150th Silver Coin + more shiny! Poor start / good finish to the day

LovestheShiny!

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I headed north today, on US Hwy 93 to Missoula, making a Costco run for my wife, and planning to detect the rest of the day till dinner time.

Found myself in a 1930's neighborhood, part of which is shown on the 1957 Sanborn fire insurance map of Missoula (see last pic), one of 80+ pages just for this town. Started door knocking about 11 am, and the day started out not so good. At the first house, the lady gave me the ok to detect anywhere in the front yard. My first two coins were wheat pennies, so I thought this might be good, maybe some silvers. She came out a short time later and told me "my husband doesn't want any strangers on our property so you need to stop detecting." Wow... that was discouraging. So... I headed across the street and down one house, this one was a late 1930's house. The lady gave me the ok to detect the front yard. First coin was a wheat penny so again, thought this might be decent with some silvers. She came out a few minutes later and told me that she had a "bad feeling in her gut" about me "digging" in the grass and that her husband might not like it, and that I would need to stop. At least this woman was polite about it. Hmmm... discouraging. I suppose I could have packed it in for the day, but I was determined to do some detecting.

Hopped in the car and drove to the next block. Got permission at a late 1930's house, and pulled two silvers - a War Nickel and a Mercury Dime - and some wheats along with modern coins. These were silvers #147 and #148 for the year. The guy across the street was watering some flowers, so I set the AT Pro down and went over to chat. Nice guy, gave me the ok for his front yard. Got a fair amount of wheat pennies and my 2nd silver War Nickel, silver #149. The neighbor to the east was home and outside, and she gave me the ok for her yard. Some wheats and modern coins were all I found there.

Headed to check out an indoor Estate Sale in a nearby area, and the really nice guy holding the sale said I could check his yard. Turns out he detects for gold nuggets in California. The front yard produced more wheaties and modern coins, along with a nice Mercury Dime, #150 for the year. A nearby Silver Spill gave me two more Mercury Dimes, #151 & #152. Checking the back yard, which I rarely do, I pulled a lot of wheaties and a Silver Rosie #153. For some reason it was also "clad quarter day" in town as I found 18 of those.

All in all an excellent day, great weather with temps in the high 70's. Started out poorly but ended up really well! Thanks for your interest!
 

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Your efforts were rewarded quite nicely.....Congrats on some nice hunts.

Thanks d4c! These "newer" neighborhoods seem to be pretty darn good about having decent coins. Of course no IHPs Barbers etc but still some nice finds are possible. Lots of wheaties, my oldest today was a 1910, with some in the teens thru the 1940's.
 
Why do you not like hitting backyards?


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A fair question. Usually most of the activity "in town" at these homes is with people coming and going, visitors stopping by, snowball fights in winter, dropped keys, rings, and coins, as folks pulled stuff out of their pocket getting their car keys, people walking by on the sidewalk and losing stuff, and who knows what else. I've detected many hundreds of private yards here in Montana and based on what I've found, the front yard is where it's at for finding good coins and many coins. In this yard, while the back did produce, I got 3 silvers in front along with some wheaties, and 1 silver and more wheaties in the back.

I usually only ask permission to detect the front, as many times the backyard is more "private" to the homeowner and I don't want to butt in on their more private space.
 
A fair question. Usually most of the activity "in town" at these homes is with people coming and going, visitors stopping by, snowball fights in winter, dropped keys, rings, and coins, as folks pulled stuff out of their pocket getting their car keys, and who knows what else. I've detected many hundreds of private yards here in Montana and based on what I've found, the front yard is where it's at for finding good coins and many coins. In this yard, while the back did produce, I got 3 silvers in front along with some wheaties, and 1 silver and more wheaties in the back.



I usually only ask permission to detect the front, as many times the backyard is more "private" to the homeowner and I don't want to butt in on their more private space.



That’s understandable. I like to hit the backyards as well myself due to kids playing. I don’t get many permissions though, due to lack of trying lol. When I do get 1 I try to cover it all the best I can.


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That’s understandable. I like to hit the backyards as well myself due to kids playing. I don’t get many permissions though, due to lack of trying lol. When I do get 1 I try to cover it all the best I can.


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Your system is great! If you have the OK on the back it sure can't hurt to have more virgin ground to detect! I have pulled some goodies out of a few back yards, a really nice Stander silver quarter, a Spanish American War medal, and a few silver dimes. For my time though, I seem to do far better in the front.
 
Sweet silver score. Persistence definitely pays off. That first lady probably called the other and for one reason or another to shut you down. I've had people go squirelly on me a few times, I just say I understand and move on but always wonder what changed their mind. You say you don't do backyards, at the very least I like to locate the old clothes line, they usually pay off pretty well. Good luck Mark
 
Grats on the multi silver

Thank you Joe!

Sweet silver score. Persistence definitely pays off. That first lady probably called the other and for one reason or another to shut you down. I've had people go squirelly on me a few times, I just say I understand and move on but always wonder what changed their mind. You say you don't do backyards, at the very least I like to locate the old clothes line, they usually pay off pretty well. Good luck Mark

Thank you Mark! Having a permission go bad has only happened to me a few times, once here in my hometown - after I found a 1902 Indian Head Cent in the front yard, I made the mistake of showing it to the lady who owned the home. She went inside and looked them up "online" and found a 1877 in Mint State worth $250,000. She assumed mine was worth that much, and told me "your fun is over" - no more detecting in her yard. I gave her the penny, said "thank you" and left.

As for back yards, most of them are fenced to separate front yard from back, and usually I want to respect people's privacy and not ask about the back. Clotheslines have been hit or miss for me, surprisingly on most of the ones I've checked I have not done well.
 
More amazing digging David. Congrats on hitting the 150 mark, you know you still have enough time to repeat getting to the 200 plateau. One fantastic year in the making. Trapper
 
More amazing digging David. Congrats on hitting the 150 mark, you know you still have enough time to repeat getting to the 200 plateau. One fantastic year in the making. Trapper

Thanks Trapper, I was happy the way the day turned out, though it started off not so good! 200 is a possibility, might make it!
 
It's always good to end on a high note! Congratulations. Going 2 an 1800s house in the am and yes the backyard and clothesline are all on the "mission sortie" planner.
 
Asking Permission

Almost same thing for me today. First permission was a house I have been looking at for a long time. Two minutes after I started, the lady came out and said her sister didn't like me in the yard. Permission revoked. Last two permissions were a go, and I ended up with one 1951 dime, and two silver quarters. I dug not one clad quarter, just the two silvers. Congrates on a fine day, and way to go, not giving up as that would have been easy to do.
HH everyone
 
It's always good to end on a high note! Congratulations. Going 2 an 1800s house in the am and yes the backyard and clothesline are all on the "mission sortie" planner.

Nice Richie, hope your yard has some real goodies! Though regarding the back yard, I must say, if the owner says "You're welcome to check the back yard too" I will definitely do that!

Almost same thing for me today. First permission was a house I have been looking at for a long time. Two minutes after I started, the lady came out and said her sister didn't like me in the yard. Permission revoked. Last two permissions were a go, and I ended up with one 1951 dime, and two silver quarters. I dug not one clad quarter, just the two silvers. Congrates on a fine day, and way to go, not giving up as that would have been easy to do.
HH everyone

Congrats on your sticking with it too hikerdude, and glad you found some nice Silvers!
 
Big congrats on reaching 150 FTY! It’s always a good feeling when a rejection turns into multiple permissions after being shut down.:yes:
 
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