One thing all beach treasure hunters share is the thrill of unearthing a piece of precious gold at the beach. Now, while most people think about the 'fresh drops' that've been lost or discarded from the past summer, past weekend or even from that one summers day of beach visitors... The truth is that a lot of the gold hidden at the beach has been there for decades!
The team here at Detect-Ed have been beach detecting for quite a while now and we've worked out a golden few nuggets of information along the way. Whether you're metal detecting for the fun of it, the mental relaxation, or keenly searching for gold jewellery or rings... these tips just might help you walk away with a bigger smile (or a fuller treasure pouch) from your future detecting sessions.
We believe there are 3 major beach detecting secrets that are far less known about - or talked about - that are very helpful to know when beach detecting. Read on to hear Detect-Ed's 3 main Beach Detecting secrets!
Take notes here guys, because these ones are absolutely worth storing in the memory bank for the next time you're presented with an opportunity for a beach hunt.
Secret #1
Sinkers are your friend...
During large storm swells and erosion at the beach it is very possible to find coins in the hundreds with your metal detector however it is often advantageous to leave these coin-y areas behind (as hard as that may be!) in favour of areas that yield more dense items such as fishing sinkers.
If you find large numbers of sinkers in an isolated area it is a sure sign that there will be other heavy targets such as gold rings and heavy jewellery close by, in fact sinkers are super useful indicators when it comes to beach detecting!
Secret #2
There are even more old things than new...
The initial instinct we have when we get our first metal detector is to head to popular beaches over summer in search of freshly dropped items, this is a tried and true strategy but there is no doubt that the largest hauls of treasure have been where items have accumulated over a few years. At most beaches these accumulations are simply down a few feet sitting on some clay, rock or shelly material.
A strong storm or other erosion events can uncover these items so looking for exposed rocks or low spots at the beach is absolutely critical for finding these treasure troves!
Secret #3
The magic is in the conditions...
One of the most fascinating and unique aspects of detecting at the beach is that the sand and rocks are always moving (often imperceptibly). However this is enough movement to bring metal objects into the range of your metal detector that would usually be perhaps *just* out of detection range.
These changes in conditions are why a beach can go from 'quiet' with very few targets to a complete coin bonanza, and back again within a single change of tide.
Thank you for reading, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments below, and for more detecting tips check out our other Detect-Ed Treasure Tactics here.
📸 Photo Credit: Marieta Detecta