hunting in top soil 2 or 3 feet deep

[john sullivan]

have been finding clad at 8 to 10 inches deep, no silver. wondering if coin would continue to sink until they met resistance like hard pan

 

[dewcon4414]

Everything sinks to its equal weight.... however surface targets like coins unlike say a ring i believe are more easily stopped by about anything. Then once stopped continued to be covered. If a freeze and thaw or water can turn the coin on edge it might settle more. Also the closer you get to the top of a hill the shallower the top soil which normally means shallow targets. Normally you can tell by the color of the dirt if there has been fill dirt used.

Dew

 

[diggingFx]

Thats usually when I start moving on. I've heard of 1/16" a year but clad at 8 to 10" makes me think dirts been added or moved around or erroded.

 

[gitterdug]

That doesn't make sense to me. Over the years, this issue has been cussed and discussed so many times. The comment of 1/16 inch per year is fairly accurate for the most part. And gravitational forces are incredibly weak. I am of the school of thought that coins are covered over, though they may fall into cracks, earth movement may allow them to fall into a deeper depth, but I ain't much on them sinking. I am always willing to learn, so please help by explaining what you are saying.

Gratis,

Dennis

 

[dewcon4414]

My point was there are a lot of ways targets get where they are at verious depths and physics is one way. Obviously those coins didnt get there that away... to new and to deep so i didnt mean to imply that. As far as equal weight .... a gold ring is a good example in the sand. It has no surface and gold is almost 10 times heavier than sand if there is nothing to stop the ring like hard pan or another larger object it will move down ward..... this movement will continue based on its on weight and other influences until it reaches a point where other objects of its equal weight is.... just like raw gold or large rocks and small rocks. Didnt mean to beat a dead horse.... you are right the subject has been discussed and there are a lot of differing opinions.

Dew

 

[sgoss66]

Soil TYPES affect "sink rates," big time...and as stated there are MULTIPLE other ways coins end up at whatever depth they arrive at (fill dirt, excavation, accumlation of organic material ON TOP of the ground that they decays, erosion, deposition of sediment, plowing, foot or vehicular traffic, etc. etc. etc.) John -- is your soil sandy? Clad coins (i.e. less than 50 years old) should not "sink" that deep, that quick, in most types of soil. NASA-Tom Dankowski has discussed how Florida soil has a very, very efficient "sink rate" due to the sandy composition, and even there, 16 inches of "sinkage" in 100 years is about right...so 8" to 10" in less than 48 years seems extreme, ESPECIALLY in non-sandy, stable soil. I'd be thinking that there is an alternate explanation as to why your clad is being found that deep, in that spot (fill dirt would be my first thought). BUT, you are on track in your thinking that coins will sink "quicker" through looser soil, and be "hindered" by harder or denser (clay-type) soils -- in some cases sinking VERY little, if at all, in dense soil.

Just thoughts...and from here, I'll leave the dead horse alone, as well!

Steve

 

[TwoRivers]

The land may have been plowed at one time or another.....Boy this is a dirty subject

 

[john sullivan]

prairie soil deep and black ,no rocks most of the soil has been plowed but where i am hunting it's never been plowed, filled maybe but i doubt it.and the coins are copper coloured.

 

[detecterx]

I love geotechnical engineering, mixed with Isaac Newton... A little research at your local tax office and a soil sample. A short cut by paying a lab to run your sample. We will all agree when I say gravity is a b!tc*. And dirt is such a dirty topic.

The soil content varies location to location. I would also not recommend sending soil samples in due to the almost limitless possibilities. However researching surface tension of soils, specific gravity and your varibles i.e. water content ect. A clever person would become able to create an experiment to possibly validite the answer they seek.

HH,

Tom

 

[mikeothmer]

The question isn't so much if the coin ca sink farther ,of coarse it can and there are a thousand reasons why it could. The question should be, can you find it !

 

[john sullivan]

-- moved topic --

 

[Dan-Pa.]

If I find an area with fill dirt I move on but on the other hand find an area where dirt has been removed the possibilities for old coins is certainly there.

Once hunted an old baseball field where approx. a foot of dirt had been removed and found 8 inch deep silver coins so in essence lets say the average detector gets 8-12 inches in useable depth if I hunted it before the construction and dirt removal sure as heck not going to get 20 inch coins so in essence always felt some really old coins are so deep we are not going to find them.

Quite a subject on how far do coins and rings sink over the years and a lot depends on the type of ground and enviroment in the area you are hunting and no stock answer with only estimates at best.