 1/2 Reale
    Best Relic(s): Pre Civil War US Revenue Service Button, GW Button, Best Find(s): 1790 King George III Gold Guinea/ "Long Live the King" Button

  6. #6
    Administrator del's Avatar
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    like in life its not always the end results that matter (although some results are great) but the journey with friends and family that make the trip memorable and enjoyable.

    Sharing the experiences .


    this is why I'd rather detect with others then alone !


    Good post!
    "Honesty is an expensive gift ,
    so don't expect it from cheap people"

    XP Deus II , DFX ,TDI sl -

    Click here to view my finds album


  7. #7
    Alright!! Thats it!! You are out of the cellar hole club!! It's always best to have a mix of places. School yards that existed for 90-300 years and still exist today, many people went in and out of those places day in and day out. Parks and greens, same idea. The private property just gives you a little edge over the cellar holes for the fact detecting is regulated, but you still have the modern trash to deal with. You still have the trash that could mask targets just as the iron does at cellar holes. Private property changes hands too, so you can never be sure it wasn't hit by a detectorist before.

    Can you have the best of both worlds of quality and quantity? idk? Does this logic come from statistics class thinking more finds equals more chance to find better quality items? Obvi getting out and having a good time is the main concept, and you did mention that. The finds are what makes the effort worth, but you never know until you try. If we knew place X has many coins, it would take all the challenge out of it. Prob the challenge is what makes the finds worth more...intrinsically. The research factor shouldn't matter, should it? You spend the winter researching a cellar hole or spend the time researching a private property. Still seems the same. I just don't like the concept person 'A' goes to a public place and hunts for a few hours and pulls up a bunch of silvers and person 'B' goes to multiple public spots including a private place doing 3-6 hour hunts at a time and pulls up maybe five items and none of which are silver. That doesn't mean in anyway that person 'A' spent more time researching, and obvi person 'B' put more swinging effort forth.

    Quote Originally Posted by del View Post
    this is why I'd rather detect with others then alone !
    I thought it was the bucks and other animals you were worried about. Yes there is always a limited amount of old items in the ground, but seriously can one 8" (or 13" coil or 11" DD or whatever) cover the vast area that exists around cellar holes, not to mention big colonial farms that exist today. Hitting a 35 acre field (or now wooded but once was a field) would take a long time to cover with just one detector, not to mention other variables like detector type and settings. ehh.. Ill stop here. Obvi tho this doesn't serve to negate what you say, it reinforces what you say.

  8. #8
    Senior Member RIdirtdigger's Avatar
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    I really wish I didn't post this thread
    Oldest coin(s): 1600's Spanish copper maravedis Oldest American Coin: 1797 Large Cent. Oldest silver: 178? Spanish 1/2 Reale
    Best Relic(s): Pre Civil War US Revenue Service Button, GW Button, Best Find(s): 1790 King George III Gold Guinea/ "Long Live the King" Button

  9. #9
    Cellar hunting is the absolute worst.... you should never do it again....as a matter of fact just give me your map of all your cellar holes so you won't be bothered with them again.
    Oldest find: 5,000 year old copper spearhead
    Oldest coin: 1699 William III halfpenny
    Purdiest coin: 1832 Capped Bust quarter
    Coolest find: USA button with blue threads still on shank

    "He who would search for pearls must dive below."

  10. #10
    Senior Member Isaac's Avatar
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    Not to mention the peace and serenity of it... no one to bother you and beautiful sounds of nature.
    I <3 colonial relics!

  11. #11
    Senior Member RIdirtdigger's Avatar
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    Hard to believe I posted this over three years ago. Cellars were far more productive back in 2015 than they are now. Nevertheless I still hunt them and yes they are still worth it.
    Oldest coin(s): 1600's Spanish copper maravedis Oldest American Coin: 1797 Large Cent. Oldest silver: 178? Spanish 1/2 Reale
    Best Relic(s): Pre Civil War US Revenue Service Button, GW Button, Best Find(s): 1790 King George III Gold Guinea/ "Long Live the King" Button

  12. #12
    Full Member Robbie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RIdirtdigger View Post
    Hard to believe I posted this over three years ago. Cellars were far more productive back in 2015 than they are now. Nevertheless I still hunt them and yes they are still worth it.
    I`m hunting the same grounds for 8yrs. now , and still pulling out history.

  13. #13
    Administrator del's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RIdirtdigger View Post
    Hard to believe I posted this over three years ago. Cellars were far more productive back in 2015 than they are now. Nevertheless I still hunt them and yes they are still worth it.
    Im glad you stuck with it Jim , you have made some great recoveries and made some good friends since that time , was that worth it ?
    "Honesty is an expensive gift ,
    so don't expect it from cheap people"

    XP Deus II , DFX ,TDI sl -

    Click here to view my finds album


  14. #14
    Senior Member RIdirtdigger's Avatar
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    Yes. 100%
    Oldest coin(s): 1600's Spanish copper maravedis Oldest American Coin: 1797 Large Cent. Oldest silver: 178? Spanish 1/2 Reale
    Best Relic(s): Pre Civil War US Revenue Service Button, GW Button, Best Find(s): 1790 King George III Gold Guinea/ "Long Live the King" Button

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