Wheat to silver ratio?

[marcomo]

In Michael Chaplan's excellent book, The Urban Treasure Hunter, he said the expected wheat to silver ratio when detecting is 6 to 1.

My wheat to silver ratio is way higher than that. I haven't actually counted, but I'd say it's at least twice that if not a little more.

Chaplan's book came out in the early 90's so maybe it's changed since then? Wheat pennies were in circulation many years after silver disappeared.

The E-Trac has a reputation of being strong on silver, I'm curious as to what ratio users here are finding.

 

[sharpshooter]

6 to 1 seems about right at the places I hunt.

Now if you consider memorial cent to silver ratio, it would be much higher.

On my last few hunts, 3 to 1 would be a closer estimate.

 

[tmanfromtexas]

After I started using the Etrac last year my 2008 ratio was 5.5-1. In 2009 it is 4.5-1. TMAN...

 

[relax_them72]

how about Indain head pennys to silver?Indain to wheats.

 

[sharpshooter]

Here in Okieland, the IH cents are rare finds for me. Only 4 or 5 total.

Now real Indians, that's a different matter. You can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting a real Indian.

I've dug a couple hundred wheat cents over the years.

Ratio would be 1 IH cent for every 50 wheaties.

 

[marcomo]

OK, I must have had one too many of glasses of iced tea at dinner tonight so I'm still up and I actually counted.

And my wheat to silver ratio was lower than I originally thought: 7.06:1

I think I might have misjudged because at the time I originally posted this I was hitting an old site hard where I found about 25-30 wheaties, mostly in the teens and 20's. Also a couple Buffs, Indians, a Liberty Nickel and various other interesting old stuff - but no silver.