Just confirmed a theory last night...fill dirt/top soil

[DukeBoxer]

A couple months ago I had a theory that there could be good targets in the top soil removed from new construction houses and farmland and later sold. I wanted to ask here if anyone else has ever tried detecting dirt piles, knows someone who removes topsoil or does that as a business themselves but I never made the post.

Yesterday where I work topsoil was brought in and spread out on new planting beds. I asked the guy running the show where the soil came from and he said that it's scraped from a farm and dropped off in piles near his office. Before I left last night I decided to go over it with the detector and I'd say I was proven right. I found a 1945 Mercury dime and a '65 quarter in the layer of soil they just brought in. Those were the two cleanest sounding targets I got using the AT-Pro and the Nel Thunder coil. I also heard a lot of iron and trash and think I'm gonna go over it again with the 5x8 coil when I get a chance.

Has anyone else had luck doing the same thing?

 

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[DukeBoxer]

Here's the Mercury dime. Never took a shot of the quarter

 

[bill_wabo]

Kind of similar experience, but near a river. The neighbor is a retired judge and he has a part of land near the st.francis river. I had permission to go detect last year. When I arrived, I've noticed that they had cut the pines, made a dirt path and removed the first 8-10 inches of soil. I started to detect on the dirt path and found 3 toasted coppers, a 1821 farthing ans some old porcelain bits. Now i want to go detect or sift the big dirt piles they left near the river. Can't wait to see what these piles of dirt are hidding. Good luck and HH!

 

[bigscoop]

Anytime dirt/top soil is turned over it's worth investigating, also worth investigating the newly exposed land left behind. In reality this is exactly the same thing everyone hopes to encounter at those coastal beaches after those northeasters have stirred everything up and left deep cuts behind, etc. All of these actions can expose new targets that weren't previously accessible. You might also surface hunt while you're swinging the coil as everything from perfect spear points to ancient figurines have also been found in this newly exposed dirt/soil/sand.

 

[Jesse James]

No I haven't, but that is a great theory, well, proven not to be a theory. I like thinkings that are outside the box. I'm not sure when one would be able to run into that sort of situation but I will definitely keep it in mind from now on.

 

[Primus Palus]

There's no theory... it makes perfect sense. You metal detecting is the same thing they're doing. You remove up to 12" of soil to dig out a target. They're doing that but in bulk. Of course you're going to find items in the removed soil (if they existed). You're also likely to find older stuff in the soil left on the ground which is now closer to the surface (again, if it existed before).

If I had permission to detect on a property just dug up like that I would. I'd definitely hit those dirt piles too.

I actually thought about hooking up with some development companies and seeing if they would tell me when they dig like that. This way, if I find something and share it with them we all benefit. Could even raise the value of a property if certain things were found (this might be good on a home remodel where they dig out the top soil for a new driveway, pool, etc).

 

[foiler]

In 1994, hunting a school ground built in 1987. In one area I started find coins from the late 1800's early 1900's. Research later discovered that fill dirt was put down from old part of downtown when sidewalks where redone. There was an area behind the school that had settled and collected water when it rained. The graded, filled and reseeded. You find what you find where you find it. If you want to know why, that's called 'research'.

 

[nagant]

WAY TO GO! Keep an eye out for dump trucks. Excavation company's stockpile fill if they cant use it. Water main/sewer replacement projects cut through history every day. I found some great bottles where they dredged rivers and pumped the mud/sand to raise an area. I haven't been detecting much the last ten years so going to talk to contractors i worked for in the past and see whats up. (Or down)

 

[RobRieman]

Oh it works alright. I found a 1871 half dime in the sand to resurface a school baseball field [emoji106]

 

[releventchair]

Was not dirt brought in....
A park piled up dirt removed to build a sidewalk.
Now ,I had detected it well over the years but the dirt piles had plenty of coins I had either missed outright or were too deep.
In the foot or so deep excavated path the new fill and sidewalk would go in ( they used sand to build a base , yes I checked the sand brought in by swinging the piles edges...)
was a well worn Mercury dime in the bottom.

 

[IDXMonster]

And you can bet that if the municipality itself is doing that kind of work...the dirt will wind up somewhere else in town! Anything that costs money, such as long haul trucking or a disposal fee, will be negated by dumping that dirt somewhere else in town, needed or not...usually NOT. Scraped dirt can be your friend...

 

[DukeBoxer]

I found d out yesterday they're pulling it off of a new development near me. I asked for permission to detect the rest of the piles and in the development and he said it was ok so...let's see what happens. I'll check back

 

[RustyGold]

I had a block wall put in and I went over the dirt they dug out for the foundation and found 1 Buff, 2 silver Quarters and a Mercury Dime. So I'd say it's a great idea to detect moved soil.

 

[coil2thesoil35]

Dug a 1960 d Rosie today makes my 22 silver dime since January 1st 2017.

 

[coil2thesoil35]

I'm hunting with an AT PRO and I'm killing the silver rings and coin this year.