How deep are you finding old coin?

[Cdowney89]

I'm still a rookie(been at this two years) and it doesn't seem to matter how old the property is, I haven't found anything older than 1977.

About how deep have you dug for an old coin? What was the terrain? Sand? Dirt? Gravel? Dry, wet?

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

P.s. Sorry if this subject has been covered before. I searched and couldn't find anything.

 

[DFX DAVE in M.D.]

Old coins can be at the same depth as newer coins. I have got pre 1964 silver coins as shallow as a inch and deep as 10 inches on a quarter. There is many reasons why coins are at different depths. They can hit a root, rock or clayline and stop at that depth. Ground water and thawing ground frost can push coins upwards. Coins on dirt roads or paths can be stomped down deeper. Try detecting right after a good rain, you can get extra depth and keep detecting away, you will find a oldie but goodie sooner or later. Keep trying new sites, think outside of the box, that city park or schoolyard that has been beat to death with detectors might not have much left. Try getting in the woods and around streams and rivers where people fished, camped and partied.

 

[l.cutler]

Agreed, I have found large cents at one inch deep and I have found them at a foot deep. I found an 1898 Barber quarter on top of the ground. It totally depends on ground conditions, rocky and hard are usually shallow, sandy and loamy deep. If in plowed fields, they can be all over the place, some items are buried deeper while some are brought to the top.

 

[gleaner1]

I find them as deep as they are.

 

[wingmaster]

Usually they aren't as deep in yards as some old parks as old parks have been pounded and the shallow stuff is long gone, the parks around here the only silver that's left is mostly dimes at 10"+. In those places I only dig those really deep whisper signals to bypass most clad and trash, but where the ground hasn't had a lot of traffic I've found silver an inch deep before. HH

 

[slink]

Most around the 3 to 4 in range.Of course sometimes deeper,sometimes less than 3in.

 

[Ahab8]

Very dependent on soil conditions. Here in Maine I hunt the edges of ots of rivers. I have found coins at 12-13" and colonial buttons the same. One big colonial button deeper than that. When I bought my machine this weighed heavily. I knew the soil was very soft in most places around here

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Occasionally 8" to 10", usually 6" to 5", some more shallow. I pulled a 1986 Roosevelt dime from 10" beside a river where ice, cracked frozen soil and silt had apparently worked it down. Eyeballed an Indian Head Cent on a flat rock nearby. Had been there some time as the face was worn smooth.

Coins can be anywhere and people have a habit of working the soil and scattering them. Roots can push them up or down. Pulled stumps, graded soil, all sorts of things keep the percolating.

 

[CarolinaCurt]

Try to slow down and listen for those faint signals. These signals may be no more than a short distrorted sound.

 

[MrMikeJackie]

Average 4-6 inches. Have pulled 3 coins at 10+ inches barely. 2 of them gave me a very faint high tone in one direction only. The other was pure luck, dug a clad dime at 6 inches and then the pinpointer gave a little chirp at the bottom of the hole. Dug another 5 inches or so and pulled a 1773 half reale. All with whites machines. Now I own minelabs, will see how much more is down there.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

If the area you are searching has been in use for a long time, keep an eye out for construction projects like road and sidewalk tear outs, that will get you deeper and possible closer to the older coins.
I found a Barber dime @ 4" at a sidewalk tear out, and a silver Rosie at 6" in a lawn.
On my detector silver produces a higher pitched tone.

 

[dirtlooter]

so it could all depend on how hard a spot has already been hunted hard and even then things get missed, so you keep swinging and looking for new spots out of your "box", like some have mentioned, try to hunt new type places that you haven't tried

 

[bigscoop]

Interesting question. I don't know what part of the country you're in but it matters, and here's why. It wasn't until the early 1800's that the east started expanding west, so mid to late 1800's say in the Midwest. Of these folks there really wasn't a lot of them, so basically, as you move away from the coastlines early coinage circulation also starts to decline. So where you're located at can also play a huge role in the number of old coins that may, or may not, have been lost in the region you're hunting.

The other thing to keep in mind is this, typically these early "inland" settlements had a very small central focus, the actual core of the activity being confined to a much smaller area then what it may appear to have be today, these core areas having been built on top of many times and now a great deal of this core area has been covered in concrete and asphalt. i.e., locate the original center of a town and you'll be very fortunate to find any dirt at all. So, where you're hunting can have a huge impact on the potential of your hunts.

Now if you're in an "old" region then my experience is the same as these others guys.

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Cdowney89, you have neglected to state a general region or type of metal detector. If indeed, you use a MD.
Any information?
GL
Peace ✌

 

[RustyGold]

41 Merc, Rosey, Wheats and Buffalo nickel! Anywhere from 2" to 6" in Dirt! Beach is different. Oldest coin at beach, 1951 King George 50¢...4"-6" sand.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Hello "Cdowney89",

I have found coins on the surface to as far as 12" in the dirt, depends on the soil conditions, moisture, area...etc. On the beach using a PI machine I've dug some deep coins! I was on a beach hunt with friends and dug a 21" quarter in the transition part of the beach.

Regards,

 

[Silver Searcher]

Hammered coin on it's side at 48 feet needed a back hoe to get to it.

SS

 

[Jason in Enid]

I find them as deep as they are.

This is about the most honest statement about old coin depth. Every site it different. I have found silver barely covered by dirt, and I have dug it from 18 inches below the original ground level. Local ground conditions combined with previous detecting will dictate where remaining coins are located.

 

[McKinney_5900]

I found my first silver quarter under the silt, not even half an inch. I literally found an Indian Head on top of the ground in an out of the way little park. Seemed like cheating to find'em that shallow. I can count the old, deep coin finds on one or two hands I've ever found over 4 years. Most are less than 6 inches.

 

[Cdowney89]

Sorry, guys. I'm in louisville, ky. I use a cheap gold digger md. I've used it for two years and it's been spot on for finding coins....and a lot of junk, haha.