goldpaninut
Senior Member
I have always believed that coins do not sink unless they are in pretty watery mud. In my opinion coins get buried.....they don't sink. A coin in the middle of a ball field only gets buried by grass clippings. On the other hand a coin under a Maple tree gets buried much deeper and faster than the coin in the middle of the field. Maple leaves are much bigger than a blade of grass! Then you have coins that get lost under Pine and Fir trees, and only sink to the dirt at the bottom of the needles. These are in the best condition when retrieved for some reason. I have found silver coins and copper penny's only 2" under fir needles that has been there since the 1920s and the silver still looks shiny and new, while the coppers have a nice green patina but no flaking or degradation. The worst coins I have found have came from near salt water and they all are pitted and corroded. Coins that are lost in wet grass get buried very rapidly due to muddy conditions and lots of grass clippings accumulating on top of them. On hard dry ground I've found penny's from the 1940s right on top that haven't sunk any since being lost. Hope this common sense makes sense......lol