Searching Inside an Old Farmhouse

This is a good question that will take some time to answer.

Obviously a metal detector or stud detector will find metal. The bad part of that is almost every house has metal bits here and there so distinguishing between a nail in the floorboard and a small box of old coins hidden 6 inches below the nail is going to be hard.

Most of the time, a visual inspection will reveal a lot. Look for mismatched wallpaper areas, newspapers that cover bare walls, paint over plastered areas, loose floorboards, loose baseboards, cabinets with bottoms that lift up, stairs with risers that lift or scuff boards that are not secured, hollow handrails, medicine chests that pull out, false backs in closets and those lift up panels in the ceiling. Look under sinks for false wall panels. Look in the attic, basement and root cellar. If the floors in the cellar are dirt, use your detector there. Look in the floor joist area under the floors. Look for hollow lolly columns and false beams. Look around window frames and inside window counterweights. Look at door jambs and search for hollow spaces in the door itself. Look for lifting floorboards in closets and under where beds would have been.

Your work will be cut out for you and you won't need to use your detector very much at all.

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That's perfect guys!  That's exactly what I was looking for!  Thank you!!  I know it will be difficult but it is exciting at the same time so I look forward to it.  It may be a good winter job as well since it's inside and there won't be much digging in the ground. 

I've heard that people would put coins at the base of a window sill, or something like that.  Is there a time period for that and does anyone know why they did it?  Was it just superstition, like it would give them good look or something, or was it to actually reveal the date of the construction?

I will often just sit at a site that I'm digging and look around, trying to take myself back in time to see what people may have done or think like they might have.  However, I fear that my ideas may be polluted with common, everyday, modern thought processes that we all feel are "the way it's supposed to be."  That's why I value this forum so much!  All of ya'll share your experiences and expertise and that helps cut out a lot of the mistakes or misconceptions that I may waste time with otherwise and for that, I am grateful!  You guys rock!   

Cheers,
Dave 

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 Inside old buildings I have found a good UV light is more important then a detector. It can show were patches have been made. I have found several small amounts of money over the door trim inside closets. If you got all winter go slow and take your time you might get lucky.

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