How deep is it?

[MDMac]

Yesterday, I did my first search of the yard, of a house built in 1909. I found 3 quarters, 4 dimes and about 20 pennies. But what amazed me was to find "State" quarters six inches down. How does a 2 or 3 year old quarter get so deep so fast. Doing the math, if a 3 year old quarter is six inches down, meaning 2 inches a year IF it was dropped the year it was made, older quarters/coins are going to be something like 200 inches down! What is with that?

For those of you that excel is finding coins more than 100 years old, how deep do you usually find them? I am sure they aren't 16-20 feet deep! Also, if you are doing an old house, on average, do you find more in the front yard or back yard? Should I be searching inside the house itself? Maybe in the walls or under the floors? I am trying to convince my Non Profit company to raze the house and put in something new. If we do, then I will really hit the ground where the house was. Any tip on hunting old properties would be greatly appreciated.

 

[coinnut]

There is a general theory to how deep coins go. If a house is still standing say for a hundred years, then it has always been kept clean around it. If not many trees, but only lawn, then not many roots to catch the coins and keep them close. The lawn lets them sink, the roots (and rocks) keep them up. The other thing to worry about is people bringing in fill to level off the ground. I'm sure your quarter was victim to either additional fill being brought in, or some tilling or digging being done. I have found Colonial coins 2" deep and memorials 7" deep. Age doesn't matter, conditions do. Hope this helps. P.S. When you scratch that seated dime because it read 2" down, and you thought it was a zinc penny, you'll understand that every hole is a potential great target, no matter what the depth is(That story was for me).HH

 

[camel]

I think depth on a metal detector while searching for coins is not as important as being thorough and taking your time.Most of my good coins over the last forty years have come from a average depth of 4 inches.The oldest coin i have found was a 1835 bust dime,it was 2 inches deep.I have never gotten in to relic hunting,that may be a different strory.

 

[Wayne/TX]

Coins don't sink as much as they get covered up!
..W

 

[tabdog]

That's it.

They can sink some in soft ground, but they are constantly
being covered up by man and by nature.

HH,

 

[Canewrap]

Yep, relic hunting is about research and having a deep seeking machine, as well as knowing your machine's response to different metals. There's more to it, but in the interest of brevity, that's it in a nutshell.