First Ever Hunt!!

Ive always wanted to detect my garden - unlike America, we have the chances to find really old stuff - even if there isn't much silver over here.

My house isn't that old - 1870s. But very close to it is the older part of town - settled just as the romans bugged out.

I really should, my house is a rich mans house. It has servants quarters and all. Could be gold..

I have a 250. When I got mine I put things of differing metallic content in some used Air-Tites and practiced with those for several weeks. This helps out a whole lot, but I still dig nearly every target depending on where I am hunting. The practice of digging every target has paid off since gold rings will sometimes ring up as pull tabs on the Ace series detectors, found 2 in the last 3.5 years as well as 4 silver rings and a silver chain. I have several quart jars full of clad coins and lots of Civil War relics. I would recommend getting the 10x14" DD Excelerator Search Coil for ACE 150 & 250. It cuts battery life in half, but will get you down to around 20" in the right soil conditions.

Haha no she does not. I am looking forward to getting to practice more this weekend. I still need to watch the DVD that came along with it. So far for me the hardest part is pinpointing where the find actually is. Does anyone have any hints? I have heard some people can figure it out so exact they can just stick a metal rod in the ground and hit what is making it ping.

CMG, I have a relative who would metal detect near a roman settlement in the north, it took quite a while for him to find anything, I think he got 5 or 6 coins before laying it to rest. Some people find like 10 roman coins on one field where a plough has churned up a roman settlement.

As for really old stuff, it wouldnt be a hunt if you didnt find something from the early 1800s or late 1700s. Generally, you can find stuff back to the 10th century like lead weights. Its all about location as to age. (celtic and saxon stuff is much much rarer).

On a similar vain, people do just dig up old stuff when gardening. Theres at least 1300 years of continuous settlement in my area, so if you go down to the river you can find old pottery laying about. you cant dig anywhere without hitting bricks and old tiles.

Most old homesites in the US have already been hunted, but there are still goodies, as I've found over a dozen silver halves and two silver dollars at such sites in two years.

I've had a cheaper bounty hunter for a while now but it works great and has coin settings. I used a 1861 silver 3ct, penns dime nickel, quarter, big & small nail, screwdriver and my hand shovel and put them around the yard for a half a day distinguishing between the sounds.
I live in Western Massachusetts, lots of early, early (well early for the US, lol) cellar holes, but haven't got much of a chance to use it yet, just around the backside of the old town , and no, lol, I didn't dig up the yard, my towns huge but only 1100 people.. It's dirt on the back side.. :) But me and a friend have a few really secluded holes were going to check this week..