Leaderboard

I was just updating links and realized I have been posting adventures to Steve’s Mining Journal for over twenty years now. The Journal started when the internet was new, and information about metal detecting and prospecting for gold was new and rare. Metal detecting was still an obscure activity and gold prospecting even more so. I started posting the stories on my old company website as a way to show people this stuff really works and to help promote the business. It was one of my better decisions, as documenting these adventures has turned out to be far more important to me than anyone else. Memories fade with age, and I can’t do this stuff forever, so it is great now to have all these adventures to look back on. Anyway, many people never leave the forums and explore the rest of this website, so I thought I would post this to celebrate the unofficial 20th anniversary of Steve’s Journal for those who have never wandered across it.

I was originally looking to purchase the GM1000, but as they weren't available yet March 2017 and knowing Lunk had the experience, I called him up chatting about what areas I wanted to go detecting... N Idaho gold!. He recommended the Gold Bug 2 for me - he's right ...it fits my personality. He introduced me to Gerry and I met him during a trip to Boise and bought one from him with the 6.5" coil. I really appreciated Gerry's helpful nature in getting me started with it. My 3rd trip out I found my first nugget (ever) ...a 218 grainer out of an old tailings pile. The last time i was on that mtn was for a gov't survey in May 1988. My next three trips prospecting - nothing, and then 6 tiny pieces one weekend on a late summer trip with Lunk. For the record he had found 16 more to my 6! He was right that I would like the GB2. The one thing l've noticed is that I can tell a difference in the sensitivity after a solid 8 hr. run on the batteries. It seems to like the full voltage of fresh batteries best.

I am primarily a gold prospector but I do enjoy all things metal detecting. The thing is I really like finding gold (or platinum, silver, etc.) so my focus is always on precious metals. That being the case relic hunting has not particularly appealed to me, especially given the laws surrounding finding true artifacts in this country. Many relic hunters are at least technically in violation of federal law if they are recovering items 100 years or older and in many places 50 years or older can get you in trouble. I don't need that kind of problems in my life, and so even though the actual risks involved tend to be overblown, it is not something that excites me. I have the law firmly on my side when prospecting for gold on land open to mineral entry. Eight years ago some friends suggested I might enjoy hunting ancient artifacts and gold in England. The UK has laws regarding the recovery of antiquities that are far superior to ours. They actually support metal detecting and have proven so successful that museums are being overwhelmed by the numbers of exciting finds being made. I always wanted to find a gold coin anyway. My friends suggested the operation that centers around Colchester, England. Colchester is the site of the earliest Roman occupation in England and has history extending far earlier. The Celtic tribes in particular were active in the area, with many Celtic gold coins found by detectorists. The gold coins found span the millenia though including hammered gold coins and milled gold coins of more recent vintage. Just browse the website finds page for an idea of the types of finds made every day in this area. All photos in this story may be clicked or double clicked on for larger versions. Just one field of several at this one location. I could have spent the whole trip here. The hunts are limited to a couple times per year when the farm fields have just been harvested or planted, so Feb-March in the spring and Sept-Oct in the fall. The limited timeframe and limited openings means it is hard to get your foot in the door with this club unless you apply a year or more in advance. 2019 is already filling up and people are booking 2020 now. Long story short I made the trip for two weeks back in 2010 as told at Metal Detecting Ancient Coins at Colchester, UK. I refer you there for more details especially photos of all my finds. The hunt was amazing with finds ranging over a 2000 year span. Finds that would be world class in the U.S. are not only common but considered "new" by comparison to the finds I made almost every day I was in England. Yet I did not score that gold coin. There are many found, but when you consider the number of people hunting 12 hours a day the reality is that you have to be very lucky to get your coil over one, even given a full two weeks. I came away better educated on that reality. It was a fabulous trip but I was in no great rush to return knowing what I learned, plus it rained half the trip, and UK farm field mud is as sticky as it gets. It is far easier to find gold nearer to home and I went back to prospecting and jewelry detecting as my main focus for finding precious metals. Nostalgia does creep up however, and as time passed I thought I should give it another go. I booked a slot with two of the hunt managers, Minnesota Mindy and Chicago Ron, figuring that I had a shot at maybe at least one of them. I had never met Mindy but we knew of each other from Ganes Creek days, and Ron I took a photo of making his first Morini Celtic gold coin (see story above). A year went by and then suddenly Mindy had an opening, which I jumped on immediately. Just a few days later Ron had an opening. I was going to decline, then saw by some miracle his week started when Mindy's ten days ended. I really hate making trips of any magnitude for less than two weeks. This is low odds stuff and the costs also do not justify short hunts in my mind. I booked with Ron also and suddenly had seventeen days in England on my calendar for October 2018. By sheer coincidence it turned out that a forum member unearth (hi Gary!) was booked for Mindy's portion. Field with view of the River Stour I got a ticket with United for $1250 round trip to Heathrow from Reno, NV. It is a pretty easy flight really. Afternoon flight out of Reno to Los Angeles, and then 11 hour overnight flight from LA to London. Overseas flights coach class is more like domestic first class, and if you can sleep on planes you can sleep most of the journey away and wake up in England. My return was the reverse but routed through San Francisco with a longer layover in order to deal with customs on re-entering the U.S. No real issues for those used to navigating large airports. It could be exciting for novices however but just relax and ask for help the minute you have any problems. The trips to a certain degree are like an all inclusive vacation with most everything covered, but may include nights out at English pubs for dinner. I did none of that my first trip so looked forward to seeing a little more local flavor this time around. I must be mellowing with age because it is not all about the hunt these days - I am making more effort to smell the flowers along the way and just enjoy. Accommodations on the trip are in barns that have been converted to apartments, which is why these types of hunts are referred to as "barn hunts" but there are other options. Rooms are normally shared - my room for the first ten days. Art was a great roommate. I got far more lucky with weather this time much to my relief. It makes everything more pleasant for all involved. Groups consist of seven or eight people including the host, who busses the group to different fields each day or twice a day. All morning hunting takes place on one farmers fields. The hunt may continue on that farmers land in the afternoon, or switch to another famers land. The farmers are paid by the number of people on their land each day so for logistical purposes it is one or two landowners per day. The amount of land available is mind-boggling vast. There are fields that have been hunted for the 16 years the club has been in existence, and good finds are still being made. This is part due to the sheer size but also the fact that the famers deep plow and turn the land. Targets that were too deep or on edge get brought up or reoriented, and so areas thought dead come back to life on a regular basis. I proved that myself this trip. New fields are also added on a regular basis for those who like that feeling of being on less hunted ground. I took two Equinox 800s on the trip, one outfitted with the new 15" x 12" coil that arrived just before my departure. This is a fantastic coil, very light for its size, and just the ticket for covering huge areas. There is a depth bonus also on most targets but to me that is just a bonus. That extra 4" coverage per swing is far more important in improving the odds for finds than another inch of depth. I will get more into my settings and how they evolved during the trip as a follow up post. United wants $100 for a second bag, and I was able to bring two complete Equinox and everything I needed for three weeks on the road in a single 40 lb bag plus small satchel carry on. Nice! I could drag this out as a blow by blow accounting of each day but let's cut to the chase. Just a couple days into the hunt one of our group found a Celtic gold coin, always a good sign. Five days into the hunt Gary (unearth) scores part of a medieval gold ring with a red stone, possibly a ruby. A great find and Gary was very pleased to find gold - who would not be? Congratulations Gary! I and the others were finding various old coins and artifacts similar to what you would see in my story from 2010 - lead seals, hammered silver coins, watch winders, buttons galore, musket balls, etc. Gary scores gold and a gemstone - jewelry finds are very rare October 16 dawned nice and sunny, and we went to hunt some of the older ground in the club and so few people want to hunt there. Yet I was immediately busy digging "gold range" targets with my focus being on target id numbers from 7 on up. I will explain the reasoning there later. I made a few passes back and forth digging all manner of small lead bits when I got a nice little 7-8 reading no different from hundreds already dug in the last few days. I turned over a spade full of dirt, and out popped an oddly shaped piece of gold! Celtic "Votive Offering" fresh out of the ground! I knew it was gold but I was not sure what it was. It looked like a small torc, normally a band worn around the arm or neck. This was too small, maybe 5-6 inches long, so it would barely loop around a wrist enough to stay put. More like the size of a ring really. Whatever it was I knew it was great and my emotions soared sky high. I reached in my pocket for my iPhone to take a picture.... and had an emotional crash. My phone was gone! I went from elation to panic almost instantly. I left the find and detector where they were, and proceeded to backtrack my trail. I had not gone far and the ground was rolled flat, so I determined I must have left the phone in the van with Mindy. So I got on the radio and announced my find of a "mini-torc" and explained I had lost my phone. New Minelab Equinox 15" x 12" coil helps make once in a lifetime find Mindy was excited and said she would be right there. She did indeed have my phone, so we rushed back and took photos of the find. Everyone gets excited when gold is found and this time was no different. Now that I had my phone I got excited all over again, quite the rollercoaster! Happy guy! Photo courtesy of Mindy Desens Celtic gold, the find of a lifetime for sure. Many of the Celtic gold coins found here date from around 50 BC to 25 BC and so it is reasonable to think this find is of similar age, though that cannot be determined for sure without further testing. Gold dropped around 2100 years ago - simply amazing! Equinox and Celtic gold! The find has since been labeled as a gold "votive offering". The ancients lived for the harvest, and offerings were made to the gods in the form of gold tossed into the field to insure a good harvest. At least that is the theory that tries to explain why nearly all the farming land seems to have at least a few Celtic gold items found in them eventually. The truth is nobody really knows for sure as there are no written records from that time. For all we really know this might be an ancient gold hoop earring! That's half the fun, imagining what this stuff is and why it is where it is. The club has been hunting these fields for around 16 years, and while many Celtic gold coins have been found this is the first item of it's type, making it a particularly rare and satisfying find. It is really hard to get my head around the fact that somebody last held this gold over 2000 years ago. Celtic gold "votive offering" closeup All gold or silver that is not a coin is immediately declared as treasure to the museums. I actually got to handle the find very little before it was whisked away to a safe. The museums will evaluate it, and possibly bid on it. High bidding museum gets the find, and the money would be split between me and the property owner. If the museums decline, I will pay the property owner one half the value and eventually get it back. This normally takes about a year but can take two or more years depending on the backlog. Every item found that the finder wishes to keep must go through this process, and there are only so many experts who can identify and catalog all this stuff. I live for the hunt and the photos. It's not like I haul gold around to show off to people - it all resides in a safe deposit box. So for me the only real value is in making that adrenaline rush happen and then having photos I can easily share with others. I won't mind therefore if it sells at auction and I get half the cash. Clean and easy. If I get the opportunity to get it back however I may very well have my find fashioned into a ring. There are not many people in the world who can claim to be wearing jewelry fashioned before Christ was born. I could sell it myself no doubt for over twice whatever I pay for it, but I don't need the bucks that bad to part with such a find. Celtic gold details - actual age unknown but BC, around 25 to 50 BC if in range of coins found in area The Equinox with 15" x 12" coil did a good job making this discovery. As a classic open ended "broken ring" type signal it was reading 7-8 and was detectable to only about 4-5 inches in air tests. I am guessing it was about 4 inches deep. The Equinox is exceptionally hot on gold and while you can never say for sure it is very possible that this gold item was left in this heavily hunted area because it is such a poor signal on most detectors. Needless to say I am very happy with both my Equinox and the new 15" x 12" coil. It is the perfect coil for this type of large field detecting. Speaking of Equinox I was surprised at how many were already in use with this random cross section of hunters from around the U.S. About three-quarters of the hunters were swinging the Equinox, most having switched from the Deus or CTX 3030. Other than the typical minor quibbles people were unanimous in liking the machine and there was constant talk about how well it was performing. The Equinox really loves round items in particular, and people were reporting noticeable increases both in depth and target id accuracy at depth. Ferrous identification is almost 100% accurate under these conditions. I dug only one ferrous item in nearly three weeks that just clearly fooled me, a very deeply corroded steel spike of some sort. There were a handful of other ferrous targets I dug that I figured were ferrous but were borderline enough I figured "just dig it". Better safe than sorry, but in each case they were the expected ferrous items. Lots of Minelab Equinox plus a Deus and CTX The next day we were back in the same general area. There was one small plot Mindy wanted to hunt and nobody else was interested, so I decided to hunt with her. I was at one end of the field and Mindy the other. I was hunting fast, trying to cover area, when I got one of those showstopper signals and dug a nice 1737 George II milled silver sixpence. I had no idea what it was - kind of looked like a Roman emperor to me and so Mindy had to take a look. I found I was best off not speculating on finds as I was usually wrong though I am learning. The "George" I know now is a dead giveaway that this is a "recent" vintage coin. A real beauty though and I was quite pleased with it. 1737 George II milled silver sixpence It was only 15 minutes later that Mindy calls out on the radio that she found a full Celtic stater, the larger of the Celtic gold coins. It was her twelfth gold coin find on these hunts over the years, and a real beauty at that. I am one of those people who get nearly as excited as the finder when a great find is made - I love seeing people do well detecting - and this was very thrilling to witness. Although I was in no position to complain this was exactly the sort of find I had hoped to make myself, and it is nice to know these targets still remain. I had walked maybe ten feet past the coin as I headed for the far end of the field. Just a stunning coin, and looked almost brand new even though it had been in the ground for around 2100 years. Gold is just amazing in that regard, whether nuggets, jewelry, or coins, they pop out of the ground like they were dropped yesterday. Mindy scores a Celtic gold stater - her 12th gold coin 45 BC to 25 BC Addedomarus - Trinovantian tribe 5.58 g.16.90 mm Can you imagine, twelve gold coin finds, including a hammered gold noble, some sovereigns, and Celtic gold? Mindy is amazing. Here I am looking for my first gold coin and she gets her twelfth - now you know why this hunt attracts people. The next day we were hunting some of the newer, less hunted ground, but after some high speed scanning I wandered off to an area that has been hunted a lot before because two gold sovereigns had been found there recently. There are areas where there are lots of targets, and also vast stretches of fields where targets are few and far between. People tend to like the idea of new fields, but they often have very few targets to dig. I kind of prefer older target rich zones that have prior gold history because even after years of hunting I have no problem digging lots of gold range targets in these locations. This does usually mean lead but I am happy to dig lead targets all day as opposed to being in an area where there are only targets once every 15 minutes or more. This was one of those locations, and I was in gold hunt mode digging lots of tiny signals in the 7-10 range with 9 being particularly prevalent. This almost always is an oblong little bit of lead, but I dug another nice 9 signal and up popped a large gold flake! It was not much different than something I might find gold prospecting, but is either a fragment of a hammered gold coin that has been worn to oblivion or maybe a portion of a blank gold sheet. I don't know but it was my second gold find in three days and so very nice to see. Just making one gold find is exceptional, and two in a week is harder yet. The flake only weighs 1.03 grams and is 15.05 mm long and 0.80 mm thick. Truly just a flake of gold, and another testament to the gold ability of the Equinox even when running the larger coil. I was pleased with the find as much from a technical aspect as anything else, since I have already found countless similar flakes of gold while prospecting. I went all the way to England to find a flake of gold! It finally came time to say goodbye to Mindy and the group and get handed off to the new group incoming with Chicago Ron. Ron is an incredible hunter with a real nose for making finds. I really enjoyed watching him - an artist at work. In fact there are many people on these hunts that are amazing detectorists (Scott and Scott, and Mike, I'm looking at you) and there is always something to learn by observing good detectorists in action. What makes Ron special is he just wanders around in an apparently random fashion, yet consistently wanders into some really great finds. He has one of the best noses for detecting I have ever seen. My luck dropped off in this final week but no complaining here - nobody would sympathize anyway! I had my trip in the bag and was more relaxed and I was admittedly cherry picking a lot more now, focusing on the gold range and round targets. Most people are hunting hard for hammered silver coins, but for me those were more accidental bycatch. I just hunt for gold and let the rest happen. I had the chance to eat out a few times with Ron's group and enjoyed seeing more of the local flavor than I did on my first trip to the U.K. There was a dinner night out with Mindy's group (I bought dinner and drinks for all celebrating my find) that was a good time. I just love the English people and these nights out gave me more chance to interact with them. I even took time out from a hunt to go shopping in town with Mindy just to see the town of Manningtree close up. Again, one of the benefits of making a great find - the pressure was off and I did not get so crazy about just detecting. Manningtree, England One pub in particular out with Ron and company was directly across the street from where the captain of the Mayflower lived. The history everywhere you look is just stunning. Ron like nearly everyone in his group is was swinging an Equinox, and early on one day of the hunt he made a find that is rarer than the gold coins - a huge 1653 Commonwealth hammered silver half crown (30 pence). This is one of the few English coins with no king on the front because England was a Commonwealth without a king for a brief period of years. How this 14.39 gram silver coin was still sitting in the middle of a hunted area is a mystery, but as we all know if you do not get the coil right over the spot finds get missed. The coin is 34.66 mm or 1.36 inches in diameter and 2.0 mm thick. I got a great photo of Ron with his first Morini Celtic gold on my last trip, and here he is again doing his magic. What fun! Chicago Ron and 1653 Commonwealth hammered silver half crown Ron's 1653 Commonwealth hammered silver half crown I added to my collection of hammered silver, 1700 and 1800 copper coins, and milled silver coins with the remaining time I had. I tended to wander off in oddball directions away from the group, doing the "go big or go home" thing by hoping to get into some little corner or hotspot overlooked by others. Given the size of these fields there are limitless opportunities for this sort of wandering, and it often means fewer finds. It is however how spectacular finds like a horde happen so I do enjoy giving it a go. It ultimately is my favorite type of detecting, being alone in some place wandering around doing my own thing. Gridding target rich zones is probably more productive, but it has a mechanical work aspect to it. Wandering is more freestyle and also more conducive to the sort of meditative mental state I achieve while metal detecting. I am one of those types that lives in my head and some of my best thinking is done while wandering around detecting. I get so into "the zone" that hours flash by in apparent minutes. Whether I make finds or not I find metal detecting to be wonderfully refreshing. For me at least there are few things more relaxing than metal detecting. The trip ended with a spectacular bang by another new Equinox owner who recently joined the forum. Tim was kind of frustrated with the Equinox when I met him, but I did what I could to help him gain confidence in his detector, and the finds started coming. The very last day he made a find that exceeded my own in some ways, but that is his tale to tell so I will leave it for now. It was so awesome again to be around when a major find was made, and come to find I had walked about 30 feet away from it the previous week. Miss it by a foot or a mile, and you miss it. Usually you never know what you miss, but in this case I got to find out. It may be hard for people to believe but I am happier that Tim made the find than me. I am getting a bit jaded these days whereas Tim nearly fainted from the excitement. I get a real charge out of seeing that in people and Tim is just a really nice fellow. He really worked hard for that find and it was an awesome way to have the adventure come to a close. I am sure we will hear the details about Tim's amazing find very soon. I could not be happier with my 2018 UK adventure. The weather this time was really great. I actually got a farmers tan while in England! Mindy and Ron and his wife Gretchen are all great, doing everything they can to insure people have a good time. The folks I got to visit with in both groups came from all over the country, and I could not ask to meet a nicer and more upbeat bunch of people. I really am going to have to give this another go because I finally came home without that gold coin. Even that is ok because what I did find is even rarer, and I made two gold finds on the trip. Eight years ago I went home with a pouch full of great stuff, but I think my pride was a bit wounded that I had found no gold. I am supposed to be the "gold guy"! I am constantly competing with myself at some level, and this trip really left a warm glow. Again, my thanks to all involved for making this one of the best experiences in my now very long detecting career. Just awesome!! ~ Steve Herschbach Copyright © 2018 Herschbach Enterprises Many more details and pictures later in this thread plus the settings I used so do follow along ! Here is a partial selection of some of the finds I made on this trip. I won't be able to post a complete listing until I get the museum documents back - may be a year or more from now! A few finds made by Steve Herschbach in England, 2018

What's your prettiest ring find from 2018. Mine's a toss up so I'll show 3 & let you decide. Be sure to also show your favorite 2018 ring recovery. A) 14K Yellow Gold with Aquamarine center stone wrapped in Emeralds. B) White Gold wedding ring set with Diamonds C) Large 13.3 Platinum with 2 Rubies & 1+ carat Diamond.

I have run the Deus and Equinox head to head as Dubious describes and there is very little an Equinox will see that a Deus will not. The main difference for me was the Equinox has more accurate target id. For instance, the Deus is far more prone to upscaling aluminum in bad ground and calling an aluminum beavertail a silver dime. But it would still detect the target. Upscaling aluminum was a bad problem for me with all my single frequency units in my ground that Equinox all but eliminated.

I learned a trick from a WA prospector this year that keeps the flies out of my face and ears--- He said, "You just do a little poo in your pants and they won't come around your head!"

No doubt. By the time the truth comes out and is passed down through forums etc, the marketing tactics have already done their job. It usually only has a small effect later on down the road after the initial sales boom, and on the second hand market. I am noticing a rise in the number of people discussing and questioning multifrequency platforms though. Here and everywhere. There are so many choices now that consumers are very confused coming into the hobby. There was enough confusion in single frequency choices. Now we have Pulse, multifrequency and single selectable becoming more dominant; multifrequency with single options, companies calling single selectable multifrequency, a company calling pulse multifrequency, talk of hybrids, half-sine and more coming down the pike. Some of us here are the lucky ones. Many of us have gotten into a kind of sweet spot where we understand enough to be attuned and conversant, where we know what methods do what and where, when to be skeptical, and what the limits of our own knowledge are. We have a certain level of competency as consumers that most do not. On the topic at hand, I don't know if all single frequency detectors are behind us. I remember reading a Dave Johnson essay where more than a couple decades ago when he and Fisher produced the CZs and Minelab with BBS (I don't remember who was first as I sit here), he was fairly sure that Multi would take over the industry from there. But single frequency technology began to grow and get better at a faster rate than multi, which had its weaknesses against a single dedicated frequency. Now multi and single selectable technology seems to be growing and gaining ground again. I believe the Simplex as a very low cost waterproof model could have the same effect on the low end as Equinox has had on the mid-upper range. It's very possible that machines like Simplex and Equinox could rule the industry very soon, but if there's anywhere that a dedicated single frequency machine can outperform those, you'll continue to see arsenal hunters buy them until the day that single selectable or multi with single options can outdo them all at each task. We might not fully understand the compromises that may be made to make such machines rather than a dedicated machine. If I had to guess I'd say that single frequency machines that claim to do it all are probably seeing their own end times against multi and single selectable that claim to do it all. There may come a day soon where Multi and single selectable are reduced to the same status against some other technology, whether it be an advanced form of discriminating pulse, half-sine, or something else. U.S. Companies need to shift focus away from single frequency now I would think. If you can't do better than multi or single selectable currently on the market, or develop something new I don't see where you can go from here. I like to think about the kinds of things that can be done with a base machine that can communicate with wireless accessories like Equinox. Imagine the kind of add ons that could be innovated. You could really build off of a machine like that if you utilized cell phone apps, VR imaging etc. Why make one big, heavy expensive machine when you could distribute the weight and cost among other components. That kind of thing could leave others in the dust.

Twenty years will do that to a guy!

Although I first searched for native gold with a detector in late 2015 (3 years ago) I've really only been able to spend less than 75 hours in the field due to the distance I live from detectable gold. Add to that the fact that even though I've spent a lot of time reading about how to find gold with a metal detector I really didn't know what I was doing. All that changed last month when I took Gerry McMullen's in-field training class. "All that" includes what I report here. I'll be creating a separate post reviewing Gerry's class so I'll only quickly set the stage now. Rye Patch, NV, north central part of section 17 -- 32N32E, a location that has seen more than its share of detectors of all types. I brought my Equinox 800 and (at the time) new 6 inch coil fitted with a homemade polycarbonate skidplate (copied from Steve H.'s design for his 11 inch coil). After 3 days of training I stayed around for an extra 2 days on my own (actually, Earl from Idaho also stayed and we compared finds during and at the end of each day). On the last afternoon of my last day, hunting only about 50 meters from the location where the 'classroom' part of the class was conducted, I got a familiar signal and scraped off about an inch of soil with my boot, finding I had moved the target. I say 'familiar' because I'd been digging tiny foil (cigarette pack?) pieces, tiny wire, and lots of bullet shards for 3 1/2 days. I was in Gold 1 mode, threshold = 8, recovery speed = 4, iron bias = 6, ground tracking, sensitivity = 19, using the WM-08 module attached to SunRay Pro Gold headphones. I got an ID of +1 which I had been told by the instructors was where much of the Rye patch area small gold was hitting on the Eqx 800. The signal was loud and clear. Expecting another piece of lead I was surprised to see a faint yellow color on the recovered piece. I noticed Earle was near his campsite and I tried to hide my excitement when I showed him my find. He (diplomatically) told me he wasn't sure that it was gold based upon both its color and a scratch on one face. His alternate theory was that I had found a piece of brass bullet jacket. I countered with the fact that it wasn't at all jagged (like most bullet fragments I had found) but in fact had the rounded characteristics of metal that had seen a lot of natural (water, wind) wear. But I certainly took his concerns to heart. I returned to the 'patch' ? with a couple hours remaining before sunset. It took me the full two hours but right before calling it quits I got another solid +1 ID, this one about 2 inches deep, that also showed the sought after yellow color, this time more pronounced (gold-like) in color. It was a smaller piece but also showed weathering. As it turned out, my 'backup' find was needed. I didn't get home for another week, and then after weighing both pieces I decided I needed some under 0.1 gram calibration weights for my milligram scale so another few days went by. When I finally was able to calibrate the scale (it was pretty close to being accurate, within 1 mg at the low end of weight) and after fumbling around making a sling to hold the larger piece I found the following: Larger sample (1st piece found) had a dry weight of 171 mg (just over 2 1/2 grains) while the smaller weighed in at 121 mg (about 1 3/4 grains). That was the good news. Repeated measurements of the larger piece suspended in water gave a displaced volume of 16 microliters (from a dry vs. wet difference measurement of 16 mg). Dividing that out gives a specific gravity of between 10 and 11 (with an uncertainty in the neighborhood of 1 on this scale), definitely nowhere near gold. In addition, I later accidentally broke the larger piece into smaller pieces. Gold doesn't break. Although a specific gravity measurement of the smaller piece could be done, this would tax both me (trying to get it into a thread sling) and my scale, which would likely give a single digit reading (that is, < 10 mg displacement weight) for the divisor and introduce even more uncertainty into the calculation. Of course maybe I'm afraid to know the truth. One positive sign is that I tried to break the smaller piece (using my fingernail -- that's what broke the large one) without success. So, what is the imposter? I don't think it's iron pyrite since it gave a strong metal signal and ID of +1 on the Eqx. It could be some kind of alloy, possibly of copper and silver (but are those found in native form in Rye Patch?) or even some kind of Au-Ag or Au-Ag-Cu (electrum?) alloy. But, regardless, if my specific gravity measurement is anywhere close it can't contain much gold. The photo shows clearly the difference in color of the (original) two finds. (Oh, even though my find was half a world away from Australia I thought it might be good to put things in perspective for those Down Under who aren't well versed in the size of our US dime.) The upper two pieces are the remains of the broken larger piece. I did lose about 14 milligrams in smaller fragments when it broke and those were scattered on my dirty workshop floor. (Good luck finding that 14 mg amongst all the metal shavings, even with a detector. I'd have to sweep the floor and pan the refuse!) I'm interested in reading your opinions, both of what the larger piece really is but also whether you think the smaller piece looks legit.

thanks Steve, I have the same problem, I keep looking at my F19 and wondering if I will ever use it again..........and then I think (of course) if I sell it I could buy a new detector!!!! Oh man!

If you are running one machine behind the other, then concluding that anything the second machine finds the first one was unable to see, that is a bit unfair to the first machine. Owing to various factors impossible to control for absolutely, you can hunt the same piece of ground twice with the same machine, and the second time around find lots of targets missed the first time. It would be better to carry both machines, trying the second one on all targets found by the first. That is, use the Nox as the primary machine, since you are confident in its settings; when it finds a target, before digging try that target also with the Deus, adjusting as needed; then dig and draw your conclusions. You'll soon have the Deus adjusted to your satisfaction. You can perhaps do this more easily in a test garden, if you have access to one.

I think all the rings I found in 2018 came with gumballs! GaryC/Oregon Coast

Mitchel; Gold Prospecting in Australia is operated by Mark Hyde, He has a good website. You an mail him and ask questions. Based in Bendigo he does Day Tours... There are loads of places in easy driving distance of Melbourne if you have limited time and money. Plus you have friendly offers from the locals... I have some Doug Stone Maps and a couple of his books if you want to borrow them... If I go again it will be WA because I love the terrain and the wide open spaces...and the GOLD! fred

Time is a cruel thief whom rob us from our former self RR

There is a thread here https://www.prospectingaustralia.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?id=22783 where members have listed tour operators they WOULD recommend. There have been a few other threads about dodgy operators as well. Hope there is something there that is useful ?

I have always heard good things from people I meet about Gerry's sales and service. I have not personally had any dealings with Gerry. I have been out in the field prospecting for over 10 years now. So many people think a detector does not have a learning curve. It beeps when it's over metal, how much more to it could there be?...haha after 3 PI machines and running a few VLF's besides the one I own, I can tell you there is much to learn about running a detector, let alone looking for gold with one. If you can attend a class or get out with a experienced nugget shooter, your going to be more successful!!

I have been doing reviews of various gold prospecting metal detectors for years. I also have maintained a Guide to Gold Nugget Detectors that summarizes and links back to the detailed reviews. That's fine, but this website has branched out into all things detecting, and my reviews are limited to one niche of the metal detecting world. I also find I have an ongoing need to link to metal detector specs, and having a complete database of detectors past and present can help me as we go along. The main thing however is I am hoping to get a good user review database going. Long story short I am working on a new Metal Detector Database With User Reviews. I have created a simple framework, and am putting basic specification information in for current metal detector models. The detectors are listed alphabetically by manufacturer and model. There are basic specs highlighted - internet price, frequency, weight, waterproof or not, and whether the detector is a current model. You can use the "Sort By" function to sort the entire list by any of these criteria. The heart of it all however is the ability of each forum member to leave a "Five Star Review". You rate the detector overall - one star is poor, five stars superb. You can do a written review, hopefully one that simply says what you like most about the detector, and what you like least. I prefer this be kept clean and useful for others. This may or may not turn into anything as it really depends on all of us. The more reviews that get left, the more useful it will be for everyone. I am plugging basic specs in but as I get caught up I will go back and try and make each entry a compact listing of information about each model, possibly listing common accessories with part numbers. I already am linking to manuals etc. That way when somebody posts in the future about a detector, links can be made to the appropriate database entry so people can get more details. You can figure I will be doing a lot of that cross linking so it's not something people need to do unless they want to. Finally, when that all gets caught up, I will start working backwards and add discontinued models. I will stick with more popular stuff at first, getting more obscure over time. In a few years this could be a really great resource. I will be building the database regardless. Many of the entries are just placeholders at the moment, but if anyone wants to please feel free to place some reviews. It might help me tweak the system, and I am open to suggestions. As always there is only so much I can get on screen at one time, so the specs I highlight and such are limited more by screen space than anything. Check it out at Metal Detector Database With User Reviews. I will rejigger the menu structure in the future to make this easier to find but right now it's a little off the beaten path.

The Minimum Advertised price for the Fisher Gold Bug 2 has been US$764 for many years. I just noticed that at least a couple reputable websites are now advertising the Gold Bug 2 for $699. The Gold Bug 2 is getting a bit long in the tooth, having been in production since 1995, yet you can still argue that to this day no detector does a better job of getting the tiniest gold bits with its little 6" concentric coil. I am not sure if this is a temporary holiday price decrease, or just a response to all the new competition on the market. Still, I thought I would make a note of it for the Fisher Gold Bug 2 fans out there - you know who you are! Google search for "fisher gold bug 2" Fisher Gold Bug 2 metal detector

Had a great day out last weekend. Temps got close to 60, but still had to use the wet suit heater. Definitely a worth while trip, with some nice coarse chunky gold. Most of the gold was found caught up in a quartz vein. Hard to tell if it actually came from that vein or just got caught there. Will be crushing some of the vein to see if anything comes out of it. Either way the gold did not travel far at all which has been typical of all the gold found in this stretch of creek. Hopefully ill be able to dredge there one more time before the end of the year. Currently sitting at 0.90 oz for the year would love to get that last 0.1 to make an ounce for this year. We will see.

I've had a chance to go out to the beach 3 times in the last week. Each time there was something interesting to find or learn. Each of these hunts was to just about the same beach but each time conditions were a bit different. The first hunt was to an area of the beach where I found the sword/cross. There was nothing similar this time but as you can see it was LIVELY! I went in one direction on the beach and found nothing when I turned the opposite way I was surprised to find one of the live 44 Mags. Nearby was another and then there was a 38 and then a 22 long. As you can see there is some corrosion on them so they had been in the water and sand for a bit. All of the live rounds were found withing a 50x50ft area. Go figure. This hunt I was using beach 1 and the 11 inch coil. They were down 6-8 inches. After I finished gridding that area near it was the ring and chain. The chain was very crusted/black but has cleaned up nicely and is 13.5 g/.925. The ring is cheap. A few days later I went back to the same area with the 15x12 to see if I could find more of the ammo. Nothing was to be found so I headed in the opposite direction to the south. The beach was without targets. I was near the waves at low tide and nothing for a couple hundred yards and then a quarter. As it turned out it was mostly quarters but there was something unusual about this patch. I would get the quarter sound as a high pitch but then it would go higher. This was in the 5 tone setting. (I've tried some two tone and 5 lately because I constantly have to keep blowing my nose to make my ear pressure normal for better hearing.) I discovered that the higher tone was because some of the coins had fused together. You can see that in these photos: The final hunt was tonight. I went back to the fused quarter location and found a couple of quarters at the low tide but moved on down the beach. It was a lot of trash which you can see in the black container. I was walking at a brisk pace but wasn't finding much but I was at the bottom of the hill as I say. At the end of 2 miles to the south I had to return to my car but I was not satisfied with how the machine sounded. I had been using a lot of Beach 2 at 6 speed. I switched back to Beach 1 and lowered the speed to 4. I walked about half way between the water and the top of the sand. The sounds were louder but I still needed to get back. I was going to write about it and say it was just a trashy day. Then I slowed down and heard an interesting target. I dug and dug and down about 15 inches in the damp sand on the side of the beach hill I got a quarter. This must be the deepest quarter I've found, ever! The slower speed with the 15 had made a difference and it changed the entire hunt. I continued on this same line and found the two cheap rings (the corroded ring I had found on my way out) and the imitation nugget bracelet. The slower setting with the large coil seems to be very effective and I keep it that way for a while. Mitchel

I get it Jeff and I just wanted to offer reassurance the Deus can do the job. Upscaling is fine if you dig all non-ferrous and when it comes to extracting non-ferrous from ferrous the Deus is second to none. It gets annoying in parks chasing silver coins though so it just depends on the situation. I really like the Deus in many ways and get tempted to get another, in large part due to the ease with which it can be collapsed and stuffed in a rucksack. But I have to just keep telling myself no whenever this "have to get a new detector" urge strikes anymore.

Tis called a Borroloola Fly Trap, was named in the Gulf Country NT, apparently that`s where the flies are the worst. For some reason the dung beetle got rid of that problem in a lot of Queensland some years back, annoying little buggers for sure.

Tift, Actually that is quite a stunner. Besides, if you are proud of it (which I certainly would be) then why not share. My situation is a little more different than most TH'ers as I've been dong this for a few years and being a dealer, I have access to almost all the popular machines. Very nice find and thanks for sharing.

Not as spectacular as the rings above, but yellow with ice is always welcome in my finds pouch. 10K band with 10 channel set diamonds.

Mike, we sure enjoy hooking folks up with a detector that fits their predilections and search areas, and then seeing them going out and being successful with it. Congrats again on those nice nuggets, the first of many!

A lot of great information. Thank you for your time posting this!

JW, that little ripper would be called an half grain bit in yankeese lingo. ?

If you want to advertise the Manta just say so, no need to be coy with the advertising.

http://golddiggerssafaris.com.au/ http://www.goldentriangletours.com.au/ https://www.heatgg.org.au/hill-end-story/what-to-see-do-in-hill-end/ This is just panning and more aimed at kids. https://www.facebook.com/wagoldprospector/ http://phasetechnical.com.au/ Our very own Phase Tech. Nenad can add more but I think it is just training days more than tours. But he might join us for a Vic camp out??? ? https://www.goldextractors.com.au/ https://goldandrelics.com.au/in-the-media Something going on with that website. It will take you to that page but not the rest of the content? Maybe just a short term glitch. http://www.eurekaprospecting.com.au/ http://www.goldprospectingaustralia.com.au/about-us So, that is just a summary of tour operators that people on PA have actually done trips with. Now, there are some other comments through those pages about a couple of dodgy operators and operators buying positive reviews and such things. Some of the tours done were a few years ago also. If you were serious about booking one it might be worth registering on PA and having a peruse through the pages ?

That's a cracking bit of gold plus some solid follow up pieces. Well done and well done also to Lunk and Gerry - good service to set you on the right track ?

Ah, I think it is in the members section. That’s why it’s not working. I can summarise them later tonight when I’m home. At the moment I’m pedaling the generator at the basketball stadium to get the air con working for the kids ?

If you come to Bendigo there would probably be a bunch of us that would meet you somewhere and have a camp. Would be a good excuse for a meet and great. And you could always book a day with the forum's Reg Wilson https://www.diggerdownunder.com.au/

NE, thanks for the thread. I've heard about the good and the bad so to say. Thanks Rod, I've always had a fancy to stay in Bendigo and drive to some places from there. I think there are a couple of day trainers or something. I've heard that where Paul goes he attracts all the flies so I don't want to go near where he would be. ? Mitchel

No “aged nail” tests have been done as far as I know. The same set up has been done with the card on the ground with the nails - and the ring under the card in the sand to a depth of a few inches at least. Further fun will have to await the introduction of a production machine sometime next year (hopefully). then everybody can decide if this a revolution or a parlor trick. Me - I”m saving my money for the “Beach Beast”.

MN don`t listen to the lad, WAs where it is at and a tour is no doubt the way to go, the wife and I went with 2 WA and 1 NT tag along tours back in 98-99, we had a ball. Not familiar with the current tour operators, go for an established one, I also suggest you move quickly before Paul cleans WA out, I spent this past season wandering NQ for only the scraps he left from last year.

Righto, no worries, all that lovely liquid sunshine is falling here at present, with the wet here have nothing gold related to post, tis mushroom season and if you`ve had a feed of freshly picked field mushrooms you know they are the nuggets of the NQ wet. Saying that I`ll post some eye candy to keep our fever bubbling...…...

Enjoy!? Ig

It’s a work of art Steve, thanks for yet another great resource!

Following up on my post above, I bought the LS Pelso WP headphones. I don't ever expect to dive and only wanted a good set of WP headphones for fresh and saltwater wading where I may have to dip my head under water to scoop a find or possibly rainy day detecting. The Pelsos have excellent sound, the cord length is good for me, they are comfortable to wear for long periods and the price is reasonable.

You guys hit the nail on the head. I read somewhere once that the one big secret to successful nugget shooting is that there is no one big secret; it's many things combined, including technique, location, persistence, etc. And I know from experience that the sum of all those things is an emergent confidence: confidence in your ability to operate your detector, confidence in your detector, and confidence in the ground you are searching. When you attain to that level of confidence, you’ve truly become a successful nugget shooter and the gold finds come as a matter of course.

Wow, what a handsome ring ! Rich (Utah)

Depends. Are you going to be using them under water at max depth or just want a pair for use while wading that can take a few waves? Speaker types may not work well (sound) under water at max depth, but work great above water - better sound quality in my estimation than piezos. Piezo types are probably better underwater. Next step, decide on your use then read reviews - many on this forum.

Hi, This link should work.

I went to the WSPA Outing in the Dale district over Thursday through Sunday...I managed to find this 2.5 grain nugglet. I did have to stay on fairly level ground. fred

Free trade causes disruption of national economies - local high cost production has to change or disappear when world-scale producers have access to the local market. First Texas creates lots of good jobs in El Paso because they can export container loads of metal detectors to Europe, Asia Africa and the rest of the world. They also create jobs in Mexico because one or more facilities that they operate there do detail fabrication of components which go to El Paso for incorporation into the detectors produced in El Paso. This is exactly the same process used by many US and international companies to produce components and sub assemblies in Mexico - very often using US sourced components - which are then imported to the US for incorporation into US products. I have no specific information on advanced technology being developed by any detector maker, including First Texas. I am quite sure however that they are willing to spend money and engineering manhours on new products, I’m sure that they are aware that current detector technology is vulnerable to a breakthrough. It has been essentilly “stuck” for a couple of decades.

JUST MY OPINION BUT DON'T YOU NEED AN ACTUAL TREASURE TO BE A TREASURE HUNTER? CJC

Unfortunately for me, my car broke down and cost $1200 dollars to fix, but I did make it to the swim beach/campground. My detectors worked perfect as well as my heavily modified Babbs Beach brute sand scoop, but I only recovered a measly $1.65 in coins and no jewelry. It didn't exactly help that the owner was pulling a rake behind a tractor to groom the beaches. That wasn't so bad but then I noticed he was using his front end loader to remove sand from the shallow swim areas where the goodies tend to be and piling this sand elsewhere? Then he was moving a pile of new sand into those shallow swim areas....And one beach was loaded with stringers of black sand which forced me to turn down the Sens on my Headhunter Diver detector. I tried to pan some of the black sand but no color showed up. Oh well, at least it was a nice day and nobody hassled me there.. I will post a photo of my sand scoop later...

Hi Ya'll! Just a quick note to let you know I'm still alive and haven't been et by a gristly bear...yet! ? The Verizon towers have been pretty scarce so far and when we do pass by one it's a mad dash to call family and download a weather report. So far in Montana I have detected- an old church camp that is now just USFS land, a campground that dated from the 1930's, an old homestead site (permission), and an old road that was there since the 1880's. I have about half a jar of wheats, silver dimes, and silver quarters (mostly wheats). Nothing older than about 1927, but that's just detecting in Montana. Anyway, having a blast out here and hope ya'll are all having a great summer too! Ammie

Most forums have rules against linking to other forums and so they will not allow their members to link here. Another reason why I started this forum. Forums should be about sharing information and prohibiting relevant links is censoring useful information. On this forum I want people to provide links anytime information elsewhere is mentioned, and no matter if that is another forum or not.

Really surprised this library has not been referenced elsewhere that I have seen. Fantastic data and instructions! Could almost be the core of a book.