How deep are your deep coins?

[Dave]

In another topic we discussed techniques for finding the deep target. In this topic I would like to know as realistic as possible How deep are your deep coins? Do you guesstimate the depth? When you find a deep target. Do you measure from the top of the soil to the target or from the bottom of your coil to the target? Do you just go by the depth meter? I believe that the majority of the coins we find are from the surface to 3 to 4. Some are 5 to 8 and then only a few in the dirt would be any if at all deeper than that. I realize that coins in the sand would get deeper or coins in areas that flood freqently. I can also see that a coin might be deep in someones front yard, if they tilled/moved the soil.

[MNDigger]

I guess it really all depends on the area I am hunting but I would say in an average yard I have found my deepest coins to be about 8-9 or so. The deepest coins I have found with the Etrac thus far were two separate wheat pennies at around 11 in moist sandy soil. I use my Lesche as my measuring tool. I know the tip of the blade to the hilt is 6 3/4 and the over all length is 11. I measure from ground level down to where I locate the coin.

[del]

i usually hit old abandon mid-1700's to early 1800's cellar sites and most of the targets are 8 inches or less but there have been circumstances ( there was earth moved from the side of a small hill to build a barn )and i found my deepest coin at a good 11 inches ( i use a relic shovel to dig with and the length of the blade is that long and the top of the blade was even with the ground ) the coin recovered was a 1798 large cent and the coil was the 6x10 for my DFX .

Dan

[Epi-hunter]

My two deepest coins were a large cent that I found on an old homestead in Iowa that was 12 (found with my Exp SE) and my find last week in CT of the barber dime, also had to be twelve inches. But the vast majority of the silver I have found has been in the 4-7 inch range.

I found my best coin, an 1847 seated half, at six inches and with my ACE250.

I measure from the top of the ground to the bottom of the hole, and not using anything official... just estimating based on how far my X-1 probe (known length) goes into the ground.

[Dave]

Most of the coins I find come in anywhere from surface to five inches including my silver coins. The deepest coin I have found and it is simply a guess was at seven inches. I am really glad to know that you guys are finding some coins deeper than eight inches.

[Epi-hunter]

The large cent at twelve inches was a really iffy signal with the SE. I would never have dug it if in a park, but because I could dig freely at this site I did so. Probably it was not a good signal because I did not have the settings optimized and hadn't used the machine long enough to really know it well, but it would have been a much more solid signal on the E-trac.

[Dave]

The large cent at twelve inches was a really iffy signal with the SE. I would never have dug it if in a park, but because I could dig freely at this site I did so. Probably it was not a good signal because I did not have the settings optimized and hadn't used the machine long enough to really know it well, but it would have been a much more solid signal on the E-trac.


Did you find this coin in a field on farmland? I'm trying to figure out how that coin found it's way so deep. Any ideas?

[OkieDigger]

Most silver coins or IH's that are old I find in the 4 to 7 range. However, I have on a few occassions found coins at 8 to 9.5. Like Steve, I use my Lesche to measure the depth.

[Jason in Enid]

My deepest so far have been 6 - 7 inches deep. But those were with my old detector. Since getting my E-Trac a few weeks ago, I have dug, small junk items from 8 to 12 inches deep so I know it will pick up coins that deep. I just haven't run across any yet.

[Dave]

If we are finding our older coins in the surface to seven inch range. I would say than the coins that we are finding are the ones that were simply missed by other detectorist. Thousands of people have been detecting for at least thirty years. So think about this while you are out trying to get your coil over an old coin. The guys and gals that were detecting hard and heavy in the seventies were finding coins that are, as old as the ones we find now and in the same depth ranges. Coins don't sink unless they were dropped in the mud and a animal or a human stepped on it and pushed it deeper into the ground. So thats not sinking. The coins get coverd up by debris or by dirt being moved around from one place to another. You guys and gals, that are finding the older coins have to do more research and hunt harder in the less hunted places than your predecessor's did. It's tuff out there and you guy's and gals are doing a great job finding those coins!!

[Epi-hunter]

Did you find this coin in a field on farmland? I'm trying to figure out how that coin found it's way so deep. Any ideas?


It was farmland... one of my stepfather's farms. The ground is this particular area is sandy for some reason and every time it rains everything shifts around. I found a beautiful pre-1900 IH there at one inch. My stepfather told me that they actually found several large cents just sitting on top of the ground after a rain.

[flueinc]

I do most of my hunting at the beach as it is easy for me to stop for a fue minutes between inspections as I work a lot on the coast .The wet sand lets you pick up coins at a greater depth I have found coins at 18-20+ inches

[OkieDigger]

I think we're seeing that a lot of the deep coins (8+) being found are in softer or sandy types of soils. At least that's been my experience so far and it looks like for others as well.

[Islandhunter]

Most of my coin finds fall in the 4 to 8 inch range. I have found some deeper than that but most have been in the 4-8 range. Here, anyway...the frost is constantly moving things up and down in the ground thus if I find an old large cent or old piece of silver it does not necessarily mean I or others missed it but that the frost pushed it up or spun it off of its edge so it was then into range of my M6. I've also found zincolns down in the 10 -12 inch range so the movement of the ground from frost and mud will also suck coins down. However for me anyway, coins deeper than 10 inches are a rarity and that goes back to the other post...is it because they are not there or jsut out of range for my M6??

[hoser]

Most common is four to six inch range for me. However I did get a silver dime in some mossy stuff that was close to 11 but that was a fluke I figure. And it was stained a rich golden color. from the tannins. Most of the time where I hunt is pretty sandy and really easy to dig in.

[grinsebring]

Last week I hit a virgin homesite. it was a house scheduled to be razed. The city bought it. It was built in 1900 give or take five years. I dug 30 plus coins and and a couple relics. This yard was unlike the sandy digs Im used to here in Florida. This was loamy and had a lot of 1 inch rocks mixed in. Almost every coin fell into the 4 inch bracket. I dug a dozen wheat pennies and two silver rosies, the usual clad and a lot of copper pennies from the 60s and 70s. There is a 50 foot beat up lawn area between the house and an old church that I will do next. Its been real dry here, so Im going to wait till we have a good rain to go back. Hope I live long enough :rolleyes: I used my new 12 inch sef coil. I know I can find plenty more beyond that 8 inch mark. Digging in the muck at the lake I easily found coins at the 10 inch and beyond level. This is Florida, we have little if any minerals to ground balance against. When I get up to new england, it's a much different story......Gil

[bigjohn070]

Most of mine have been between 5-8 inches deep.

HH
BIG JOHN

[Diggler]

I hit some deep natural sinkers from time to time in the 10 plus range, but a lot of times soil has been added to the surface making the coins deeper. Easy to tell if soil color changes abruptly or coins are underneath a rock. Such is the case in a nearby old school which is my testing ground. Get a little of both, but my last silver was a quarter at 10-11 in an area that does not appear to have been leveled.

[woodwizard]

most of the coins I hit are between 3-8 but I did hit a quarter at a measured 14 thru sand/clay using a wader from detector pro I was quiet impressed as it was on the first hunt with it when new

[TimC]

Anywhere from 2 to 8 inches. One of the best coins I found is a Standing Liberty quarter, it was around 6.

[Evan]

I find alot of the old coppers are around 6-8 but have found some as shallow as 2. My deepest coin was an injun that was about 11-12. I also have pulled plenty old cans well over 12 more like 18-20 It's kinda a tricky sound because they are so deep they sound so much smaller and nicer like a coin when they are that depth. Ya always gotta dig those hits though because you never know when there's a nice cache waiting there for you!!!

HH,

-Evan

[TimC]

If I get much over 8 I start digging clay soil in some parts. I guess it starts turning to clay around 12 or so. Like I said above probably 8 realistically.