Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Friday Finds by Mark G. |
I received above photo and the following email from Mark G. Although he has been metal detecting only about a year, jr makes some very good observations. Here is the email.
Having learned a lot from the Treasure Beaches Report blog about metal detecting techniques I know the underlying emphasis (It’s in the Title) has always been about the beach itself. I have been metal detecting almost a year now and observing the beaches for almost an entire season. I am now more aware of the shifting sands than ever before. So today, Friday windy and rough, I hit the recent cut at Jensen Beach and a beach to the south of there around low tide, and both beaches produced more dimes than I have ever dug in one day. Most days it’s only pennies, lots of pennies, I’ve seen pennies laying right on top of the sand in the surf some days. And if you want bits of aluminum all you have to do is hunt the dry shell line. Nickles are harder to find I don’t think they fall out of your pockets as easily.
I’m thinking there must be a reason why some beach conditions produce more dimes and other beach conditions produce more pennies. We know from your blog how to read beach conditions that are good for hunting and days that are not. I’m thinking there must be a way to look at a beach and read those conditions by the surf, tides, wind direction and past conditions and know what coins you are likely to find that day.
I know I’ll be honing my beach reading skills so in the future I’ll only go hunting on the days that will produce quarters or Spanish Reales.
Thank You
Mark G.
Like I said, good observations.
The shifting sands are key, but other things shift in addition to the sand. Different items shift at different rates. Sometimes the water force is strong enough to move the sand, and perhaps other things, such as pennies, but other things are not moved as easily or as much. Then as the water slows, things are dropped or left behind at different places as the water force decreases.
One factor that determines how objects are moved is the density of the objects, but there are other factors, including things such as the shape of the object and the surface characteristics.
Items can have the same or very similar densities but move very differently. You can imagine a coin as opposed to sphere or cube of the same material, for example. Coins, being thin and having a low profile are not moved as much as other objects that have more surface exposed to the flow.
Here is a link to a post that presents a little experiment I did that shows how four items having the same density, but different shape will move differently.
Of course, there are other factors that affect how things get distributed on the beach. For example, the water velocity constantly changes as it comes in, washes up the beach and then back down. Furthermore, the incoming water interacts with the outgoing water,
Here is one of the most helpful illustrations I've ever seen.
You might have to study the illustration, but when you get it, I think you'll find it very helpful. It summarizes a lot, but not everything.
To the left line shows the lower amount of force at which things drop out of flow. That is when sedimentation occurs when you are talking about silt, sand or pebbles. Coins, like pebbles, will drop out at higher velocities, than silt or sand.
You might need to study the illustration a while.
Here is one previous post in which I explained some of it.
The subject of nickels is an interesting one. First, realize that many detectors give a weaker signal to nickels than other coins. On my Equinox they give a 13 readout. They are more often missed than most other coins because they give a weaker signal and are often discriminated by some detectorists. If I see an area where I know there should be a good number of coins, but am finding almost no coins other than nickels, I usually figure that the area has already been detected. Also some sinkers produce signals very much like nickels.
When things are getting washed up onto the beach, you'll often find quarters low on the beach, then dimes, and then pennies higher up. Things do often get classified and that is a common pattern when coins are being washed up.
When coins are getting washed out from the beach, the pattern will often be reversed. Quarters can be at the top and pennies at the bottom.
If you have the pattern where quarters are at the top and pennies near the bottom of the slope but the tides are still fairly high, you might only be getting to the top half of the coin line.
Of course, it can be even more complicated than that due to a variety of factors. I can't address them all in a single post.
You can get a good idea by reading the beach, but there is a lot to it and there will be some level of uncertainty. Things will continue to change as the tide comes in and out. The effects can be cumulative over a multiple tide cycles or days, but a little sampling can help tell you where things stand. It doesn't take long to do a quick check of an area, and it can be very worthwhile.
Thanks for your email Mark.
I've talked about some of this in the past, but it is complicated, and it doesn't hurt to repeat it or tell it in different ways.
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A few days ago I mentioned the silver find made on Oak Island. Here is a clip of part of it.
I received an email concerning the find from Mark Z. an expert on knives and an author of a book on Bowie knives. Here is what he said.
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