I Sure Do Miss Coins

[Rick K - First Member]

it's not only coins which are going away. In Norway last summer for two months. No mini bank or cash machine at the airport in Oslo. finally got a few hundred kroner from a cash machine. In two months I think I saw someone pay cash perhaps a half-dozen times. Cam home with my kroner!  Not even credit cards mostly just phones. parking lot? pull in, pull up the app, it bills you when you drive out. Public transport..load your phone with credits and wave it when you get on the bus or train.

Money is disappearing in most of the western world, the US still has a lot of cash changing hands, but very few coins except nickels dimes and pennies in change which end up in a jar at home.

[phrunt]

This is why I'd not want to be the owner of a detecting company; coins are drying up and no longer being used much, jewellery is now more commonly make of cheap metals as the desire for true jewellery is becoming increasingly scarce, local governments are coming down hard on detector users preventing them detecting in many places that were once available to them, natural gold nuggets are becoming extremely hard to find in many locales, it's a hobby that's quickly fizzling out as the finds do.

Newer technology has helped find stuff in ground previously hunted but even that's now reaching its limits, Detector companies will one day end up being like Kodak, probably the most thriving parts of their businesses will be things like Countermine with all the wars going on in the world and security products like walk throughs that are at all the airports and to my surprise even in schools in the US.

It will be interesting to see detecting in 2030, I think it will mostly be done for in many parts of the world, outliers like the UK will hold on longer with their great old finds available to them and Australia with some good nuggets still to be found by the very dedicated. 

[Erik Oostra]

Sadly, Magnetic Island has recently caught up with the rest of the world.. At the beginning of this year the island's busses switched from cash to cards.. Since then I've noticed a huge drop in the amount of coins at beaches with bus stops.. On a quick whip around these beaches on Monday mornings, I'd usually make at least $10-15 in gold coins alone.. During the week I'd pick up a few more at less-accessible beaches.. During school holidays I always found enough for a case of beer by the end of the week.. 

Now my only source of freshly dropped coins is beaches with pubs and cafes, but there too most people pay with cards and I can't rely on them for a fist full of dollars.. The Sunday markets at Horseshoe Bay are still mainly cash, but the pickings have become pretty grim there too.. There's a few food vans still operating (like 'Tropical Juices' and 'Seafood Hut') who set up along popular beaches and draw a good crowd, but they're also a bit hit and miss.. Same goes for the fast food vans that set up along the beach when XBase puts on live music or hosts festivals.. There's always a few coins to be found after these events but they're not on everyday.. Yup, the busses delivered a steady supply of goldies.. And I took it all for granted..     

So yeah, I'm really starting to miss coins.. They'd become my bread and butter, just enough cash in your pocket to pay for a few groceries without having to reach for the card.. 

Luckily, the amount of rings and  jewellery hasn't dropped.. Also the same amount of iPhones, car fob-keys, sunnies and other valuables.. It's still the same amount of people, just far fewer using cash.. But from reading the above posts I get the impression you guys already know all about it.. We're just a bit late on the island catching up with the rest of the world.. 

Photo of the good old days.. After a hunt at beaches with bus stops during the school holidays..  

[phrunt]

yep, this was a small lakefront gravel beach in town and a beginner ski slope at a magic carpet conveyer, the first time I hit it, this sort of stuff is a one off, can never be repeated, the first to get there gets the bulk of it, now it's done its done.

The note was just good luck, finding that laying around during the hunt.

I've only been doing it a few years and I'm already reminiscing on the good old days 🙂

 

[Dubious]

Yes, the demise of coins is sure narrowing the scope of the hobby.  It wasn't that long ago that everyone received change in transactions and carried a pocketful of coins for parking meters and pay telephones.  Now, pay phones are pretty much extinct, parking meters take cards, and many businesses won't even accept cash.  Detecting for coins was probably the main entry into the hobby for most folks (I've stuck there--I like digging for coins), and in another decade or two, it will be all but gone.

[Erik Oostra]

On 1/3/2024 at 2:32 PM, Compass said:

I've been envious of the larger denomination coins that can be found Down Under.

Best thing is they get smaller as their value increases, making them far easier to lose.. A 50 cent piece is huge compared to a one dollar coin, and the two dollar coin is a midget.. This is somewhat born out by the larger amount of small coins I've found.. Five cent pieces are even smaller than two dollar coins and they're also up there with the most commonly found coins..

Five cent pieces come up a perfect 10 on the Nox and sound a bit similar to gold rings.. I sometimes wonder if the Equinox was designed exclusively for Ozzy coin hunters.. I mean every coin has its own distinctive TIDs and tones, although the $1 and $2 coins do ring up and sound the same.. Whatever the case, it makes them easier to separate from rings and other jewellery.. 

I've edited this post to include a photo of some of the coins found during 2023.. The 20c pile is much smaller than it should be, as with the 50c pile I keep using them.. The 1c and 2c are out of circulation (since February 1992) but still very common to find along some bays, especially Picnic Bay, Youngs Bay and Cockle Bay.. At the beginning of the year I take last year's coins to a bank on the mainland... The island bank won't run them through their machine as I'm not a member..          

[phrunt]

The $1 and $2 coins have to be the easiest to find on the Nox, with their 21/22 ID, unmistakable, you could pay off the Equinox finding them alone, just cherry picking those ID's, it's why I like the Equinox and Vanquish so much, they both just love those goldies.

 

[TampaBayBrad]

On 2/26/2024 at 5:19 PM, phrunt said:

This is why I'd not want to be the owner of a detecting company; coins are drying up and no longer being used much, jewellery is now more commonly make of cheap metals as the desire for true jewellery is becoming increasingly scarce, local governments are coming down hard on detector users preventing them detecting in many places that were once available to them, natural gold nuggets are becoming extremely hard to find in many locales, it's a hobby that's quickly fizzling out as the finds do.

Say it ain't so, Simon! NO...NO...NO! 😢

[GB_Amateur]

There is a significant difference between countries that circulate $1 and $2 (or equivalent) coins -- e.g. Canada and Australia -- than here in the USA where even the half dollar has gone the way of the dodo bird.

This isn't meant as demeaning to those who get a kick out of finding small denomination coins.  If you enjoy that, more power to you.  But for me, I'd rather find one wheat cent than a handful of clad quarters.

I don't see the hobby drying up for old coins and relics as quickly as circulating modern coinage disappears.  For sure jewelry today being more likely made of non-precious metals is a real issue, as is the loss of metal detectable native gold.  Those are what is causing deterioration for many of the more serious detectorists.  Research is still going to be rewarded, though, for coin and relic detecting in particular.

Metal detecting companies are selling the dream.  When you see an ad, what do they show?  Often it's Spanish Colonial era gold and silver, or modern gold jewelry, maybe some nuggets.  Do some show a handful of modern coins, IDK, but is that really going to excite very many people?  Robert Louis Stevenson, who died in 1894, probably did as much for metal detecting as most modern ads....

[geof_junk]

The coin in the slot on shopping trollies is coming back in Aus.