Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
Before I get started today, I have to bring attention to the fact that yesterday's Nazi sub story was fake news. It is a hoax. Thaanks to those readers who brought that to my attention.
I'm very happy to be able to present an exceptional study today. You just don't get this kind of information. It doesn't come easily. One of the readers of this blog put in a LOT of work and really uncovered some good information - not to mention finds. Not only was the site thoroughly covered with a metal detector multiple times, but then the entire lot was sifted to locate and record all of the finds that were still in the ground. Below is what that reader, who chooses to remain anonymous, reported.
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As long-promised, here is my full accounting of using a sifter to search an entire lot.
First, I should give a little background about why I embarked on this project. I had been using a detector for about three years. As my skill improved, I had success with repeatedly hunting the same ground, using many of the techniques mentioned previously in this blog. However, two questions began to gnaw at me: how many finds remained in the ground despite using all the tricks? As many have said, no area is truly "hunted out". Plus, old coins are my priority finds and I just wasn't finding very many. I questioned whether they simply weren't there or whether they were there, but I couldn't find them with a detector.
I had been searching a small (60ft x 75ft) vacant lot over several weeks where two small houses had been recently demolished. There had been homes on this lot since about 1910 in a town settled around 1880. I would expect very little activity at this lot location prior to the first house being built. I was the second detectorist to hunt this lot. My fellow detectorist found four silver quarters, including an 1894 Barber, three silver dimes, and a Morgan dollar! My first attempt with a detector was very brief and I only found a clad quarter and two memorial pennies, which was a very deceptive for actual finds on this lot. After using the detector extensively, I found the following: 12 silver coins (no Barbers), a couple of Buffalo nickels, 52 wheats and 50 modern coins. I used every detecting technique and trick I knew and it continued to produce intermittently due to the sheer amount of metal trash. In fact, five of those silver finds came well into my sifting project as I would occasionally hunt unsifted, but repeatedly detected, territory to break up the monotony. Most of the lot had a coil over it at least twelve times (just from me), gridding from different directions, using two different detectors (Minelab Safari and Deus) under various detecting conditions. I would consider myself to be above-average with a detector, but by no means superb.
I decided to use a sifter to find out what I was missing and to pick up additional nonmetallic items like bottles and marbles. This is my sifter, version 2.0.
It was built to be sturdy. The legs fold up and the top sifting screen can be flipped to dump materials that are too big to pass through the screen.
As a test, I initially picked what I thought would be the best spot for coin finds, based on concentration of previous finds. I began making interesting finds almost immediately, especially marbles and some coins. The sifting was very slow at first as my initial sifter could not handle much volume. I was surprised to find that almost all manmade objects resided in the top 12 inches of soil, usually in the top eight inches. There typically is a change in color of the soil at the undisturbed level that has not been impacted by human activity. This level is usually just below a layer of nails and other pieces of iron that I suspect is from the first construction at the site. If I sifted all the dirt to that layer, I would then use a detector in the hole (don't want to miss a cache), then flip the soil with a shovel for another 8-12 inches and detect again. Occasionally I found a buried bottle and a few times deeper coins upon turning up the soil.
I worked the site over two years, usually when no other promising detecting sites were available. I would estimate I spent 60-80 hours, but it might have been more. I tried various techniques. I would estimate about half of the lot was sifted and the other half was dug a few inches at a time, detecting both the dug dirt and the newly exposed layer. I was mainly focused on improved speed (while maintaining confidence that I was missing very few finds) as I tried different techniques of digging, detecting and sifting combinations, but eventually was able to use the sifter as quickly as any other technique or combination. Pure sifting catches 98% of good finds, in my opinion, although it is still possible to miss some things.
Now for my finds. As I was gathering the finds for the pictures, I was stunned by the volume of finds when collected together. I recall there being a lot, but I was surprised by the final totals. Almost 500 coins were found on this lot by me. This is a picture of the copper memorial pennies and clad.
There was a total of 177 pennies, 20 quarters, 40 nickels and 46 dimes. This pile includes the coins found from surface with the detector. There were 173 wheats.
This next picture is of the older copper and nickel finds.
I found three Indian head pennies, including my oldest 1880, one Shield nickel, three V-nickels, and 11 Buffalo.
Next is the picture of the silver coins.
There were a total of 43 silver coins found. This picture includes the twelve silver coins found from the surface with the detector. Highlights include the Walking Liberty half, three Barber quarters and three Barber dimes. If you count the eight silver coins found by the detectorist prior to me hunting, there were 51 silver coins on this small lot!
I've included a picture of other interesting metallic finds.
I found quite a few cufflinks and three silver rings. No gold. This picture does not represent, by any means, all the interesting metallic finds made. I didn't keep the finds separate until I was two thirds through the lot, so they are now mixed in with all my finds.
I thought folks might like to see my nonmetallic finds. I found 103 marbles, many of which are clay.
The majority of the marbles in this picture were found on this lot, but as I mentioned, I wasn't keeping finds separate initially, so I had to add some to give the correct total. I did keep very detailed records of the number of finds from the site, so the number is accurate. Also, you can see in this picture some other game piece finds, including lucky number seven billiard ball. That was a good omen!
Some of my favorite finds are old bottles and I found a bunch.
This picture probably represents only a third of the bottles found that I kept, but does include my three favorite, which are the old soda drink bottles.
I did not take a picture of the trash, but probably should have. Imagine a heaped pickup truck bed full and that is likely an underestimate. There was probably enough to cover the entire lot with a layer, leaving no exposed dirt.
You might have noticed that my finds with the detector are the more recently lost coins, speaking generally. This has held true at other sites. My focus is finding old coins. Old coins are deeper (no surprise). Once you start sifting, you can reach those older coins that were masked by trash or out-of-range of the detector. Sifting finds are definitely skewed older.
I've concluded that sifting can be very productive when choosing the right site. In my opinion, the best sites are newly scraped, tons of trash (old rusted bottle caps are best indicator of good kind of human activity), old bottles or glass, and marbles. If I find a few old coins with the detector, I then know there is much, much more in the ground.
Some might ask if I was just fortunate on selecting my first sifting spot. I wondered also if that may be the case. However, it has proven not to be. I've extensively used the sifter at three other sites with many other finds. A different lot is approaching fifty silver coins in total, only ten found with my detector from the surface! Sifting is definitely not for everyone, as it is undeniably hard work. However, it brings out the archaeologist in me and I like seeing all that human activity has brought to the area.
When I started this project, I sought to answer two main questions: how much was I missing and are there old coins in the ground where I search? The answers: a lot and yes!
Hope this helps.
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Thanks much! That is a tremendous help.
There is so much information in that report, I'll take a few minutes and look at some of the numbers to help you sum things up.
The study was conducted on a small residential lot in a working class 20th century Florida neighborhood. The lot size was approximately 4500 square feet and the lot was occupied for nearly one hundred years.
About 500 coins total (detecting and sifting) was found by the reader. That would be about one for every nine square feet or one square yard.
43 silver coins were found by the same reader. That would be one for little more than every 100 square feet. Counting known silver coin finds by one other detectorist, it would be more like one for every 90 square feet.
About one in ten coins found on this lot inhabited during most of the 20th century were silver.
Despite detecting the lot at least 12 times, only about 20 percent of the coins found on the lot were found by detecting. The remainder were found by sifting. Just over 30% of the silver coins found, were found by detecting.
On a home site you have to take into account the massive amount of junk and masking that occurs on a homesite.
You can't do that kind of study on a beach because the beach will change daily.
As approximate as those numbers might be, they might also give you something to think about.
You might want to read the report over a few times, especially if you detect residential lots.
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The front is coming through and the wind has changed. The surf will build to up around seven feet tomorrow. There will be two or three hours of north wind in the early morning hours.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
