WHERE WILL I FIND TREASURE?

The answer to this question is ‘Anywhere!’ In essence, anywhere that people have been you could find treasure of some description. It could be in the form of lost coins, jewelery, personal items or even items that have been lost around the yard that could now be regarded as relics. So, if you own a house that would be around 35 years old or more, there would be chance in finding pre-decimal coins. That’s a start! Try around where the clothesline is, if you don’t happen to find any coins there, just try and imagine where the clothesline could have been. In the earlier houses, prior to the 1960’s, washing in some cases, was just strung up between two trees or posts. I have literally found dozens and dozens of coins, badges and even some jewelery at these places. Whilst we are talking about old houses, the owners sometimes stashed some of their money in jars and buried it in either the front or backyard, generally in a location where they could keep their eye on it. They even buried it in the back corner where a kitchen used to be. By doing that, the ‘occupants’ would really make a racket if someone came near them. The old flowerbeds are ‘hot spots’ and should be checked too. I have found the odd ring or two there that must have been lost when they were gardening. Check under any large trees with large overhanging branches, coins fell out of the pockets of children either climbing trees or jumping off ropes. People often buried valuables using fence posts as markers, and the posts either disappeared or they could not identified them again hence leaving their treasure buried to this day.

Pay particular attention to the pathway from the front door to where the letterbox was, or even out to the footpath this is also a haven for lost coins – remember a lot of tradesmen including the milkman and baker used to travel along this route and in their haste used to drop the odd coin or two. In the early days children (and that included me) had a habit of playing around near the down-pipe, old toy cars can be found here.

Don’t forget to check any retaining walls and would you believe, some people buried their money under their house and even under paths and driveways. As a matter of fact, in the days of the rising gold and silver prices, people contacted us for the use of a metal detector so they could locate their loot that they had buried.

As a treasure hunter myself, I just stop and think of the possibilities where else you can also find treasure. Inside the house is another spot – inside built-in cupboards and drawers, near fireplaces, hidey-holes in walls – the list is endless!