guessing approximate depth of older targets

hollowpointred

Gold Member
Mar 12, 2005
6,871
56
Detector(s) used
Minelab Explorer SE/Garrett GTI 2500/ Ace 250
i have been hunting an old church site that dates to 1879. i have found silver coins that i am guessing were dropped in the 50s or 60s going by the wear and the dates on them. these coins were found at depths around 3 to 4 inches. that would make a sink rate of about 3 to four inches per 45 years (give or take.i am guessing that coins dropped in the 1880s would be at an approximate depth of around 8 to 11 inches.does this seem to make sense? it would explain why ive found no old coins other than the 30s or 40s. judging by the age of the site, older coins must be there. if the site were already hunted out i would not have found the silver that i have already found. right? btw.....im using an ace 250 that maxes out at around 8 inches.what do you guys think. does my reasoning hold water?
 

Hollowpointed the 1880's coins lay at about 7.5 inches according to my personal formual. Everyone has seen how many i have posted. 7.5 inches take that to the bank. Scan slow and no disc. Dig the most iffy of signals. Do not wait for your ace to say it is deffinatly a good target.
 

thanks guys....... free, i will go back and dig some of those iffy signals. there must have been a million of them up there. i assumed they were all trash but maybe they were not. your 7.5" estimation seems to make sense, going off of the depth of the other coins i found there.
 

I probably have detected a hundred churches. The best area is around the steps next to the door. If you are going to dig everything this is the place to do it. Just remember the old detectors were depth limited and were restricted to the upper 6".

Have Fun
George
 

Here comes a curve. My oldest find to date is an 1828 Large cent.This coin was in a field and was 3" deep. An 1850 Large cent I found was under a bush and was only 1" deep. Ground was not rocky. Go figure. HH

AK in KY
 

Sounds like both places dirt was worked, Fields get plowed. shrubs get planted. My first indian head was where some shrubs were planted also. I figure the coin only got brought to the surface when they placed the shrub there. There house was about 140 years old, guess on the shrub about 20 or so. Hollowpointed's thread is asking about natural drops that have not been distrurbed over the years. Also i've seen the 1/16 inch soil build up over time from decaying grass and leaves. Not all areas can go by that but, i holds water in my location.
 

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