Old and Shallow

[Stegner]

I started metal detecting this past spring - have spent most of my time in open parkland, playgrounds, etc. Just last weekend, I did my first forest hunt.

Interesting how items can get to 2-4 inches in depth rather quickly in an open park. This is a huge contrast to what I experienced this weekend in the forest - I was on an old homesite dating back to 1900-1950 range - the majority of the stuff I dug was very close to the surface, e.g. 2" or less.

Is this typical in a forest? If so, any reasons why?

 

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[Tin Nugget]

No people walking on them, no riding lawnmowers or tractors going back and forth week after week, Less rain, snow and ground freeze. It is normal to find things much shallower in the woods.

 

[watercolor]

Last year about 90% of my hunts were in the woods. . . my deepest coin was an 1863 Indian Head at 5-inches
and the shallowest was a 1902 Barber Dime under some leaves. In the "manicured" grass areas of the same park,
it was common to find modern "clad" coinage at 7-inches.

As Tin Nugget mentioned, vegetation root systems and frost heaves can work things back to the surface in the woods and
intensive use on grass areas and weekly lawn clippings will increase the depth of targets.

Also, when you're in the woods, it pays to dig just about EVERYTHING