Gold Coins-Do they settle deeper than silver and copper??? What is your deepest?

[FreeBirdTim]

So you are comparing coins in earth to ships in the ocean? Thats the weakest defense for an idea I have seen.

I said to read the part about elephants, not about the ocean. You're just arguing for the sake of arguing now.

 

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[FreeBirdTim]

SOIL IS TOO COMPACT TO ALLOW A COIN TO SINK. It's that simple.

Sorry, you're still wrong. Unless you live in a desert, soil is soft enough for coins to sink into them, especially after a soaking rain.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Sorry, you're still wrong. Unless you live in a desert, soil is soft enough for coins to sink into them, especially after a soaking rain.

Hahaha!

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Brilliant retort! How about answering my question? If coins (and rings) don't sink, how can a 1978 class ring be 9 inches down and a 1775 GK copper be 7 inches down only a few feet away?

 

[Jason in Enid]

Brilliant retort! How about answering my question? If coins (and rings) don't sink, how can a 1978 class ring be 9 inches down and a 1775 GK copper be 7 inches down only a few feet away?

THERE IS NO ANSWER! We don't know what has happened in those patches of earth over time! Did somebody dig a hole or trench so the objects get redeposited deeper or shallower? What there a low spot that has been covered with more dirt? did a tree fall down and the roots pull the coin up forcing it to start the burial process over again?

there are more than a 1000 scenarios that can cause ANY target to unexpectedly shallower or deeper than surrounding targets. To extrapolate an entire theory based on a single find is ridiculous. I have found 130 year old coins on the surface and yesterday I dug a 1987 zinc cent at 8 inches. according to YOUR theory that zinc coin must be made from unobtainium to be so deep in the ground, and apparently 130 year old Indian head is floating around like a boat.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

If there's no answer, then why are you stating that coins don't sink? Sorry, but your argument is weak, to say the least. "I, Jason in Enid proclaim that coin don't sink, so that's the end of it". Uh huh...

 

[Jason in Enid]

No, I gave you some of the many possible reasons for the objects being at different depths. You refuse to accept anything other than your belief that coins MUST sink because they are heavier than dirt, without considering any other aspect of physics. It's not me saying coins don't sink, it's science.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

I always thought it was a little of both. I figured initially the coins get covered up and then years of vegetation like mowing grass, leaves and even the weight of the mower pushing it down some.

Plus I'm sure the surface size of the coin makes a big difference, which is probably why 90% of my really deep targets are dimes.

Ive noticed in popular parks, Old coins are super deep and farms and not so populated areas, the coins are nearly as deep. That's what I have noticed in areas I was sure there wasnt any fill dirt.

Oh course alot of parks and some houses have had times where they will dig and add dirt for whatever the reasons.

I do know I have found old pieces of lead that wasn't very deep.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

You refuse to accept anything other than your child-like concept that coins MUST sink because they are heavier than dirt, without considering any other aspect of physics. It's not me saying coins don't sink, it's science.

As far as science, what science are you talking about? Show me some scientific research that proves that coins do NOT sink.

 

[Jason in Enid]

It's called DENSITY!

Let me help you:

den·si·ty
ˈdensədē/
noun
[COLOR=#878787 !important][/COLOR]

• the degree of compactness of a substance.
  
  
  Soil is too compact (dense) to allow a coin to sink, you even said so yourself. You are arguing against your own words.
  
  
  
  
  

 

[HenryWaltonJonesJr]

I think a 50 gallon fishtank with drainage at the bottom. Fill it with dirt, put a penny on the top and simulate rain drops every so often. If after a month it stays at the top then I'd believe it doesn't sink, if it sinks at all...then...it sinks!

Anyone have a kid looking for a science fair project?

 

[Jason in Enid]

I think a 50 gallon fishtank with drainage at the bottom. Fill it with dirt, put a penny on the top and simulate rain drops every so often. If after a month it stays at the top then I'd believe it doesn't sink, if it sinks at all...then...it sinks!

Anyone have a kid looking for a science fair project?

Yes, it must be a true representation. So instead of "dirt" it should have a cut block of soil (with all original compactness) set inside. Alternatively, it could be loose soil but it has to have been watered for at least a month prior to allow it to settle back to a natural state first.

It would be an interesting long-term experiment if you used two side by side. One with plain dirt (sterilized so nothing grows) and one with natural sod. Let it run for several years and see what ends up where.

 

[Frankn]

I think I answered this years ago on this fourm, but here goes.
COINS DON"T SINK IN THE GROUND!
Look at the logic! Head stones are still there in cemeteries, above ground. The law of physics states that items at rest, tend to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.
Now here is how they get down there. Vegetation constantly dies and decomposes into 'soil'. Grass and leaves compose the biggest coverage as they decompose. In desert areas objects are found on the surface that landed there possibly a hundred years ago or so. They have no vegetation to cover them, only a possibility of blowing sand.
Yes there are other factors like water flow, land slides, earthquakes, agriculture activities, construction activities, and unique areas such as quicksand.
To answer the original question, a gold,copper,and silver disk placed on the ground, side by side, would all be at the same dept when found. That depth determined by vegetation in the area. Hope this settles this theory. Frank

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Members can disagree but do not resort to insults or questioning a member's intelligence or education.....

 

[BosnMate]

There are other things that come to bear on this discussion. I think the fish tank experiment should have earth worms in the soil also. Litter adds to the soil on top, and worms and other animals work on the ground from below. Then add water and frost. Lots of variables. Personal experience, I was deer hunting, walking through open pine timber, with a very thick layer of pine needles. There hadn't been any Indians in that area for close to 100 years, but right there, on top of the pine needles, no other rocks around, lay an obsidian arrow head. The only way I figure that arrow head got to where I found it was by having a gopher push it up, and then the rain washed the dirt away, leaving the point on top of the needles. If a gopher can push something up, he can also help get it down deeper. I think there are so many factors working on the coin or other object that nobody can really explain why a new coin is deep and an old coin is shallow. Here is one more. A friend delivered bread to grocery stores. Canyonville is a very old town in Douglas County, OR. He found a one dollar gold coin sitting on top of the ground in what should have been grass, but was unkept dirt, right alongside the road where he parked his delivery truck. Hey, it rains a lot in Oregon, how come the coin was on top of the ground? How long ago did people stop carrying gold coins?

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Funny how my dirt driveway supports my car most of the year, but I always get stuck in it every Spring! If soil is so dense, why does my driveway turn to mush every Spring? You would think the density of the soil would be able to handle the weight of my car, but it doesn't! I end up having to get it towed out once or twice a year when my car sinks up to the rocker panels!

Maybe you should spend some time in a cooler climate where ground freezes, thaws, turns to mush and then hardens up in the summer. Then it turns to mush again in the Fall and freezes up again. This constant change is what makes coins sink. I never stated that gravity was pulling them down.

Also, Google "frost heave" and then maybe you'll figure it all out.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Critters under the ground are a factor as well. Besides earthworms, we have chipmunks and moles digging holes everywhere. Here's an example of what a mole can do. This trail was under the top of my birdbath that fell on the ground a couple of months ago.

 

[ARC]

Coins sink... in the right situations... period.
As well as most other items.

Things also "surface" as well. Wind water and soil conditions all play into the depth of an item.
That is "science".

 

[Jason in Enid]

Funny how my dirt driveway supports my car most of the year, but I always get stuck in it every Spring! If soil is so dense, why does my driveway turn to mush every Spring? You would think the density of the soil would be able to handle the weight of my car, but it doesn't! I end up having to get it towed out once or twice a year when my car sinks up to the rocker panels!

Maybe you should spend some time in a cooler climate where ground freezes, thaws, turns to mush and then hardens up in the summer. Then it turns to mush again in the Fall and freezes up again. This constant change is what makes coins sink. I never stated that gravity was pulling them down.

Also, Google "frost heave" and then maybe you'll figure it all out.

Thank you for supporting what I have been saying all along! You car doesn't sink, it's you trying to drive it on wet soil that digs ruts.

And yes you did, SINK = GRAVITY PULLS IT DOWN. Freeze and thaw, plants, errosion, animals.... That's what I have been saying in every post. So thanks for finally seeing the light.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Jason, you confuse me. Just what exactly IS your position? Compaction is not the same as true "Density," by the way, though it has the same relative effect.

Dry undisturbed soil will support a truly dense object (e.g. a group of less dense wood chips will hold up a gold brick, unless fluid dynamics come into play). Compaction is NOT density, it only has the same effect in a non-fluid environment.

I keep reading through your posts, and cannot figure out what you're trying to say... Please explain concisely.

Thanks,

_Skippy

When talking about soil compactness, we are discussing the density of the particles. Yes, it required a liquifaction of those soil particles before objects can then be allowed to SINK through that liquified medium. Simply being wet does not induce a liquified state.

I have been saying (did you REALLY read any of them) that it requires outside forces to put an object deeper in the ground. Outside forces such as soil deposition, vegetation growth, plant roots, animals, landscaping all act together to put things as deep as we find. Some outside forces such as frost heave, animals and plant roots can push them shallower.

Freebird has been saying that coins SINK. period. end of story. Because they SINK, heavier items sink faster.