Adelaide metro Relic/Coin Hunting?

[Zorgs]

I've spent the last year scouting out metro sites, trying all sorts of places, researched historical info/pictures and yet been finding bugger all....well anything remotely interesting....

I decided to try the Torrens banks around Walkerville knowing they have probably been worked over a thousand times before. The silence and odd bit of steel/large items was a good indicator. I did manage a Penny which I reckon was a fluke. It cost me around 10 hours of detecting!!! Chatted to a council parks guy who reckons a lot of those banks have been filled which might explain the large masses of irony items.

I noticed there's not a lot of posts on here regarding Adelaide and relic/pre decimals. Just wondering if it has a lot to do with population in the early days, sites build over etc? I'm reluctant to hit some areas as I know locals with plums stuck under their lips will claim destructive practices while their dogs lay land mines.

Do I give up on metro land and hit the beaches or country areas?

 

[Tassie Daz]

Zorgs I live in country SA and was interested to see Warren from NQExplorers visit Adelaide some time ago and he detected some parklands areas with a little success. Have a look on UTube to find the vid. I've detected outside Brown hill creek CP and found a couple of pennies.

I guess no matter where you go it has to be where people congregated ever since population and the more the better. Sorry to state the bleedin' obvious.

 

[Goldpick]

You really have to pick the right suburbs in Adelaide to come across pre-decimals, plus a lot of parks in the outer suburbs are based on landfill, sometime old industrial sites that are absolutely full of rubbish. I always had more luck in the foothills/Adelaide Hills than in the city, plenty of small towns to chose from with secluded parks tucked away out of sight, and also some not so obvious sites that are in plain view (the sort you drive past every day, but don't give it a second thought).

I used to regularly visit a large tot lot next to an oval in one of the hills town, till I ventured onto the adjacent grassed areas thinking I might snag a few goldies. That small grassed area proved to be one of the best producers of pre-decimals I had come across, lots of silver, with many coins dating back to the mid 1800's. Turned out that the small grassed area was the original ground level, with all the surrounding areas built on fill for all the updated recreation/oval facilities. So no matter how much research you do and scouring of google maps/earth, sometimes you come across producing areas completely by accident, and also from persistent exploration, even if nothing good turns up at first.

Grassed areas situated alongside creeks or rivers have also been very good to me, not to mention detecting around any older trees in the same location.

Most of the pre-decimals in all my earlier members finds topics were all from the Adelaide area:

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7560

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=7987&p=3

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9329

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5376

 

[Paulmarr]

There have been 100s of detectorists before you Zorgs who have all targeted the parklands and Adelaide metro years before and I reckon most obvious places are fished out. Kiddy parks or tot lots have also been done to death but councils are replacing woodbark with rubberised bitumen which don't collect coins decreasing detecting areas exponentially.

The beaches can be good when we have had a giant storm but we haven't had a good one in two years now ... They are all "sanded" in at the moment. And we know of at least 30 regular beach looters who are retired and work the beaches daily.

Short answer ... Adelaide is not a premier detecting location ... Not compared with Sydney/Newcastle where from this site it seems every ground has silver coins in it!

 

[AtomRat]

Get on private property Zorgs. Farms, residential estate, anywhere and ask everyone for permission. If your comfortable with your digging and cleanlyness, supplying a small album of your neat digging and backfilled unoticed holes will help getting in as many feel its a 'rabbit hole' situation.

 

[PhaseTech]

Adelaide is still very good if you are happy to pick up a few pre-decimals, just need to detect the less obvious places as Goldpick mentioned.

Yorke Peninsula, Murraylands, mid north, hills etc have a lot of history and haven't been hit as hard as adelaide metro sites.

 

[Hawkey]

The best ground I have detected was from talking to an elderly local In the front bar.
A lot of country towns have museums with old photos and maps that can help you plan your next hunt.

 

[flyrodder]

i have been doing playgrounds from westlakes to morphett vale total so far 135 of them. Some no luck(these have been done before) but some have produced well In the last 2 months i have found $135- :lol: 3 silver rings 2 silver chains and 1 gold ear ring plus lots of ring pulls n bottle caps.One thing i have learnt work slowly.One playground i called christmas pudding 16- 5c pieces. :lol:

 

[Goldpick]

It also pays to own a very small coil for getting hard up against metal play equipment, either that or get on your hands and knees and rummage around the bark with a pinpointer. You'd be surprised on how much gets left behind due to people running a too larger coil.

 

[Zorgs]

Thanks for all the replies guys, just got to keep on cracking at it and not expect any pre decimal 'coin spills'.

I've gone over a couple of the 'thrashed out' and obvious places and really tried to get into areas that aren't as easily accessible ie sides of drop offs etc and have found some old items but no bloody coins.

 

[flyrodder]

It also pays to own a very small coil for getting hard up against metal play equipment, either that or get on your hands and knees and rummage around the bark with a pinpointer. You'd be surprised on how much gets left behind due to people running a too larger coil.

you are right there moderator i have found lots of coins under swings etc by working very slowly n watching for different variations to what the metal from the swings gives takes a little patience but works

 

[clegy]

I see a few Guys and gals in the US actually go door knocking for locations.

Original houses, businesses etc. They just rock up and politely ask if they can have a crack. They get a fair few no's but they also get a lot of yes's.

I think the best finds will come from private permissions in the future, even the $2 coins are getting scarce with amount of go-finds and aldi's kicking around.
Its winter up here, the van parks are full but the actual parks are devoid of coins all of a sudden.

My friends and I are researching areas for private permission digs and I truly believe that is where the best finds are.

But Having said all that, I got a penny right in front of the local laundromat while waiting for my washing to dry week before last?
So you just never know where they bloody show up. LOL

Happy Hunting