Why do coins sink?

[derdmann]

Hope you don't think this is a dumb question, but why do coins sink? What factors cause them to go deeper? How deep will they go? (I'm new, so bear with me).

 

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[spartacus53]

Maybe because they don't contain helium

 

[Frankn]

It's an old "wives tale" that coins sink. Coins are covered up by layers of decaying vegetation, blowing dust, or flowing water. There are shell casings that have been laying in the desert since the early days and they are still on the surface. Old head stones are still there on the surface. Unless there is a high % of water in the ground like swamps, etc. things don't really sink in the ground. Frank

 

[spartacus53]

If the ground is soft enough for you to leave an impression, then it will sink if stepped on

How do you like them apples

 

[Jason in Enid]

Coins don't sink. They can be pushed down. Freeze / thaw cycles can move them deeper, as well as shallower. The normal process for burying them is the vegetation layering and decay. When you dig 50, 60, 70+ year old coin spills where the coins are stacked, you can still find blades of grass between the coins.

 

[ticm]

Coins sink, absolutely. Weather they are pushed, covered by vegetation, freeze/thaw, blowing debris or what ever. It's getting buried ( sinking). Lots of reasons why coins get covered up. I too have found very old items on or near the surface. I have also found filthy clad six inches and more deep.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

They sink in water.....LOL

So when you dig a trench and see different layers of soil with Indian artifacts in a specific layer 4 foot deep they sank that far.....LOL

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

If I don't dust my house everything in it is sinking below thick layers of dust, I wonder how far it sink after 30-300 years?

 

[TerryC]

Coins sink? Yes. It's called gravity. TTC

 

[ticm]

If I don't dust my house everything in it is sinking below thick layers of dust, I wonder how far it sink after 30-300 years?

Please stay on topic.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Coins sink, absolutely. Weather they are pushed, covered by vegetation, freeze/thaw, blowing debris or what ever. It's getting buried ( sinking). Lots of reasons why coins get covered up. I too have found very old items on or near the surface. I have also found filthy clad six inches and more deep.

Covering and sinking are completely different. Sinking implies that left completely alone, the object continues on a steady downward movement. You can prove this is false in your own house. Take a plug of dirt, put it in a jar. Put a coin on top. Put it on a shelf in your house and check on it every year. 100 years from now that coin will still be sitting on top because it is impossible to "sink".

Burial would be a correct term. Erosion also plays a part in uncovering buried objects. Would you try to claim those uncovered coins were "floating"?

 

[TerryC]

Of course, if you put it in a jar.... away from any outside influence, it will not "sink". Call it sink, buried, headed downward, ..... the wind and rain and other forms of invironment will cause the coin to "head south". In arid regions (very little rain/moisture) this process is slower but still predictable. VERY few dinosaur bones are found exposed. Old Roman coins are usually found below surface levels, etc. TTC

 

[Jason in Enid]

<begin highjack>
I'm starting to get scared, it seems lately that Keppy and I are agreeing on things. Either one or both of our meds are working correctly, or it's a sign of the appocolypse!
<End highjack>

resume discussion of that sinking feeling...

 

[ticm]

<begin highjack>
I'm starting to get scared, it seems lately that Keppy and I are agreeing on things. Either one or both of our meds are working correctly, or it's a sign of the appocolypse!
<End highjack>

resume discussion of that sinking feeling...

Yes, you should be worried. Very worried. And somewhat afraid.

 

[Keppy]

Coins do not sink.... I can put a dime on top of the ground out in my yard and years later if no leaves or or dirt cover it it will still be on top of the ground.... Coins do not sink>>>>>>......

 

[Keppy]

<begin highjack>
I'm starting to get scared, it seems lately that Keppy and I are agreeing on things. Either one or both of our meds are working correctly, or it's a sign of the appocolypse!
<End highjack>

resume discussion of that sinking feeling...

.... i think the med's kicked in......

 

[ticm]

Coins do not sink.... I can put a dime on top of the ground out in my yard and years later if no leaves or or dirt cover it it will still be on top of the ground.... Coins do not sink>>>>>>......

Yes your correct. They never sink, nor do they get buried if you have no leaves and dirt in your back yard. It's true folks. You read it here, so it has to be a fact.
So how many of you folks out there have no leaves or dirt in your back yard?

 

[Phanntom]

Hope you don't think this is a dumb question, but why do coins sink? What factors cause them to go deeper? How deep will they go? (I'm new, so bear with me).

About 10 yrs ago when I first began to get serious about this hobby and was doing research on the subject, mostly from the point of how long it took a given object (coin) to go how far down. I actually found the subject addressed by a biologist at a university site. According to his paper, objects left on the surface, will over time sink. How fast and how far depend on a lot of factors. A coin left on the surface of the desert, will likely remian very near or on the suface. Rain, combined with gravity will take it down a bit...during the summer when the winds blow, they remove the sand covering it, so it's back on the surface again. In heavy clay soil...they will sink...very slowly and not very deep even over long periods from the combination of rain and gravity. In good soil like topsoil or a lawn...objects will sink much faster and much deeper for the reasons mentioned...gravity, rain and believe it or not...the biggest factor is worms. Worms are the dominant reason because they live in topsoils and are constanly moving (tunneling) and anytime they travel below a coin...they loosen the soil and it continues it's eternal trip downward to usually less than a foot. Most worm life resides in the top 12 inches of soil. Worms don't thrive in clay, or desert environments so sinking is nearly non-existent.

 

[capt-zero]

I'll throw my two cents worth in here. Solid objects do not sink in solid ground. If you have taken a geology course, in actuality, coins, rocks, gravel, ect. actually float to the surface, eventually. Anyone who has farmed in rocky country can testify to this. No matter how well you comb to remove stones from your field, new rocks surface again later. I'm a little rusty on the kinetics of this, but as the moisture in the ground freezes, it expands and in the process slowly push the rocks up, eventually to the surface. If the coins were not covered by humus and wind blown dust, at a rate faster than this geologic process, they too would never appear to sink.

 

[worldtalker]

I like the worm story! God Bless Chris