Less Coins on Beach when Metal Detecting?

LawrencetheMDer

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Feb 22, 2014
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Ohio and Florida
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Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Does anyone have hard data on whether there are less coins found on the beach now then a few years ago? I do recall an article showing a significant decrease in coin and general money usage as opposed to credit and other forms of payment in past 3-4 years. [Pandemic effect?] I was wondering if this translated into less coins on the beach to find metal detecting?

My own data, taking a sample of about 100 hrs of metal detecting for each of 5 years (about 4,500 coins) doesn’t show any clear trend in terms of decrease in number of coins found per hour. However, I do a lot of water hunting and this might not apply to the dry sand or even to land diggers.

Would anyone venture an opinion?
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Upvote 5
Ive noticed lot less swimmers than in the past
good example was my recent trip to fla.
i could easily count the amount of people in the water
my last trip to gulf bchs + 10x the amount
up here at certain bchs - no one in past their waist
this is because many New england spots have shark signs
everyone in real shallow - luckily i have "old" spots that still hold
deep silver and some gold down deep - many hunters in warm months just go for
the fresh drops - i will too but if that dont pan out - i will slow down and go for oldies
 

We now have many places that TAKE NO CASH, no check, Debit or Credit only. I have gone to 3 Car Wash's in MI that have dome that as well as a Greenhouse. Real PIA when you get in the line 1st time, get to the pay booth/machine, a bunch of other cars (truck) behind you and you find out you can't use cash. :mad:
 

We now have many places that TAKE NO CASH, no check, Debit or Credit only. I have gone to 3 Car Wash's in MI that have dome that as well as a Greenhouse. Real PIA when you get in the line 1st time, get to the pay booth/machine, a bunch of other cars (truck) behind you and you find out you can't use cash. :mad:
Boycott them.
 

Does anyone have hard data on whether there are less coins found on the beach now then a few years ago? I do recall an article showing a significant decrease in coin and general money usage as opposed to credit and other forms of payment in past 3-4 years. [Pandemic effect?] I was wondering if this translated into less coins on the beach to find metal detecting?

My own data, taking a sample of about 100 hrs of metal detecting for each of 5 years (about 4,500 coins) doesn’t show any clear trend in terms of decrease in number of coins found per hour. However, I do a lot of water hunting and this might not apply to the dry sand or even to land diggers.

Would anyone venture an opinion?
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I also attribute it to there are no more parking meters taking coinage, and of course the paying by credit/debit cards.
 

I know it might seem like this is possible, but the truth is that its a virtual impossibility to eliminate cash currency from a society.
There certainly is more mobile pay now than before, but there are also places where you can ONLY use cash..
I've had this discussion with friends of mine who buy into the conspricy theory that Biden is going to force us into a cashless society, but how exactly does that work ? No more ATM machines ? what about all the people who can't or don't have some type of electronic banking card ? What about all the tourist that visit here, how do they convert their money into USA digital currency ? This is not even a possibility ... So if your worried about it, you should forget it..
One of my friends said that he heard that at least 100 countries had done this already, when I asked him to name just ONE, he could not... because it's not physically possible to do that... force everyone to use digital currency ... make me laugh :dontknow::icon_scratch:🤣🤣
Sadly. It is very possible.. As a small bussiness owner i have seen a huge decrease in cash sales verses credit/cash app/Zelle any tap to pay ,u dont need a bank account for cash app or similar if u just use their cash card/tap to pay . Zelle is availbe to any with a bank account. one of my personal banks questioned me and needed proof of funds when i deposited over 5k spread out within 1 month. When i asked them if i would have sent myself that money via Zelle from my bussiness to my personal. Would they have questioned me. They said nope I can send myself unlimited zelle. So little by little they take away the options. Force u to settle with whats available . Now will this ever happen,. God knows. But to remove cash completely Is possible. Especially with a collapse…
 

50 years ago, I would MD for silver coins at Santa Monica, Venice and the Marina Del Rey pennisula beaches. Today, with silver coins now scarce, I now MD the surf areas (in Oceanside and Carlbad areas) for rings and jewelry; and leave the clads to newbies.

50 years ago, after a gusty day, coins would be visible on the beach, standing atop packed sand, like upon mushroom heads.
Don in SoCal
 

50 years ago I used a Whites Coinmaster and found more silver or clad than I do now with a Deus II. People are not using cash as they used to. Even the Ice Cream Vender is on the tap bandwagon....
 

I know it might seem like this is possible, but the truth is that its a virtual impossibility to eliminate cash currency from a society.
There certainly is more mobile pay now than before, but there are also places where you can ONLY use cash..
There are also many more places where you can no longer use cash (that's ostensibly good "for all debts public and private").

One of my friends said that he heard that at least 100 countries had done this already, when I asked him to name just ONE, he could not... because it's not physically possible to do that... force everyone to use digital currency ... make me laugh :dontknow::icon_scratch:🤣🤣
It's easy enough to find lists of countries that are trying. The closest (that I found) is Norway; 100% have bank accts., but they still have ~2% cash.
 

Would anyone venture an opinion?
I live inland, and will probably never do beaches.

That said, there are some similarities with parks (seasonal, recurrent).

I think we're all going to have to get smarter and choose our beaches & parks more carefully. Some will be in areas where cash is still/more heavily used, and some will be in areas where plastic rules.

No doubt change is coming (Did I just type that? 🤦🏼‍♂️); it will likely take at least a generation (unlike our conversion to metric, which may never... but I digress... 🙄).
 

I read this thread yesterday and agreed about the declining use of cash/coins in today's markets.

Then I thought... Oh great! I just "jinxed" my beach hunt this morning. Boy was I wrong... I found more coins on today's hunt than on my last three hunts combined.
 

I read this thread yesterday and agreed about the declining use of cash/coins in today's markets.

Then I thought... Oh great! I just "jinxed" my beach hunt this morning. Boy was I wrong... I found more coins on today's hunt than on my last three hunts combined.
Any silvers? What State are you hunting? Tough time to find old coins this time of year when the beach is too high sanded in until hurricane season....
 

Any silvers? What State are you hunting? Tough time to find old coins this time of year when the beach is too high sanded in until hurricane season....
Just recent coins. I'm in Galveston, TX. We've had some spring storms pushing through the area. This has caused the surf to be really rough moving beach sand.
 

There are also many more places where you can no longer use cash (that's ostensibly good "for all debts public and private").


It's easy enough to find lists of countries that are trying. The closest (that I found) is Norway; 100% have bank accts., but they still have ~2% cash.
My point was that even though he said 100 counties had gone completely cashless, he could not name even one, it makes a really good conspiracy theory ... and tales of the Boogeyman in the White House going to take your money away .. No proof of any of that.. That was my point...
 

My point was that even though he said 100 counties had gone completely cashless, he could not name even one, it makes a really good conspiracy theory ... and tales of the Boogeyman in the White House going to take your money away .. No proof of any of that.. That was my point...
Yes, I got that. No worries.
 

There are whole lot more detectorists too. And ones with better machines than years ago.
 

For sure, less coinage being lost as we continue to progress towards decreasing currency purchasing power/options, etc. So many purchases that you can't make these days with cash, from car rentals to room rentals, and even many of your retail self-checkouts are dedicated for "card only" purchases. I don't even carry cash anymore, that little pocket in my vehicle no longer pilled full of coins, etc.

My old local city park, aside from the pennies that nobody wants to recover, common clad is even getting harder to come by as there are now fewer coins being carried around and lost. And in fact, most of what I do recover these days are usually deeper targets (70's through early 2000's that have simply been missed over the years.) Not nearly as many recent drops and spills.
 

My point was that even though he said 100 counties had gone completely cashless, he could not name even one, it makes a really good conspiracy theory ... and tales of the Boogeyman in the White House going to take your money away .. No proof of any of that.. That was my point...
The Federal Reserve already has a CBDC in place and would love to expand it. Their website says that physical money will always be available so there is that. Right. CBDC's would give governments total control of everyone's money and monetary privacy which is why so many are not in favor of it. Criminals would have to get very creative, but for sure they will continue. It is coming, if just for the fact the government says the very opposite. I trust no one in the government & it is 100% their fault I feel that way.
 

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