How to plant a coin garden for testing

[coolhandluke]

I would like to plant a coin garden so I can practice reading signals, pinpointing, and testing various settings in a known environment.

My garden will be for US coins only.

I plan to bury the following junk coins at depths that should simulate where they may be found in the field.

1 row of 2000 modern clad coins - penny, nickel, dime, quarter, Susan B or other modern dollar

1 row of 1964 coins - copper penny, Jefferson nickel, Roosevelt dime, Washington quarter, Kennedy half dollar

1 row of 1945 coins - Wheat penny, War nickel, Mercury dime, Washington quarter, Walking half dollar, Peace dollar

1 row of 1900's coins - Indian Head Penny, nickel, Barber dime, Standing quarter, Barber half dollar

What I'd like to know is what is the best depth for real world expectations?

I know the row of modern clad is the most shallow, but how deep should I put the 1964, 1945, and 1900 row

Would the following be good "in the ground depths" for each time zone? Are these levels too deep or not deep enough? Too big a gap between time zones? etc.

01"
02"
03"
04" 2000
05"
06" 1964
07"
08" 1945
09"
10" 1900
11"
12"

Based on your digging experience out in the field, where would you place these time zones in the ground on average? This is a dirt garden and designed to simulate old parks, old yards, etc. not the beach.

Any ideas you have are appreciated.

 

[McDean]

I think someone took handfuls of nails and scrap iron and with an evil grin, tossed them randomly all over my back yard so I have cleanup to do before I even think about a test garden...

I like your idea though, sounds good and keep us posted. I've never constructed one before...

Perhaps I should plant my coins amongst the junk anyway to simulate "realworld" detecting LOL

 

[coolhandluke]

I have not completely checked all of the ground in my backyard, but I already know there is construction debris out there. I've already dug up a piece of copper flashing that was used around the chimney or something. Hopefully it wont be too bad.

If I can find a decent patch that is already metal free I was going to just use an electric drill with a larger auger bit to drill down to the desired depth. Then drop in the coin, fill the whole with dirt, pack it back down with a piece of dowel rod, and then wet it down real good.

I will first layout a grid with string and make each target equally spaced from the next about 18" from coin to coin to give me plenty of room to sweep.

I'll mark the corners of the garden with a short piece of re-bar and mark each target with a wooden golf tee. I'll also make a map documenting each coin and location in the garden.

The big question for me right now is how deep should I put each type of target?

I don't want to dig more than I have to so I can leave as much virgin soil in place as possible so I'd like to get it right the first time. This may not be possible but one can still dream.

 

[pointer80]

coolhandluke, I don't know if there is a timeline for older coins. What I mean is I've found late 1800's indians shallower than 1940's era coins and also some clad 6-8" inches on occasion. I would just make sure I buried one coin of each denomination(penny,nickle,dime,quarter) at different depths. What I mean is bury a penny, nickle, dime, quarter etc. at say 4" and do the same again at 6" and then 8" etc. Just my two cents. HH.

 

[Prep1957]

Put test garden in 5 gallon plastic pails and when it gets cold out you can still play.Test garden in shed with dirt floor makes a good spot as well out of weather.If you really want to have some fun take a old silver Quarter drill hole in quarter attach small plastic tube with note saying(You found me I am impressed call me at xxxxxxxxxxxx) I buried 5 silver quarters at at 12 inches laying flat in heavy hunted parks that a lot of detectors hit each year that was 5 years ago have not got a call yet but this is in Illinois soil.I cannot find the coins with my etrac or safari either and I know where they are at and I have tried just about every coil except the 15X18.I use an old VLF Metrotech detector that was for relic hunting to make sure they are still there each year plus I tied spider wire fishing line to quarter and brought to surface.Point being I would not put anything deeper than 12 inches unless you are beach hunter.

 

[grouser]

question; it would defeat the natural halo effect if you put the coins in any type of protective cover (plastic wrap or the like),,, so are you sacrificing any coins you put in the bed ?

 

[onemore]

I would start at 6 inches, go to 9 inches and then try to find what your max garden depth is by measured bury, testing and reburying until you have found it with each of your coils. I like one coin at barely discernable maximum in the garden. That way, I can refresh my hearing sense, always confirm my headphones are working properly and when you make an adjustment or get a new coil or detector - you can tell whether you see any discrimination-at-depth improvement.

Don't think halo applies to coins (maybe nickels).

Enjoy!

 

[coolhandluke]

I'm not putting the coins in covers. The ones I have are junk anyways. They have no value other than their metal content.

I think I will start the garden at about 6"

I went to the park today and dug about $1.75 in modern coins and one wheat penny. They were all probably 3 to 5 inches down.

12-44, 12-45 was rock solid. It would turn up a copper penny or a dime every time.

I did get one nickel even though I had them masked off. It was in the same hole as one of the dimes. This park is dirty, very dirty.

I pulled a couple of the coins out from under this 4" iron rod thing. I still don't know what it is.

I still have to figure out how and where to hit silver.

This thing has not problem finding money, I'm just not finding the kind of money I want.

 

[grouser]

so if yo have no throw away coins then there is no way of doing a garden AND protect the coins and still get a proper reading,,, guess I could buy some junker coins,,,,

 

[coolhandluke]

"guess I could buy some junker coins,,,,"


That's what I did. I went to a coin shop and asked the guy if he had and "junk" silver coins. He pulled a wooden cigar box out from under the counter and let me dig through it. They were very worn and he just charged the silver value of the coins. He had war nickels, merc dimes, silver quarters, halves and dollars.

Side note: Don't clean the coins you dig in the field other than rinsing them off with water. Even rubbing them see the date could scratch them and decrease the value. When you get home look them up to see if they have any collector value. If they do, take them to a professional "as is" - don't clean or scrub them. He had many good looking coins in the "junk box" that had no collector value because then had been cleaned. He said that if I find a coin with a valuable date and mint mark they can have it "restored" just like you would an old painting.

 

[grouser]

it's SOO hard to not rub it to see what you have,,, but point well taken