digging a plug

Chug And Red

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Feb 18, 2010
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Vancouver WA
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What Lore Said, and showed you!!! Soil conditions and Type wont change the Way you dig!!! But How dry it is and type will If you can see evidence of where you dug It might be Better to save that area For a time When It is wetter rather than destroying the Area Look at coin popping !!! It takes Practice But it is Helpful In dryer conditions!!!! HH Chug Cant Wait to See you first finds!!!!


There are a lot of Helpful Videos Here and On Youtube !!!
 

Sandman

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Aug 6, 2005
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Many times you don't need to cut a plug as this takes time away from your swinging for a decent target. Shallow coins are popped with a screw driver and leave no trace you were there.

It is a skill you must learn.
 

Lowbatts

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Jul 1, 2003
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Elgin
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Don't go hunting anywhere until you get pinpointing on shallow targets down to a fine art, if not a science. I continue to see where some folks dig large plugs for coins that are only an inch or two deep.

Then they swing their probes around the holes as if they are racing against three or four other probes in the hole, missing the target over and over.

Go a little slower and you'll move along a little faster.

Good luck and happy hunting!
 

Jerry-Wi

Jr. Member
Mar 21, 2009
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I agree that there is no substitute for good pinpointing. Anything withing a couple inches of the surface is popped out with a screwdriver which saves a lot of time in not having to dig.

However when I do dig, I cut a generous flap with a large enough ball of dirt to insure that the grass will survive when it flipped back in place. I have a lot of places that I have hunted many times over the years and I never find signs of previous visits so this method works for me.

Jerry
 

Frankn

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Mar 21, 2010
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Maryland
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Digging the plug is the easy part. The pinpointing takes learning your detector. Practice with a coin on top the ground. Once you can pinpoint with accuracy, you are ready for the plug or the pop out method. With the popout method, you push your probe down till you touch the coin. then you move the probe over to the side of the coin. now you push your probe about 2" lower. next you push your probe over sideways. this pops the coin out. This might work to about 3"down. If lower I would plug. To plug just picture a 6" circle around the coin and push your trowl down all around the coin on the 6" circle. Never plug less than 3" or you will cut the grass roots! Lever the plug out and place it on a clouth beside the hole. Now check the hole and the plug. Get the coin, replace the plug. That was easy! Frank
 

joeman

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Mar 19, 2011
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Frankn said:
Digging the plug is the easy part. The pinpointing takes learning your detector. Practice with a coin on top the ground. Once you can pinpoint with accuracy, you are ready for the plug or the pop out method. With the popout method, you push your probe down till you touch the coin. then you move the probe over to the side of the coin. now you push your probe about 2" lower. next you push your probe over sideways. this pops the coin out. This might work to about 3"down. If lower I would plug. To plug just picture a 6" circle around the coin and push your trowl down all around the coin on the 6" circle. Never plug less than 3" or you will cut the grass roots! Lever the plug out and place it on a clouth beside the hole. Now check the hole and the plug. Get the coin, replace the plug. That was easy! Frank

That may be a 'Great method' for many places, but up here there are some places where coin popping does not work,.. period. Coin popping is fin in areas where there is 'only' clad or young silvers, but you seriously risk 'destroying' the value of ANY valuable coin if you intend to 'Pop It' out of the ground when said coin is very near to the surface. As an example of this, I dug out a 1910, 10 cent silver piece at a mere 1/2 inch! Less than 100 yards Across the same field, the 50's, 60's and newer coins are either directly just under the surface, in the roots and up to 3 or 4 inches deep, so in this type of scenario you take your chances. IF I was in a field from a School built in the late 60's, then I'd try and 'POP' every coin there was, but even then you risk the chance of scratching a valuable coin due to it's low mint state or because it's a 'mistake coin'. Location and Ground conditions decide whether or not you should be 'Popping Coins'... at least IMO.

Cheers,
 

Frankn

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Mar 21, 2010
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joeman, It was basic advice to a newbie, as always your mine is the discriminator in which way to go. Frank
 

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