Equinox - The Eagle Has Landed!

[Chase Goldman]

Well relic season in the Mid-Atlantic is winding down as temperatures start increasing and fields are planted.  Hitting a favorite farm I periodically get invited to today and the Equinox came through big time.  This is a small farm with soybeans and corn crops.  This farm is located on a hill and based on finds to date holds Colonial, Civil War, and 20th century silver.  It is basically an amusement park for relic detectorists, but its heyday is starting to wind down.  I have come to this place three times previously and always come away with some great keepers.  This is the last visit until fall because spring planting has begun.  I was coming to this field for the first time with the Equinox.  There was apparently a tractor explosion at some point which scattered molten aluminum over a large area of the field, so naturally, I decided to hit that area.  The soil is mild and other than the aluminum, trash is light and iron is not too thick, so I decided to run Park 2 without modification (other than running All Metal) since I was looking for everything from brass to silver and like 50 tones.  I also had Field 2 saved in the User Profile Slot which had been my "Go To" relic program in the more highly mineralized fields of central Virginia.  After I had the aluminum and hot rock signatures dialed in I started looking for sneaky signals hiding in the aluminum slag.  It was a difficult slog, with large globs of melted aluminum sounding off like silver (but softer, more about that later).  I kept moving through the aluminum field anyway until I got clear and then started getting some interesting targets.  A well worn early 19th century/late 18th century copper (nice and a first for me), a CW knapsack J-Hook, a 3 ring minie ball, a nondescript piece of brass .  Things were looking good with three or four keepers in about 5 to 10 minutes.  This was also interesting because on this side of the field, only early 20th century finds (mainly silver coins) were typical finds and not much 19th century or CW stuff had been found in the area.  Now I was in a cluster and had a good feeling right up until I got a screaming 22-23 signal.  This could have been an aluminum can but it sounded more solid and the numbers were not bouncing wildly, like I have observed with most crushed cans.  I pulled and flipped the plug and saw a large circular object mostly buried amongst the clods.  Things happened pretty fast.  I flipped the object and low and behold the Eagle Had Landed!  My first CW plate, an Eagle Breast Plate.  Happy Dance Time!

Nothing much happened after that flurry and moved to another distant part of the farm that had been known to give up 19th century silver and IHPs as well as CW stuff like minie balls and brass.   At this point the hunt was just gravy and I was happy with what I got, but I knew that I also had a great chance at my first piece of early 19th century silver so I kept at it.  I had been hitting high tones with the aluminum globs, crushed cans, screw tops and even with iron wraparound and falsing.  But I am really becoming familiar with the Equinox tonal quality.  Non-coin high tone audio sounds hollow and soft and/or distorted.  I have hit clad but no silver with the Equinox yet.  Even clad jumps out at you.  I kept swinging.  Grabbed another solid 16-17 signal out of the iron muck, which was my second dropped minie ball, yay!  Then it happened.  It sounded like a pure golf shot on the sweet spot of the club, ping!  I knew what it was.  It just jumps at you.  Sure enough, scored my third "first" of the day, a well worn 1853 Seated Quarter.  Mission Accomplished!  That should hold me over until the fall.  Thanks for reading.  I think the Equinox will stick around a least till then, too.  

[Norm S]

Awesome find. 

[martygene]

far out dude!!! big congrats on the breast plate. happy for ya. 

[Chase Goldman]

Thanks, Gene.  It was great.  Of course, wasn't thinking plate at all when I dug it.  Isn't that always the way?  Loving this machine.

[strick]

That's one he'll of a hunt!

Strick

[Commonwealthdetector]

Dude that is a great day I mean once in a lifetime day for some a day that some of us may never have! WOW.that breast plate is NICE!awesome writing too.happy hunting,be safe

[Guest Tnsharpshooter]

Nice hunt.

Good reporting.

What you say about the iron reporting, big 10-4.  A person develops and ear for what's what.  And they won't stop on just any audio the detector rambles off.

Congrats on your plate and your quarter.

 

[steveg]

GREAT report, GREAT story!  Sounds like just an INCREDIBLE day, and from the looks of your finds, that's exactly what it was!  

SUPERB, Chase!

Steve

[Chase Goldman]

6 minutes ago, Tnsharpshooter said:

Nice hunt.

Good reporting.

What you say about the iron reporting, big 10-4.  A person develops and ear for what's what.  And they won't stop on just any audio the detector rambles off.

Congrats on your plate and your quarter.

 

I owe a lot of how I am able to handle this machine to your detailed testing and reports especially regarding how Equinox responds to non-ferrous trash, so in a way you helped me get this plate.  Could have easily thought is was another aluminum blob.  But it sounded different.

[Chase Goldman]

6 minutes ago, steveg said:

GREAT report, GREAT story!  Sounds like just an INCREDIBLE day, and from the looks of your finds, that's exactly what it was!  

SUPERB, Chase!

Steve

Yeah, I am beginning to realize just how unique it was.  It just came together at once and in the moment, I just felt like it was going to happen, as improbable as especially the last two finds were.  It was like a golfer repeatedly sinking 40 ft. putts down the stretch.