Hi Maxxkatt - Before moving to Western Montana, my main hobby was bottle digging. My wife and I moved a few years ago to a part of Montana where the soil is all glacial scrape (ancient Lake Missoula) - tons of various sized rocks, can't even get a probe in the ground to look for outhouse pits or dumps. Since I had done a bit of metal detecting back in the early 1980's, why not go back to doing some of that? Last year I bought an AT Pro and find it is a great machine for my type of detecting and soil conditions.
Just like you, at first I was checking out the local fairgrounds, parks, school yards, play equipment etc and finding tons of clad, but nary a silver coin or anything old. All the usual locations had been hammered for decades. And just like you, I like the older stuff and wanted to find silver. The AT Pro went much deeper than my old White's plus with different tones and a Target Number, I had hopes of finding old coins and relics.
My "ah ha" moment came last spring when I tried out the Pro at a grassy side area at a nearby ca 1914 school. Just learning my machine, I got a nice high tone and popped out a 1912 Barber Dime about 6" down. Later on that same hunt I pulled a 1901 "V" Nickel out, and I thought... man... there ARE still old coins to be found!
LOCATION is the absolute key on finding the older stuff. This year I have pulled out 212 silver coins, including a couple of Peace Dollars, plus almost 1,000 Wheaties, silver and gold rings, Montana trade tokens, odd relics, Fort Missoula military buttons and much more. I am saying this to ENCOURAGE you (and anyone else!), as where you detect (of course your ability too) is of prime consideration.
I detect parking/curb strips, and private yards with permission. Private yards are the very best... no one can give you any flak as you have the owner's OK! Any home 1940's and older has the potential for silver, wheaties, and the odd older surprises! I see you are in Georgia, waaaaay older than where I live, so there must be opportunities and locations where you can find early silver, large cents, Indian Heads, even Colonial coins. I would love to have a chance to detect where you live!
Learn how to read a home's architecture to get an approximate date of build, learn how to read whether a lawn is fresh turf brought in or original. Your local library may have Sanborn Fire Insurance maps which are super helpful in knowing when a structure was built. Don't be worried about asking permission at older private homes. Be confident, cleanly dressed, and stress respect for their private property and let the owners know that you will take excellent care of their lawn as you save history! I find with a great attitude and friendliness, I can get permission more than 90% of the time!
Good luck in your quest for older coins, they ARE there waiting for you to find them!