Simplified Illustration of a Coin Line.I wanted to discuss coin lines a little more today, so I made this illustration. Usually a coin line would be much thinner in relation to the width of a beach than what is shown in this illustration, but I wanted to focus on the coin line.
The dashed line represents the path of a detectorist along a beach. In this case, he is zig-zagging from the water line to the dune line.
The upper left diamond points out the first coin that this detectorist finds. If the detectorist did not know about coin lines or suspect the presence of a coin line, he might just continue on his zig-zag pattern and miss many of the coins in the line.
In my illustration, the small dots represent pennies and the slightly larger circles represents quarters.
After finding the first coin in a area where there might be a coin line or hole, I first check down the slope to see if other coins might have washed out at the same place.
After checking below the first found coin, it would then be good to check to the left and right of the first coin found. If he discovers other coins that would increase the chances of being in a coin line or hole.
In my illustration, there is a second coin right below the first, but none below that. That gives the first indication of the possible width of the coin line if these two coins are indeed part of a line.
The detectorist might then begin detecting to the right of the first two coins to see if there are more at a similar distance from the water as the first two. In my illustration the detectorist then locates another coin near the top edge of the coin line, and then checks below that coin and finds one near the bottom edge of the coin line. He is now getting an idea of the width of the coin line, which is wider than the first two coins suggested.
The position of the pennies and quarters tends to confirm the approximate width of the coin line.
Often pennies are found near the top of a coin line or hole, while heavier targets such as quarters are found near the bottom of the line or hole.
After continuing to thoroughly detect to the right of the first finds to find all of the remaining coins in the line in that direction, the detectorist would return to the first two holes that he dug and then thoroughly detect to the left of them to see if the line continues in that direction.
The coin line that I mentioned a couple of days ago was much more narrow than the one in this illustration, with all the coins being within about a three foot band running across the area in front of the dunes.
In my experience, coin lines are more often closer to the water and in wet sand. I believe the line I found that day was produced by coins washing out of the dunes instead of out of the water.
I mentioned in one other blog how I often use a loose scanning pattern prior to tightening up and detecting an area more thoroughly. One reason for that is making an attempt to find a coin line or hole, and that does not require a tight pattern.
There is just too much beach to cover it all thoroughly so you want to find the spots where the most targets can be found.
After detecting as far right and left as the line seems to go, then before quitting, it would not be a bad idea to scan a path just above and below the line to find any targets that just happened to fall a bit outside the area of the coin line. That would often include targets that are either heavier or lighter or have a different surface area or composition than those in the line. Heavier targets, such as gold rings, are often found lower on the beach and below coin lines.
There are a variety of scan patterns that seem to suit different situations. I might mention some of them in the future.
I'm sure I didn't describe the procedure very well. There are just too many details that I didn't have time to get into today. There is a lot more to this, but I'll have to give it to you a little at a time.
On another topic, how would you like to find an 800 foot long chain of gold as thick as a man's wrist? According to the story, there is one that was hidden by the Incas.
Here is the link for more of the story.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/22717756/Locating-the-Lost-Chain-of-the-Inca-Mysteries-Magazine-05
Forecast and Conditions.
Hurricane Paula is down below Cuba. Current forecasts have Paula making a loop and staying south of us, but the path is a bit unusual and might be something we need to watch for the future.
The seas are calm now and will remain calm for at least a few days. The surf web sites project slightly increasing seas next week, but nothing that looks promising.
I'll maintain a level 1 (poor) beach conditions rating. It will be mostly clean-up duty for a while.
Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net