i need advice and could also use some help

[pccvanwilder]

thanks so much for reading. please give me any suggestions you may have.

there is a spot in a river, where i KNOW coins from hundreds of years ago are on the bottom. no btw... the coins have not been there that long. they have not even been there 100 yrs. the coins are gold and silver and many different shapes. the river depth is approximately 20 - 30 feet in this particular area. the location is fairly remote without a lot of people around at all. there are literally hundreds and hundreds of coins.

now to what i need help with...

all of the treasure hunting i have done has been focused on land and in sand using shovels, detectors, g.p.radar, etc. i am very un-familiar with water searching. the bottom of this particular river is somewhat soft and full of decaying plants. i do not know the best way to locate the coins as well as remove them. is there some sort of smaller machine that would be able to suck all the junk off the bottom from the top and be able to sort at the same time like the larger ones divers use on shipwrecks? isf so is that something i could build or where would i buy one. would it be worth diving and trying to locate individual coins first with some sort of detector, or would they be too far buried for that to benefit much...

lastly, is anyone interested in helping me on this project?

 

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[CaptJohn]

On ebay, for 14 more hrs, There is a "OLD PRIMITIVE POST HOLE DIGGER SCREW TYPE AUGER" for bid,and maye others, but you can build one with a post hole diger...anyhow it will take soil samples in that river, (use it to see if u can bring up any coins)you'd have to use a LONG pipe with a "T" handle at the top. anyhow look on ebay to see what I'm talking about. Its item # 370440113124 . You should also get a under water video camera, one on ebay, look for " Underwater Camera Fishing/Fish Finder" its item#
#370440948008, its an under water camera, I have one, its about 70 or 80 bucks, if you have a Harbor Frieght or Northern Store near YOU, they sell them. It can be lowered 60 feet by its cable and you can see whats down the with its B/W monitor or a little color TV as I use., and to see what your doing with the digger. Its 12V powered, I use a car battery Jump Start Pack for its power.

 

[CaptJohn]

Be sure to look at that post hole digger thing on Ebay. It only has 2 auger blades, on on each end of the 2 spades, and it should bore into the mud and hold its contents. Now its gonna be clumbsy with 20 or 30 ft of pipe, try to use the pipes of the top rails of a chain link fence, they are strong and lite, or PVC ...? let me know.....

 

[Mr.Jody]

I know a diver down there in florida....

 

[RW]

Sounds like you need a coin dredge. I saw a used one for sale... Maybe you can rent one? Too bad WallyWorld doesn't sell them, you could take it back when you are done. Maybe a weighted bucket on a rope to do some test dredging?

 

[niffler]

I think that the dredge idea is good, depending on visibility. An airlift would do to clear off the mud. If you can use a boat, a "Mailbox" type setup, even adapted to an outboard motor, can make a big hole in the mud. I have dredged for gold in rivers, and a dredge can make a big hole quickly in mud and sand. Niffler

 

[RW]

There is a nice 3-4" Keene coin dredge with many accessories and hooka for 3 for around 2K shipped. Expensive but a good deal. The whole setup ready for exactly what you need. If you get a good deal, use it, and sell it, might do ok...

 

[GrayCloud]

Quite obviously, you need a diver and a 2" to 4" gold dredge. Now if you are not trusting of a diver there are other choices.
Use a homemade drag bucket with a sharp metal lip and a mesh wire basket. Easy to build and operate. Slow going but effective.

 

[Goodyguy]

Grey Cloud is right, a dredge and diver is the best option. However you will need a powerful pump to achieve the 30' lift.
Check the specs before buying.

GG~

 

[Klondikeike]

Klondike here....

I have nearly 30 years of professional mining experience...and many years before that of dredging..usually making my own dredges... back then, I could build a 6 or 8 in that would lift a rock the size of a man's head up 30 feet.... so it is possible...to dredge that location...

On the other hand.... you may want to just "move the sandy / clay material in the area away from the coins...with an underwater dredge... a device for basically just moving sandy material that never reaches the surface.. and simply pick the coins up once they are freed of the surrounding material...

I also have technology that will locate the exact location of the coins... so as you will not move more material than is necessary...

Please send me a PM if you are interested in talking with me... I may be able to assist you with lots of good advice...

Thanks...

Klondike...

 

[Curtis]

I can vouch for Klondike's integrity and experience...he can help...I have been out on a couple of adventures with him in the past.

 

[dtpost]

thanks so much for reading. please give me any suggestions you may have.

there is a spot in a river, where i KNOW coins from hundreds of years ago are on the bottom. no btw... the coins have not been there that long. they have not even been there 100 yrs. the coins are gold and silver and many different shapes. the river depth is approximately 20 - 30 feet in this particular area. the location is fairly remote without a lot of people around at all. there are literally hundreds and hundreds of coins.

now to what i need help with...

all of the treasure hunting i have done has been focused on land and in sand using shovels, detectors, g.p.radar, etc. i am very un-familiar with water searching. the bottom of this particular river is somewhat soft and full of decaying plants. i do not know the best way to locate the coins as well as remove them. is there some sort of smaller machine that would be able to suck all the junk off the bottom from the top and be able to sort at the same time like the larger ones divers use on shipwrecks? isf so is that something i could build or where would i buy one. would it be worth diving and trying to locate individual coins first with some sort of detector, or would they be too far buried for that to benefit much...

lastly, is anyone interested in helping me on this project?

Get you a John Boat, mount 3" metal conduit straps on each side of the boat, find some bamboo that is about 2" in diameter and drive them down into the soft soil in the river. This will keep you in one spot for a while, for the silver coins mount a rare earth magnet to the bottom of another piece of bamboo long enough to reach the bottom of the river. And start collecting!!! Also you can extend the coil wire on a metal detector to help with the search (be sure to weight the coil so it doesn't float, something non-metallic.) Or mount it to the bamboo as well. For the gold that is the tricky part, make a map of the river so you aren't researching parts you have already gone over. If you have access to a dredge or a highbanker this would work great, although you'll want to use a cache catcher at the end of your sluice (perferated metal box.) Mount the high banker to the back of the boat and mount the bamboo pole to the suction nozzle with metal hose clamps. If you have a buddy with another boat he can be using a sniping scope for water to help locate the cache. This is just a cheap way of getting on the water and getting some silver/gold in the boat

 

[Goodyguy]

Get you a John Boat, mount 3" metal conduit straps on each side of the boat, find some bamboo that is about 2" in diameter and drive them down into the soft soil in the river. This will keep you in one spot for a while, for the silver coins mount a rare earth magnet to the bottom of another piece of bamboo long enough to reach the bottom of the river. And start collecting!!! Also you can extend the coil wire on a metal detector to help with the search (be sure to weight the coil so it doesn't float, something non-metallic.) Or mount it to the bamboo as well. For the gold that is the tricky part, make a map of the river so you aren't researching parts you have already gone over. If you have access to a dredge or a highbanker this would work great, although you'll want to use a cache catcher at the end of your sluice (perferated metal box.) Mount the high banker to the back of the boat and mount the bamboo pole to the suction nozzle with metal hose clamps. If you have a buddy with another boat he can be using a sniping scope for water to help locate the cache. This is just a cheap way of getting on the water and getting some silver/gold in the boat

Are you from Canada? There is no magnet that will pick up any USA coins.

GG~

 

[dtpost]

Get you a John Boat, mount 3" metal conduit straps on each side of the boat, find some bamboo that is about 2" in diameter and drive them down into the soft soil in the river. This will keep you in one spot for a while, for the silver coins mount a rare earth magnet to the bottom of another piece of bamboo long enough to reach the bottom of the river. And start collecting!!! Also you can extend the coil wire on a metal detector to help with the search (be sure to weight the coil so it doesn't float, something non-metallic.) Or mount it to the bamboo as well. For the gold that is the tricky part, make a map of the river so you aren't researching parts you have already gone over. If you have access to a dredge or a highbanker this would work great, although you'll want to use a cache catcher at the end of your sluice (perferated metal box.) Mount the high banker to the back of the boat and mount the bamboo pole to the suction nozzle with metal hose clamps. If you have a buddy with another boat he can be using a sniping scope for water to help locate the cache. This is just a cheap way of getting on the water and getting some silver/gold in the boat

Are you from Canada? There is no magnet that will pick up any USA coins.

GG~

I don't remember him stating that these were USA coins!!! Just because they are in the USA doesn't mean they were made here

 

[Goodyguy]

I don't remember him stating that these were USA coins!!! Just because they are in the USA doesn't mean they were made here

A magnet will not attract a silver coin..... no matter what country the coin comes from.

 

[Curtis]

I had to chuckle with you GG, the coins would have had to have an awful lot of iron in them ...some private backyard mints back in the 1800s tried to use iron stamped them coated with silver...I have seen those....they were counterfeit Mexican pesos made near Cattlestburg KY!s I seriously doubt these are like that...don't think the magnet would work...however if you could see them you could use a triggered vacuum tube (using a vacuum pump and a very small diameter line) at the end of the bamboo pole.

 

[CaptJohn]

Okay, I've Found It!!!! The method that will retrive the coins that is. You can build it for under 300 bucks . Even way less if you might already own some of the equip needed, as I do. PM me. If any of you need a device to do something like this let me know, PM me also. I am putting this device together.

 

[strickman]

Okay, I've Found It!!!! The method that will retrive the coins that is. You can build it for under 300 bucks . Even way less if you might already own some of the equip needed, as I do. PM me. If any of you need a device to do something like this let me know, PM me also. I am putting this device together.

show a pic capt.john

 

[centfladigger]

you might want to check the regulations on that. We lost the IFP here in Florida about 5 years. IFP is or was the Isolated Finds Program. You are not allowed to pick up anything from the States waters, they own it, if its over 50 years old and man made or man altered, fossils are the only exception with a peurchase of a $5 permit from the U of F. Just get you a good light and get down there and fan the bottom, thats what we do. Grab your anchor rope and run the bottom

 

[salvage diver]

Just contact me if you are interested I think I have everything needed