the question of depth

joerc2002

Jr. Member
Sep 12, 2013
23
14
Kentucky
Detector(s) used
teknetics delta 4000 //garrett pin pointer
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
im basicly new but learning my teknetics delta 4k more everyday ive found some fun stuff mostly new quarters, here is my question, what is the average depth for most of you on silver coins??? im finding 2002 quarters in the park at 4 inches deep so what would be the average depth of a 1960 that was lost in its time period? i mean if a 2002 get 4 inchs down in 10 plus yrs how deep can one get in 40 yrs? just courious what you all say about depth and soil types and how change gets to that depth... tks..??????
 

luvsdux

Bronze Member
May 16, 2007
1,767
690
Lewiston, Idaho
Detector(s) used
Multiple Tesoros and Whites
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
There's no consistent depth. I've found silver just under the surface and clad at 6". The conditions vary so much from location to location that there's no assurance that just because it's deep it's silver. The variables involved in how deep a coin sinks are many.
luvdux
 

Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
3,992
In Michigan now.
Detector(s) used
Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
There's no consistent depth. I've found silver just under the surface and clad at 6". The conditions vary so much from location to location that there's no assurance that just because it's deep it's silver. The variables involved in how deep a coin sinks are many.
luvdux

Luvdux is totally right. Coins settle some and most are covered with leaf litter and erosion so there is no telling at what depth they will be. Frost also pushes coins to the surface. This varies in different locations or parts of the country.
 

TNGUNS

Bronze Member
Jun 23, 2012
2,368
1,208
Evensville, Tennessee
Detector(s) used
Whites 5900, Fisher 1266x, Tesoro Eldorado, Tesoro Silver Sabre, Whites Eagle Spectrum, Teknetics G2, Teknetics T2, Vibra-Probe 580
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
As the others have said it varies greatly, but in most undisturbed ground even the really old stuff is seldom over 6 inches. Again it can vary greatly. Hunting an area now that has a lot of silt from the TN river and stuff is unusually deep. Enough where I am confident a bit of it is out of reach for my G2. It gets awesome depth on lead but doesn't get quit as much on silver etc.:icon_thumleft:
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
reply

As the others have said, it depends. Moist lush soft turf conditions, silver may not start, in some such parks/turf till 9". But in dry hardpan desert conditions, silver may be starting at 1/2" deep.
 

SoCalBeachScanner

Hero Member
Aug 17, 2013
601
547
Coastal Orange County, CA
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
4
Detector(s) used
Garrett ATX, AT Pro, ProPointer, and a weirdly good sense of direction
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Coin depth at a public park can also depend on how the park gets maintained over the years. Some parks are rototilled and new sod or seed is planted anywhere between 5-20 years. A rototiller can push or pull a coin up or down 8" or more.
 

OP
OP
J

joerc2002

Jr. Member
Sep 12, 2013
23
14
Kentucky
Detector(s) used
teknetics delta 4000 //garrett pin pointer
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
tks guys, im sure i will find a little silver eventually but i was thrown by the depth of new clad i keep my sencitivity pretty low so im not chaseing every tone i get, so i am probably not shooting too deep anyway i would imagine the more acustom to the MD i get, i will learn to scan deeper and and find more desired targets thanks for the info and keep it coming:notworthy: lol
 

toe2short

Full Member
May 28, 2013
124
30
NJ
Detector(s) used
Minelab safari
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I got permission to hunt a one room school house pretty much when I feel like it. It is about a mile from my house. The first two weeks that I hunted it I got some silver mixed in with 1990 stuff. I also dug a colonial coin. They were all in the same area, it is a very small school yard and they were all about 4 to 6" Who knows how the newer stuff winds up with the old. That is why I always dig.

Jimmy
 

Frankn

Gold Member
Mar 21, 2010
8,711
2,989
Maryland
Detector(s) used
XLT , surfmaster PI , HAYS 2Box , VIBRA-TECTOR
Coins don't sink in the ground! They are covered by decaying vegetation, flooding, etc. Things like flooding, erosion by water and wind also remove cover.
I have found old 45-70 casings in the desert on the surface that were obviously very old.
Now comes the big question, how do you know when that coin was dropped? A silver coin could have been dropped last week! Frank...

sandy 2012-1.jpg
 

thrillathahunt

Silver Member
Jul 24, 2006
4,591
952
TEXAS
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
My answer to your question is this: What matters more than depth is location, location, location. It is true in real estate and it is true in metal detecting. Most modern detectors can go deep enough to find vintage silver. However, if silver is not there you won't find it. There are exceptions to this of course, but if your coil is swung just above the surface ( not 2-3" above) and you go slow and overlap your swings, most of the time you will find the silver, if it is there.
 

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