Leaderboard

Spent a couple hours at my favorite beach yesterday and was rewarded with a nice honker of a platinum men's band. Not sure of the exact size or weight yet, but it's probably a 7-8mm regular dome comfort fit between sizes 11-12 and made by benchmark rings. I'm working on locating the person that lost it, but no one reported it at the hotel and it's not on craigslist lost and found. I am really happy for the find, especially since my pt wedding band was stolen in the usps mail last year when I sent it to El Dorado to make an exact copy of it with some my placer gold. Funny thing is that this is the exact same ring as I lost except I wear a size 10 so If I can't find the person that lost it I will try and have it resized. Current retail for $2,240 right now. I know over 20 years ago my wife paid over $3k for the ring that was stolen, but platinum has not risen like gold.

What a day! Started out all smoggy and still, so I thought I'd try a water hunt today. It was just after low tide, I got in the sound at the end of one of the piers, the water wasn't too cold and there is a nice sandy bottom. Well that didn't last long. 🤣 I heard some good signals but the water was almost neck deep all the way to the seawall. I couldn't dig anything! Switched gears to relic and coin hunting, I went back to the place I was yesterday. It's about 2 acres of tent camping sites. Did pretty good there yesterday with 37 coins, today was even better. It got clear, warm and a bit breezy so it was really pleasant. Got a small flashlight that still works, and a lot of coins. Got near a very old cedar tree and saw this: It was just the top of the iceberg. Spent the next 15 minutes there with my pinpointer finding penny after penny, and 8 keys. Also found a wampum bracelet probably made by a Boy Scout with two pieces of turquoise on it. It was all attached with fishing line. I found a brass General star with the clasp, and an earring with a silver iron cross. Silver! 😀 Had to buy lunch. Here's the take for the morning, ended up with 38 Zincolns and a bit of clad. Also got some memorials. But the best is below, I did not expect to find any old coins here! A very nice 1926 Buffalo Nickel, and a 1930 wheat. Took my wife to lunch, came back and set out again to finish this area up. Got a lot more clad and 10 more Zincolns, but in the middle of it a storm came out of nowhere and it got extremely windy and cold. Also blew the smoke out, we went from 156 air quality to 56 in an hour. I got in a sheltered spot and waited it out My last find of the day was a 1965 quarter in the last corner of this area. 🤣 I knew it was time to go. But that's not all, I dug 3 old buttons today. The first I thought was an old overall button, but it turned out to be an odd duck with a patent date of Feb 7, 1888: And last but not least, an ancient cufflink button and a lead one. Really old stuff. Trash from the morning: And this afternoon: Banner day, 74 coins total and some relics. I was even treated to a rainbow.

I haven't had that much fun in a long time. I went to the coast for a weekend with the family and I took the detector with me just in case. As soon as I got to the beach I saw that there was a cut of about 80 CM so the decision to take it with me was a good one. about 3 hours in total, it had been a while since I had so much fun and on top of that some gold came out.

Hunted a park today , and found no cladd, just zincs, and pull tabs, but i dig Iron and was using my new super magnet, and I dug out a crecent shapped Iron object and scanned again ,Got a nice clear high tone, Up comes a crusty quarter they Missed it , and again i was digging out some bolts by the side of an Ice arena and after digging some nuts out i got a nice high tone , up comes another crusty quarter, and i got a fake ring, hopes up then rug pull Down, My new magnet uses 2" long x3/4" size neodemium N 42 housed in a copper pipe, and it really grabs the iron when i find it , bottle caps nails It really cuts down on the time looking for the iron

You don't mention the nugget size so hard to say. The Axiom will hit gold down to 0.03 gram in the field, with 0.06 gram and larger being common finds. The smallest bits will only signal on the edges with the mono coils (this is normal with all mono coils on all brands), with each of the four corners being the hottest spots. So when you say heel of coil only, well, it should not be heal only, but on the tiny bits maybe more like edges or four corners only. As nuggets get larger the signal will pull away from the edges and go to the center. The Focused Core DD coils are hottest in the center of the coil. Unless you are comparing directly to a GPX 4500 its memory only at work. Nuggets vary greatly in how well they can be detected due to purity, shape and orientation, and porosity created by air spaces or rock inclusions. I agree however with Gerry that an Axiom in general will hit as well or better than a GPX 4500 on small gold. But again, on solid relatively pure bits, 0.06 gram and larger should be easy finds, with experts getting down to 0.03 gram surface bits. The nuggets below were found by several different operators using the Axiom in Australia and are in the range I am describing. My own personal commentary to the casual inquirer would be to expect to be able to find nuggets down to 0.05 gram. You'll have to be on top of your game to be hitting gold smaller than that. A smaller mono coil would be welcome in helping with that, something like the 6x8 Sadie would be fabulous, but so far no aftermarket coils have appeared.

Helped a buddy load some scrap and found these axle caps and a brass leash clip that will be my new key ring. Then I couldn't see scraping this mower yet.

True, and there are fewer coins and more garbage. But I don't think it's a problem only in Spain. Let's use our detectors and their depth to go back a couple of decades... Last night I decided to go to a small cove with difficult access. It is visited by local people and tourism that accesses by private boat. Gold had already come out there and these last winds have moved the entire seabed. I put on the neoprene and into the water! Very few objectives, not a single euro coin. Some old iron and aluminum and when passing some rocks, in a patch of no more than two square meters, old peseta coins began to come out... That tool that I think is from a ship and Bang! Another old Gold ring. 5,74 gr. and I have to review that stone more carefully. It sounded bad and little, but it sounded... At first there was no ID, but it sounded weak in the background, one more Scoop...jumpy ID 8-12 and grunts of iron. I have already taken some more with stones and edges and the sound is peculiar, they do not sound "round" like wedding bands. I had been in the water for over an hour with hardly anything coming out. Returned home at 01:36 a.m. Open Mind...

You found my avatar! 👍 That's a Ford model T hubcap, not sure what the Chevrolet one goes to. Nice finds. That's an old mower, if you can get it to work, the old reel mowers cut grass the best. 🙂

Haven't had a chance to test it at the beach, heading to one soon when I get home. For relic hunting it's great. I have tried from 0 to 5, and 5 is what makes the aluminum pop more than coins. I'm using a pretty unhacked General program, just AF and full tones and high square. 🙂 Oh and xy because i don't like the big numbers. Glare erases them. Place I'm hunting now is loaded with Bottle Caps, can slaw and pull tabs. The coins are mostly on top, but I'm hitting memorials at 4-8" with ease. Silvers would be even easier if there were any 😏

I 2nd that - Ron does a great job. He saw elsewhere on the forum that I was looking for a used 800 and couldn't find one for sale anywhere, Ron found one for me and got me a great price on it, and today I'll be taking delivery of it. Also saw online I had trouble with a coil and he got me a replacement and checked in on me. Now I just need the snow to melt and the rain to stop so I can get into my detecting areas. 😁 He gets a 👍 thumbs up from me too.

I'm using AF at 5 myself now, and with Bottle Caps at 3 even the Coronas don't fool me. I still pick bottle caps on top as a courtesy, but I'm not digging them lately. In High Square Audio Filter seems to mix some of the PWM characteristics in, that's about the best description I can offer. If you use the bone phones you don't get High Square as an option.

Interestingly at the end of my hunt this past weekend, for the heck of it I cranked the Audio Filter to 5 and it did quiet the iron down. It was enough to make me want to spend time with the AF setting next time out. I am always a bit cautious when using filters, but the D2 has me thinking differently.

Thanks! 🤣 Absolutely no iron trash today. The tent stake was sight pick. People have been complaining about falsing iron, I'm not having that issue with this program at all. Loving V1.1!

After few sessions on the beach bough the large XP coil and the 9" i m now complete ,i m now thinking about a manticore as my mate is smashing it every week with his... Very sensitive at depth on silver and gold apparently MR

Like in the original post, I just tried sticking a burning hot needle into it. It's 100% road paint as the needle melted a hole in it 🤦‍♂️

We had one of these last year. It's road stripe paint with reflective glass beads in it. 🙂

I find that when I'm having a bad hunt, I tend to speed-up my swing rate. Translation: slow down.

I'm beginning to think that particular video I saw might have been taken down. I've searched and searched without success. I also saw Gary on a recent video state that he was going to make a video focused on Audio Filter so I'm thinking when he does make that one, it will be more extensive than the one I originally saw....but that's just a guess on my part.

Did you try holding down the power/settings button for at least 30 seconds at startup after the Se error code appeared? That is the remedy recommended in the troubleshooting part of the manual. No matter what, Nokta will honor the Legend’s 3 year warranty if that remedy doesn’t work.

There is a new video by Gary. There is something about the Audio Filter..

Thank you! Y'all may have a long "week", i extended my stay a few more days. 😁 There are going to be a few events this weekend, school is out most places and the campground will be filling up. It's been gloriously empty so far.

Thanks Cap'n, More like digging 48 Zincolns almost killed me 🤣 It was easy though, most were right on top, and I had my trusty Devil's Tongue Park Probe with me. It deserves an honorable mention, @kac really has a winner there. Leaving no trace is important both to me and the campground General Manager. Looks like I've got it dialed in with this one. When I can turn the D2 on, noise cancel, ground balance and go it's a good sign. I'll probably just post the settings when I'm confident, but I liked sending it individually to those that requested the old Reaper to get feedback. I'm going to strongly recommend use of Audio Filter. It really makes a difference with aluminum. My only fear is that I might miss some tokens, but round objects like the 1930 World Fair pull tabs I dug may suggest otherwise. 🧐 Good thing I dig most 62s because that got me the cufflink. It did not have the brassy tone so I was sure I had a nickel 😏 it's awesome when I'm wrong... Sometimes. Zincolns come in at 84 for the most part, memorials popped as high as 94 today. What I really love is that even with multiple targets in a particular spot like 2-3 quarters and a memorial or Zincoln, I still got 93-94 consistently. That is another gripe about SMF detectors, the averaging or cancelling - the D2 did not do it. The best example was pulling a memorial out of a bed of nails. The old Relic Reaper would have been a bit trifling here, this new version is much more quiet. Iron is just a low buzz.

Didn't think it had compression but the spark plug is loose so might be a runner. cant access pics but think the brand is excello. Excellos were made in Springfield IL and this is model 518 by heineke and Co.

I recently purchased Minelab equipment through Ron and my experience with him was exceptional. Great prices, top notch customer service skills and he's very knowledgeable. I would definitely purchase through this dealer again in the future.

I'm envious 350.The button caught my eye because of its patina and the fact that I have found a lot of variants.That said you have a lot of very nice finds there.

That's playing it smart C D. A lot of potential for killer iron relics/artifacts there.

Thanks Doc, There is a high probability of finding unusual old stuff in some spots here, however I feel it was cherry picked for the easy stuff a long time ago. There should be all kinds of silver coins here, and I have not found 1. It hasn't been picked over since then, most of the clad is from the late 70s to now. I found many wheats and Indian heads, even one large cent where the road to the hunting lodge was. Last year I dug parts of a 1907 Jamestown Exposition medal here. The tent sites are closer to the hunting lodge that was here in the 1800s to about 2015. It became a campground in the 70s and was bought by a large concern about 4 years ago. There is a tremendous amount of iron and other trash where the house and lodge were, some good stuff may be masked.

I use AF 5 on our beaches as I want to knock out any and all iron on tourist beaches….except along the treasure coast.

Way to go! Great finds, button, and cufflink. Need to research that cufflink. Hopefully someone on here knows something about that type — very interesting. Hey we have trash just like that down here. Must be that universal trash. 😂

That is a great tool, well thought out. I have carried a magnet in my digging pouch for years & recently epoxied one on the end cap of my pin pointer. Very handy. Nice catch on the Quarters.

Almost forgot Strick

June 15 2002 Part Four We are late into the night with no word from Jim. Jacob said there has been not even a sound up on the mountain in the area near the pump. It will be dawn soon and we will need to make a decision on what we are going to do.I will have no choice but to involve the law as Jim is a missing person. I’m also going to have to contact Jim’s family and advise them of our situation. When my wife hears of this she will be beyond upset. I think that - wait - I am hearing the Thompson firing up on the mountain. I am stopping here to try and raise Jacob on the radio. I think that

The Axiom is more sensitive than a GPX-4500, so you better contact your dealer and have him test it. I feel the Axiom is not working properly. You made a wise decision to upgrade and eventually you see the benefits of the Axiom.

Found a pay-streak in a patch of hard pan. It had about 1" of mud covering it, and it didn't look very enticing. It was a challenge getting my shovel into it, but what a surprise! I used my bigger GEO drop riffle highbanker.....faster shoveling = more gold, right? Here's what yesterday's adventure looked like. And..........and also dug up a nice coral fossil out of the North Saskatchewan River. Here's what 4 hours of digging got me...........

OK, after what I would call a successful detecting week last week where I scratched off a couple minor-league bucket listers (silver ring, Sacagawea dollar, >5 coins in one hole), I've gotten skunked on my last two hunts. (Although I will say I now know where the local high schoolers drink beer out-of-sight on the local playground, based upon the volume of Bud Light cans dug.) Granted, this skunk hit when testing new/low traffic areas on existing public grounds, so my expectations were low anyways. So, what is your advice for beating the skunk? Anything from your experience, good luck charms (😅), prayer offerings, etc.? On a humorous note, last time this happened (and after I finally started digging good targets again), I arrived back home triumphant, announcing, "I beat the skunk!" Our twin boys then looked each other, confused, and turned to me and said, "Umm, it doesn't look or smell like you fought a skunk, daddy..."

Very nice again! Love to follow your threads with your finds and photos!

Thanks guys! Yes, I was using a manticore and the id was 54-55 or so. I will double check the id tomorrow.

Nice find for sure, what detector did you use and can you remember the ID it came up as. Good luck on your next hunt.

Try his channel, "The Metal Detecting Skill School".

A good day indeed.

I will have to check my collection one day.🤑 ....Link....

Does not sound like it will help anyone here but the connector for the Gold Bug 2 coils is a Switchcraft SL405MX which will run you about $15 from any electronics part retailer.

So you really didn't get skunked if you found all the cans, those cans are worth money by themselves. When something like that happens to me, I sit down, take a break, and think about what I am doing wrong or what I am doing right when swinging the coil. After about 30 minutes I get back up and it seems to take care of the problem. Sometimes I just think that it is how I start detecting that day if things are not producing items, so I change my mental settings and get back on track.

continued on with the patch in the first post first picture, it has given up a total of 105 bits of gold now for 14.4 grams. Four part days detecting it, today was 5 and 1/2 hours for 43 bits of gold which weighed in at 5.4 grams, and it was a much more pleasant day as the very strong winds from the last few days have gone. A few pictures from today you can see the settings I am running on this type of ground and the detector is running nicely and todays result, 43 bits of gold for 5.4 grams, the gold is small but it is gold cheers dave

Geophysical terrain mapping is no easy task, and certainly not with devices designed to fool the gullible. Unfortunately, most people who do not know these machines, seeing images on the tablet with negative and positive values formed by the malfunction of the machine, think that they are looking at the ground, and this is the biggest trap for the one who does not know how to analyze a file measurement. Proper geophysical surveying requires professional equipment, knowledge and experience and, above all, favorable ground conditions for each class of machinery. personally I use a range of machines to be able to cope as best as possible with different research conditions. My advice is don't throw away your money on geophysical devices aimed at treasure hunters.

The 9" round coiltek goldhawk coil is my favourite for the 6000, super quiet, excellent depth and sensitivity. I find I can run it with a lot more sensitivity than the 11" coil. I always run in difficult , after much testing there's not much difference between it and normal, running way quieter and immune to most hot rocks. If I find I'm in an area with bad hot rocks I use the quick track button to ground balance on the hot rock, and that usually helps get rid of them .Next choice is the 12"x7"exceed for a bit more ground coverage. Can't wait to try the 16"x10" exceed.

thanks Simon, and yes I'm glad I waited to buy the 6000 it seems this one is going very well, very happy with it, and that same patch in the previous post that was up 32 bits of gold is now on 62 bits of gold after today when I got 30 more for the day, well it was a short day, just 4 hours as the wind was very bad, like up 60km/h gusts. I put up with it for as long as I could and have another go tomorrow. todays gold was 4.5 grams for 30 bits, and the 6000 now has 50.1 grams for just under 3 weeks of use cheers dave

At this point in my journal from 2002 & looking back at things I wrote I am sure the crew was sitting on top of the world. We must have all thought we had it all figured out and were on our way to glory like the old timers of 1936. And then there's reality. Tonight, as I put this stuff out for all to read, I am missing Jacob & thinking about all he taught us about life and hard work and of course, mining. Here's to you Jacob - may your cup always be full. Cheers.

Another gold ring on the beach today , a dozen coins from a hunted out 1800,s site earlier in the week . Gee I hope no more people around here get Manti,s !

Me too, maybe I've got one of those gold sovereigns..................I just checked, I haven't got any gold sovereigns.