Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Old coins? How deep?

A

AZWIP

Elite Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2010
Messages
976
Location
Phoenix AZ
OK, have to ask, still on my wish list, old silver (or gold!!!) coins.... how deep do ya'll usually find those? Although I am in AZ, and its not half as old here as many other states... gotta beleive they are lurking.

Man, in a little over 14 months... I have found the occassional pre-65 quarter and dime, only "1" wheat, and 1 indian cent (that was fun)... gotta be more?

Now, could be because I usually don't chase items deeper than 6-8 inches?

How deep are the old coins ya'll are finding? Please name the state and depth it was found if you can remember... it may push me to go deeper. :yes:

Thanks folks!

P.S. Oh yeah, and what was the signal like at the depth you found it? Thanks again!
 
AZWIP said:
Now, could be because I usually don't chase items deeper than 6-8 inches?
Click to expand...

Funny how people are so different, not long ago I read on here where one of our members didnt dig unless it was 7 inches deep..., I'm in Tennessee.. I found a couple of silver dimes the other day that were about 2 inches deep, found a silver quarter in the same yard about 6 inches deep.. Honestly if i get a good signal I'm going to dig it.. deep or shallow.. if you dont your are ging to miss some mighty good stuff either way..
 
It really can vary a lot. I've found silver coins on top the ground and as deep as 10+".

Most normal yards here in southwest Kansas you can expect old coins/silver to be around 3-4". Some places get washed out and can be very shallow. In our city park don't expect to find an old coin less than 6".
 
blkcloud said:
Funny how people are so different, not long ago I read on here where one of our members didnt dig unless it was 7 inches deep..., I'm in Tennessee.. I found a couple of silver dimes the other day that were about 2 inches deep, found a silver quarter in the same yard about 6 inches deep.. Honestly if i get a good signal I'm going to dig it.. deep or shallow.. if you dont your are ging to miss some mighty good stuff either way..
Click to expand...
I have my own theory of how coins "sink". Does this ring true to anyone?
 
Roff said:
I have my own theory of how coins "sink". Does this ring true to anyone?
Click to expand...

It rings true for me! :yes:

My "best find" is a 1799 bust dollar I found about 20 yrs ago in bryn mawr, pa. It was about an inch down!

I think "deep" coins go deep more because of human activity than natural processes. This probably works both ways as in the case of my bust dollar. I found it in a row of rose bushes, and either digging the dirt to plant them or their subsequent growth may have disturbed its original depth which probably wasn't all that deep in the first place.

My deepest verified find was a gold wedding band in the shallows of an old swimming lake - 10" down laying perfectly flat in hardpacked sand. The soft overburden was about 9 of those inches. That soft overburden can change from day to day in an active swimming lake.

That lake had an interesting history. It first opened in the 1920s and closed in the 50s. It laid essentially dormant for almost 20 years before being reopened in the 70s which is when I found it. I think this is where the "hard pack" came from which gave up DOZENS of gold rings and a few hundred silver coins to me.

Dust and sand blowing around and "sticking" probably adds depth over time, but I suspect that would be almost negligible in only a few hundred years.

Rapid depth could be attained in areas that flood frequently, I suppose, but those areas wouldn't be all that common in the grand scheme of things. In flood prone areas (which WOULD DEFINITELY include many lakeside/riverside parks), flooding could add a measurable amount of muck each time, from a thin layer to an inch or more.

In the end though, "sinkage" still does it's best to mystify me, and I stopped worrying about it years ago. But sometimes...sometimes...in spite of myself, I just start wondering... :lol:
 
I've found a few silver coins an inch below the surface but I'd have to say the remaining 90% were at least 6 inches deep.
 
Over the past thirty some years, the average for silver coins that I have found has went from around three inches, to around four or five inches. Still I have found them as shallow as two inches, while finding Memorial pennies at over eight. The deepest coin that I have ever found was a barber dime at a good twelve inches. (I had a witness) Conditions were perfect and I doubt if I'll ever do that again. I usually give up around eight anymore. Getting old, I guess. If the ground is hard, five is about my limit. I think of all the other shallower coins I could be digging instead of trying to find what usually turns out to be a piece of junk.
 
Here in Minnesota most areas have pretty black soil and the coins can get pretty deep. On hill sides I have dug old coins two inches or less. I dug an 1889 Indian head at three inches. On flat areas it seems they get deeper most older pre 1964 coins are 4-8 inches with some up to 12 inches deep in flat areas. If I am in an area with old coins I'll skip the shallow signals on the low areas and only dig them on hillsides.
 
Gold

wow your in Arizona Gold at 1506.70 a Oz,i would have to delay coin hunting and get a GPX5000,start a new show GOLD RUSH Arizona :shock::yes::D,however i can see your interest in finding older coins, as i have interest in the older coin finds,most of the older silver was 6 to 10 inches here in Maryland,as if just wished i lived in England,some of their post are jaw dropping,Happy Hunting Earl :D
 
wow, 14 months and only one wheat? gee, i'm in eastern Canada and i've found more wheats than Canadian coins! :yes: (oldest was a 1920)
i'd say the average depth has been about 5-6 inches.
the ground conditions and soil type will play a factor in the depth, the amount of moisture in the ground (annual rainfall), frost tends to push them around, both up and down, insect activity tends to move things around, dust layers will help cover them even more.
in short, lotsa different factors in play.
and then there's the acidity of the soil. some will come out looking almost brand new, others will be in hard shape. i dug a penny a couple of weeks ago under an old apple tree that was unreadable on both sides. it was the right shape and size for a penny and was copper, but as for the year or who was on it, i'll never know as it's basically just a copper disk now. :(

Pete
 
Cool

Some great replies folks,I find thsi real interesting to say the least. Yeah, one wheat, crazy isn't it, and I have tons on pennies, so its not like I am not find 'em lol. And the condition of most of these pennies, wow, ugly is not the word for it, these are really corroded for the most part. As to the Gold here in AZ, yeah, would be nice... only gold I can hit is the jewelry from time to time... have not tried the drybeds etc, for nugget hunting... still having too much fun with the parks and schools, ha ha. Someday I may borrow a buddy's Lobo and hit the raw desert and see what I can find. Although I night hunt mostly, and night hunting the desert... could be a wee bit tricky depending where I guess... critters, critters and more critters. Lol.
 
AZWIP said:
Some great replies folks,I find thsi real interesting to say the least. Yeah, one wheat, crazy isn't it, and I have tons on pennies, so its not like I am not find 'em lol. And the condition of most of these pennies, wow, ugly is not the word for it, these are really corroded for the most part. As to the Gold here in AZ, yeah, would be nice... only gold I can hit is the jewelry from time to time... have not tried the drybeds etc, for nugget hunting... still having too much fun with the parks and schools, ha ha. Someday I may borrow a buddy's Lobo and hit the raw desert and see what I can find. Although I night hunt mostly, and night hunting the desert... could be a wee bit tricky depending where I guess... critters, critters and more critters. Lol.
Click to expand...
Are you aware that, since 1982, US pennies have a zinc core, with copper plating? These turn into little batteries in the presence of an electrolyte (e.g. ground moisture), and corrode very rapidly.
My detector can distinguish between zinc and brass pennies. Unfortunately, it cannot distinguish between a brass penny and a dime. I dig very few zinc pennies, but a lot of brass ones.:(
 
I dug my oldest Wheatie just about 1 inch deep two days ago. It was in a church yard about 2 feet from the foundation. It was a 1917 S.

My guest it was that shallow because of human activity. There are a lot of ideas on why coins of different dates are found at different depths and my guess they are all correct. Coins are just where you find them. So keep swinging and digging. :thumbsup:

As for the zinc pennies. Dug them while you can, they will not be around for long. Most of the zinc I dig is already badly deteriorated and they are just from the '90s.
 
critters/night hunting

Well ya need 6 things for desert night hunting,Snake boots,head lamp,gold bug dp,water,shovel,and a 44 mag,Happy Hunting
 
I find them

at two inches, on the surface, and at 9 inches. Today, I was finding clad at 5 to 7 inches CLAD darn it all. I kept thinking maybe silver dime, but I didn't have the sweet sound, but CLAD at 5 1/2 inches mostly quarters. 15 of them.
Go figure. Happy Hunting :yes:
 
Some helpful info here for sure... I find it real interesting to see that the older coins really seem to be all over the place (just not in my area, lol) in terms of depth... its really weird... I mean, sure Phoenix is not quite as old as most states, but dang, you would think I'd hit more than one wheatie... unreal eh. I had initially thought that maybe its because I don't dig all that deep, but ya'll are finding these things all over the depth scale, nice, real nice.

And I hunt, alot, (for me anyways) at least 2-4 times a week... and in terms of old coins, just not getting 'em. Other than what I had mentioned.

Am happy with the jewelry etc, don't get me wrong, but a merc or something would be fun too. Lol.

Its funny you mention the equipment for night hunting out here... buddy of mine keeps a backpack close by all the time, snake kit etc... reckon he's pretty smart though. Hate to need it and not have it... even the fields etc I hunt, would imagine they would get their share of scorpions and snakes from time to time... in the meantime, I'm ok not knowing. Lol.
 
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