Depth vs Age

[mike98000]

Is there a rule of thumb about how deep things are vs their age? In my initial experience it seems that in grass lawns things are found about 3/4" or 1" deep per 10 years. For example, in my lawn I found coins from the fifties at around 3-4 inches.

 

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[jeff of pa]

The Simple answer is NO.

? ? ?I'v found 1860's Indianhead Cents at 4"

? 1890's Silver at 10"

? and 1920's Wheats in the same area at 8 Plus Inches.


Not only that, but the Indians had great Detail,
The Wheats were so bad it was hard to get dates.

 

[Gribnitz]

Not really. I found a 1923 merc about 3 inches deep. A football field a few hundred yards away I was digging memorial cents at 5 inch plus. My Union US Belt Buckle was only about 6 inches deep and that was the 1860's. I really can't come up with a reason why some things sink farther faster. Must have to do with the ammount of rain that fell right after it dropped or something.

 

[T-Rex]

type of soil conditions too...

 

[Einstein]

there is no set rate at which old=depth but I will say that on average the ground grows 1/15th" per year or 6" every hundred. so very old coins should be somewhere between 3"- 8" Yes there are occasionally a 1906 ih at 1" and a 2003 at 10" lol its always funny when you think you found an ancient penny after deep digging only to find out that its a 2000 and only looks old because of its lame metal composition. I just wanted to give you that rough estimate you asked for.... Take care, and look for places where they just scraped a few inches off the surface/ took sod/ torn up sidewalks/parking lots/streets and my favorite large piles of dirt or fill dirt. good luck

 

[xXx]

I think T-Rex hit it exactly. It all depends on the soil and geographical location. When I lived in Indiana I would dig an 1800's coin at 4" in tightly packed soil. Here in Myrtle Beach, SC where there is no dirt, but all sand even miles inland, you are lucky to find 1960's at all. Somehow I dug a newer broken in half penny at over 12 inches. The sand just allows the items to sink faster than packed soil.
My conclusion, WHO THE HECK KNOWS.
xXx

 

[da Hobo]

I have read all the other posts here and I'm sure they have pretty much covered the physical aspects of how an object seems to sink down to China. I agree with all of them and can only add this . . .

In addition to all that has already been posted here, a lot of that depth may also come from a time factor. When did the coin get dropped? Maybe it was a 40-60 year old coin in your pocket when you accidentally dropped it one day. For that reason it would of course be near the surface.

There are so many variables in situations like this that a clear answer is hard to give. However . . . all other things being normal, I would think the type of soil, rain, frost, and dirt accumulation are the most likely reasons old coins sink over time.

Hobo

 

[xXx]

ahhh, Hobo, good point and something I hadn't thought about is frost/freezing of the ground. This would indeed slow the process down. As per my comparison above, in Indiana the ground would freeze thus temporarily haulting the coin from any movement. Whereas here in Myrtle Beach, SC the ground does not freeze and allows the coin to get deeper year round. This could allow the coin to sink at a rate up to or even more than twice as fast as a northern state.
Good point.
xXx

 

[mike98000]

Other than in sand, I don't think anything is "sinking" in the ground. The ground is rising up over time with accumulation of dirt and vegetation. This is what the geologists and archaeologists say anyway.

 

[groundfisher]

I have to agree with xXx.Who the heck knows!
There are just to many variables to determine an exact sink rate.

 

[JerV3]

There's no true way to accurately judge it. It depends on the ground conditions the most. If you have a foot of good black soil with no rock coins will get 10 to 12 inches deep. If water lies on a particular spot all the time coins get deeper. In your average grounds most coins are 4 to 6 inches deep.

I find 100 yr old coins on the surface. I am a very thorough treasure hunter and don't miss much if anything. I found a 1825 large cent at 2 inches this year. I have found alot of indianhead pennies on the surface along with other old coins including a 1918 merc. There's more I just can't remember them all.

HH Jeremy

 

[Bokhodir]

Is there a rule of thumb about how deep things are vs their age? In my initial experience it seems that in grass lawns things are found about 3/4" or 1" deep per 10 years. For example, in my lawn I found coins from the fifties at around 3-4 inches.

Dear forum experts,

This is the exact question that brought and registered me in this forum. I have in my posession what looks like an ancient short sword. It was found more than 70 inches underground during excavations in the territory of modern Uzbekistan (Ferghana valley). It has some strange patterns on it. I'm just dying to find out everything about this item, but I don't know who to turn to. I could take it to our local relevant institutions, but it may be risky since according to our legislation I may have to turn it in to the state.

I would be grateful is anyone could refer me to any external expert who could make some estimations based on the photos. I know it's difficult but who knows.

Thanks,
Bob.

 

[pulltabfelix]

it totally depends on the make up of the soil. On a sandy park near the river, rarely find anything old. Yet 300 yards away above the flood plain where the soil is less sandy and more clay find wheats and indians. Every time in the sandy part of the park when you have a hard soaking rain the sand becomes less dense and the heavier metal objects can go deeper. Don't have any scientific proof to back this up (haven't really looked for any) but my hunting results seem to point in that direction.