Wow, thanks for the links. I'll have to read up a bit. Not sure if I'm going to get into it or not. I was thinking that on this old homeplace, someone buried SOMETHING near or under some great big old oak trees. Seems I would bury something where I could find it later, that would be the key.
Look for any old foundations on the property, and then check carefully around them. Also, a favorite hiding place in the old days was at the bottom of a fence post hole (no digging required). So look for any signs of an old fence line. Good luck! Metal detecting can be addictive. You wouldn't believe how many rings you can find . . . And of course you're always looking for that old, rare, valuable coin. People have made hundreds of thousands of dollars just finding one old gold coin.