Does frost push coins to the surface?

[ZumbroKid]

When the frost leaves in the spring, we seem to find more coins. Does this act of nature force coins closer to the surface? Is this why no site is ever hunted out? What do you think?

 

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[SomeGuy]

Gardeners and farmers can tell you it brings rocks to the surface....why not coins?

 

[northeast hunter]

in my opinion i think so.... if we have a hard frost...the frost can get up to 3 feet deep up here in the northeast...and when i hit the back yard in the spring i always find something new.....well old i mean but new too me...H H

 

[jeff of pa]

I agree , Any Deep Freeze Will move things around.
Not only push up But Change Position of coins in the ground.

Here in PA, I always hit the sites I'v hammered hard the year before.
after the Thaw, I always get at least 1 deep coin in these spots.

I would believe, Moisture in the ground right after a thaw also helps.

 

[Michigan Badger]

Congrats, Free, I think you hit on a question where there'll be almost 100% agreement.

I have no question in my mind at all that the spring thaw brings many objects to the surface. The most obvious evidence of the upward movement may be seen in what happens to many Michigan paved roads every spring.

It seems as water in the soil from fall rains freezes and expands it pushes rocks, coins, etc., upward.? However, these items may not stay up long after the frost leaves. After the ground dries out and becomes hard-packed again, the coins and some rocks may return to the former resting places or they may even go deeper. This is why coins lost in wet areas tend to be much deeper than coins lost in drier locations.

Much of the fussing about "coin depth" we read about on all the forums could be the result of a person who hunts drier areas arguing with someone who hunts the wetter areas. Sod vitality is also a major contributor to coin depth.

 

[Michigan Badger]

One more thing, I think one reason (besides the obvious) we find so few gold coins is because of this extreme upward/downward movement every spring.

Gold is heavy and would sink much deeper than say silver. This theory has some support as one considers those heavy fishing sinkers we dig. Ever notice that they're often very deep?

I believe the few gold coins out there that are not sheltered from the elements (buried under some house, etc.) are too deep for most detectors.

Remember back in the old TR days we hardly ever found a Barber dime or Indian cent? Then when VLF came along we suddenly started to find them.

One day this same scenario will be repeated with heavier gold objects when they finally figure out some system that makes VLF obsolete.

Right now many more could be found with the deep VLF's but many hunt too fast and use too high discrimination.

 

[jeff of pa]

I agree , Any Deep Freeze Will move things around.
Not only push up But Change Position of coins in the ground.

Here in PA, I always hit the sites I'v hammered hard the year before.
after the Thaw, I always get at least 1 deep coin in these spots.

I would believe, Moisture in the ground right after a thaw also helps.

Not having to deal with frost, snow or frozen ground down here, I was rather curious about how the ground freezes. Does the ground start freezing several inches below the surface, and then work its way up?or, does the ground start freezing at the surface and work its way down?

If the frozen ground could ?push? a coin towards the surface?could it also ?push? the coin deeper into the ground?

Things that make ya go hum?

?I would say from the Surface down.

HOWEVER, I'm almost shure it's not a uniform freeze or thaw,
and just like an expanding bottle filled with water in the
freezer bursts, the ice would be moving things around,
if in the ground.

And I would THINK, the odds of them returning to their exact
original position, would be very small

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Found this article below...Was looking for this,because I was wondering why graves were not pushed up during thaw. Guess this answers it.

The depth of freezing during the winter is a function
of how cold the air temperature gets, how long the air
temperature stays below freezing, how clear the sky is
(clear skies allow the ground to cool more rapidly as
energy is lost from the ground radiatively), and whether
there is snow cover (and how deep it is). Long cold spells
with no snow cover can cause the ground to freeze to a greater
depth.

During a normal winter in northern Illinois, the ground will
freeze to a depth of about a foot. If there is persistent
snow cover, the ground may freeze only a few inches deep. If
there is little or no snow cover, the ground can freeze nearly
three feet deep.

David R. Cook
Atmospheric Research Section

 

[littlehugger]

I believe that frost does bring certain things up, such as rocks and coins.
As for up, rather than down, nature follows the law of least resistance. It is easier for the coin to go up, rather than down, into even harder soil.
I also believe the water has a halo effect on the coins, making them more "visible" to our detectors.
Hugger

 

[rjnail]

yes i say, frost does bring things up,

 

[Gadget]

I think the reason stones migrate is because they absorb and retain heat. So freezing around (or under) them would bring them to the surface because frozen dirt expands. Of course it could just as easily push it deeper too I suppose especially early in the freeze cycle.

Since a coin is a conductor, maybe it works the same on a smaller scale. I guess I'll find out in the Spring. If I find a 100lb gold nugget in my back yard, that'll prove the theory.