First Beach Hunt - St. Pete and a Penny for Your Thoughts?

[kinigit]

Just did my first real beach hunt down in St. Pete this last weekend. Made it to the beach about 6:30 AM thinking I might be the first...well I wasn't there was a guy searching with a headlamp when I got there. As it got light I noticed another guy searching the water like I was. Eventually we made it next to eachother and reported that neither of us had found much. He did tell me he had been there since 4 AM and several others had also been there. WOW this is a competitive group! He did say that the storm had kind of ruined things by moving sand in odd places. The used White's Dual Field I had bought on Saturday did a great job of finding the tiny pieces of crab-traps, at 10-20" deep, that get brought up during beach re-nourishment. The guy I spoke with using the same detector told me eventually I will be able to tell the difference in tone. I sure hope so because it was a workout!

Also spoke to a nice young guy who was detecting who also told me that the storm had covered a lot of stuff up. It was a very good time and I made it back to the hotel in plenty of time to spend the day with the family. I netted $0.52, 20-30 pieces of iron, and some beer caps. One interesting thing was that one of the pennies I found in the water was a wheat cent (1952 D). How long does copper last in the ocean, was this likely a recent drop or could it be old? It is a fantastic hobby, only another 377days like this and I can afford a Stealth Scoop ;-)

 

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[-Jones-]

Kinigit,

St. Pete's Beach is one of my favs. Me wife and I manage to leave Missery, I mean Missouri, a couple times a year and travel to Fl. One year we stopped at St. Pete's public access about 8a, had only an hour to detect, neglected to feed the meter, and a damn ticket was on the shield! I didn't pay it, the city traced the rental car back to me, had to pay I fine several times higher than if I would have paid it as directed. Of course, a buck in the meter would have been a wise choice!

I found a nice silver ring in waist deep water at St. Pete's, keep up the good work!


Cheers!

 

[dc426]

I may have seen you out there. I hunted Monday as I was staying at the Tradewinds Sandpiper, and Tuesday I hunted all up and down the beach. I saw one guy looked like he was staying just on the other side of the Tradewinds Sandpiper on Monday morning. Tuesday I hunted all up and down the beach and only saw 2 other guys that I knew. Three rings (1 silver, 1 mood ring and 1 Ti wedding band).
DC

 

[kinigit]

I was only out on Sunday morning, only one night out there unfortunately:-( I was staying at the Postcard Inn. I can say for sure there were a ton of people on the beach on Saturday so I assume a lot was lost.

 

[kinigit]

Does anyone have an idea how long a penny lasts in saltwater (solid copper versus copper clad zinc)? I'm wondering if the wheat cent could be old, or would be more recent. Thanks for any feedback.

 

[Jason in Enid]

St. Pete is a very busy beach for detectorists. You can compete for space there, or look at some of the many, many other beaches within a 1/2 hour drive.

 

[cra61]

I seem to miss out every time I plan a beach excursion. Life gets in the way, some one needs a hand or the weather just disses me. I'm gonna keep trying to make it there though.

 

[hamiddetecting]

Nice one!

 

[cntrydncr1]

usually pennies that are in the water a long time get caked with sand. I would say it is a more recent drop but I'm no expert.

 

[lookindown]

If it came out of the water looking like it does in the picture it hasnt been there too long.

 

[kiana7]

WTG,,,,HH