Finally found the lost dock! 7 Silvers in one hour!

[Echoplex]

This month I began the search for the location of a long lost dock that existed up until the mid 1930's. I had read about this place several times and only had a few clues to go by. It was a popular place during the first quarter of the 1900's and oral history spoke fondly of it. Kids jumping off the dock and swimming all summer long. I had about a quarter mile stretch of possibilities and managed to narrow it down to an area about the length of a football field, thanks to personal communication with some old timers. The area is tricky because it is now only accessible during negative tides, so I've only had two previous failed attempts to try and find it.

Today's low tide corresponded with lunchtime, so I decided to give it another shot. I hiked down to the area, this time overshooting my previous attempts by about 50 yards. I got a nice sharp high tone with the Equinox and was thinking no way it is a silver. I was wrong:





And then it started happening. I kept hitting silvers.





Most were at or just below the surface. Here's a 1927 SLQ surface find:



And then I found confirmation of the dock. I forgot to take a photo, but I found the stubs of the supports, which are now level with the ground and almost impossible to see unless you step on them. I FOUND THE DOCK! By this time the tide was coming in and I had an appointment to get to. 7 silvers, one hour. They are ugly, but I don't care:



Now imagine my excitement to go back and dig all non ferrous there. There has to be many more coins and all the other goodies people dropped during those times... HH!

 

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[Echoplex]

Curious, how long have you been searching for the dock?

I tried to find it last year, but my MXT couldn't handle the black sand and saltwater. In the meantime, I started compiling more data and clues. This dock was not an official dock or sanctioned by the city, so it doesn't show on maps and was too early for old aerial photos. Back then people could build whatever they wanted as long as it served a community purpose. It wasn't until Feb of this year that I had a capable detector for saltwater. The Equinox ran like a fine-tuned machine there, so I am really excited to explore many new saltwater areas. But first, to pound this spot!

 

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[xr7ator]

Excellent! I very much expect to see at least one gold ring posted from your next trip to this spot. Grats!

 

[washingtonian]

I tried to find it last year, but my MXT couldn't handle the black sand and saltwater. In the meantime, I started compiling more data and clues. This dock was not an official dock or sanctioned by the city, so it doesn't show on maps and was too early for old aerial photos. Back then people could build whatever they wanted as long as it served a community purpose. It wasn't until Feb of this year that I had a capable detector for saltwater. The Equinox ran like a fine-tuned machine there, so I am really excited to explore many new saltwater areas. But first, to pound this spot!

Do you have a specific program you like to run on the beach? I struggled on the beach with the CTX in a modified silver program.

 

[ScubaDetector]

As I said I can't wait to see more success from there. I do hope you find a lot of fantastic coins and jewelry. In a virgin DIVE spot in the Detroit river I found 309 silver coins, over 100 pieces of silver jewelry and 53 pieces of gold in 2016. This spot was a public beach from 1909 - 1963.

What is fantastic about those spots is very little to no trash except dock nails, screws and washers. Take a lot of time there and keep it quiet. Don't expect to see a lot of gold, but hopefully you will find a few pieces. Your area probably was not as popular as this Detroit beach was but hopefully you will do great.

 

[Racso]

That’s some great loot. Keep hunting that place till it runs dry. Congrats and happy hunting.

 

[Ia.FurTrade]

WooHoo! There's gonna be rings, rings, rings!!!
Nice take!

Iowa Dale

 

[sataro]

Congrats on the silver finds!!! Great job on researching that location. You’ve found a nice honey hole & now it’s time to enjoy it!

 

[digging440yrs]

 

[Rubka888]

You did some good research and it is paying off. Congrats! I hope there is an "S" on that 1927 quarter. That would be great!

 

[Echoplex]

Do you have a specific program you like to run on the beach? I struggled on the beach with the CTX in a modified silver program.

I just use the stock settings on the Nox - Beach2, with only the tones and tone-breaks changed to match the other programs. I have zero knowledge of the CTX, but am pretty sure you can run it on this type of saltwater shore. I've seen some youtube vids of people running them on similar saltwater shores with no problems. I would ask in the CTX sub forum and see if they have some good custom settings. Definitely get that thing sorted out for this kind of detecting! I'm just now realizing the possibilities of hunting spots like this.

 

[Echoplex]

You did some good research and it is paying off. Congrats! I hope there is an "S" on that 1927 quarter. That would be great!

I was looking for a mint mark, but can't quite tell. I need to clean it up just a little more. Heck I'd even take a Denver!

As I said I can't wait to see more success from there. I do hope you find a lot of fantastic coins and jewelry. In a virgin DIVE spot in the Detroit river I found 309 silver coins, over 100 pieces of silver jewelry and 53 pieces of gold in 2016. This spot was a public beach from 1909 - 1963.

What is fantastic about those spots is very little to no trash except dock nails, screws and washers. Take a lot of time there and keep it quiet. Don't expect to see a lot of gold, but hopefully you will find a few pieces. Your area probably was not as popular as this Detroit beach was but hopefully you will do great.

Thanks for tips! Always enjoy your posts and any advice is welcome! You are spot on - Barely any trash. Almost every target is something cool or a lead sinker. I'm just thankful to have a new go-to location because my others are starting to run dry.

 

[Echoplex]

Had another hour there today, this time digging all non-ferrous targets. Still managed to pull 3 silvers (SLQ and two mercs), a bunch of roached wheat pennies, and some other interesting items. Not pictured are about a dozen lead sinkers, which I kind of expected to be around a dock. Interestingly, the only modern item I dug was a 2006 Quarter, so YAY! Back tomorrow...

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Congratualtions on the handful of silver recoveries!

 

[cjon455]

That's the type of hunt we all envision each time we go out! Congratulations on finding a killer spot, your hard work paid off!

 

[RichieRich]

Awesome find. Great research pays off

 

[Echoplex]

You did some good research and it is paying off. Congrats! I hope there is an "S" on that 1927 quarter. That would be great!

I cleaned it up today. It is an S! Too bad it is so roached. I'll take a key date in any condition though!

 

[A2coins]

good job cracking the case great finds I bet theres hundreds of dollars in coin there

 

[Echoplex]

 

[Carolina Tom]

Congrats on the successful research, and resulting nice finds. I look forward to seeing what comes up next.

 

[CASPER-2]