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Cool Find - Vanquish 440 In The Park - Need Advice


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Did a quick stint at the park this morning and found a Battle of Verdun coin/medallion dated 1916.  As you can see from the pics I nicked it with the digging tool. 🤮

I'd like some advice on how to avoid this in the future.  I know part of it is just experience, but there must be some techniques or mechanics that will help to mitigate this.  I've included an image of a better conditioned coin too.  Found a bunch of clad coins along with this.  The Vanquish is a sweet little detector.  Won't replace my Nox 800, but it is really fun to use!  I think I will get the bigger coil for it...

 

 

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The digging tools are almost as quite important as the detector , it took me a few yars to find the best combination :

1) The digging tool :   

When I started detecting , I was using quite small digging tools , like small picaxes or small spades. But when using such small tools it is very easy to damage a target because you cant dig a large hole with them. Also these small tools are not very good for your back ...So now I use a quite large spade ( see pic below ) , it is a Fiskars Xact which is very robust and can be separated into 2 parts so can be carried in a rucksack. With this spade I very rarely damage a target and and it is very nice to use. 

I am not sure that these big spades are very popular in the US , but anyway they are very efficient ..

2) A pinpointer :

If you dig deep targets with a big coil , say 11inches or even a 9 inches , a pinpointer will help you to exactly locate the target , so this will strongly reduce the risk to damage it . I use a MinelabProfind 35 pinpointer that I find excellent and it is the only one that thas an iron disc , very useful for identifying big ferrous at the Bottom of a hole.

BTW if you order the Vanquish V12 large coil , a pinpointer is almost mandatory due to the big size of this coil .

With the Vanquish V8 coil , a pinpointer is not needed because this coil is very accurate 

Hope that helps ...

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On 5/6/2020 at 4:38 PM, Bashin said:

I'd like some advice on how to avoid this in the future.

The first piece of info I'll give you is that you will never eliminate damaging a coin occasionally.  The best you can do is minimize it.  I possibly go to an extreme compared to most.  Life's decisions are always tradeoffs.  Here are my techniques.

1) I use two pinpointers when coin hunting.  (I warned you -- I go to extremes).  The Garrett Carrot tells me when I've got a coin in range.  The White's TRX hones in much better on its location (including distance, i.e. how much deeper do I need to dig).

2) If I'm in soft to moderately soft ground and the TRX says I'm close I use a plastic scoop.

3) When using a metal digger I always try to dig around the item.  That means the target should come out in a clump of dirt.  This can be very difficult to impossible if you are in packed gravel or limestone such as driveways or roadways.  Those are the toughest conditions for both simply digging and avoiding nicking the target.

Try your best but every once in a while the best detectorists still nick the target.

 

 

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Many places here you can't use a spade. I was at a school yard other day and a maintenance guy drove up and blew his horn. Yelled that I left big holes all over. I pointed to my digger and showed him what I dug and the tiny spots I put flaps and plugs back with no lumps no damage. He let me keep detecting.

If I brought my foot digger I would have been banned from the area.

The right tool for the area is important. Shovels and foot spades are great in big fields or woods that don't have too many roots but I find myself using a hand digger most of the time.

I take my time pinpointing the target well before I even stoop over to dig. Sweep in one direction then at a 45 sweep again. Sometimes if you bug dance around too much you will miss and start picking up other targets. My sweeps are just wide enough to cover the target. Helps with figuring size too.

That is a cool find, congrats!

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5 hours ago, kac said:

Many places here you can't use a spade. I was at a school yard other day and a maintenance guy drove up and blew his horn. Yelled that I left big holes all over. I pointed to my digger and showed him what I dug and the tiny spots I put flaps and plugs back with no lumps no damage. He let me keep detecting.

If I brought my foot digger I would have been banned from the area.

The right tool for the area is important. Shovels and foot spades are great in big fields or woods that don't have too many roots but I find myself using a hand digger most of the time.

 

Actually  I never detect in schoolyards or parks , only in ploughed fields or woods , always with a permission. In such open fields using a big spade does not really matter as the farmers use several tons tractors for cultivation ...  However I always refill my holes , even in ploughed fields … 

I would not detect in a schoolyard or a park  because it is usually not allowed over here. This is why some detector function names like  Park ,  Park1 ,  Park2 look a little weird over here … 🙂

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Previously I used a smaller spade , brand  Black Ada ,made in Great Britain if I remember well. Very robust . You cannot dig as deep as the Fiskars does but it is more compact . Definitely a very nice tool .. Below the pic with both spades so that you can have an idea of the size ..

BTW yes congrats for your French find … 🙂

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Thanks for all the tips!

I have the Garret AT pin pointer,  a Lesche Sampson shovel, an SE digging tool, and the ubiquitous plastic scoop.  This coin came out of a very rocky slope just below the grassy area in the park, and I was using the digging tool.

Sounds like I need to take a bit more time with the initial location mechanics, be more meticulous with pinpointing, and more careful with my digging process!

Thanks guys - great information!

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Picking stuff out from rocks, gravel and roots is always risky. Can't use shovels or spades there either. Happens to everyone. Look at it on the brighter side... all the other ones out there are worth that much more 🙂

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Bashin,

Nicks in the goods happen, Don't be to hard on yourself. Like GB and Kac said take your time with your coil to learn the center. Multiple sweeps are in order. When I find my spot I pull a small patch of grass or mark the center of exposed dirt with an impression. I then insert my hand digger about 4 inches off target and lift the soil up slightly, Then I shove in the pin pointer to tell me exactly where my target is. This is by no means fool proof, and takes a little practice . Sometimes with target masking ( multiple targets in one hole ) you will damage the good target and not the bad and vice versa. I can't tell you how many cool things I've ruined. But each time it happens you will remember to slow down and focus on how to remove it without damage. (maybe). I suggest rebury it and find it in 10 years and you can wonder how the nick got there. ( maybe a knife fight ) 😆🤫  All kidding aside It's still a great find no matter what!!!!

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