a dime naturally sink in the ground?----I'm not talking about beach/sand hunting but referring to the max. depth a dime would sink in various types of ground of "in-land" coin hunting?-----We all know that there is a myriad of things that can "influence" this--but just lay all those factors aside.----What is the maximum "natural" (depth) sinkage of a dime in ANY type of ground?? (except sand)-------Del
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How deep can-----
- Thread starter D&P-OR
- Start date
Larry (IL)
Well-known member
D&P-OR said:
I don't think there is one Del. I have found very old dimes at an inch or less and I have dug clad dimes at 6 inches.............
Go figure.That's a hard one to answer, In places i have dug dimes over 100 years old as deep as 10 inches.
other places 2 or 3 inches.
LabradorBob
other places 2 or 3 inches.
LabradorBob
Interesting question Del. Scientifically speaking, an object will penetrate the ground according to Newton's Law of Gravitation (every massive particle in the universe attracts every other massive particle with a force which is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them) in relation to the resistance factor of any given soil (as calculated according to ASTM D1586 - 08a, the Standard Test Method for Standard Penetration Test (SPT) ). 
What that means in English is............ it's only a dime in the dirt, for gosh sakes! 
Science aside, here is my "tongue in cheek" personal opinion.
Several years ago, having dug seated dimes at 4 inches in the same area as clad dimes at 5 - 6 inches with no obvious sign of fill dirt, I asked myself the same question. After studying the issue, considering the possible effects of Mother Nature (rain, wind, compost, mulch, freezing/thawing, earth tremors etc) and mankind (landscaping, farming, gardening etc) I've come to the conclusion that dimes do not sink "on their own". At least not to the point that it can be measured. Not satisfied with that answer, I decided to conduct a simple test here at home. In fact, that was over 5 years ago and the test is still in progress. But after 5+ years, the dime is still laying on top of the "half full" jar of dirt, sitting in my workshop. I still keep hoping that someday I'll go out there and it will have sunk. At least a little bit! 
But it hasn't, so far. The theory I am pondering now is, what if dimes only sink in the daytime? My shop has no windows. As such, the only time light gets in there is when I open the door. And only then for a few seconds at a time. Do you think I need to put in some windows,for the sake of the dime? 
Randy
What that means in English is............ it's only a dime in the dirt, for gosh sakes! Science aside, here is my "tongue in cheek" personal opinion.
Several years ago, having dug seated dimes at 4 inches in the same area as clad dimes at 5 - 6 inches with no obvious sign of fill dirt, I asked myself the same question. After studying the issue, considering the possible effects of Mother Nature (rain, wind, compost, mulch, freezing/thawing, earth tremors etc) and mankind (landscaping, farming, gardening etc) I've come to the conclusion that dimes do not sink "on their own". At least not to the point that it can be measured. Not satisfied with that answer, I decided to conduct a simple test here at home. In fact, that was over 5 years ago and the test is still in progress. But after 5+ years, the dime is still laying on top of the "half full" jar of dirt, sitting in my workshop. I still keep hoping that someday I'll go out there and it will have sunk. At least a little bit! But it hasn't, so far. The theory I am pondering now is, what if dimes only sink in the daytime? My shop has no windows. As such, the only time light gets in there is when I open the door. And only then for a few seconds at a time. Do you think I need to put in some windows,for the sake of the dime? RandyI think they sink very little in average soil.It is more of a question of how much can be stacked on them from various sources.I have found many coins that I am sure were laying on the ground for well over 100 years that had not sunk at all.They were in isolated areas that had not been mowed or landscaped in any way.Also can be sunk by being steped on when soil is very muddy be it man or beast doing the stepping.Moles are anothe thing that will cause coins to fall/sink into the soil.
Randy-----I knew all about your first paragraph!!!---ASTM D 1586 ummm & then SPT 08a-----no no no, it's 08a ummm STP---I mean SPT etc., etc.-----What I was looking for was a complicated, hard to understand explanation to said question!! 
------THE WUMS---don't forgit the wums, they make coins sink to.-------Speakin of wums---boy did I open a can of 'em here! --------Del
------THE WUMS---don't forgit the wums, they make coins sink to.-------Speakin of wums---boy did I open a can of 'em here! --------DelDirtSurgeon
New member
I just dug up a 1917 merc dime yesterday at about 2 inches. This dime was in very dry gravelly/rocky ground. I had also been over this area at least a dozen times. Very bouncy signal from penny to quarter. (ace 250, 10 x 14 excellerator coil). I guess I just didn't hit it from the right angle before. I scratched the heck out of it, but it was very worn anyway, silver is silver. I took it as a lesson to be more careful next time. It could have been that elusive 1916d. Sorry no pics, I'm at work. Just close your eyes and picture a scratched and very worn merc.
DS
DS
E-Trac-Ohio
Well-known member
I think there's to many variables to come up with solid number - time - type of dirt - softer top soil in the woods from decayed leaves to hard clay out in the open - stones in the ground - was the area walked over - driven over - etc. - etc. etc .
HH --- Mark
HH --- Mark
GoGoGopher
New member
Dimes only sink when it rains, there is something on top of them (preasure), or when it is winter time...They are just too light to sink on their own...This is MHO
HH,
HH,
slowmotion
New member
Has anybody though about buildup? My lawn is about 2 or 3 in. above my sidewalk. House was built about 1960. I live in Spokane WA. Not much rainfall this side of state. Zinc coins down to 4 inch or to rocks. Lived in Phoenix and on the grass { when you had grass } coins just as deep. BUT in the desert, things are not the same. Found my oldest coin in Tuboc AZ. 1738 half real, it is about the sises of a dime, on top of the ground. That's 282 years old. So wind and rain put them where it wants.
And that's all I got to say about that.
Willard in Spokane.
And that's all I got to say about that.
Willard in Spokane.
thebeatmachine
Member
The faster they sink the less dense the ground and easier for the the detector to see it. The slow sinkers are in hard pack ground which is harder for your detector to see them. Flood areas sink more. More rocks and stones in soil the less they will sink. So depends on your area. You will always have exceptions too. A modern dime gets down 6" while a wheatie may be still up top.