childoftechnology
Jr. Member
- May 7, 2005
- 27
- 3
The "treasure" I'm referring to isn't necessarily what you think. I'm not talking about a chest full of Spanish doubloons or some bloodthirsty pirate's booty, but rather a small collection of assorted coins that were lost many years ago. The story goes, as my Dad tells it, something like this: as children, he and my uncles spent many a summers day diving off a wharf along a nearby lake. On one particular day, one of my uncles had borrowed my grandfathers small coin collection to show to some buddies. For some reason, he put it in his pocket, and forgot it was still there when he took a dive off the wharf. He came back up, but the coin collection didn't. He and his brothers spent hours trying in vain to find it, and although Dad never elaborated further, I can safely assume my uncle went to bed that night with a very sore rear end or worse.
That was 60 years ago. My Dad is nearly 70 now and finding this lost coin collection has been on his "bucket list" for decades. He's not the kind of person to take much initiative for this sort of thing, so I would very much like to help him find these lost coins while he's still able to enjoy the moment. That's where I need some advice. The coins were in a small case, presumably wooden, and were lost about 30 feet from shore in about 7 feet of water. No trace of the wharf remains today, leaving only my Dad's memory and perhaps some rocks on the shore as a reference point.
I have some ideas in mind but I don't know how feasible they are. I considered attaching an MD coil to the end of a long metal pole (and extending the lead to reach the MD above water of course), and sweeping the lake floor from a canoe above. A GPS device and map could be used to keep track of areas already searched. If a solid hit is found, a long wooden pole could be driven in to mark the spot, and then someone with scuba equipment could be sent down to try and retrieve the target. They would of course need something to pinpoint the target with, and this is something I'm still pondering.
One other area of concern is figuring out just how much sediment may have piled on top of the coins over the last 60 years. If it's beyond the reach of an 8" MD coil, then my current plan is dead in the water. Here is the general area needed to be searched:
https://maps.google.ca/?ll=45.760008,-66.004143&spn=0.017066,0.027595&t=m&z=15
Keep in mind that this is not the exact location (I'm not sure of that myself) but it is located SOMEWHERE in this body of water, known as the Washedemoak Lake.
The coins themselves were presumably mostly copper - my grandparents had very little money so it's highly unlikely they had a container full of gold coins sitting around while their children were starving. But the thrill of finding them after 60+ years would truly be priceless, far greater than any monetary value the coins may have, and it is for this reason that I want to help my Dad finally cross this item off his bucket list while we're both still alive to enjoy it.
That was 60 years ago. My Dad is nearly 70 now and finding this lost coin collection has been on his "bucket list" for decades. He's not the kind of person to take much initiative for this sort of thing, so I would very much like to help him find these lost coins while he's still able to enjoy the moment. That's where I need some advice. The coins were in a small case, presumably wooden, and were lost about 30 feet from shore in about 7 feet of water. No trace of the wharf remains today, leaving only my Dad's memory and perhaps some rocks on the shore as a reference point.
I have some ideas in mind but I don't know how feasible they are. I considered attaching an MD coil to the end of a long metal pole (and extending the lead to reach the MD above water of course), and sweeping the lake floor from a canoe above. A GPS device and map could be used to keep track of areas already searched. If a solid hit is found, a long wooden pole could be driven in to mark the spot, and then someone with scuba equipment could be sent down to try and retrieve the target. They would of course need something to pinpoint the target with, and this is something I'm still pondering.
One other area of concern is figuring out just how much sediment may have piled on top of the coins over the last 60 years. If it's beyond the reach of an 8" MD coil, then my current plan is dead in the water. Here is the general area needed to be searched:
https://maps.google.ca/?ll=45.760008,-66.004143&spn=0.017066,0.027595&t=m&z=15
Keep in mind that this is not the exact location (I'm not sure of that myself) but it is located SOMEWHERE in this body of water, known as the Washedemoak Lake.
The coins themselves were presumably mostly copper - my grandparents had very little money so it's highly unlikely they had a container full of gold coins sitting around while their children were starving. But the thrill of finding them after 60+ years would truly be priceless, far greater than any monetary value the coins may have, and it is for this reason that I want to help my Dad finally cross this item off his bucket list while we're both still alive to enjoy it.
