Research Location Items-- Magazines, Books and Maps

Over the years I have collected quite a few books written about metal detecting and treasure hunting. I also have collected "treasure hunting" magazines from the mid 1960's on up to the present. In the 60's up to the mid 80's, in the US, titles of detecting magazines were "Treasure", "Treasure Search", "Treasure Found", "Western and Eastern Treasures", "World of Treasure", "Lost Treasure", "Treasure World", "Western Treasures" and "Treasure Search and Found" among a few others. Presently only 2 are published in the US, "Western and Eastern Treasures" and "Lost Treasure". There have been a handfull of articles written about Houston in these magazines and I have tried to get all of them and put them in the magazine binders. I have 6 of these binders with the issues that have articles I thought have been most interesting.

Among the metal detecting books I have in my collection of almost 100 books, are the following ;

Advanced Coin Shooting, by Patrick Fahey

Coinshooting, by H. Glenn Carson

Coinshooting II Digging Deeper Coins,

by H. Glenn Carson

Coinshooting III, by H. Glenn Carson

Competition Treasure Hunting,
 by Ernie Curlee                          
Diamonds in the Surf, by Bob Trevillian and Frank Carter
Metal Detecting Previously Hunted Sites,
 by Vince Pascucci
Modern Metal Detectors, by Charles Garrett
Professional Treasure Hunter, by George Mroczkowski
Search !, by James Warnke
Successful Coin Hunting, by Charles Garrett
Successful Treasure Hunting, by Lance Comfort
Sudden Wealth, by Deek Gladson

Cache Hunting, by H. Glenn Carson

Find More Silver Coinshooting Parks and Schools,

 by Robbie Morin

The Detectorist, by Robert Sickler

　

I also have about a dozen different year city maps of Houston from 1939 to present,

(1939,1950,1952,1955,1958,1960,1962,1965,1968,1972,1978,1982,1990,2006,2012) which shows parks, schools, roads,important buildings and where the city limit lines had been located over the years. Some of the city parks had been in use before the areas had been annexed to the city.

Example--- a particular park that the city aquired in 1971, is shown on a 1962 city map outside the city limits----- --and a park that the city aquired in 1952 is on a 1939 city map, also just outside the city limits line----------When the city annexed the areas outside the city limits the parks then became aquired by the city the year of the annexation. Older maps showlots of details about where prime searching location will be.

Many maps of the area you might be interested in are available on eBay. that is where I found all of these maps.

The Adventure Continues......

In late 2009 another Houston local forum sprung up on the net, Coinshooting Online run by TwistedVintage from the Spring, Texas area. My younger brother Qkslvr told me about it and I looked it over and joined in February 2010. As it grew quickly from members of DirtJournal, more online friends were made and some small group hunts were organized. There were more locals joining the forum and getting out on the group hunts and it was nice to meet and see all the new detecting friends.

　

Garrett AT Pro

I still had my 2 Whites detectors and was doing very well with them, finding silver coins, other older coins , silver rings and more plated rings. In early 2011 one of the locals who was selling detectors as a sideline to his regular job was at a small group hunt. He had brought the Garrett AT Pro which had been a fairly newly released detector. I had my Whites M6 and was scanning around a tree base, and I got a signal of a junk item. I asked him if I could borrow the AT Pro to test it for awhile. As I scanned around the same tree I had been at, the Garrett signalled a quarter and a junk target very close to the coin. I dug and a clad quarter was recovered and also in the hole was a rusty nail. The M6 didn't see the quarter and the Garrett did. Within a month I had bought a Garrett AT Pro ( #13) and started to learn it. After 23 years with Whites, I saw that there were other detectors that could get the coins in the trash filled locations I was hunting.

　

Fisher F5

As I started hunting park areas and schools I had searched many times with my Whites detectors I began finding more clad and some older coins in the same exact spots that the Whites detectors missed. I even got a wheat cent in a spot of ground in my yard that I had searched with every one of my detectors I have bought. The M6 was sold and I started to research other detectors for a replacement for the Whites IDX. I settled on a Fisher F5 (#14) bought it, and began learning that one also. I had contributed some of my detecting video links and a few stories of some of my finds, and they were posted on Stout Standards, metal detecting author Dick Stouts webpage. He suggested I do a review of the Garrett AT Pro, so over a period of weeks I submitted sections of my review of the detector. Learning the Garrett and Fisher was a little challenging, because of 2 new brand detectors, going from a one brand and 6 detectors of that particular brand. I sent in a few sections of reviewing the Fisher F5 to Stout Standards also and he graciously put them on his website. The Whites IDX and all the coils I had for the M6 and IDX were ebayed and now gone.

　

Coinshooting Online was growing very well and more and more locals were getting into the hobby and going on group hunts. I was finding more clad in parks and schools I had thought were pretty clean, due to the 2 newer and better detectors. Dick Stout convinced me to write a story of my past detecting experiences and my 1st article was published in the February 2011 issue of Western and Eastern Treasures magazine. I since have had 3 other stories published, and written a book about metal detecting also. Find More Silver Coinshooting Parks and Schools ( Dimeman's Detecting Tips) by Robbie Morin is available on Amazon.com.

　

Detecting is a continuing learning process as new detectors come along every few years and they are better at target identification and detecting coins at a depth that seemed impossible 25-40 years ago. New tricks and tips from others also help in finding those older coins.

　

The Dimeman Adventures continue.....................

　

My Favorite Outings part 2

In early 2007 after reading the finds locals were digging at The Camp Logan area on the forum, DirtJournal.com ( now defunct) I remembered an article I had clipped from the newspaper years before. I searched for and found the article in my closet and read it again. It told of a water tank on top of a small brick structure that was believed to be from the camp (circa 1917-1919). The newspaper writer even had a few historical experts look at the building and it was undecided if it was made before, during or after the camp. The bricks used in the structure were those used from the early 1900's-1920's. It was located on a bend along the bayou in an unused section of a park.

From the article

Along the trail

I told a few forum members about the tank and where it was located and they went in search for it. I finally got a day off and went to see if I could locate the water tank.The area was in an out of the way section of the park and very heavily wooded along a bayou. As I looked around a bit I noticed an old path going along the edge of the bayou. It was hard to see but it was defineitly a footpath. I took it with my Whites M6 detector in hand, scanning along the old footpath. The path went up and down along the bayous sloped edge close enough to where the water was within a few feet at times and 15-30 feet at others. I noticed some railroad ties and old boards along the path made to where the path was level to walk on. After going about 500 feet along the trail, it started to go up to a rise of ground. I was scanning around a few large oak tree bases and got a overload signal on my detector. I raised my loop about 6 inches and scanned again to see if it was a very large target close to the surface. The M6 told me it was a half dollar. Still thinking it was a large item I moved the thick layer of leaves from around the target area. I saw something round, picked it up and couldn't beleive my eyes. It was a very worn 1875 Seated Liberty Half Dollar !!!! Since this was in the Camp Logan area I wondered if one of the soldiers stopped under the tree sat down and lost the coin from his pocket, back when the soldiers were training in the woods.

I was so excited I almost ran back to the car, up and down the footpath along the edge of the bayou. As I got to my car I was out of breath and had to rest in the car with the air conditioning on full blast. This was the oldest silver coin I had ever found while detecting !!!! ( At that time)

It was then I remembered I didn't find the water tank. I decided to return another day to try and find it.

I didn't know it at the time but if I would have continued up along the path along the slope of the bayou about 100 more feet, I would have arrived to where the water tank was located.

My Detecting Story--part 5

Over the years my younger brother had borrowed my detector a few times to look for a specific lost item or to try out metal detecting. In the fall of 2006 he was interested in getting his own, and started to research detectors. He told me of a local based detecting forum ( DirtJournal.com) and after reading posts of some of the finds local guys were making, it got me interested again. I joined the forum, and as I had 2 old detectors I dusted them off and put new batteries in them and started to refamiliar my self with them. My younger brother went with me on a few searches, and then he had decided on which detector he wanted, and bought a slightly used one. It made me want a newer model, so I researched and in January 2007, I bought a Whites M6 (#11) and some accessories.


Whites M6

 I tested it in my yard and dug up some silver coins and a few wheats. I had thought my yard was all hunted out !!!

I liked the M6 so much, I researched more detectors and located a used Whites IDX (#12) on ebay and bought it. It was very similar to the older Coinmaster Classic III, as it had all the same controls but also had a target ID screen. Within a few months the old Whites 3900 and the Classic III were sold on ebay and I used that money to get a few more accessories for my new detectors. I even dug a silver quarter in my yard with the IDX. With the newer detectors detecting was fun again !!!!


Whites IDX



The local forum was begining to grow a little bit, with more local and non-local members joining up. Some group hunts were organized, and detecting with new friends was very nice. With the 2 more modern detectors, I began finding older coins that I thought were long gone. Searching my old hunting areas produced coins a bit deeper in the ground and in the totlots in parks and schools I began finding lots of gold plated rings. Within 2 years time I had dug many plated rings, and the other locals on the forum and that I hunted with, started calling plated junk rings "Robbie Rings".


Well-------If something is going to be named after you--- it might as well be something gold....even if it is gold plated.

Some of my favorite outings-

One of my favorite detecting outings, years ago in the late 1980's, was with the Whites dealer who owned the small Trading Store in the old Chuck Wagon burger building. On a Sunday morning, his wife, him and I went over to the library close by, and started detecting the ground. I had been learning my Whites 3900DX Pro for a few months, while he brought a Whites 4900, his wife had a Whites 2500, beginners model. The library was built in 1961 and I don't think it had ever been detected before.

There were loads of wheat pennies, Buffalo and Jefferson nickels and only a few silver dimes and a few silver quarters. Since this library was used after school by the 3 schools( elementary, Jr. High, and Sr. High) each less than a mile away, there were also handfuls of clad coins ...some just laying just under the grass on top of the dirt. His wife was lucky and found a small silver ring along a sidewalk and I dug a man sized silver ring in the middle of the grass area. I think we were there, between 3 and 4 hours before we all got tired of digging so many targets. It was almost constant the whole time and only a few trash items were dug.

It was very fun to find lots of older coins and compare with the other detectorists, what we had dug up.

My Detecting Story- Part 4

While the Fisher 1210X was a good detector, I missed the Whites 5000D series 3 that I had owned, so in 1988 not wanting to spend too much but still get a Whites, I got a new 3900DX Pro (#8). I bought it at a small Trading Store 2 miles from my house that had just opened up and was selling Whites detectors, as he was a detector user. The store used to be a Chuck Wagon hambuger joint that had closed up, about 6 years earlier, and the son took over and started a swap/trading store. He had stuff on consignment and jewelry items and a little bit of everything.

I talked him into detecting at some of his spots and I took him to some of my favorite spots with both of us digging some older coins to keep. His shop didn't last too long ( 1 year lease) and he closed up and moved away.

Just like the one I had

I liked the Whites so much about a year later (1989) I traded the Fisher 1210X in on a used Whites 6000 Di (#9) at the older detector shop, and kept the 3900DX Pro as a backup. In late 1989 I changed jobs again and needing some extra cash, sold the 6000 Di, but kept the 3900DX Pro.

I got busy working at my job and didn't have too much time to detect, going out a few times every few months, but still was finding a few old coins in the parks and school yards even though they were getting harder and harder to locate. And as the old saying goes they were----- Few and far between !!!!

In 1992 I wanted a 2nd detector and got a slightly used Whites Coinmaster Classic III (#10) from a dealer up near the big airport here. Still keeping the 3900DX Pro for a backup. The Coinmaster Classic III was a good detector and I was finding more clad coins and a few more silver coins than the previous couple of years. After 6 or 7 years with the Classic III old coins were very, very scarce at the parks and schools I was searching. I tried some other areas and they were lacking in the older targets also.Detecting was not as fun anymore due to not finding those older coins. In 2003 I think I detected probably 3 times the whole year, and then soon after, the detectors found their way into a closet.

My Detecting Start -- part 3

After owning the Bounty Hunter RB7 (#4) for about 2 years, (1983-1985) I stopped at one of the local dealers to pick up some books and magazine back issues from their great assortment and saw a Demo Garrett Master Hunter 7. After testing it in the store I decided that to get some of the deeper old coins "I had to have it !!" Got rid of the BH RB7 and got detector # 5. With 16 years experience of searching parks and schools AND now, a top of the line detector-- I was ready to really get down to business.

Like the one I had

After 3 or 4 months of the Garretts "Bell Tone"( which I couldn't stand anymore)----- I had enough--------back to the shop I went, and I traded the Garrett in on a Whites 5000D series 3.( #6) Now I could concentrate on the beeps instead of hearing bells in my head.
It was about this time when I met up with another Whites owner. He had an auto mechanic shop down the street from where I worked and he fixed my car a few times. One of the times I was at his shop I noticed a metal detector in the corner and I struck up a conversation with him about it. We went out detecting a few times a month at parks and schools in the neighborhood. He also had the opportunity to partner up with a guy who was searching for the Texas Twin Sisters cannons, and an article was written up in the Sunday paper magazine on one of their searches. I think they went out 3 separate occaisions looking for the cannons with no success. ( I always had to work when they went searching). I had pretty good luck with the Whites as I was re-searching some park areas and digging up some old coins that were still in the ground.

The 1212X was very similar to the 1210X

I had heard there were about a dozen metal detectorists from the nearby neighborhoods, but I only saw 1 or 2 others detecting. Then in the middle of 1987 I was out of a job---and needing a few bucks, I decided to sell the Whites. Within 4 months I was back working and saved up some money and got a nice clean Fisher 1210X (#7). One knob, no screen, and ready to find coins. I WAS BACK IN BUSINESS !!!!

My Detecting Start--Part 2

In the first part I mentioned my 1st two detectors. I owned the Relco( #1) from 1969 to 1978 the year I started a job in auto parts counter sales. In the fall of '78 I had a steady paycheck so I traded my Relco for a Bounty Hunter Red Baron(#2). I began finding lots more older coins with a good quality detector.



Red Baron and Red Baron RB7 looked the same

 Along a mile stretch of one road in Houston is a park area built in 1950 with two 2 lane road, and a divided grass center median. People who used the park would park on the center grass median, because there was no curb--the street was built with no curbs on the center grass strips. So from 1950 until about 1980, park users parked on the grass and walked across the 2 lanes to the park. They could park anywhere along the 1 mile stretch of road. About 1980 the city decided to install curbing on the medians along the road. The road crew scraped down a few inches of dirt, built up the forms for the curbing, poured the curbs then filled up the area inside the median with fill dirt.

I was lucky enough to know one of the foreman on the crew who let me detect the areas that had been scraped before the men came and built the curb forms. As long as I didn't bother the work crew or get in their way I had permission to dig. Many people had parked along the sections of the medians, so when I detected I was digging keys, key rings, metal bottle openers, some toy metal cars,wheat cents, Indian Head cents,V Nickels, Buffalo Nickels, Jefferson Nickels,Barber dimes, Mercury dimes, and Roosevelt dimes. Spending hours on my days off I dug plenty of Barber,Standing Liberty, and Washington quarters along with Barber halfs, Walking Liberty halfs, Franklin halfs and some Kennedy halfs. I even dug up a few Morgan and Peace silver dollars along those sections of grass. I had dug up enough coins to fill 2 large coffee cans full, and a small can of assorted other items. The workers caught up to where I hunted, passed me and were done before I finished the mile long section, as it was only about 4 months ----I have never hunted the remaining sections of center grass medians. I am guessing that they put about 3-6 inches of fill dirt to make it even with the top of the curbs after they had scraped down dirt to make the concrete curb forms. Most other roads with center divided medians have the concrete line right up against the curb. These have the concrete form line about 4-6 inches away from the actual curb.

I traded a bunch of the common silver coins and copper coins from this "project hunt" in the late 1980's for some rarer coins for my Mercury dime collection. I kept about $125 ( face value) worth of silver coins and put them in one of those glass canning jars with the metal wire type spring closure---- It makes a impressive display.

Similar to the Fisher I had

About 1982 I traded the Red Baron in for a Fisher(#3), I think it was a model 440 or 444. I used that one about a year and in 1983 I traded it for a newer Bounty Hunter Red Baron RB7(#4). I liked the Red Baron and wanted to see if the new model had better improvements on it. It seemed about the same as the old model, and I used it for a couple of years, finding old coins.

In those days if you were lucky, you would come back from detecting with a handfull of old coins and 3 or 4 clad coins. Nowadays you come back with a handful of clad coins and maybe if you are lucky, one or two older coins.

Park and School Tips in my book

      Since I have been metal detecting at parks and schools for over 40 years, I have learned a few tricks and tips to find, and dig up the older silver coins still left in the ground.

      You don't have to follow me, hiding behind trees and bushes to see how I do it, or put a GPS tracker on my car to show where I go........all you need to do is buy my book, "Find More Silver Coinshooting Parks and Schools".

It is for sale on Amazon.com for $12.95.

The link to purchase my 1st book is.........

http://www.amazon.com/Find-Silver-Coinshooting-Parks-Schools/dp/0615638872/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346988271&sr=1-1&keywords=find+more+silver+coinshooting


In the book are coin and jewelry items ID numbers for some of the Fishers, Whites and Garrett AT Pro metal detectors. A few tips on how to set your detector controls to get the maximum perforance and depth, what to look for on the ground to locate old paths and trees. Additional deep coin finding stratagies will help in locating those coins.

Loaded with pictures of just some of my silver coins and ring finds. Some of the detectorists who have bought my book already have located old silver that was in heavily hunted areas.

My Daily Drivers-- Cars I have owned

Here is a short video of photos of cars I haved owned. The 72 Nova, the 92 Grand Am, the 06 Malibu Maxx and the 67 Chevy II are actual pictures, the others are representation photos of the cars.

59 Ford was a 4 door baby blue and white The car I owned the shortest time--my 1st and last Ford owned
64 Chevelle malibu SS 2 door was white but I had it painted metalic blue.
69 Chevelle was the green like in the picture
72 Nova was Mohave Gold and I owned it for 20 years
77 Regal was Red with a white vinyl top
92 Grand Am got flooded by Tropical Storm Allison.. the insurance co. totaled it out
01 Cavalier Z25 beige finally was giving me too many problems traded it on the 06 Malibu Maxx
06 Malibu Maxx had 29,600 miles on it when I bought it in January 2012.

The 67 Chevy II I had as a 2nd car while the 72 Nova was being restored ( new paint, new interior, new chrome outside, new factory rims, new tires, rebuilt engine)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXhFYceCE8A

I also owned a 1973 Chevy Nova 4 door lime green during same time as the 67 Chevy II but sold it after about 1 year of driving it.

Detecting Finds--2008

A short video on some of my metal detecting finds from 2008.

I was using a Whites M6 bought brand new in January 2007, and a Whites IDX bought used from ebay in early February 2007. I had been using Whites detectors only, since 1988. Over the 43 years I have been detecting, 6 of the 14 detectors I have owned over the years have been Whites.

Since early 2011, I have switched brands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyxgK-5nm8U

In Print

After 42 years of detecting I was prompted by another detectorist/author ( after writing some detector reviews for his blog) to write an article for Western and Eastern Treasures magazine. I sent it in and it was published  in the June, 2011 issue!!!  I wrote a 2nd story, sent it in, and it was also published, in the February 2012 issue.
After sending the 2nd story in, I decided that I could write a book on metal detecting. After all.... I learned quite a lot in the 42 years of searching parks and schools, and I should share some of my knowledge.


My 2 stories-- in print !!



I worked on the book for a few months and made up the front and back cover photos, and all the inside text and pictures. I even got my detectorist/author friend to write the Forword for my 1st book. It has been released and is available on Amazon.



My articles and 1st book.

I have sent in a 3rd story, to the magazine, and am waiting to see if they are going to print that one.


I have sold some of my books to local club members, a few neighbors, and also Amazon has sold some copies for me.

It is very gratifying to see something you have written in print. I hope to write more articles, and then maybe do an update on the book in the future.

Robbie

My Detecting Start

(Yes this is a old picture of me)Way back in 1969 after 5 years of silver coins being out of pocket change I was looking through a Popular Science magazine. There was an ad to find treasue in the ground by using a metal detector. Being a coin collector and trying to finish a collection of Mercury Dimes, I decided to call the company in the ad. By chance they were in Houston and only about 1 mile from my house, so I went to see what they had. I got a catalog and spent days looking it over trying to decide on which one to buy. After trying a few out at the store, I bought one. A Relco Frontiersman ( BFO type) with a small and large coil in the wooden box.

The salesman gave me instructions on how to use it and off I went in search of buried treasures. After a few days of searching and only finding junk, I stopped at the store to see what the problem was. I wasn't setting the detector correctly and after being shown how to set it....off I went again. I started finding wheat cents, Indian head cents Buffalo Nickles, V-nickels and after my first of many silver coins--------I was hooked !!!!!!!!!( These only had a depth of about 3 inches--which was considered deep back then.)

It seemed like every park and school I searched had hundreds of old coins. After some years of finding nice old coins, I found another detecting store in town and upgraded to a better detector, an old Bounty Hunter Red Baron,VLF/TR. I had much better finds and deeper. I could find coins at 5-6 inches deep. My coin collection was growing.

Hello everyone,

One of my hobbies is metal detecting and on the metal detecting forums, I'm known as "Dimeman".

I have also written a few stories that were published in Western And Eastern Treasures magazine and have a book published titled, "Find More Silver Coinshooting Parks and Schools- Dimeman's Detecting Tips". It is available on Amazon.com.

Thanks for looking.

Robbie