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troyunrau t1_j7devv4 wrote

Furthermore, there are specialized tools like the Schonstedt Maggie (and similar) that are technically magnetic gradiometers -- largely referred to as "pinfinders" -- which are used by legal surveyors to find these buried corner markers on a regular basis. Doesn't help with lead, but anything with iron in it generally works.

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NotTRYINGtobeLame t1_j7duce7 wrote

I wonder if the use of lead died out due to environmental effects.

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oldguy_on_the_wire t1_j7e374r wrote

I would think any use of lead plates as boundary markers would have died out as iron (a ferromagnetic material and thus more easily located with a detector) became cheaper than lead.

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NotTRYINGtobeLame t1_j7e49v8 wrote

Well, fuck. My second thought was going to be cost concerns. Guess I should've gone with that lol I just don't know which came first, chicken or egg.

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Unique_Anywhere5735 t1_j7fc1a3 wrote

Lead holds up better in soil than most older ferrous metals. Also, it is easier to inscribe notations on lead plates. IIRC, there was a case years ago in southwestern Pennsylvania where someone dummied up some fake lead plates, "discovered" them, and fooled a local historical society.

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