Silver is King: Tips for Finding More Silver While Metal Detecting
Silver is king—well, at least for me and many detectorists I know. It’s easier to identify by tone than gold, and it’s more prevalent. That makes it one of the most exciting and rewarding metals to hunt for.
That being said, there are ways to find more of it! I’m going to share my tips. Some of these may seem obvious to seasoned detectorists, but others might find them incredibly helpful. Let’s dive in!
Go Where Silver is Likely to Be
The first—and most obvious—tip is to go where silver is likely to be. In the United States, dollar coins, half dollars, quarters, and dimes were all 90% silver if minted in 1964 or earlier. This means that even parks or yards established in the 1970s can still hold silver coins, wheat pennies, and other treasures.
I’ve found coins from the early 1900s in the yards of houses or parks built in the late ’60s and ’70s. Why? Because people were still carrying older change in their pockets. Think about the coins in your own pocket right now—there’s a good chance some are 30–40 years old. The same was true back then!
While many detectorists focus on older yards and parks, these areas can be heavily detected over the years, making it tougher to find silver. That doesn’t mean you won’t find it, but it’s worth broadening your search to slightly newer spots where fewer detectorists have hunted.
Finding places where silver is likely to be will dramatically increase your chances of finding more. For a deeper dive into finding great spots to detect, check out my YouTube video:https://youtu.be/UluXzg5ZIIU?si=yt8P_elDUX84uSPn In this video, I cover the tools I use to scout out both public and private locations.
Not All Silver is Deep
Many detectorists get hung up on how deep their machine can detect. I was guilty of this myself during my first couple of years detecting. It’s true that some silver is VERY deep—I’ve dug silver coins that were buried a foot down.
However, not all silver is that deep, and focusing solely on depth can cause you to miss opportunities. If you’re lucky enough to have a detector that allows you to adjust settings like reactivity (a setting that controls the speed at which the detector separates targets), you might want to experiment with increasing it at trashy sites.
Here’s why: It doesn’t matter how deep your detector can reach if there’s multiple pieces of iron or other trash above the target. By increasing reactivity, your detector becomes better at separating and identifying multiple targets in a cluttered area.
- Low Reactivity: Your detector will go deeper but might struggle to differentiate between overlapping signals in trashy areas.
- High Reactivity: Your detector will identify targets more quickly in cluttered sites but won’t reach as deep.
If your reactivity is too low in a trashy area, you’ll absolutely miss relics and coins. The machine struggles to decipher all the overlapping signals and can easily overlook valuable targets.
Finding the right balance is key. With practice, you can still dig coins 8–9 inches deep in heavily trashy areas by fine-tuning your settings. Don’t be afraid to experiment and adjust your machine to the conditions—it could make all the difference. Here’s a link to a video about Reactivity/Recovery speed: https://youtu.be/SDAcqlDFq4A?si=Bc8pSfQJrJVJe755
Use Headphones
Headphones can dramatically improve your ability to find silver. You’re much more likely to catch that lovely high-pitched tone with headphones on. This is especially true in very trashy areas but equally important when searching for deep silver.
Headphones provide a more direct form of audio, helping to cancel out most background noise like traffic, wind, waves, or even the crunch of leaves. The clearer you can hear the audio signals, the better your chances of identifying targets accurately.
Practice
Lastly—and obviously—lots of practice is essential. Take the time to get to know your machine and its nuances. Don’t overlook those iffy high-tone signals—I’ve dug plenty of silver from signals that seemed questionable at first.
The only way to truly learn is by getting out there and digging. When you’re swinging your detector, remember to keep your coil close to the ground and avoid swinging too fast.
Experiment with your settings, especially recovery/reactivity and sensitivity. Adjusting these can make a big difference depending on the site conditions. Don’t be afraid to try new things and see what works best for you.
Good luck out there, and happy hunting!