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Good eye! My first couple years on the Equinox 800, I almost always hunted with the horseshoe engaged. On the occasions that I didn’t, I always had the reference threshold in the background so I still had a gage on how polluted the soil might be getting. The last couple years, I started using what I called my “Poor Man’s 6-Tones” on the Equinox that used the threshold exclusively as my iron tone (iron range notched) while my first tone bin went to the bottom of the nickel range (gave me room for threshold as iron, then sub-nickel, nickel, trashy, IHP thru Copper Penny, and Dime & above ranges - total of 6 “tones” for a 5 tone setting). Anyway, the point is, I got very used to hearing threshold breaks as my iron tone. I’ve carried that trait over into the Manticore, which, to me, is essentially built on the same concept - a dedicated ferrous tone, and up to 5 dedicated non-ferrous ranges. Long story longer, I’ve been keeping the horseshoe disengaged w/reference threshold on during the majority of the hunt, and engaging the horseshoe only for targets I’m stopping to investigate more thoroughly - the pronounced iron tone and red numbers jump out more noticeably on the iffy target, for sure. But you’re right, I’m pretty sure just having the reference threshold break as my iron tone on the Manticore was encouraging me to over-focus on the 2D display, especially since I was trying to learn what that was trying to tell me. But as you and fishersari both suggested, I really need to put the 2D aside for now and focus on the audio quality and tone responses, and work the 2D screen in over time as the (valuable) supplementary tool that it is. Maybe I need to slap some black tape over it temporarily!! 😁

Im in Alaska and no geologist either, but it looks like similar rocks Ive found usually in encased in a conglomerate or concreation. Same shinny mica looking grey blue. I think its related to sulfides. Kodiak

Nice find! An 1800s 8 Real coin. Congratulations! That is one nice chunk of silver. 👍

I found an 1825 example here: https://archive.org/details/TheEagleAndTheShield/page/n221/mode/2up

Likewise, I get notifications when you post. It's been quite the adventure reading this. And an eye opener. I've lived in CA all my life. I haven't heard anything like this. Some of the characters I'll remember for a long time. Like that guy that lives full time in the mountains and visited you for a day or two. All those hooligans that were just out to steel your gold. Whisky Jack the actual oldtimer who was around for the hydro mining and knew the mine. All kinds of interesting stuff. It's a real job and serious business I'm glad you wrote it down for all of us to read and enjoy.

Tom, I think it might be Civil War era. You might have seen the eagle on a Union Civil War Breast Plate. The breast plate has the same eagle look and is facing the same direction of that on the ring. It's looking to its left. Most are looking to their right. Maybe more clarity of the sides of the ring would help identification.

Somewhat off topic but Steve, GhostMiner, and Ron are you guys in Nevada County? Is there a detecting group I can look into/join?

Thank you Gerry! I really appreciate that incredible photo collage - WoW!😍

Great information throughout, fishersari - and thanks so much for finding and re-posting that response from Minelab. Very interesting to see that the iron falsing tendency seems to get more pronounced in soil with less mineralization - as I mentioned, the soil in my area generally has very low mineralization. It looks like I have to be much more selective about when I choose to run in ATHC, be more savvy about my supporting settings when I do, and be willing to dig noticeably more iron in exchange for some potentially masked targets if I elect to go after the iffier signals. @UT Dave @Jeff McClendon @TampaBayBrad @Dug D @Skull diver, Thanks to all of you for your very helpful replies - excellent advice and observations throughout, and I’ve already begun to implement many of your suggestions as I continue to learn the machine, and I’ve already seen a dramatic difference. Over the weekend, I spent a couple hours at one of the sites that was giving me so many problems in my original post, only this time I stayed in ATLC. It’ll probably come as no surprise to any of you that I had almost no falsing difficulties whatsoever. I’m not sure what my problem was when I had tried that mode on my first few hunts with the machine and I came away thinking it was falsing as bad as ATHC - maybe I had my settings jacked up, maybe it was inexperience with the machine, or maybe I was just plain mixed up. But ATLC over the weekend was a night and day difference for me versus ATHC - I even came home with a ‘36 Merc from a pounded park. I’m a bit embarrassed that I didn’t think of going back and trying ATLC on my own before posting, but hopefully this thread can help other new Manticore owners as much as it turned the light bulb on for me…a lot of excellent wisdom in these follow up posts.

Ron’s first map: https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0073/plate-1.pdf https://maps.princeton.edu/catalog/princeton-9593tw73b Ron’s second map: https://digital.library.ucla.edu/catalog/ark:/21198/zz002b0jd5

Tonight's morel mushroom haul. 🍄

Fishing8046 Those maps are paper ones I have, which area are you interested in as I can zoom in and take a closer picture. Ron

Yes, ticks are bad this year, ask me how I know. 🙂

I don't know why this coin were in my country.. there is no history with mexico that I know of in the location it was found but the place once was a small harbor near a river which they mine leads long time ago.. anyway post this because I feels like the forum loves silver 🙂..

Thank you for sharing those maps. You wouldn't happen to have a link you could share or a pdf that we could zoom in on?

Many thanks.

I have read this since day one, check in almost everyday. Its been a great read.

Hello, i am by no means a geologist but i am trying to learn about different minerals and compositions of rocks. There is an area i am working in New Zealand at the top of a hill where i am finding a lot of Brown (Iron?) coloured rocks and inside is a really dark grey/blue with shiny particles. Im an amateur prospector and learning every day! Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

I've already got it. Thats what was on it when I found the small nugget

Speaking of which, I am back in Montana camped up by my claims in griz country. Glad to be out of rattlesnake country for a few months.

I can relate because I would trap every year and run my traps about midnight then again just before daylight not thinking about that cat. I just carried a 22 with 22 shorts to put down what was not so lucky. I remember the time I caught two half grown coons in a trap together each had a leg in it . I didn’t want to kill them and here I was with two sticks to keep them off of me . I had them between my legs trying to get my boots on the springs to release them. All three of us were happy to live another day. Deer I guess you could say was heavy are lots but I didn’t hunt them too often. I did shoot one for trespassing now and then if I needed the meat to make sausage. Time passed but great memories. Chuck

Wow nice !! The lack of the olive branch and arrows, which was designed late 1700's, and predominate on most eagle buttons and Insignia, leans me to the thought that ring might be diplomatic. It sure has the cool factor, and that old look.

Parks also get re-sodded & other “improvements”.

Vigilance is a detecting virtue. Glad you were able to hunt it. There should be more there.

That is an elaborate ring. A very special find. Any clues on the side panels? Strange that it would not have any maker’s markings. It is obviously a quality piece.