Coin beach Delaware

Mgumby16

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Hey everyone

I will be up in Bethany Beach Delaware here in about 2 weeks. Ive detected coin beach last year with the equinox 800 for only a few hours and didnt find any old coins. Im hoping this year will be different, i plan to bring two detectors, the equinox 800 and a gpx4800.

A few questions that i would like peoples opinions on:

1. Would it be better to focus on detecting out in the water with the equinox or to focus on the dry beach area with the gpx4800 with the hopes of it punching deep enough to make a good find?

2. If using the gpx i have a few coils to choose from and im not sure which would be best: 11 inch coiltek mono, 15x12 inch commander mono, 17x11 coiltek AI, 12x8 coiltek platypus. The big 15x12 mono should punch the deepest but idk how bad interference will be.


Any thoughts and recommendations are welcome!

Thanks!
 

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smokeythecat

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What happens there is that the sand comes in...big time, this time of year. Like in numerous feet of sand. About the only time anyone gets anything old is after a big noreaster or better yet, a brush with a hurricane. I think 2014 was the last time I got a copper there, and it was left over from hurricane Sandy. If you go in the water wear steel shoes or something very sturdy. A lot of the old bridge wound up in the ocean and a lot of debris from Sandy. About every time I go there I see someone being yanked out of the water bleeding from the underwater obstructions and glass.
 

Tommybuckets

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Yep definitely protect your toes but not with steel toes or your detector will hate you lol. I've never had any coin luck there but I've been a few times after major storm events. It's hard to find a pull tab there due to the volume of people that detect it. Every time I've been there there were a dozen guys easy. One had a half penny. Those r not good odds. Smokey's right it'll be sanded in this time of year. Still fun to get out there. When they were putting in the bridge they dug down 20-30 ft. That would have been time to detect those excavated tailings! My excal battery was dead n the opportunity passed me by. I m still sad thinking about it but I bet someone was smart enough to detect them.
I found a gold ring for a lady there n returned it for an iced tea. It's a popular fishing spot but it's tough to even find lead there. I dug 50+ sinkers last summer n no artifacts... That burned me out on it but maybe next hurricane.
 

smokeythecat

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Always the chance for gold from new drops. It is illegal to hunt the dunes.
 

Tommybuckets

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I'd do the gpx. the power lines are beside you in the highway but 30 yards or more away. Let us know how it goes.
 

smokeythecat

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I'd use the GPX also and use it in the dry sand. Be aware there is a LOT of big, deep iron buried there. I have dug non ferrous at 18" with my Tesoro Cibola in the past.
 

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Mgumby16

Mgumby16

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Haha yeah the gpx 4800 would scream the whole time if i wore steel toe boots lol. I understand that its not the best time to detect it, but thats the time ill be there. Sounds like wading into the surf will be the best bet to snag something. Ill have my good hard soled wetsuit boots. Ill try and hit it during a good low tide.

Last year when i was there i saw one other person with a detector. I think i found about a dollar in quarters from s single spot up near the dunes.

Ill be in the area for a week, but ill probably mainly be deecting the beach where we are staying, hopefully ill find some good jewelry. Not sure if the gpx will be useful or not, but it should punch far deeper then what most people will be beach hunting with. But that probably just means ill be digging beer cans at 4 ft down lol.

Oh well im looking forward to it regardless, i love beach detecting, so much easier to dig targets vs out here in the woods of central VA.
 

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Mgumby16

Mgumby16

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Nevermind guess the gpx is the way to go, ill play around with both on coin beach probably. Im use to gold nugget hunting so ill be listening for those repeatable whispers in the threshold.
 

smokeythecat

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I am sure there are shipwreck coins several feet or so down in the sand. Last fall the locals bulldozed to sand to make it "pretty" and someone I knew got a handful of coppers. I went about a month later on two occasions and with other folks and we got almost nothing, not even modern coins.
 

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I've hunted there in the early 70s several times. Got skunked. The big thing then was wait for after noreaster.
 

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jeff of pa

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Go north !
Actual Coin Beach

Can be found on Google Maps
000aaa.jpg

Hammer this area ! If I could, I Would !
000ccc.jpg




Facing South
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There used to be a Foundation Red Circle here.
If Memory Serves, I Dug all My coins yellow area here
the Shipwreck coin nearer the foundation. the silver in the far right area
one right after another in my last rush before leavening as I was walking towards the Path out.
and My Hunting Buddy who was waiting for me.

Was a Slow Start, a lot of False or Unfounded Targets.
As I Am not a Beach Hunter, But all seemed to come together for me.

When we were there Construction on the Bridge was in Full Swing.

My understanding the Sands are Different which Could effect the
19th, 20th. Century Silver

But I doubt the Tide is Different For the Shipwreck Coins.

Good Luck ! It is needed :laughing7: at least was by me . As I Can't Claim Expertise :coffee2:

When I was there I Still had a Bad Heart, The walk in Wore me out
had to rest before starting :unhappysmiley:
000a2.jpg
The walk out Excruciating. Longer then it Looks, and twice as long Dragging
sore Legs, Breathing heavy & stopping half way for a Nitro for the chest pain :tongue3:
(aaah the Good old days) :coffee2:

So Just a Consideration, If your Health is a issue.
Though it looks like there is a new closer lot now
 

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Megalodon

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I am sure there are shipwreck coins several feet or so down in the sand. Last fall the locals bulldozed to sand to make it "pretty" and someone I knew got a handful of coppers. I went about a month later on two occasions and with other folks and we got almost nothing, not even modern coins.

People assume the coins "wash in" but they are there - just many feet down. A severe nor'easter can remove 8-10' of sand and the coins will be sitting on the surface or just under the surface. A large coil is nice for coverage but not needed for depth. I've been kept off the beach when conditions were best by the National Guard and state police.
 

Megalodon

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Nevermind guess the gpx is the way to go, ill play around with both on coin beach probably. Im use to gold nugget hunting so ill be listening for those repeatable whispers in the threshold.

This time of year, I think hunting where the sunbathers lose jewelry is the way to hunt Delaware Seashore SP. Without a hurricane or nor'easter, I wouldn't even bother with Coin Beach - not as much activity and the coppers there are way too deep. It should be nice hunting very early in the morning as the sun rises.

The Park runs programs on-site and one is about shipwrecks - check their website.
 

jeff of pa

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I disagree on Too deep

2013 http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/340928-sunday-coin-beach.html

The water , From the Ocean was Washing up on the Beach.


I bet if you go to Coin Beach Right Now, The Water is Washing up on the Beach.
You will not have to walk to the Edge & look down 8 Feet & I Doubt the Ocean has Risen 8 Feet
in 6 Years


I think All the sand they Place on the Beaches Washes out to sea
In a short Period of Time & Levels off Where it Should Be to Connect with the Ocean Waves.


I Think Finding Coins on the Beach takes Just as Much Luck, Maybe More, Then Experience Does
 

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Megalodon

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I disagree on Too deep

2013 http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/340928-sunday-coin-beach.html

The water , From the Ocean was Washing up on the Beach.


I bet if you go to Coin Beach Right Now, The Water is Washing up on the Beach.
You will not have to walk to the Edge & look down 8 Feet & I Doubt the Ocean has Risen 8 Feet
in 6 Years


I think All the sand they Place on the Beaches Washes out to sea
In a short Period of Time & Levels off Where it Should Be

There are times when sand is deposited onto a beach and that deposition buries items. I hunt fossils at a Bay beach nearly every day and see a huge variation with storms. Wind from the south, east and southeast cause sand deposition on the west side of the Bay. It buries items under fine sand and hunting is a waste of time but still good exercise. Strong sustained wind from the W and NW are more likely to do two things - cause a blowout and also carry fine lighter sand off the beach with wind-blown currents. I use an old model T truck transmission tunnel buried in the sand as a guage of how much sand is on the beach. The ocean is a bit different, but the principle of moving sand is the same. it has nothing to do with sea-level rise. The beach is still sloped - but there is no doubt that the depth of buried items on a beach changes greatly with the amount of sand either deposited or removed.

In the most perfect conditions when fine sand has been removed by wind and storm generated currents, coins will be on the surface sitting on pedestals of sand, just waiting to be picked up. Its a beautiful thing about beach hunting but it is rare.
 

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Megalodon

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The most disappointed I ever was with a MDing partner involved a missed opportunity at Coin Beach in the mid 1980's. He wanted to hunt Ocean City and I wanted to hunt Coin Beach and we discussed/argued about it all the way - about 2 hours. I acquiesced only because he had so much experience hunting Ocean City. The hunt was terrible for me because I don't care about all the clad garbage and junk jewelry. I insisted on going back via Coin Beach even though it would be dusk when we got there. When we got there, we were greeted by a Boy Scout troop on their way out and all the kids were carrying 5 gal buckets of coppers - surface finds! Some were heavy enough for the kids to struggle under their weight - maybe 1/4 to 1/3 bucketful. Every bucket had at least the entire bottom covered with coppers. I already knew we had made a big mistake and here was the proof. We pulled out the detectors and hunted until dark, each finding about 15-20 coppers just under the surface.

I didn't have to say anything on the drive back, but hearing that I was right all along has never felt so unsatisfying.
 

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jeff of pa

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I've never been Much of a Fan of Beach Hunting.
When I Had a Bad Heart the Worst Part was walking To & From the Beach.
And when I Joined in on Beach Competition Hunts, I Got Chest Pain
Just from Trying to Hurry around the Hunt Area.

I Felt Comfortable Heart Wise, When Casually Hunting, Actually Felt Great.
But Paid for it with Sore Calves. They would Tighten Up once I Rested.
 

Megalodon

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It takes me about a day to recover from one of my fossil hunts and I'm 64. The hike itself is not the issue - its only about 4.5 miles. The beach is the worst I have seen in 40 years. The floods last year undercut the trees at the edge of the cliffs and the trees crashed down onto the beach into the water. A lot of them are covered either with poison ivy or thorns, including large locust thorns. So I have to climb over, crawl under, or walk around the trees in water to chest deep being careful not to scratch skin that would be exposed to Vibrio infection. Because wading around trees would soak a backpack with Vibrio contaminated Bay water, I don't pack water - which means sure dehydration. I will not drink from a canteen or bottle exposed to Bay water. If conditions are absolutely perfect like consecutive days of 20+ wind from the W or NW, I'll do two days in a row. My fossil hunts take from 4 to 5 hours, depending on how much shoreline is exposed. I bracket low tide.

The heart stuff is scary. I almost went to the hunts at Sandy Point SP in the fall, but lack that competitive instinct. I'd probably get distracted by an interesting bird in the middle of the hunt.
 

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jeff of pa

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Yea I've been to Sandy Point's Hunts twice. Hunted Once
As I said, I only lasted 10 - 15 Minutes before Chest Pain Drove me Out of the Hunt Field. :(

Hunted Twice (I think :tongue3:) at Atlantic Cities Minelab Hunts.
Same Thing As soon as it started The chest Pain started "Stress"
 

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