Big Boys Hobbies

Option to ignore shallow coins?

I like people passing on shallow targets. When I lived in SoCal, 80% my silvers were less than 2" deep. Silver hunters pass on them being shallow. Met many others that "only dig targets 8" or deeper" That quick probe to pop out what everyone else thougt was a clad dime turned into silver merc at least once a month in well detected areas. Mainly in parks with gophers. One park I hit the same gopher laden hillside each year and pulled wheats and silver less than 1".
 
Tom_in_CA said:
For relicky environments (and certain types of terrain), SURE ! But for stratified normal park turf : No. There is lots of turf where it's almost a given that : a) New coins are going to be shallow, and b) old coins are going to be deep.

To the extent that , sure, there are "exceptions", then that's a little like saying this : When you're in Las Vegas playing blackjack, and you have 20 in your hand, do you Take another hit from the dealer ? Or do you "hold" ? Because, after all, the next card MIGHT be a 1 card or an Ace card.
Click to expand...

I'd run from any casino that had a 1 card in their deck. :lol: ???
 
I've found five half reales from the 1700's and all were 4 inches deep or less. Probably 45 of my 50 or so big coppers were less than 6 inches down. I've also dug Jefferson nickels that were 10 inches down, so deeper coins aren't always old coins.

This is a common misconception that metel detector dealers love to bang into your head. "This machine goes deeper than the rest, so you'll find the older coins!" Wrong! Just not the way it works most of the time.

Bottom line, never ignore a coin signal, regardless of depth. You might miss out on a really good coin!
 
FreeBirdTim said:
I've found five half reales from the 1700's and all were 4 inches deep or less. Probably 45 of my 50 or so big coppers were less than 6 inches down. I've also dug Jefferson nickels that were 10 inches down, so deeper coins aren't always old coins.

This is a common misconception that metel detector dealers love to bang into your head. "This machine goes deeper than the rest, so you'll find the older coins!" Wrong! Just not the way it works most of the time.

Bottom line, never ignore a coin signal, regardless of depth. You might miss out on a really good coin!
Click to expand...

Yes, and someone will win the lottery.

I play the odds. I read the site and determine how I'll discriminate & hunt. Just two years ago I found a near mint 1877 seated dime less than 1" down in our city park. The only reason I dug it was I figure a dime on the surface was worth bending over.

I figure it was stuck to a boot of a worker who left the construction area to go to the bathroom. They were building a new water slide and it was between it and the bathroom in a blob of mud. So yes it does happen, just not often enough for me to dig every signal.
 

Attachments

  • 241105496_1265658803889003_7600887232951053903_n.jpg
    241105496_1265658803889003_7600887232951053903_n.jpg
    104.7 KB · Views: 124
Detector said:
Yes, and someone will win the lottery.

I play the odds. I read the site and determine how I'll discriminate & hunt. Just two years ago I found a near mint 1877 seated dime less than 1" down in our city park. The only reason I dug it was I figure a dime on the surface was worth bending over.

I figure it was stuck to a boot of a worker who left the construction area to go to the bathroom. They were building a new water slide and it was between it and the bathroom in a blob of mud. So yes it does happen, just not often enough for me to dig every signal.
Click to expand...

That, is a nice Seated.
 
FreeBirdTim said:
.... so deeper coins aren't always old coins. ....
Click to expand...

Then you're not hunting the type turf that I'm talking about then. Where, yes, 99% of the time shallow will be new. And conversely, most of the time when you're down at ... say ...7" or below, it's never clad.

FreeBirdTim said:
.... . never ignore a coin signal, regardless of depth. You might miss out on a really good coin!
Click to expand...

Reminds me of the following true story : A buddy and I got ready to meet a new fellow, whom we were corresponding with on-line. The plan was that all 3 of us were going to meet up in a certain park here in CA, where I could generally count on getting a silver or two or three, and wheaties, at any time I found myself going through this part of the state.

As the 3 of us made our time & date plans to meet, I mentioned my strategy of cherry picking, passing clad, ignoring foil, etc...

The fellow was AGHAST ! Saying : "But sometimes an oldie is shallow" (gopher pushups). And "you might miss a gold ring". blah blah blah.

The day came, and we all met up . The results were predictable : Me a few silver, 12 or 14 wheaties, and perhaps 3 clad that fooled me. Him: 70 clad, a handful of foil and tabs, and perhaps a single wheatie.

He was quite surprised at his lack of oldies. He just couldn't understand why he didn't have the "best of both worlds". :roll:

But sure Tim: In certain other hunt type environments (relicky spots that are not stratified correlated turf), then sure : Depth might have no rhyme or reason.
 
stetam said:
Clad at 7" and below is quite common in PA.

Steve
Click to expand...

And I can think of certain parks here in CA with that anomaly. And I can think of others were silver starts at 3" (or no rhyme/reason whatsoever).

But we're not talking about these. We're talking about parks where it's stratified. And you soon discern that if you dig anything 5" or less, it's 99% gonna be clad. And if you dig only 6" or more , it's 99% gonna be an older coin.
 
Tom_in_CA said:
And I can think of certain parks here in CA with that anomaly. And I can think of others were silver starts at 3" (or no rhyme/reason whatsoever).

But we're not talking about these. We're talking about parks where it's stratified. And you soon discern that if you dig anything 5" or less, it's 99% gonna be clad. And if you dig only 6" or more , it's 99% gonna be an older coin.
Click to expand...

And I say again, in PA this is not true.

Steve
 
Tom_in_CA said:
But sure: This tactic doesn't work when you're in a spot that has no correlation of depth-to-age.
Click to expand...


I think this is the key. In my area I've dug a lot of old coins at shallow depths and clad coins at deeper depths. Possibly it has to do with the rocky soil of our area.

I still cherry pick at most locations, especially parks and schools. But my oldest coins have been found at shallow depths when I wasn't cherry picking due to the location.
 
JimR_TN said:
I've only been in this hobby for a few years, however some of my best old coins have been surprisingly shallow. Both my seated half dimes were barely 3" deep. The first one I found was in a field where I had been digging copper and zinc pennies and I almost skipped digging it as it sounded like another shallow zinc penny. My last IHP was also very shallow.

So listen for those deep whispers, but pass the good shallow targets at your own risk as they can be good.
Click to expand...

X2
Yes, (depending on location)
Most, if not all my recent silver and wheaties were 5" or less using the 6" coil on the Nox.
 
I've dug plenty of 3 inch deep silver coins and a heck of a lot of 6-7 inch clad.
Let's not forget that clad has been around for 57 years now so it's not impossible for it to get down fairly deep.
 
diggin4clad said:
I've dug plenty of 3 inch deep silver coins and a heck of a lot of 6-7 inch clad.
Let's not forget that clad has been around for 57 years now so it's not impossible for it to get down fairly deep.
Click to expand...

OK, don't anyone believe this guy, or anyone else telling you there are any old coins shallow.

IT'S A LIE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trust me, skip the shallow ones, and concentrate on them deep'ns.

iu
 
Gauntlet said:
....

Trust me, skip the shallow ones, and concentrate on them deep'ns.

....
Click to expand...

So let me ask you a question then : If I took you to various turfed parks in CA that I can think of, and you concentrated on shallow ones, while I concentrated on only deep ones : Who do you think will end up with the most oldies by the end of the day ?

(Assuming, of course, equal md'ing skills, machine, etc.... If the only differentiation were depth criteria ?)

:?:
 
woodbutcher said:
I've always ran the explorer gain at 8 , so deeper targets were well pronounced..as for shallow clad that's easy to skip over with a fbs, minelab fbs are the only machines I've ever used that had a depth meter that actually worked.
Click to expand...

I was happy to find out that my new CTX3030 had a very accurate depth meter that actually reported in inches. So this is my main determination on old coins. Typically in Atlanta, modern coins usually not deeper 4-5" anything deeper certainly 7-8" will be older coins in undisturbed soil that has not been moved around by machinery. Of course erosion can bring old coins closer to the surface and in sandy areas near a river bank can bury modern coins quite deep. And all bets are off on ocean beaches in trying to figure the depth of anything. It can change in a day.

Was never happy with the depth meters on the AT Pro or Nox 800 or Vanquish 440 and 540.
 
It would be Great if You could block out things close to the surface. All accept the Indians, Mercs, and Silver Roosevelt’s that I have found just under the surface. I just dug it all, You never know !!
 
I spend the first 20 minutes or so digging everything when I hit a new site. Once I figure out what kind of targets are in the ground and how deep the older stuff is running, then I determine how to set my discrimination and at what depth I want to dig targets from. If the first 3 or 4 inches is full of clad and modern trash, I skip signals in that depth range. I'm way too old and out of shape to "dig it all". I'm sure I miss a few good shallow targets but as said above, I play the odds. I want to get the best return for my time spent detecting.

Now if I'm on an old site without clad and modern trash, I'll dig regardless of depth.
 
I think it’s a good discussion.
Not long ago I bought used Etrac, and was surprised by the sound menu. It is awesome.
The option You are talking about should be VCO system. And on my explorer I can change the gain to the level it would be comfortable to understand depth.
A week ago I went to the site the good staff is 7+inches,but the modern is on the surface, I set gain to 10(max 30) and try not to notice loud signals.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

TundraPlugger
4 silvers and 4 wheats......good ratio
Replies
2
Views
41
bottlecap4u
bottlecap4u
B
Aunts permission silver
Replies
5
Views
87
Leave-No-Coins-Behind
Leave-No-Coins-Behind
L
FEATURED Morgan SILVER DOLLAR! 2 good MONTANA yards... Silvers, Sterling, IHP, Wheaties and more!
2
Replies
29
Views
276
LovestheShiny!
L
Dreams
1900 IHP
Replies
5
Views
119
Kansashunter
Kansashunter
metaladdict
A fun hunt with Tom in Ca.
Replies
15
Views
334
metaladdict
metaladdict
Back
Top Bottom