Metal Detecting Research -
Historical Maps, Photos & Books
Research is the single most significant aspect
to being a successful treasure finder. Without research the
metal detector hobbyist will have to depend on chance and luck
and can never become a guru or specialist in this field.
Research must become a priority! In section one we will deal
with research tools that are "things" and in Part II we will
deal with "people".
The things of research can be found in our local libraries or
even easier on the world wide web. The first tool that is
abundant in both libraries and on the web is historical maps. If
you want to find some good areas to hunt, maps need to become
your best friend. Finding a local source for these maps is
important. I have personally used the city clerk's office. This
is a great resource for local maps and as a geography teacher of
high school 9th graders, I got more leads indirectly, by doing a
three day project with 16 of my top students. These bright young
minds examined hundreds of maps attempting to find city owned
sites that would make potential recreational/park sites. Their
research found me several dozen metal detecting sites (more than
I have ever found in weeks of personal research) and they were
honored by the city fathers in having three of their researched
sites become city parks and ball fields. Below is a list of some
of my favorite internet map sources. This type of research will
greatly enhance your success with metal detectors and is fun
too.
1895 U.S. Atlas
Military Battles and Campaigns Maps
Historic Topo's
Historic Atlas of the 20th Century
Hargrett Library
United States Digital Map Library
Historic Cities and Towns Maps
Historic Maps of Florida (or any other state name)
The internet alone can produce many possible detecting sites
regardless of where you live, but do not depend- just on the
web. Local historical societies offer a wealth of information
too and attending a few meetings can open up doors to maps not
found anywhere else.
Photographs of historical significance are also a great source
for finding metal detecting sites. Many books on the history of
your community will have photos of where people congregated 50
to 100 years (or more) ago. Some of the very best metal
detecting finds that I own came from pictures showing carnivals,
sports activities, holiday celebrations, religious gatherings,
community dances, and parade routes to name a few. The internet
again is a good source with many good photo databases. Here are
few of my favorites:
American Memory
Historical Photos Archive
CivilWarPhotos.net
Aerial Photographs are a very useful tool for metal detecting
research. As a geography teacher in the 70's and early 80's I
collected hundreds of aerial photos of cities like New Orleans,
Chicago, NYC, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San
Francisco. I learned the various patterns of city growth and
development and have applied this info in finding sites and
dating them for locating specific targeted coins. If I wanted to
find a 1909 SVD Penny or a 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter, I
would use both the regular photos and aerial shots to find
building and traffic patterns for 1909 or 1916. It does work! A
site that I researched using both types of photos, produced five
1916 coins that had to be lost that year or soon after, as all
were in extra-fine to almost uncirculated condition.
A third and powerful source for finding metal detecting sites is
historic books. As I mentioned in the last paragraph historic
books have marvelous photos for finding metal detecting sites.
They also provide records of events and show the pattern(s) by
which the community developed. Knowing the pattern(s) of
development is a key in dating sites for older relic and coin
finds. Each city in the world developed by a myriad of factors
and understanding the growth and development of a city provides
a wealth of information to the detectorist that will influence
the quality as well as the volume of finds. Here are four key
theories that have helped me immensely and are easy to learn
too: Concentric Ring Theory, Sector Theory, Polycentric Theory
and Multiple Nuclei Theory. These growth theories have been
around since 1925 when the Van Thuen Model was introduced. All
of these models of urban growth utilize aerial photography as
well. I include books and journals into a metal detector
research category called the "Home Town Advantage". When you are
armed with well documented histories, you will a have powerful
advantage over most other hobbyist who will not take the time to
research. You will also not have to travel great distances to
find good or new sites. Researching your own town or city will
provide more sites than you can imagine. I have lived in the
city of Tarpon Springs for 40 years and started metal detecting
there on Christmas Day of 1969. Thirty nines years later, I
still have not hunted all of my researched sites in this city of
only 30,000. Yet, I have found over 150,000 coins with 85%
coming from the Sponge Capital of World, Tarpon Springs FL. The
best place to find these historical documents is a local court
house, a city clerk's office, library or historical society.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, research is is
the single most important aspect of successful metal detecting.
Chance and luck will not consistently be with you. Make research
your number one priority and depend on POP too! We will talk
about "it", not him, in part two of metal detecting research.
Here's to "diggin it!"
Larry
metaldetectorforcoincollecting.com
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