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New / Returning To The Hobby, In New Zealand, First Introduction Post!


Glasswalker

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Hey everyone, Name is Paul.

I'm essentially new to the hobby. I had a metal detector when I was younger, and lived in Canada, and used it a bunch, really enjoyed it. But haven't done it in a long time (and no idea where that original detector went, or what make/model it was).

Anyway, I've since immigrated to New Zealand, and live within a short distance of about 100 beaches lol... (exaggerating, but only slightly). And many parks. And being a Canadian expat, have been watching to catch up on "The curse of Oak Island" over the winter period, and through COVID lockdowns, etc... Which lit up my "Treasure Hunting Urges"...

So coming into Summer I was bugging my wife to let me get a metal detector as we'll be hitting all the beaches anyway, and would be a great opportunity to do a bit of treasure hunting of our own! 🙂

She broke down and bought me a Minelab Vanquish 540 for Christmas, it's under the tree taunting me right now... 

So in the meantime I've been doing as much reading as I can, looking for tips, tricks, info, etc... And this forum came up so I thought I'd better sign up and make myself known, as I'll probably be annoying people with lots of silly questions at some point soon! 😉

I also understand a few of your other active members here are also Kiwis, so will be neat to swap some stories with them too! 

I'm on the North Island, about 45 min drive north of Auckland, and very much looking forward to getting out there after Christmas, and hunting on those beaches!

Anyway, just wanted to say hi, and introduce myself!

Cheers!

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Welcome, Glasswalker!  Your wife made a fine choice in getting you a Vanquish 540.  It's a very good performer but not so complicated with settings that you'll get it tied up in knots.

You've definitely come to the right place, and I wouldn't worry about silly questions.  I've asked a lifetime's worth of questions and no one has ever derided me.  That just doesn't happen here.

I'll be watching Curse of Oak Island in 45 minutes myself.

Yes, there are some New Zealand detectorists here and I'm sure you'll get some advice.  I don't know how many (if any) are from the North Island but I think they've visited there (maybe with their detectors) and even if not they'll have some local tips for you.  Enjoy your reading -- there's plenty to keep you busy every day until Christmas.

 

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Welcome to the forum as there are many here to help you with your questions. Phrunt (Simon) is a good source on your new detector as he also has something like it. Please share some pictures of your finds when you get a chance.

Best wishes for a great hunting experience with your new detector.

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Hey Everyone, thanks for the warm welcome!

@phrunt thanks for the tips, I'll probably try to pick your brain a bit more as I've read several of your posts, and the fact you're familiar with the local coins/common finds, and the Vanquish, you will no-doubt be an invaluable source of info (provided you're willing of course! lol). And yes, while I was hoping that the "Magic" of Multi-IQ might be able to cope somewhat with Black Sand, I suspected Muriwai/Piha etc (most of the west coast beaches) would be "out of reach" due to the crazy amount of black sand on them.

I live on the east coast (on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula), so will primarily be hunting east coast beaches, which tend not to have much black sand.

One thing that has been driving me nuts, is the inability to find a decent sand scoop here. I have found a couple metal ones that are handheld only, and may be modifiable, and small plastic ones, but would love a nice stainless steel or aluminum one with a pole on it as watching those in videos of beach detecting using those seems like such a brilliant way of doing things... But couldn't find anything like that locally at all... If I could find some source for perforated steel sheets or something I could probably DIY one, but would be interested to hear if you have any suggestions on that.

I'm also interested in anyone's suggestions on good books/sites/sources on how to read a beach. Identify good hunting spots, based on tides/sand/rocks/etc... Want to read up on that as much as I can so I can try to optimize my hunting when I start hitting the beaches.

Lastly, I'm basically at budget for my "hobby" budget on the Vanquish itself... But one thing I'm curious about is cheap vs good pinpointers (at least to get started). I found a few on amazon that are generic no-name imported ones, but seem to have decent ratings, and are DIRT cheap... so thought it might be worth giving one of those a try, before working up to something a bit nicer like a Nokta Pulsedive, or some other nicer branded waterproof pinpointer. But perhaps I should go start some proper threads in the appropriate forum for discussions like that! 🙂

Anyway, thanks everyone! I will see you around the forum!

 

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54 minutes ago, phrunt said:

Here is a list of Target ID's to look out for with your Vanquish.  Gold rings can be anywhere really between say 5 and 22, just look for stable ID's if looking for them, junk targets are bouncy more than good targets.

NZ Silver Threepence, British 50% Silver Threepence  = 16/17
NZ Silver Sixpence, British 50% Silver Sixpence = 18/19
NZ Silver Shilling, British 50% Silver Shilling = 21
NZ  Silver Florin, British 50% Silver Florin = 26
NZ Silver Half crown, British 50% Silver Half Crown = 27/28
NZ and British Penny and 1/2 Penny = 16, 21, 23, 24 - ID drops with corrosion (29 and 27 when clean)
1 cent = 21
2 cent = 25/26
5 cent and cupro nickel sixpence = 9/10
Old 10 cent and cupro nickel shilling = 11/12
Old 20 cent and cupro nickel florin = 16/17
Old 50 cent and cupro nickel half crown = 17/18
Cupro nickel NZ Threepence = 3/4
$1, $2 = 21/22
British Farthing = Typically around 15 (24 when clean)
British 925 Threepence = 21/22
British 925 Sixpence = 26/27
British 925 Shilling = 29/30
British 925 Florin = 31/32
British 925 Half crown = 33/34
1/2 Sovereign - 15
Full Sovereign - 18/19
 queen Victoria shilling - 26/27
king George shilling - 27/28
queen Elizabeth shilling - 20/21
king George florin - 27/28
queen Elizabeth florin - 28/29
king George sixpence (1942) - 22/23/24
king George sixpence (1946) - 21/22

See like I said, that right there... Invaluable 🙂

Thanks! All those tips are hugely appreciated!

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Hey Paul,

   I read your other post first; i see now that you have already found the mighty "Silver Surfer" Simon (Phrunt)!😁  

   A very good beach reading, and information blog is from the Treasure Coast in Florida! TreasureBeachesReport@blogspot.com! It has information that will apply to any beach, and much more!! Your best "tool" is this forum; and it's free!! And welcome again to the forum!👍👍

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Hey Joe, thanks! I'll go read through that blog, see what valuable "nuggets" of information I can glean from it! (yes, pun intended!) 😉

 

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Welcome Glasswalker! Those of us who have read about Phrunt's (Simon's) incredible hunts are envious of you. New Zealand sounds like an amazing place to detect.

As far as pinpointers go, I never considered them a necessity and, actually, gave mine away. They might be more useful for "dirt" hunting but for the beach they just slow me down. HH&GL! (Happy Hunting and Good Luck!)

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12 hours ago, Compass said:

Welcome Glasswalker! Those of us who have read about Phrunt's (Simon's) incredible hunts are envious of you. New Zealand sounds like an amazing place to detect.

As far as pinpointers go, I never considered them a necessity and, actually, gave mine away. They might be more useful for "dirt" hunting but for the beach they just slow me down. HH&GL! (Happy Hunting and Good Luck!)

I completely agree even for water hunting in general, if your using a scoop then no real need for a pp.

For land on the other hand they help quite a bit.

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