NJ Beach Detecting for Reales...Question from a Newbie

[BrettCo124]

Hi all,

I've detected for about 5 years now, but I have never tried targeting old silver coins from shipwrecks (like reales). I live very close to the New Jersey shorelines, especially Atlantic City area. First off, have I watched too much YouTube and been brainwashed in to absolute excitement, thinking I can accomplish this? Or... can it be done?

I know that nobody would ever give their secrets away (neither would I), but simply knowing that I wouldn't be "out of the grid" for an accomplishment would make me feel better about trying. I know I won't just find one immediately, but I am trying to put things together, such as...

Has there been shipwrecks that could disperse them? If so, with your expert opinions, does it HAVE to be right in the immediate area of where it was thought to be? Lastly, do you have any suggestions for me as far as a starting place?

Thank you all very much.

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

wait for storms and on-shore swells, combined with high tides, to create erosion. When the conditions are right, mother nature will do all the work for you, and group all the metal targets in nice neat pockets. It can turn the beach into a giant sluice-box riffle board effect, so to speak.

 

[Hitndahed]

Google is your best friend here M8.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=shipwrecks+of+New+Jersey

All along the Delmarva there have been ships wrecked, for centuries.
The best I can tell you is to do diligence. Research, research, and more research.
Personally I would be looking at old maps, settlements no longer there, ports, old docks and trading stations.

 

[BrettCo124]

This is great information everyone. I am going to look in to your advice and give it a shot! Have either one of ya ever found a reale on a beach? It's so hard to comprehend how, amongst so much trash and modern clad, you could actually target these old coins and actually retrieve them!

 

[bigfoot1]

I hit 2...both fakes..lol...you can do it !!

 

[Tom_in_CA]

This is great information everyone. I am going to look in to your advice and give it a shot! Have either one of ya ever found a reale on a beach? It's so hard to comprehend how, amongst so much trash and modern clad, you could actually target these old coins and actually retrieve them!

when erosion is occurring, there can actually be conditions where all the light-weight trash (tabs, foil, caps, and even zinc pennies) are gone. Only heavier targets remain . Eg.: coins, car keys, sinkers, brass doohickeys, rings, etc....

(There were even conditions here in CA, during the '82-83 el nino, where a few days were all old coins. Zero clad. Because the sand had gotten stripped below all the clad, to where it was *only* old. However, the sand came back in during the following spring and summer, so now the targets are mixed. Doh!)

I've found 3 reales here in CA on the beach. But they're not shipwreck coins. They're just beach-goer recreational fumble fingers losses.

 

[BrettCo124]

I've found 3 reales here in CA on the beach. But they're not shipwreck coins. They're just beach-goer recreational fumble fingers losses.

thats incredible! How old were they!

 

[BrettCo124]

I hit 2...both fakes..lol...you can do it !!

lol fakes?!! How does that happen?! Man, I want to find one so bad.

 

[BrettCo124]

wait for storms and on-shore swells, combined with high tides, to create erosion. When the conditions are right, mother nature will do all the work for you, and group all the metal targets in nice neat pockets. It can turn the beach into a giant sluice-box riffle board effect, so to speak.

Tom, when you say "Storm", does it have to be a massive storm? For example, hurricane season is here, and weather stirs up the waves here in New Jersey...but usually not a lot... Do I need to wait for a big storm?

 

[flyadive]

NJ Beaches have been MD to death! You never know what your gonna find though !!
So keep plugging away at it. Persistence pays!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I've found 3 reales here in CA on the beach. But they're not shipwreck coins. They're just beach-goer recreational fumble fingers losses.

thats incredible! How old were they!

They were all 3 beach toast. I don't recall being able to get a date off them. Except one I could read 17xx, and another I recall that it was the double-globe older style (1760s and earlier ?).

As for what "storm" means, google "Tom's beach tips". That's for CA, but a lot of the principles work for any coast.

 

[Hitndahed]

NJ Beaches have been MD to death! You never know what your gonna find though !!
So keep plugging away at it. Persistence pays!!!!!!!!!

=====================================
Not that totally depends on what you are looking for.
If ya want modern stuff I would head to the huge public beaches like Atlantic City, or Wildwood, Ocean City.
But if you want OLD stuff, I would head to any of the "old" places in the Delmarva region.
Up the bay, on the islands, look at old maps and find places that aren't there anymore. DO YOUR DILIGENCE.
Look up property owners and ask permissions. You CAN just go to "Coin Beach" in Delaware and MAYBE find some old stuff but I think you would be better off doing the research and hitting those places where people have forgot about.

 

[BrettCo124]

very interesting. Thank you all for your advice. Coin Beach sounds adventurous (I googled it)... I wouldn't mind venturing out there, its only 3 hours away.

 

[DFX DAVE in M.D.]

Brett do you have any inland bay areas local to you. Check and see if they had any old summer camps on your inland water ways. Hit them at low tide.

 

[BrettCo124]

Hi Dave, I do have bays in my area. I can try and find that information out. I'm sure there had to be one somewhere in jersey. You think that it's possible to find reales In areas like that?

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.... You think that it's possible to find reales In areas like that?

I think that was aimed at "summer camps" of the silver era [up to the dawn of 1964]. Not "reale era".

 

[BrettCo124]

Lol shows how much I know. Thanks for clarifying. I'll give all my advice a shot. I appreciate it. I hope I can come up with something good! By the way, my machine is a minelab Safari so I hope that can take care of what I'm going for. I've nothing but great things about it.

 

[smokeythecat]

I just found a 1640 Netherlands Daaler coin in Delaware, but it's new. As in tourist junk. Also got a gold guinea but am questioning it also as it is a little underweight. I'll take it to a coin dealer to look at soon. Did get a GENUINE Netherlands Daaler (size of a silver dollar) recently, the Dutch equivalent of an 8 Reale ( a few weeks ago after a storm). Delaware started off as a Dutch colony. This has been my year for beach found arrowheads, fossils, and modern jewelry but not much old stuff. We need a good storm to come through. Last two weeks I got a lot of sea glass but almost no metal. Not even much aluminum.

 

[tman]

Hit an old corn feild,last week I found a reale in a feild along with a cameo,musket balls,civil war bullets n large cents.

 

[BrettCo124]

I just found a 1640 Netherlands Daaler coin in Delaware, but it's new. As in tourist junk. Also got a gold guinea but am questioning it also as it is a little underweight. I'll take it to a coin dealer to look at soon. Did get a GENUINE Netherlands Daaler (size of a silver dollar) recently, the Dutch equivalent of an 8 Reale ( a few weeks ago after a storm). Delaware started off as a Dutch colony. This has been my year for beach found arrowheads, fossils, and modern jewelry but not much old stuff. We need a good storm to come through. Last two weeks I got a lot of sea glass but almost no metal. Not even much aluminum.

That is surreal! Do you think I'd have any luck searching for old coins on the Chesapeake bay beaches?