How deep for silver? Its not like the good old days!

[PJ in WI]

How deep for silver? It's not like the good old days!

I guess I never should have quit 30 yrs ago. I bought an Ace 250 and have been out 3 times. I went to 3 older areas I used to find lots of older coins at and I found 16 quarters, 7 dimes, 5 nickels and over 50 pennies. I dig all quarters and dimes and 7 of these were 5 inches plus but no silver. I dig 4 inches plus on the pennies and only 2 of those were wheats. In the 70's I was digging silver and wheaties at 2 inches. Now I'm digging 5 plus and only finding clad. How deep do I have to go? I might need a bigger shovel. I felt like a teenager again. The thrill of digging an treasure is ..... well its like I found a long lost love. I took MDing for granted 30 yrs ago. I appreciate it more now. I found a cool Shriners pin on medal. Sorry no pics as my bride has the camera and she is off defending the country.

 

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[outraged]

Re: How deep for silver? It's not like the good old days!

Ive noticed a bunch of people state in this forum "i only dig 4" and below". I can assure you please post detailed maps to where you have been going and i would love to clean it out afterwards. I have been T-hunting now for around 8 years. I dig every signal that is crisp. I learned this last year when i passed a signal at a cellar hole my father and i were hunting. I had the idea in my head my XLT says .5 inches I'm not going to waste my time on a bullet casing...Well my father watched the whole thing then basically ran to that spot. In the hole he found a 1876 CC seated dime in the best condition i have ever seen. It would have been the second CC i ever found...sigh... And it was only a half inch. See you just dont know how deep it is...Perhaps it is laying on a rock and is almost on the surface...Also when we were on our colonial site you could find them laying on the surface. I have also witnessed my father find a barber dime laying on the surface in very remote location. I say dig every crisp solid signal. I have also noticed with my XLT that sometimes it will say 2 inches but there is a nail fragment at 2 inches and there is silver at 8....I can only speak for my machine but the pinpointing will only lead you to the closest to the surface metal because as far as I'm aware when you pinpoint your machine goes into all metal mode. I am sure many people here have MUCH more experience than i do but my advise is dig away...What is the worst that could happen...you pull some unwanted junk out of the ground...(only helps for future hunting!). There is just too many variables not to dig every good signal.

I'm not sure if you read one of my previous posts about the ACE 250, but I did say that if I got a good signal and if it was 4" or more I dig it. I sort of made a mistake in saying that. What I meant to say was, if I get a good signal and like you say Crisp, I dig it, no matter what depth. The site I have been hunting, where I've been finding several silver coins, most of them have been at depths of 4" or more. But I've also dug silver at this site almost on top of the ground.

Thanks for your post, and let me say as a young detectorist you have learned many things in your short time hunting. I'm sure you and your dad, have many great years of detecting ahead of you. Hunting with your dad is Priceless.

HH, Ringfinder

I did read your post but i was not referring to just yours. I have noticed more then one person say this. Now that you clear up what you were saying i agree 100%. I guess you just never know if it is a silver cob or a bundle of foil so just dig the nice signals.... Thanks for your compliment also!!! I wish i had found this site a long time ago...Everyone is very nice and helpful. I have been reading these old topics since the weekend...Great reading!!!

I think almost all of the silver has been harvested back in the 70s and 80s.
About the only place I find silver now is in places that have not been hunted much if any.

I know it seems that in the 70's and 80's you found more coins..But remember the machine your using today is far more advanced and will out hunt those old relic machines. I have gone to places i know have been hit 20 years ago and left with full pockets to say the least. From what ive learned the key is...Swing that machine over every inch of ground you can find...If you want to find the good spots...Try hunting everywhere!!! Good luck people...the weekend is coming!!!!

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

Re: How deep for silver? It's not like the good old days!

Hey outraged, in undisturbed turf, your old coins are most always deeper, and your new coins are mostly shallow. Sure, there are exceptions (gophers brought them up?) but most of the time, if you angle for digging the deepies only, then you'll have more oldies in your apron, at the end of the day. But this is only for un-disturbed turf. In other environments, coins can vary all over the place in depth. After beach storms, I've dug spanish reales, and zinc, right next to each other at the same depth, for instance.

I had this debate with a hunter who bristled when he heard me say I was going to pass anything less than 6" at a particular park we were about to hit. His logic was simple: 1) Sometimes there are flukes, and old coins can be shallow 2) Why not dig the clad anyhow, as long as you're there, because it adds up too, and you can then get deepies they are masking? Sounds reasonable, but here's what actually ends up happening: The person who stops to dig all the clad subconciously gets his ears tuned to the loud "BONGS" of shallow clad. But the person only pursuing deep whispers starts subconsciously tunes himself to whispers. That, plus all the time the clad hunter spent digging clad, deprived him of time he could've spent passing it, and honing in on deep coin sounds.

And as for flukes, there's just not enough of them to make it worthwhile to fill my apron with zinc and clad dimes in the turf. At this particular park I use for this example, I can gaurantee you that if I go 8" deep, and get that sweet high-pitch coin sound with my Exp. pinpointer, it's going to be a nice early wheat or silver about to be coming out of the hole

Lastly, in reply to the initial post, I too remember in the 1970s when... silver had only been out of circulation for 15-ish years, that wheaties and silver were shallower than they are now (for undisturbed turf anyhow).

 

[outraged]

Re: How deep for silver? It's not like the good old days!

Hey outraged, in undisturbed turf, your old coins are most always deeper, and your new coins are mostly shallow. Sure, there are exceptions (gophers brought them up?) but most of the time, if you angle for digging the deepies only, then you'll have more oldies in your apron, at the end of the day. But this is only for un-disturbed turf. In other environments, coins can vary all over the place in depth. After beach storms, I've dug spanish reales, and zinc, right next to each other at the same depth, for instance.

I had this debate with a hunter who bristled when he heard me say I was going to pass anything less than 6" at a particular park we were about to hit. His logic was simple: 1) Sometimes there are flukes, and old coins can be shallow 2) Why not dig the clad anyhow, as long as you're there, because it adds up too, and you can then get deepies they are masking? Sounds reasonable, but here's what actually ends up happening: The person who stops to dig all the clad subconciously gets his ears tuned to the loud "BONGS" of shallow clad. But the person only pursuing deep whispers starts subconsciously tunes himself to whispers. That, plus all the time the clad hunter spent digging clad, deprived him of time he could've spent passing it, and honing in on deep coin sounds.

And as for flukes, there's just not enough of them to make it worthwhile to fill my apron with zinc and clad dimes in the turf. At this particular park I use for this example, I can gaurantee you that if I go 8" deep, and get that sweet high-pitch coin sound with my Exp. pinpointer, it's going to be a nice early wheat or silver about to be coming out of the hole

Lastly, in reply to the initial post, I too remember in the 1970s when... silver had only been out of circulation for 15-ish years, that wheaties and silver were shallower than they are now (for undisturbed turf anyhow).

I just think it is all going to come down to personal hunting preference. I have been to undisturbed sites before and dug my deepest coin at 4 inches...I guess there are so many variables that it really depends on the site. But i can say with no doubt...My XLT tends to lie to me about target depth. I know this weekend alone i dug atleast 4 signals that said 1-2 inches that turned out to be 4 or so inches down with silver inside. The problem is in areas with high amounts of nails...My machine tunes them out...But when i pinpoint there they are..Misleading the target depth, But after you remove it is tells the true tale. Good luck to you guys!!! Lets all find a cache or 3 this week!