How could this clad have gotten this corroded??

[gold chick]

Hi there! So I am just starting out with metal detecting, here on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

I found a penny at the park, and it is dated 2015.

However, it is so extremely corroded beyond belief! How could a 2015 penny get so badly damaged?

It was at the park, mostly sandy soil.



It has two clear holes right thru the coin!!!

 

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[ARC]

Salt... along with whatever other components in that particular soil.

But salt... yep.

 

[smokeythecat]

And if that's salt sand it probably hasn't been there more than 3-6 months. The salt eat it away quickly. I saw a newly dropped zincoln on a beach parking lot, a paved lot, and 1/3 of it was gone already! Couldn't have been there more than a week.

 

[galenrog]

Salt corrosion on unprotected copper alloys. Life at the beach.

 

[ARC]

I forgot to add...

Its called "electrochemical corrosion".

One form of corrosion that occurs when metal and saltwater get together is called electrochemical corrosion. Metal ions dissolve in water and saltwater conducts electricity and contains ions, which attract ions from other compounds. During electrochemical corrosion, electrons from other compounds are attracted to the metallic ions. Saltwater attacks the metal and corrosion occurs."

"The combination of moisture, oxygen and salt, especially sodium chloride, damages metal worse than rust does. This combination corrodes, or eats away at, the metal, weakening it and causing it to fall apart. Saltwater corrodes metal five times faster than fresh water does and the salty, humid ocean air causes metal to corrode 10 times faster than air with normal humidity. Bacteria in ocean water also consumes iron and their excretions turn to rust."

 

[port ewen ace]

shield cents are

 

[gold chick]

I forgot to add...

Its called "electrochemical corrosion".

One form of corrosion that occurs when metal and saltwater get together is called electrochemical corrosion. Metal ions dissolve in water and saltwater conducts electricity and contains ions, which attract ions from other compounds. During electrochemical corrosion, electrons from other compounds are attracted to the metallic ions. Saltwater attacks the metal and corrosion occurs."

"The combination of moisture, oxygen and salt, especially sodium chloride, damages metal worse than rust does. This combination corrodes, or eats away at, the metal, weakening it and causing it to fall apart. Saltwater corrodes metal five times faster than fresh water does and the salty, humid ocean air causes metal to corrode 10 times faster than air with normal humidity. Bacteria in ocean water also consumes iron and their excretions turn to rust."

This is fascinating!

 

[gold chick]

Wow, I had not realized how powerful salt and water can be to destroy metals!

So basically, newer zinc pennies are at the highest risk of damage, correct?

Any metal detecting tips for this region?

 

[cudamark]

Sure, either dig those sounds and toss the corroded zincs out with the rest of the trash, or, set up your detector to ignore zinc cent numbers and lower. Corroded zinc cents are right in the gold range, so, those signals are hard to ignore.

 

[Clad2Silver]

It's a penny made of zinc which deteriorates in the ground in a very short amount of time. Copper pennies made before 1982 will last longer in the ground before they start to disintegrate. Pennies made from 1983 to the present are zincs and is why some people set their detectors to eliminate zinc signals.

 

[ARC]

Wow, I had not realized how powerful salt and water can be to destroy metals!

So basically, newer zinc pennies are at the highest risk of damage, correct?

Any metal detecting tips for this region?

I will give you the same advice I always do.

#1. Dig it all.
#2. Dig it all.
#3. Dig it all.

Hope this helps

No seriously... just dig every signal learning / listening / data basing the way your detector reacts.

Problem is.. if you want to ignore digging such a trivial item as a corroded penny for example... you avoid digging some really good things as well... so...

That's why I say... "Dig it all".

On Texas beaches I would definitely just keep working it... your day will come.

Thar be treasure in them sands.... no joke. :P

 

[gunsil]

And AARC, the simple term for "electrochemical corrosion" is electrolosis, as I am sure you old salty dog know well. Slipped you mind for a second? Happens to me too. Gold chick, even the salts (nitrogen based) in lawn and farm fertilizer eats those dang zinc pennies up quickly. I have seen those things on top of the ground half eaten away by lawn fertilizer. Like AARC says, gold hunters HAVE to dig it all if they wish to find gold. Aluminum pull tabs give the same reading and tone as a gold ring to any detector made, so if you dig 500 pull tabs and then notch them out you will miss the gold ring. I loved my old BFO beep and dig detector before there was any discrimination, we simply dug every signal, it was just the way it was. Now with fairly sophisticated discrimination machines it is so easy to not dig it all, but also so easy to not find the gold.

 

[ARC]

And AARC, the simple term for "electrochemical corrosion" is electrolosis, as I am sure you old salty dog know well. Slipped you mind for a second? Happens to me too. Gold chick, even the salts (nitrogen based) in lawn and farm fertilizer eats those dang zinc pennies up quickly. I have seen those things on top of the ground half eaten away by lawn fertilizer. Like AARC says, gold hunters HAVE to dig it all if they wish to find gold. Aluminum pull tabs give the same reading and tone as a gold ring to any detector made, so if you dig 500 pull tabs and then notch them out you will miss the gold ring. I loved my old BFO beep and dig detector before there was any discrimination, we simply dug every signal, it was just the way it was. Now with fairly sophisticated discrimination machines it is so easy to not dig it all, but also so easy to not find the gold.

Welll sorta... ... um... not really actually.

Electrolysis is a scientific creation... invented by Faraday.... you know the Faraday cage guy :P

anyway...

electrolysis is a technique that uses direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction.

 

[gold chick]

Thanks for all of the advice. It is interesting to learn that zinc pennies are crap!

I have been digging all signals thus far and will remain to do so. What a learning curve!

I've been working on underwater detecting as well, which is proving its own difficulties. But its really fun. I just invested in the Garrett waterproof headphones to go with my waterproof AT Pro.

 

[gunsil]

Sadly that ATP fine machine that it is will not give great results in salt water. Only pulse induction (PI) or multi frequency VLF machines are efficient in saltwater or wet salt sand. I love my ATP for land hunting since so many coils are available for it, but have multis for salt environments. The ATP will work just fine in freshwater ponds, lakes, and rivers, but salt makes any single frequency VLF detector lose efficiency. They will work to some extent in the wet salt but with poor depth compared to PIs and multi frequency VLFs. Garrett has a new reasonably priced multi VLF out, may be too early to know how well it works, but the Minelab multis basically rule the salt for VLF detectors at this time. The Minelab Equinox 600 is waterproof and very efficient in the salt and priced close to the ATP. The Equinox 800 has added gold nugget hunting capabilities making it one of the most versatile waterproof machines. Good luck out there, I would love to hunt the TX coast but it is a loooong ways away. Find a nice chunk of gold jewelry in the dry sand with your ATP and sell the gold and get a good multi and you will have the best of both worlds. One note, the learning curve on the multis is tougher for some folks than that of the ATP, took me some time to get used to the Minelabs.

 

[port ewen ace]

Zinkies will VDI 72-75 on the ATPro, key is the nasty raspy sound as you move away from the hit. coppers are 79-82 with a larger "footprint" than a dime and smooth sound reduction over the target zone. an eaten Zincrap can get to the upper 60's and will sound like a pile of dog duty.sure you know aboooooot those 53-55 & 61 Colonial aluminum can closures

 

[cudamark]

Sadly that ATP fine machine that it is will not give great results in salt water. Only pulse induction (PI) or multi frequency VLF machines are efficient in saltwater or wet salt sand. I love my ATP for land hunting since so many coils are available for it, but have multis for salt environments. The ATP will work just fine in freshwater ponds, lakes, and rivers, but salt makes any single frequency VLF detector lose efficiency. They will work to some extent in the wet salt but with poor depth compared to PIs and multi frequency VLFs. Garrett has a new reasonably priced multi VLF out, may be too early to know how well it works, but the Minelab multis basically rule the salt for VLF detectors at this time. The Minelab Equinox 600 is waterproof and very efficient in the salt and priced close to the ATP. The Equinox 800 has added gold nugget hunting capabilities making it one of the most versatile waterproof machines. Good luck out there, I would love to hunt the TX coast but it is a loooong ways away. Find a nice chunk of gold jewelry in the dry sand with your ATP and sell the gold and get a good multi and you will have the best of both worlds. One note, the learning curve on the multis is tougher for some folks than that of the ATP, took me some time to get used to the Minelabs.

New Garrett machine for salt water? Are you referring to the Apex? If so, it's not a good choice, as it's not waterproof. Talk about dropping the ball....come on Garrett, what were you thinking?

 

[PetesPockets55]

Remember that zinc is used for anodes, think boat motors and water heaters, because it dissolves ("sacrifices" itself) so easily. Any pinhole in the copper surface of a Zincoln Cent allows the zinc to dissolve even quicker.

 

[gunsil]

Welll sorta... ... um... not really actually.

Electrolysis is a scientific creation... invented by Faraday.... you know the Faraday cage guy :P

anyway...

electrolysis is a technique that uses direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction.

I know you have experience with boats in saltwater. Electrolysis occurs between dissimilar metals when exposed to saltwater, and is what eats up the "sacrificial zincs" we put on rudders, etc. At least that is what yankee boat owners call it.

 

[sprailroad]

Gold Chick, gunsil pretty much covered it in his post #15, a multi Freq. detector for salt beaches, and for anywhere else really, in say different ground conditions and such. The new Garrett Apex?, well sure, it is not fully water proof, meaning underwater of course, what I like about a detector being waterproof, even if never to water hunt, is not having any worry about being caught in a steady rain etc. Nice to see Garett have a Multi-Freq machine though, Minelabs have been eating their lunch., I do own 3 Minelabs, but I also have 3 Garretts. The AT Pro you have, a great machine as are so many others of all brands, use it, love it, find good stuff with it until at some point you look to buy your second machine, and you will, we can't help ourselves, and you might then see what's what at that time. In 35 years I've owned 7, still have them all, (we have history). So..great good luck with it all, and those ZINC pennies? well, those and pull tabs..........you know.....