Just because we all (or at least most I saw posting) disagreed with your idea, it should not require an apology from you. You meant well in your intentions and did not put them forth in a mean-spirited way.
Your thinking is correct though that CRHing finds are generally going down. There are no solutions to this reality, that is just the way it is. Some say that silver will always continue to flow, but that is only partially true. Silver coin stashes are not renewable resources like trees and wildlife and such. Coin collections passed down from older generations get cashed in and swept up by collectors and CRHers. Unless the collector dies and his family cashes them in, they do not go back into the system. I would bet most collectors here have instructed someone close to them what to do with their stash when they expire (at least I hope they have).
Silver coins sold to coin stores get sold off in junk bags that will likely not find their way back into the system, unless as stated above the collector dies without leaving instructions on what to do with the coins.
Yes there will always be some silver coins cashed in over time in that millions were minted and saved by the older generation who actually lived when such coins were circulating, that have been passed on to their heirs who stupidly cash them into the banks. The economy has been so bad for the past few years, it is likely a great many of those collections have been cashed already by the unknowing holders who are desperate for cash. Many still holding their inherited coins probably know they are worth more than face and will sell them to coin stores/dealers, otherwise they would have cashed them in by now.
We all have theories about how much silver is left and what affects a CRHers success or lack thereof, but results cannot be denied. I ask any of you who have been CRHing for a year or more, have your finds been less than when you started? And, are there more CRHers in your area now than when you started? For most here I bet the answer is yes to both.
For me CRHing is a hobby and I don't expect to make a profit from it. I just wanted to point out that while I disagreed with the OP's idea about the petition, or whatever it was, I don't disagree with his thinking regarding the probable near future (already happening for many here) for CRHing lack of decent finds. I am sure some will disagree with me, but check back in a year from now and I bet you will see I am correct.
Jim
