beach detecting

I just wanted to comment on something... the weather. What is going on with it??? The sea has been so big that we have no beach left (which was good for detecting a bag of coins). Ive been to the same 150m stretch of beach 4 times and still pulling coin. So either im really bad at detecting (which i didnt think so cos im getting so many) OR maybe my technique has improved and im just finding the ones ive missed, lol.
Whatever the case, its all good in the long run. Funny to do so well in the most unlikely part of the beach thats next to nowhere. But i guess thats why there is so much coin, because people think it so unlikely!

Happy holes!!

Gday


There are a couple of reasons why you can find coins and valuables at certain parts of the beach, the first being that in earlier days the popular part of the beach may have been different than it is now, close to where an old beach shop or structure used to be, and has since been torn down or moved elsewhere.

The other being that the ocean currents tend to deposit items of similar size and weight in certain spots, these are usually more likely to be near or in the waterline though, and more experienced beach detectorists will search for these hotspots.

Some of the best places to try are the tracks leading off the beach to the parking lot, and any tracks that lead to the shop or where a vendor might be set up, if there are still some dunes or structures on your chosen beach these are good places to hunt as teenagers like the dunes and most people will get behind or under a structure to either shade from the sun or to get out of the wind.

If you have a look at your beach on a hot day its easy to see the spots that people favour the most, they dont usually lay right in the middle of the beach unless its crowded, but will set their towells out just above the high water mark, if you detect a certain beach on a regular basis then these areas are the spots that are the most regularly replenished with valuables.

The really valuable stuff like rings and jewellery are often found in the area between the high water mark and in the first twenty or so metres of the water, this is the area where people play about and lose things, where mothers play with their children and people are walking in and out, due to cold water and shrinkage of fingers rings are often the most lost item, sun block also makes fingers greasy helping rings to slip off unnoticed.

Beach detecting can be quite a lucrative pastime in the right places, but its best done in the very early mornings or if there are lights at your beach then after dark, as if you want to do it during the day you will end up with a tribe of kids following you about wanting to dig the holes and people asking you "have you found any mines yet?", usually I just say if you see me running then the answer is "yes", I have also been asked if I have found any nuggets and I have shown people the one I have around my neck and have said "yes as a matter of fact I got this one here a couple of weeks ago".

Also there are laws pertaining to lost property, and I believe that you are obligated to advertise or return valuable items to their owners by law, you would have to check into this depending on what state you are in the laws may vary, another forum member might be able to give more details on this.


cheers

stayyerAU

hey stayyerAU

great info! Ive actually been detecting a beach that was never a main area and all coins so far are 1966 onwards. I enjoy a bit of history so i look at old maps, newspapers, streets and what existed there. There is one feature that used to be close to this spot (but advertising on my profile where im from, i dont really want to say what this structure used to be, lol), so im guessing there just has to be pre-decimals hiding somewhere. We have people here that detect beaches so i let them take the obvious spots and occassionally i will do them too but usually after school holidays. Im getting a new coil delivered tomorrow which will allow me to do under the water. I know of some great past populated spots but over time all the dunes have either moved or redeveloped somewhere else. Plus being the shipwreck coast, who knows what may pop up one day

Do you know what the go is with detecting footy ovals? Is it allowed or am i going to get booted out?

Gday


Sports ovals and recreational areas are a bit like beaches, there are parts of these also that will provide more targets than others, shaded areas under trees, playgrounds, and the walkways to the canteen and so on.

Areas that play host to music festivals and markets are an excellent place to detect, not only for coins but they will often give up jewellery items as well, but to work these areas effectively you are better off having a machine that has really good descrimination as these spots are littered with thousands of disposed ring pulls and bottle tops etc etc.

The technique for removing coins and things from grassed areas is quite different from the beach where you can simply dig as big a hole as necessary, firstly you have to master your pinpointing technique, to make sure you are reasonably certain where the target is, then you use a probe, a long thin screwdriver with a pointed end is best, you push this into the ground until you feel the target, once the target is located you can twist the probe about loosening the target and allowing you to retrieve it from the small hole with the minimum amount of damage to the grass.

Its a practiced technique and once proficient at it its hard to see where you have been, some councils dont allow detecting in public areas so you need to check this out first or you may get fined, most places I have been to dont seem to care as long as they dont see you whaling into the lawn with a pick like I saw one bloke doing in a park I have detected in the past.

cheers

stayyerAU

I have one of the first Minelab Sovereigns and I was detecting a Park come sports ground finding a few coins and plenty of junk so I cranked up my machine so it would only except $1 & $2 dollar coins and 20 & 50 cent pieces and no junk. I found that most, if not all, the coins were coming in at about 2" down. So before I dug a target I got my Garret Pin Pointer Probe, located the target and used a long bladed knife and cut out a plug with the target in it. It was that easy. I got over $35.00 dollars worth of coins in less than 3 hrs. And remember that beaches are the only treasure trove that gets replenished each year

Wombat

so i guess the best thing for me to do is to phone the council and ask about parks etc.
thank you both for explaining so well to me I really do appreciate it!

I guess so howard30 that would make sense In my area all parks and especially footy ovals are off limits and i cant blame them after what some idiots did the the playing surface on one oval! many yrs ago i used the 3cut method that is --pin point the coin--cut a 3 sided plug and flip the sod backwards-- remove coin and fill the hole with the plug--- I found that the grass didn't die or discolour because of the uncut edge of the plug!