The Depth Dilemma :confused:

[Erik in NJ]

It used to be that I would only dig targets in an area that were 5" or deeper, basically ignoring most signals in the first 3" maybe 4" inches. This strategy worked well in terms of pulling a lot of wheat cents, older silver, etc. As of late, while hunting with a buddy that has an Whites Eagle Spectrum - I don't think he can get near the depth that I can with the SE - he pulled a few silver coins - a barber and a merc as well as an IH cent in the first 2 inches in a park that we were hitting. I avoided these areas because there were so many coins in the first few inches and trash. I was very surprised to see these coins come out. In another park I started digging shallow coins as well and dug a merc and an old IH at about 3" or so - again it surprised me to see these.

In this one particular park I gridded off an area and dug all the surface clad out and I found a few older coins below including an old shield nickel that sounded like trash. I'm starting to lean towards digging all coin signals and maybe all non-iron signals if I have the energy, but it's a lot of work in some places.

So please tell me what is your strategy with the Explorer? DO you just go for the deepies like I used to or do you have the ability to hear silver deep or shallow - I find this difficult - or do you dig all coin signals or all signals in an area to get the good stuff. It's an interesting dilemma as I want to be able to maximize my finds in the limitted time that I have to detect. Like some of you, I can get out every day or both days on the weekend for a full day.

Thanks for any enlightenment!!!

 

[NealNoIN]

n/t

 

[Erik in NJ]

n/t

 

[NealNoIN]

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[NealNoIN]

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[Erik in NJ]

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[Erik in NJ]

n/t

 

[jbow]

I've dug IHs at 10" and found minnies laying on top of the ground. I guess you'll just have to adjust to the site. You'll only know by digging both shallow and deep., until you learn the site... and it can change within 20'. I have one site where the hilltop is a medium depth, one side everything is really shallow and even on top of the gtound, the other side is a little deeper, the front is deepest. I've found eagle buttons on top of the ground on the shallow side.

You gotts dig it, dig it all!

J

 

[DFX-Gregg]

I dig everything that I think might be a coin.... And I am one of the guys flushing out all that painful clad for the ones who cannot stand it....over $1200 in less than a year and a half. I am almost at $450 for this year. I may not be able to post as many or not even near as many older coins this way.... But you know what....all my equipment gets paid for this way...

So its always each persons own choice.... But I agree with you...shallow coins can also be older, had a barber dime and a 58 rosie about a foot from each other than were both under 2 inches. But I much prefer the depth that Minelab detectors offers...was not used to that... Good luck with your choice.....

 

[bgscofield6]

I used to only go for the deep coins, but in the past two months since starting back up here are some of my shallower finds:

Peace Dollar - 4" but read like a 1" deep quarter
WL Half - 4" but also read like a shallow quarter
Barber Dime - 1" again, quarter signal
Barber Dime - 4", was the only coin signal in a spot just loaded with pull tabs
IH - 3" deep in the same pull tab spot

As you can see, I dig every quarter signal no matter what the depth in hopes of finding a sterling ring or the occasional big silver or old silver that was walked over for one reason or another.

In the past I would regularly dig indian heads anywhere from 3" to 9" deep.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Hi, You say IH come up as pulltabs? Are they fatties? From what I recall my IH's come up almost like a wheat cent. Am I missing something?

 

[bgscofield6]

Hi, You say IH come up as pulltabs? Are they fatties? From what I recall my IH's come up almost like a wheat cent. Am I missing something?

I know that mine come up just a bit lower than a wheat and to the left of zinc.

 

[BlackX]

If I'm limited for time or want to limit how many holes I dig for whatever reason I just dig deepies. If I have time, I'll dig some shallow if I don't know the location or it just sounds or looks good. If it's a site I don't know well, I'll at least test shallow targets periodically. If it's a site I know well, I'll adjust to previous experience. Another factor is the amount of surface trash. If there's a lot of it, I'll generally just dig half the depth meter or more down.

For example, where I found the Fugio and 5 other same era or old coppers finds have been consistently stratified by age and target density. I dig pretty much everything there (which answers your question in the other thread), particularly since most of it doesn't have much modern trash except around one of the park benches. (I find more old trash like lead scraps and square nails there than I do pulltabs, canslaw, etc.) On a harder hit site next to the Fugio site it's mostly the same but with a few shallow Indians. I've found Indians from 2-7", Mercs at 4-7", and a Seated dime (with an Indian in the same hole) at about 6" or so. On another site that's been turned over, I found a Walker at about 4", a Coronet LC at about 6-7", a half-real at about 2-3", and silver Mercs, Rosies, and wheats anywhere from 4-8". Don't think I've found any Indians there. Another large site that has a couple of ballfields on it, I'm finding it varies a bit on different parts of the field. On or near one of the ball diamonds, I've found clad down to about 6-7". In another part it's more expectedly stratified. Both LCs I found there, as well as some old relics, were deep!, late-era Indians, Mercs, and wheats are in the middle, and clad on top. Still haven't hit that middle (late 1800s) layer there which I'm hoping for sometime in here. I know it was a farmers field in the 1700s (British soldiers running from the opening running battle of the Revolutionary War crossed it (and I've found a shot .75 musketball there)) and was turned into a ball field in the early 1900s but I haven't yet found out the status between yet.

So I guess for me a lot of it comes down to experience, observation, and research. And whatever my whim is at the moment. But I know what you mean, I also want to maximize my time.

I've been thinking I need to speed my digging techniques and spend less time on top of a signal deciding whether I want to dig. Though hurrying is probably one of the reasons I just gouged that Wm. III.

Indians will almost always bounce around 25 Con. for me. As opposed to wheats--except for probably the shell-bronze casing years--hitting just like copper memorials at 28 and zincs at 24.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

When hunting undisturbed turf, I pass the shallow stuff. For all other types of hunting (relicky sites, demolition sites, beach, etc...) I don't pass shallow stuff. The reason I pass shallow stuff in the turf, is that 98% of the time, it will be clad. And conversely, 98% of the time, the deepies will be old. So why would I want to spend time digging shallow clad, just to find that 2% of shallow oldies, when I can finish my day with a higher percentage of oldies?

I know some people will think "I can have the best of both tallies, by digging both shallow AND deep". But here what will happen: 1) you will loose time, by all the times you stop and stoop to dig shallow clad, we be less time you could have spent honing specifically on oldies, and 2) you will actually NOT hear as many of the deepies as you'd like to think. The reason is, by stopping to dig all the shallow obvious loud "bongs", your ears will become subconsciously tuned to the loud bongs. Pretty soon, you simply won't hear the deepies. But if you train your ears to go only for the whispers, then pretty soon, THOSE are what subconsciously stick out

 

[jeff & Maria]

one of my oldest, a NJ copper 1786 which was only down about 3 inches. I dig ALL repeatable signals. My motto is "Dig it, what the heck it's just another hole"

 

[BlackX]

A cellar hole or field? Those I can see digging everything but not in, for instance, a public park. In those, if I dug every signal, I wouldn't get out of a 10x10 area in a hour or two and it would look really nasty.

 

[Arturo de Zorro]

Gophers keep pushing up old coins to the surface. I do something skip surface copper coin signals and I know it could be a large gold ring but if I don't dig it I won't miss it, we have to leave something for the next generation of hunters.

 

[NealNoIN]

n/t

 

[Neil]

the site itself can dictate how much digging and like some of the others have said, those old coins are found at all depths, and so are clad

HH
Neil

 

[treasurefiend]

I found a 1937 Buffalo Nickel just under the surface once, and my buddy found an 1899 IH just under the surface last week. But on the other hand I have dug Memorial's at more than 6 inches. I would say dig some shallow targets just to see what the depths are like. Since I got my SE, I have only been going after targets that are at or deeper than 6 inches.