What else could be in this house ????? My mind is wondering !!!!

[Paul Kiraly 3]

Abandoned for years over 40 years

 

Hello everyone. I recently bought a new house, well,its new to me. I had been looking for a house that was bigger than 3 bedroom 1 bath.. Im sure you can see the problem. I was wanting something with a 2 car garage. Real estate is high here in south Louisiana. I have been looking for over a year now. I just happened to look through my computer and found a huge house that was a fixer upper. I was amazed when I pulled up in the drive way. The house sat on 5 lots. The house was 4 lots long. It was a Brick 2 story. 2 beautiful Oak trees in the front yard. They are massive. I walked in the back yard through the high grass and I can see where a huge garage was and where an in ground pool was that was filled in with sand. The listing showed it was 5 bedrooms ,4 baths, 2 living rooms, Dining room, 3 kitchens game room and single car garage all built in one. The roof had some damage and I wasn't worried about it. I met the realator and she showed me around. This house was built in the 40s and who ever built it was wealthy for that time. Every house on the rest of the block was either 1 or 2 lots, nothing compaired to this house . The house looked like a time capsule. Marble rotary phones was still in the house.50's shag carpet. Copper Etched paintings still on the wall. 24 caret gold etched plates in the main kitchen. Brick flower planters in the house, Clothes from the 50's and 60's still in the closets, all the outlets are 2 prong, amazing. I fell in love at first sight. The house was vacant since the late 60's. The newest thing I found was some playboy magazines from 1979-81, but nothing other than that. The reason the house stayed vacant was because the roof was leaking and no bank would touch it. Someone had to buy it cash.. They had offers in previous years and no one would finance it... I pulled some serious strings at a bank I know, and I had to put 20% down and the roof had to be completed in 3 weeks after closing. I signed on Wednesday and started to clean it after work. The main living room was the first. A lot of stuff in the house was garbage. As I was sweeping ,I found a penny. I picked it up and being a coin collector ,I had to look at it.. BAM .. Wheat penny 1948... WTF.. What is the odds of that. My heart was racing. what is the odds. I proceeded to work between the inside and outside for the next few days. Saturday night I went in the master bath and was sitting on the toilet. I just happen to notice another penny on the floor by the corner of the wall. I had to pick it up.. BAM.. Wheat penny 1946. This was too good to be true.. the only 2 coins I fine in the house and wheat pennies at that. The house was almost spotless and after 40 garbage bags of trash I was getting closer to a spotless house. I went to home depot and went to get sheetrock to fix the ceilings in a few spots in 3 rooms.. I was sweeping the dining room when the broom pushed something. I reached down and it was a 1964 D quarter. I was so excited I called everyone in my family. I am now at a disposition. Should I tear down the interior walls to see if there are any treasures.. I know this house has to hold more secrets.. No one can be this lucky... I know a lot of ppl hid valuables in the walls back then, because they didn't trust the banks. The owner died in the 80's so that road is closed, What do you think I should do?

 

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[Ultra Cameo Collection]

It might be more cost effective to just go get one of those snake cameras that can be inserted into a small hole and moved about to see if there is anything inside the walls. I know I would not like to tear out walls just to find nothing and then have to repair/replace the whole wall.

 

You should be able to rent one from a plumber. You may have to look around.

 

Good luck though, and please share all your findings.

[jpcienkus]

What about using a metal detector? I don't know anything about them, but you should be able to program them to look for specific sizes or something like that...

 

Before tearing down walls, I would investigate my options. I do like the above suggestion of using a snake camera as well.

 

Congrats on your coin find. Maybe there's gold in them there walls!

[CBC]

Years ago I helped a neighbor tear down an old abandoned house on some property he had bought. Didn't pay much but he said I could keep anything I wanted from the house. By the time we were done I had found three old coins - an 1818 cent, an 1853 cent and an 1855 cent - under the floorboards in one of the rooms. The 1818 was pretty worn but the other two were around XF. I still have all three of them, 45 years later.

[Jack Robinson]

Have fun on your treasure hunt. I would suggest, as a side note, that be careful of what you through out. As you mentioned in the old days people use to hide money in walls and window sills. They also, however, hid money and other valuables in: books, pockets in clothing, in the air/heat ducks; to name only a few places.

 

Check old envelopes too, because people would -- save up money-- for special things or events. They often misplaced the envelope with the saved money enclosed. Do not forget about loose floor boards and behind self-seals hanging art/photographs that may be in your house and garage.

 

As for options on your walls, I agree with using the camera...that would be least expensive approuch.

 

Keep us updated. . .

 

Semper Fi !

 

Jack

[Six Mile Rick]

I have heard of a few tales where they took out the medicine cabinets and dropped the cash below it in the wall. Some even tied a string on the bags so they could be pulled out later on. That is a good place to start.

 

Rick

[Tyler N.]

I don't know about the whole tearing down the walls idea unless you can justify it by telling yourself, "they needed to be replaced anyway..." Hey, it'll be an upgrade to the house and you'll be able to treasure hunt at the same time. Have a few cold ones before you start, the idea will sound better. If you decide to tear 'em down, let us know if you find anything.

 

I'm currently renovating my first house. It was built in 1918 and has some great character. I have also found some coins on the lot. Nothing too rare/old - some 50s pennies and a silver roosevelt dime barely recognizable - but cool finds nonetheless. I replaced all the sheetrock upstairs, but didn't find anything in the walls except dust and dirt. When I'm done working on the kitchen, I will move on to the dining room and downstairs bedroom. Vinyl paneling is not my style so its all coming down. I'll let you know if I find anything, Paul.

 

Tyler

[mvcoins-migration]

I say the Gold Coins are hidden in the walls from 1933. Tear them all down and find that Treasure!

[Six Mile Rick]

I say the Gold Coins are hidden in the walls from 1933. Tear them all down and find that Treasure!

 

NOPE!!! They're buried in jars in the back yard!! After you renovate the house -- Tear Up The Back Yard!! He He!!

[RWB]

Burn it to ashes. The coins will remain -- a little ruined but....Now the paper curency, well that fantasy might have to be sacrificed....

 

Metal detectors and camera snakes seem like the best ideas....don't forget about the potential for comic books, too.