METAL DETECTING AND COINSHOOTING

The term "coinshooting" refers to searching for coins with a
metal detector.  The best coinshooting locations are schools,
churches and parks.  Quality coins can be found in older places.
Schools and churches built after 1970 will not produce silver
coins or wheat pennies.  Look for older buildings, especially
ones with the date on a corner stone or a plaque near the
entrance.

Churches are a special place to coinshoot because they are
usually the oldest buildings in a community and hold the oldest
coins.  Churches were often the first buildings erected in small
towns after the homes were built.  All of the town’s people would
gather at the church, and children would play in the area around
the church.  Search under and around trees on church property,
since people would sit in the shade on a hot day or children
would climb and play in the trees.  Trees could provide a great
find.

Although it is pretty easy to distinguish older schools from the
newer ones, many new schools are being built on the site of old
schools that have been torn down.  This is where your research
would be pay off and you could find great treasures.

Look for locations built before the early 1900s that were center
stage for large crowds to gather, such as gazebos or bandstands.
Gazebos were often located on church grounds, parks or town
squares.  The same is true for bandstands, but they have the
added benefit of seating areas to coin shoot around.  These are
two examples of excellent sources of quality coins.

There are numerous locations to coin shoot, limited only by your
imagination.  Coins are found anywhere money exchanged hands or
could fall out of pockets or purses.  Old drive-in theaters are
good sources, especially around the playground area in front of
the screen.  Although they may be filled with trash, there are
ways to get around that.  Discrimination options can cut out a
lot of trash, or a smaller coil will help detect between pieces
of trash.  Some metal detectors even have a bell tone alert or
tone identification that sounds off on coins but produces a low
hum on trash.

A great location that is often overlooked is under old bleachers.
Older fields were usually used for both baseball and football
games.  Again, there may be lots of trash, but it is usually
worth digging through it to find silver.

Another great location to coinshoot is in the grassy area between
sidewalks and streets.  Although it is public property, in
residential areas it is common courtesy to check with the
homeowners before you start metal detecting.  If the owners have
lived in the area for any length of time, they may be able to
provide some additional tips on where to hunt.  Don’t forget to
look around old parking meters in the area.  Check the medians in
the center of roads in housing areas.  Children often use this
area as football or baseball fields.

Remember to always ask permission when hunting in these places.
It isn’t difficult to get permission to hunt at churches.  Go
early and let them know you will be hunting at a time when they
are not busy.  For schools, just contact the front office and ask
permission to hunt when school is not in session.  It is also
helpful if you tell them you will return any class rings or other
identifiable items you find.  Check with city hall or the local
police department when asking about coinshooting in public parks.
The main thing to remember is to let them know that you will
dispose of any trash items you find and that the only thing you
will leave behind are your footprints.