Coin Depths and Coil Sizes

GeorgiaJay

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580
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Noth Atlanta, GA
I have been hunting with the ACE 250 for a little over a month now. I have found a good bit of clad and a ton of junk and pulltabs. But, I still haven't found any silver coins or older pennies.

I usually use the standard, 6.5" x 9", coil when I am hunting. Sometimes, I will use the Sniper coil, if I am hunting in parks and tot lots. I was wondering if a larger coil, like the 9" x 12" coil would help much in finding older coins? I don't know how much more depth it would give me?

I am thinking that if I want to find silver and other older coins, I am going to have try a lot of really old sites and a wide variety of sites. What do you think would help me more? I really can't justify spending over $90 for a 9" X 12" coil for the ACE 250. Thanks for your advice!

Also, I was wondering how deep are silver coins and older pennies usually buried in the ground? Or, does it vary quite a bit?
 
As far as added depth for your coils, the 9"x12" will probably go roughly 2-3" deeper than your 6.5"x9".

I've found silver coins at less than 1/2" to more than 10" deep. It's more about getting your coil over the older/silver coins than what coil you use. You get to the right spot and the silver will be found.
 
im no expert by any means, but i did just recently find my first silver with my ace 250. i was using the sniper coil which is what i generally use 99% of the time. it takes a little while longer to scan an area but i honestly think you dig less trash and can pinpoint a ton better than with the standard coil. i dont think buying the bigger coil will help you find anything you cant already find with what you have.

the silver i found were no deeper than any pennies i've dug....i got 2 silver rosies in one hole and another silver rosie by its self and neiter were deeper than 3". i try to be pretty thourough with my scans too and dont swing super fast. a nice consistant medium speed swing does great.

as far as your spots go, the older the better and the more likely to have older coins. i order for you to find them, the coins must first be there. if you can research and get permission to dig some older spots, i think you will greatly increase your odds at finding silver.

hope this helps.....GL & HH!!
 
Really good advice above.... it is mainly persistence and selecting high potential sites... then, of course, technique and knowing your machine. Good luck... HH RickO
 
i have only found one weat penny. it was at a park that is only about 10y.o.

the deapth was just under the thatch of the turf (<1"?).

i agree with the guys that it is about the site then gear/proficiency with it.
 
Swing time and read your factory manual also is their any MDing groups in your area? You can learn more in and afternoon with someone that is seasoned than weeks of reading and YouTube. Good luck
 
Almost everywhere public has been detected at some point in the past and the low-hanging fruit is long gone... That aside, you will probably do better with a small coil in these areas to work better in the trashy areas to find the goodies that were missed by bigger coils or older machines.

I have a CTX and the only time I ever put the 11" coil on is at the beach or in a wide open area with little trash/iron (which is seldom). The 6" coil is my go-to big gun.
 
Location is the biggest factor in finding older coins. I like to find homesites that have a chance of not being hunted before. I also like to hunt curb strips in the older parts of town, old schools, park renovations, and some sidewalk tearouts. Going to your average trashy park and hoping to find silver is not your best bet even though they can show up at times. Do some research in your area and find out where they might have had fairs or other get togethers (old churches are also good bets).
 
The old rule of thumb was an inch of depth for every inch of coil. While I don't know if this has any scientific backing, I do know that it has been true in my experience. Obviously there is a point at which the coil is so large that you start missing small items, such as small coins. 15" is the biggest I would go for coin/relic hunting in a clear open area. The 9x12 should do well for you and add 2inches or so onto your depth. As others have said the biggest part of finding old coins is finding old locations. I've found large cents at an inch deep in the middle of the woods, however if you hunt parks, and other sites which may have been hit hard, or had fill added, then depth is necessary. The parks around me have been pounded hard for decades so the only finds left in any numbers are the deep targets and those in hard to hunt areas. Small coils will find you the targets they missed in trash filled spots, and the large ones will find you the deep ones they missed in the more open and trash free areas. I hunted my grandfathers yard for over 15 years with several high end detectors, the yard was literally full of metal trash from the 20's and 30's (it must have been a small dump), anyway the last 2 opportunities I had to detect the yard about 2 years ago I threw a 6in coil on my F75 and found 3 silver coins (2 mercs, and a 54' Washington). So yeah, in trash the small coils will get you silver, and in open areas the large ones will.
 
Good answer from CoiltoSoil.

I also agree with those that say location is key, but some of us are stuck with sites that have been searched before....... possibly many, many times over a lot of years. In that case experience and the right tools are critical.

Spend a little bit more and get the 8+1/2" by 11" double D coil instead of the 9" X 12" concentric. Better in trash and mineralized ground. Should do a good job on the deep ones. If you think that's too expensive, then just take a look at what CTX and Deus coils are selling for! :crying:

Also..... while a small coil is ALWAYS the best (and first) choice for a trashy site, don't be afraid to use a larger coil there too...... within reason.
 
The club I belong to hunted an old government housing area build for DOW Chemical employees in the early 40's. The average depth of coins, including silver, was 4 inches.

If you want to invest in a coil, a DD coil would be the better investment.
 
because we are in Georgia we must remember that the red clay keeps a lot of the coins from falling too deep. Usually it's been my experience that once the topsoil is removed (3-4") the red clay keeps most finds from being really deep like they are in other areas of the country. Just my .02 HH
 
Swing time and read your factory manual also is their any MDing groups in your area? You can learn more in and afternoon with someone that is seasoned than weeks of reading and YouTube. Good luck

Why are you responding to, and asking questions in a 7 year old dead thread? Did you even check to see the the person you are asking questions of is still logging in?

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Why are you responding to, and asking questions in a 7 year old dead thread? Did you even check to see the the person you are asking questions of is still logging in?

g1335873246724378224.jpg

I have been guilty of the same thing'not really noticing the obvious. Sort of like the clock thing.

LOL
 
Ahhhh you're right, they revived a 7 year old thread. Oh well I'm sure some others had the same question. :D
 
I've accidentally revived a few necro threads before. It usually happens when you are using the search function and it returns results from old threads and you see something to respond to before realizing it's an old thread.

If you constantly look at recent threads when reading the forum, then it's habitual to think everything you look at is recent.

Kind of like watching the commercials in a tv program you had previously recorded because you forget that it's not a live broadcast. :D
 
Nothing wrong with reviving an old thread if the search matches what you're looking for. Often the back discussion can be enlightening to more than just the person looking for answers.
 
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