Really!?

[Mr.1916]

Honestly I've been detecting for only a few years now (I detect in Minnesota). Is it just me or are the coins 1ft+ deep! It is crazy because I tried to buy a new coin 4.5 Inch Garrett Ace Puck coil. So far it has been working Amazingly but a 1982 penny is at LEAST 4 in down, is this normal in Southern of Western states? Or is the Minnesota soil to soft? I detected a 1852 home and is was wonderful it had a concrete footing for stepping off you horse carriage and even know it was 1852 the oldest coin I found was a 1942 Mercury dime. Are those time period coins 15+ inches deep or what, well hopefully you guys can school me on this so I know for myself and any opinion matters, Thanks

Good Luck And Happy Hunting

 

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[Scrappy]

I know your pain. I recently hunted a property I've been trying to get for a year dating to 1685, and found very little. It's a crapshoot and you must take it with a "grain of salt". I've searched many historic and federally protected sites (legally) and have never (yet always) surprised by what I find and don't find. That said...

The site may have been hit already, legally or not, and may be empty. I've seen that.

The site may have had extensive fill or topsoil. I've seen that, up to 12"...

The site may have been turned over, where the good stuff could be at any level. I've seen that....

People drop great relics. That's a fact! Listen for deep tones, dig everything, and have fun.

The next permission with killer finds may not be this one, but the next.....

Cheers for a great question.

Steve

 

[Muddyhandz]

Hello, your northern neighbour here. I have an interesting historical event to share that might answer your question, depending on whether you're in farm country or not.
Back in the 1930's, (Great Depression) there was a major drought all across the Prairies and other parts of N.A. which of course added to the severity of the depression.
Anyway, there were several accounts (in local histories) of major dust storms and farmers noted that entire fields (Southern Manitoba) had all of it's topsoil lifted and blown miles away.
There was a heyday of artifact collecting as arrow heads and stone hammers were laying everywhere on the surface because of the missing topsoil.
However, many areas also filled in with this soil and I have noticed a problem at several farm properties, where all finds are several feet deep.
I'm sure you also know about all the flood plains that surround the Red River and it's tributaries, as Manitoba, North Dakota, and Minnesota have had several major floods over the centuries.
Flood zones deposit great amounts of silt, covering everything pretty deep.
Add the good points mentioned by Scrappy to this and we may have an answer somewhere here.
Don't get discouraged as you may still find your oldest coin near the surface as cultivated fields bring finds to the surface or they sink down deep past the plow zone.
Most bush areas have really old targets fairly shallow. Many conditions to consider.
Best of luck to you.

 

[against the wind]

There is no absolute answer that is Gospel.
I have found Seated dimes and IHP's 2 or 3
inches deep. I have also recovered Mercury
dimes from a depth of 9 or 10 inches. NYC
and NY state has a lot of history. As has
been mentioned, land use has a lot to do
with disturbing and relocation of targets.
Plowing, erosion, tree and plant growth, as
well as construction or demolition, (be it a
road or a couple of houses. Stuff gets
buried or moved around. I have a 17
inch eliptical coil for my CTX 3030. They
say it can get down 15 inches, I have yet
to use it. Good luck and HH

 

[FreeBirdTim]

I've found 3 half reales from the 1700's and they were all less than 6 inches down. But I found a 1965 dime yesterday that was 9 inches down! Coins sink at different rates, based on their weight, soil conditions, frost heaves and so on.

Also remember that a lot of baseball and soccer fields were leveled by bringing in soil from somewhere else. I know of a few old fields with zero coins earlier than the 1950's. Lots of factors involved...

 

[doninbrewster]

As others have said, it's all over the map. I've found memorials at 6-7" and once found an 1810 LC on a hillside that had some erosion at 2". I hunt some areas with a lot of newer clad with undisturbed soil where I don't even dig it unless it's at least 5". General rule of thumb in old parks, if the ground hasn't been disturbed, most of your older coins will be in the 5-8" range. Farm fields will vary. Most of my LC's and colonials are in the 6-10" range. I did find an 1817 LC a couple of years ago that was 2/3 sticking out of the ground where they had just dug up the parking lot behind a very old hotel. Go slow. Dig deep signals. The good stuff will come out. One last thing, if you're not on a site where there were people over 100 years ago you shouldn't expect to get old finds.

 

[ChampFerguson/TN]

Lotsa loess

http://www.thudscave.com/petroglyphs/pdf/mn_parentsoil.pdf