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Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/14/2018 in all areas

  1. My first Roman Silver found with the NOX, Field2. VDI 14/15, default settings 8 inches down, 4 units on the depth gauge. Lovely tone Believed to be a Silver Denarius by Septimus Severus AD209, This side Minerva, the other side the head of one of his Sons either Geta or Caracalla, commemorating the victories achieved by the Romans led by Severus and Caracalla in Scotland AD209 -10.
    8 points
  2. Found this past weekend with the GPZ 19 coil at 2 measured feet. JP 20 grams
    8 points
  3. No date buff, 1915d buffalo and an 1886 Indian. These coins came from a place I call the "black hole". It's been hunted to death. It's also the first place I took my 800 to. I'm giving these coins to the 6"coil especially the Indian. Hunted in pk1, sensitivity 21, iron volume 1, second segment 15 rest left at 25. Recovery set at 7, ran in auto trac. I think the 6"coil is killer?!!
    5 points
  4. Got out with my buddy Dave today to do some detecting. We had the plan to try a new area, and if that didn't pan out we would go back to the area I had had some luck the last 2 outings. We struck out in the new area, and headed to the old one. I went out trying to expand on the new patch...no luck. Dave hung around the area where I found the patch 2 weeks ago. I started exploring a bit looking for good ground when Dave radioed me that he had found a couple nice nuggets. I made a beeline to meet up with him, still working my GPZ when I hit a great mellow signal. Turned out to be a 2+ gram nugget and the start of a 5 nugget patch. Biggest being 3g. We had lunch a made another run for no luck, but a great day nonetheless. My nuggets 6.4 grams Dave's score, with a nice big nugget. Chris
    3 points
  5. I decided that since it's been a while from my last visit to one of my favorite gold hunting locations It was time to charge up the batteries, brave the heat and find some gold. Only managed to dig up these 3 little ones but still it was a good day ?
    3 points
  6. I don't often find a teens Mercury dime in this kind of condition.
    3 points
  7. Hey just got an Equinox 800 last week, my first detector. First of all thanks for all the info, it has really helped me figure out this thing! So far I've only detected around the house and found a wide range of trash: Nails, stakes, nuts, bolts, old chunks of iron, shell casing, a piece of buckshot, molten aluminum nugget from a bonfire, stainless steel wire, tarp grommet, bottle cap, tin can lid. Nothing amazing but happy with the results, right now I'm digging everything with a consistent signal to learn, figuring out the Target ID and learning the sounds. Probably a little tough area to start at, but as soon as I figured out the sensitivity and ground balance, the signals are much clearer, I've been impressed how deep it has found some things. Also suprised I haven't dug any hot rocks yet, there are a lot of rocks in our driveway that are magnetic and I expected to be having to dig a lot more, but so far haven't dug one. Thanks again for all the advice on here, excited to go look for some nuggets and lost stuff. Really happy with the machine, love the wireless headphones! Seems hard to beat for an "all-around" type machine.
    2 points
  8. You have a new brother in the family. Special thanks to each of you that gave me advise on this decision. Extra call out to Brian for checking the Zed out for me in person. Lot of respect for the tight group we have here. Feel free to drop tips and hints in here or pm. I have read so many threads my eyes are bleeding lol. Come on 1 oz Nug. JW looking forward to nugget find sharing with you. Fred low and slow, Check! Nenad hit me up with more of those tips, so I can pay for this thing lol lol.
    2 points
  9. I got to hit a yard for a little while this morning. Yep, I'm going back. ?
    2 points
  10. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ... Relief for you guys and envy from me! Mitchel
    2 points
  11. Second day hunt. I must also confess something very important. You know how the human brain tends to fabricate information at times. Well, I'd been hunting an hour or so and not even hearing a target. Started to doubt if the machine could detect anything past 4-5" in the wet salt sand. So I decided to head back up to the edge of high tide and the towel line and got a really nice 9-10 ID, with a great sounding audio. I had to start sifting the sand with my hand to find this nice .925 earring. Amazing at the small targets the Equinox can find. At the end of the hunt I had found quite a few coins, swivels and the usual junk, but my confidence returned with the sight of silver. Moral of the story, machine confidence carries a lot of weight when it comes to hunting. Stay tuned for tomorrow.
    2 points
  12. 2 points
  13. I was hunting an old field and found an old button and after rubbing it with some vegetable oil to preserve it I went back to the same spot and found this old coin. I was shaking all over as I gently cleaned it off and rubbed it with a lightly oiled paper towel. I looked it up and it is a colonial Vermont copper from around 1785.
    1 point
  14. “Australia’s all-time record annual gold production (314 tonnes) … might well be exceeded*,” said Dr Sandra Close, from mining consultancy* Surbiton. https://www.heraldsun.com.au/kids-news/australia-set-for-record-gold-haul-in-2018-as-mining-booms/news-story/0f985c566f657751313c4a5c590c0cc1
    1 point
  15. Found this item on Amazon. It might be good for dunking sub-IP68 pinpointers, or as an added level of protection to IP68s. I'm going to buy one just for the heck of it. What do you guys think?
    1 point
  16. Published on Jul 25, 2018 - Some great tricks and tips from Gerry's Metal Detectors on how to use the whites 24k Goldmaster.
    1 point
  17. Getting a week at the beach for a little R & R and yes detecting. I must be honest my first day was not that grand (two zincs and a shell casing) with the Equinox 800. Hunted with the stock beach 1 program with no adjustments found very little in the way of nice finds. I had high hopes the beach was like it was a couple years ago, but sand had been hauled in and built up by maybe 5'. Even the wet slope didn't yield much in the way of finds. But decided to hunt the towel line the second day and found a matching set of earrings some 4" deep at the edge of where high tide and the towel line began. Talk about small, but the Equinox had no problem finding small targets.
    1 point
  18. Congratulations Chris, you and Dave got some very nice pieces there.
    1 point
  19. Just received my GPZ ( NOX 800 needed company )looking forward to getting out today for 1st detect session. The 19" coil should be here by end of week, along with the Pro-Find 35. ( Garrett Carrot needs company as well ) Can't wait to get out, road trips in near future !!
    1 point
  20. Nice finds. My 6" coil came yesterday. Mounted it up and played around with it in the backyard. Sure is nice swinging that light little coil! Looking forward to the weekend to try it out in the wild.
    1 point
  21. GB, These were I would say 4" + or - some. I haven't dug any 7" lately but have with the six in the past and with recovery set on 7. I don't know if it's good or bad but the coppers and nickels I soak in coconut oil. I didn't have any olive oil which I know some guys use. It seems to be ok but if you've got a crusty coin there's no fixing it. Thanks, Tom
    1 point
  22. Excellent finds! (Still haven't found a dated Buffalo.?) My IH's are green like yours, but only one has cleaned up that nicely. Did you do anything besides soak these? Can't wait to get my 6" coil. About how deep were those coins?
    1 point
  23. Ya ya, you're probably getting tired of all the "new Equinox just got gold" threads, but here is another. Same old tired cliche, first day out with new said wonder-machine, then BAM out comes a 8" deep, 1/4 ounce gold ring from a previously pounded location. Sigh. I mean come on, it was right under the soccer net, 4 feet from where I usually set down my drinking water. The place I stand when I look at other gold I find. The place that every newbie heads to. The place I did a tight over-lapping spiral around both posts with a Deus and a Lobo. The place that my 2 friends have detected on multiple occasions with a Deus and Etrac. Yet it was right there the whole time. I walked up to the net, dug a penny and thought "hmm, I'm surprised that is still there" but hey it is a multi-freq Mineslab right? No big deal, stranger things have happened. About 14"-16" away I get the almost identical signal, perhaps slightly jumpier, flickering 20-22 ID. I saw that soft edge golden glow in the bottom of the hole, I said "F-you don't be something or other" cause this place has gold toned aluminum scraps and beaver-tails that would make Peter Munk take a triple take. I thought the ring looked to be about 3-4 grams, my eyes almost bulged out of my head when I saw it weighed in at over 8 grams, a good size piece of alloy around here. It might be higher then 10K due to the heft, the mark is worn and my acids are expired so I will get it XRFed when I get a chance to stop in. This is my forth Mineslab and the third time something like this has happened. There was that week of silver running around town with a new Etrac, I also hit gold 45 minutes into a first water hunt when my Excalibur was new. My old friend deep 2 1/2" square nail is back, some of his big brothers too. They are a rough bunch to hang with but I usually get the old silver when they are around. For those wondering, the ring is a 22. I was in Park 2, 7 reactivity, sens21-22, multi-IQ
    1 point
  24. Hey Mac I am a pretty novice rock collector, so no expert. The first few labelled thundereggs? look like chert, a type of fine grain quartz common up there, flint is a type of chert and has that fracture pattern. The round rocks could be geodes, I thought that’s what they call thundereggs up here. I think if you place them in water and they feel lighter, they may be a geode with an air pocket. Rather than smash them, you can cut those small ones carefully in half with a tile saw. Go slow and use lots of water or some rock shops will cut them for $5 or so. If you are referring to the internal corner indent, I would guess that is a natural fracture. In that one though, the reverse view almost looks like a notch shaped into it near the base and the curved indent near your thumb could be worn by rope or something if it was lashed. Maybe? The spearpoint doesn’t look like the right type of rock to me, chert was used often for arrowheads/spears points because it fractures nicely and leaves sharp edges. In the Brooks Range I have seen ancient evidence of natives chipping chert for knives or spearpoints. You’ll find piles of chipped rock that was carried to a spot with a overview or lookout of the land, the chipped rock doesn’t match any of the natural rock. Can just picture an old hunter chipping spear points waiting for game to move through. No idea on the others but that orange polished one is beautiful. Neat rock up there, we did a trip several years ago, amazing colors in some of them. If you head that way again, there is a Alaska Rockhounding book with a lot of good info and sites in it. If you are in Anchorage the folks at Nature’s Jewels Rock Shop on Arctic are friendly folks.
    1 point
  25. Awesome ring... way to go!!!!!
    1 point
  26. I have a mate with a glass top coffee table He has put many of memorable finds in there and it looks great.
    1 point
  27. 1 point
  28. 1 point
  29. Beautiful stuff! Congrats on some great gold!
    1 point
  30. That is some good depth on that coin. The Equinox is a sensitive little Devil in Park 2
    1 point
  31. WTG Swifty! What he didn't tell everyone was that it was between 105-110 out there on Saturday with no wind. He also didn't tell you that in all of that sand there are some very hot rocks that mask gold. Swifty is a pro at it so he doesn't mention things like that. Mitchel
    1 point
  32. Thank you kindly. Here is what the second charge is looking like. 3 pieces of silver, maybe 4 if you include the earring. (I still have 3 bars left)? I did good to get the silver but that clown ring was the real shocker. Its the adjustable aluminum kind and came from between two sand pits that yielded 3 gold in the past. That could have been a monster miss. Anyhow I'm heading back out now. Its hot and I've already washed the machine once today, but what the heck lets see what else is down there. This site is showing signs of potential building development, so I guess I'll do what I can to ransack the dirt first.
    1 point
  33. That's a nice CW relic, never dug one before.
    1 point
  34. I have a little wall cabinet that I put a few relics etc in My valuable finds are locked away safely
    1 point
  35. Propjob -- I totally agree with your idea of using a 6" deep coin as a basis, marked with a golf tee. That's a perfect way to test the pinpoint function, in my opinion. The only other caution is, before burying that coin, make SURE there are no other targets within a foot or so radius -- i.e., bury it in clean ground. You don't need another target nearby throwing you off, when trying to learn pinpoint. I find the pinpoint on the Equinox EXTREMELY accurate (though occasionally a bit "quirky," as it occasionally starts off with very low volume and has to be turned off and then back on to "reset" it; I have a theory as to what is going on when that happens, if you are interested, but don't want to take this discussion off in the weeds at this point). Point being, once you get used to the pinpoint, I think you'll find it very accurate. I do not think that using a coin on top of the ground is the best way to learn pinpoint with this unit, as this is such a powerful, sensitive detector, that a coin "too close" to the coil can throw things off. The coil is very sensitive, including around the edges, especially on a shallow target (one close to the coil). So, that can throw you off a bit, as sometimes you might be picking the target up with the edge of the coil, not the center -- and thus confusing you a bit. That's why I think your 6" deep coin idea, in clean ground, will be a much better way to learn. One thing I want to point out; you said something about trying to "dispel the notion that targets are read off the tip of the coil." I'm not sure what you mean here, but I think you may be confusing a couple of things. Here's what I mean. As I'm sure you know, there are two different ways to pinpoint that many people use; the "X" method, and the "wiggle back" method. Of course the "X" method involves invoking pinpoint mode, and then sweeping left to right over a target, finding the "loudest" sound, and then turning 90 degrees, and sweeping perpendicular to your initial sweeps -- finding the "loudest" signal from THAT angle. Where the two "loudest" sounds overlap (from your two sets of sweeps) is your target location -- in the CENTER of the coil. I'm sure you know this. Then, there's the wiggle-back method, which involves NOT using the pinpoint mode, but just regular "search mode." When you hit a target while searching, you simply "wiggle" the coil left and right, drawing it slightly toward you, very slowly, while still wiggling left and right. Right where the target's tone "ceases," while drawing the coil slowly back toward you -- the target will at that point be located right off the FRONT TOE of the coil. Is this perhaps what you are thinking, when you said something about "the notion that targets are read off the tip of the coil?" The "hot spot" of the Equinox coil is right at the center, where the lower rod attaches to the coil ears; the only thing I know of that's been said about a target "being read off the tip of the coil" is when doing the "wiggle-back" pinpoint method... Steve
    1 point
  36. Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Big Upgrade vs. AT Pro: Short Answer - YES!. The Garrett AT series is a solid detector series. The AT pro brought pro features, including a completely waterproof detector, high reliability and stable operation to the mid price range and it is no wonder it became so popular but it is getting a little long in the tooth, never had stellar ergonomics, and is now falling behind feature wise with its competition and with the release of the value priced Equinox and Kruzer series detectors, can no longer claim the high feature to price ratio crown that kept it a best seller for years. The AT Max added some bells and whistles (built in wireless, slightly improved ergonomics) and upped detector gain to placate the "depth is everything" crowd to its detriment (it appears to now be a mixed bag from a stability standpoint - be careful what you wish for, folks). The Equinox vs. AT Pro: Waterproof: Both are fully submersible up to 3M. Tie. Ergonomics - Equinox is not the best machine ergonomically speaking (the First Texas F75/T2 machines retain that crown IMHO), but it is definitely better than the AT Pro. Lighter, better balanced (though still nose heavy), much easier display to read, and intuitive menu navigation vs. AT Pro. Backlit display a plus on Equinox. Prize goes to Equinox. Wet Salt Beach Performance: Multi IQ multifrequency operation enables superior stability even at high gain settings vs. AT Pro on wet sand. Depth: Deep as any machine I have used. I have not been limited by its detection depth so far in any situation, except unusually highly mineralized soil conditions where no VLF machine performs well (most people use Pulse Induction machines in this particular relic hunting situation). Recovery Speed: Variable recovery speed settings enable the Equinox to be used in a variety of site conditions from a very trashy home site, where you can separate the keepers from the junk to deep silver seeking in a relatively pristine park. AT Pro recovery speed is decent but fixed so separation in high trash environments suffers even with the smaller "sniper" third party coils. Multi IQ vs. Single Frequency - Multiple Multi IQ profiles enable the Equinox to be optimized for specific targets such as high conductive silver, small jewelry, gold nuggets, mid-conductive relic buttons, deep nickels. It is like having a multiple machines in one package that enables you to tackle a variety of detecting situations. The AT series has even fallen behind discrete "single frequency" machines at similar price points like the Nokta Impact and Makro Kruzer that enable multiple different individual frequencies to be selected one at a time depending on the targets of interest (low frequencies for high conductors like silver or mid frequencies for all around detecting and high frequencies for mid-conductive targets like gold jewelry and relics). Equinox takes that to the next level by enabling the multiple frequencies to be transmitted SIMULTANEIOUSLY which enables stable target ID acquisition, precise, yet forgiving ground balancing, enables signal processing filters mitigate iron falsing, and gives the stable salt beach operation I described previously. It is like having the AT Pro and AT Gold plus a higher frequency gold machine all wrapped up in one machine. Equinox wins this one. Third Party Coil Support: Right now, ML has only announced three coils for the Equinox, two are now available (the stock 11" DD and a 6" round DD), with a larger 15 x13" elliptical open coil being available soon. AT Pro has been around long enough to have a number of third party coil manufacturers make a variety of coils beyond the Garrett OEM coil lineup. So at this time the edge goes to AT Pro, but this will not last long. High praise so far for the stock Equinox coil and 6" coil, and the third large coil should have 90% of the bases covered. User Settings and Future Upgradeability: First of all the default user settings work great out of the box. So, it is a great turn on and go detector. You simply, choose the search profile desired, let the Auto EMI noise cancel choose the quietest detecting channel, ground balance as necessary, and start swinging. With all the built in search profiles you can explore different areas of detecting you might not have thought about because of the limitations of your current machine (like gold prospecting, or relic hunting in highly mineralized soil). But you have the flexibility of exploring and adjusting advanced settings and customizing the tone settings to your liking. Finally, the Equinox has a connection that enables you to upload future firmware updates that either fix bugs or that may allow future performance enhancements. Other than adding accessory coils, you will not squeeze much more out of the AT pro as it ages in your detecting arsenal. Rechargeable Battery: The battery lasts a long time (at least 12 hours continuous detecting), is user replaceable, (should last 3 to 5 years or more under normal usage), and charges quickly (fully charges within a couple of hours from "empty". You can even charge the battery on the go (i.e., while detecting) from a portable battery USB power source affixed to your detector shaft if you are so inclined. I know that there is something about the ability to pop in some AA batteries in a pinch, but I have never had this detector let me down because of a rechargeable battery problem. On an all day detecting run I have not gone below 2 bars. So if you forget to recharge your battery from the last detecting session, you likely will have more than enough juice for a couple 3 to 4 hour back-to-back hunts on separate days. Neutral on this as this is more of a personal preference thing because you can go back and forth for hours debating the merits of "built-in" rechargeable batteries that cannot be substituted with conventional batteries "if something goes wrong with the rechargeable". I prefer the Equinox rechargeable even though a few folks have reported battery or charging circuit failures. Built-In wireless audio using both readily available Bluetooth accessories you can buy from Amazon (800 includes a wireless headset) and also proprietary wireless receivers (included with the 800, into which you can plug your favorite headset). I could go on, but we would start getting into the weeds. What Do I Like Most: It's versatility. I have been able to get rid of a few "specialized" machines as a result of its ability to be a jack of all trades, and a near master of some (shallow water salt beach hunting, relic hunting in trashy plowed fields). What Do I like Least: The shaft design seems like an afterthought and seems to be a weak link although ML is honoring their warranty, the issues are relatively minor and can be addressed in various McGyverish ways (duct tape anyone?), don't manifest on every detector, and their are some great, superior third party shaft options out there which even if you spend the extra bucks to buy one of these still enables you to spend less overall than you might have on arguably less capable machines because of the excellent value pricing. Do I recommend it as an upgrade to your AT Pro? Yes. One last recommendation: Peruse this forum especially Steve's compilation of other Equinox info in the first sticky post and determine whether the Equinox 600 or 800 is the right choice for you. HTH
    1 point
  37. Nice find. Have never hunted up there for native copper but being a resident of the lower peninsula of Michigan we occasionally find artifacts from the Indian Copper Culture period. Here is a copper awl I found a few miles from home. Approx age age 800 years or older.
    1 point
  38. 1 point
  39. What I can add to this is rings. A ring will disguise itself as a gold tab. You won't find many but I dug what I was certain to be a gold tab this morning and it was a gold band.. Other than that I haven't dug a tab in weeks.
    1 point
  40. Hi Buddy, nice finds there, Question is: Are these something you would of found just as easily with the 11 inche'r though?
    0 points
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