Can we talk about finding a whole Roman coin hoard with a $99 metal detector in a farmer's field near Verona | Archaeology Discoveries - Pinecone Attack
Can we talk about finding a whole Roman coin hoard with a $99 metal detector in a farmer's field near Verona
I'd been detecting that same field for weeks and only pulled up rusty nails and bottle caps. Then I switched to a slow sweep pattern and hit a signal that turned out to be 47 silver denarii about 8 inches down. Has anyone else had luck with changing sweep speed on old farmland?
47 denarii at 8 inches is a great haul but the sweep speed thing is kind of a myth. What actually changed is that you slowed down and overlapped your swings, so you stopped missing stuff you'd already walked over. A detector doesn't magically see deeper because you swing slower, it just gives you more time to hear the faint signals. The real killer is ground balance and how much iron junk is masking the good targets. On old farmland I run lower sensitivity and go slow, but only because it helps me pick out the quiet tones, not because speed itself unlocks depth. So your story checks out, just for a different reason than you're saying.