Bob S.

Personally, I'd still rather not balance ground over hidden conductive or magnetic targets if the mineralization would disrupt the audio. A few extra seconds or minutes to find quiet ground is worth it for me. If not, you could be out of balance for other areas in your huntsite if you don't periodically re-balance or use ground tracking. In cases of extreme magnetic minerals, my preference is manual (static) balance with an offset if the detector used has that alternate. I think everyone has their own way of adjusting their detectors for sure. That's what makes it fun when finding targets in other's previously hunted ground!

In my younger days I would tumble/wash and take to the bank about $35 in pennies each year. That's 3,500 times I would swing, kneel, dig, and return to my feet... And that didn't include all the other numerous coin denominations I found! Over here, the cent or penny is the root of our U.S. coinage system. Our earliest minted Large Cents display "1/100" on the reverse to indicate what it is in terms of a dollar. To remove the penny from our monetary system will undoubtedly be a proverbial shot in the foot. Somehow I can't imagine the "$X.99" style of marketing disappearing being popular. If minting pennies "costs more than they are worth", what then will happen to our other coin denominations in circulation and ultimately our hobby and sport?

Good information overall, but the video fails to mention finding a clear patch of ground (no target signals) first in which to use the dynamic balance method over. I always switch to an all-metal or pinpointing mode first and find a patch of ground that yields no signals at all before using this dynamic balance feature on any detector so equipped. It would also be important to adhere to what the metal detector manufacturer dictates as the distance above the ground the coil is lowered during this procedure.

I've been voluntarily using Garrett equipment since 1978 because of their rugged quality and reliable design, they work well enough to have found most of my best coins and relics, and the fact they stand behind what they manufacture. While most of the American manufacturers are now gone, they continue in business dedicating themselves to their customers as they always have. Nobody makes the perfect detector, if they did there would only be one brand everyone uses. That wouldn't be much fun or interesting would it. Rusty, if you happen to be reading this, thank you for your help and attention dear friend.

That is correct! If you have nickels with no date, there used to be an etching solution available in the 50s and 60's called "Nic-A-Date" that can be used to bring the worn date back to "readable". I believe it might still be available. It contains weak ferrous chloride, which in stronger form was used to etch printed circuit boards.

Thanks everyone for the kind words! I have made leather accoutrements for all my metal detecting tools for many years. Some have outlived all kinds of materials I've tried and are more comfortable. The sheath you see above was designed wider than the blade and the tube is flat without squeezing the blade. Fifty plus years ago when I was in my 20's, I used to get me and my tools wet and muddy any time of the year. Now I hunt mostly Fall and early to late Spring and most of my sites are heavily wooded, so my equipment doesn't suffer like it used to. What you see above was made several years ago and it never gets clogged with mud or dirt, I designed it so it wouldn't. I have to be somewhat fastidious about my equipment anyway because my preference is storing it in the house and not in the cold or hot garage. Each time I'm outdoors everything gets cleaned upon return and I don't have to use the hose anymore. Glass cleaner spray works pretty good on leather and metal as you can see. Keeping your equipment clean pays dividends anyway... Nothing rusts, displays stay unscratched and visible, coil covers come off, shafts don't jamb, and most everything stays working as a result.... Not to mention re-sale value too.

A few Winter's ago, I was faced with the same problem. My sheath was also ripping out and was tough to pull my Lesche digger out without catching the blade teeth. I've enjoyed leather-working since my Civil War re-enacter days in the 70's, so I designed my own sheath and made it out of cowhide. The sheath runs the full length of the blade, but was made so the blade can be removed easily and quickly in the field. Unless you turn yourself upside down, the digger will stay put. On the second split-view, you see the backside (foreshortened) with two heavy-duty straps. These copper riveted straps snugly slide through the sewn Molle band on my Garrett pouch and lock using the snaps at the other ends. The "blanket" hand-stitching was done with a leather sewing awl using waxed heavy-duty thread. Leather dye helps to stiffen the leather additionally. Works perfectly for me.

That makes two of us! You probably did and I missed it! If the plate reads backwards, then it is definitely some sort of a printing plate. Don't feel bad... My ancestors came directly from Munich, Germany to New York State in 1730 and I have trouble reading German too! 🙂

Just a forensic comment from a graphic designer's perspective... If what I see is a true "printing plate", and it does have the recesses around the raised type to aid that function, why is the type not reversed? If the "German" reads correctly from left to right on the plate, on paper it will print reversed or backwards on a hand press! Perhaps the plate image was reversed so we could all read it? Maybe this was a metal ornamental plaque instead? Happy Better New Year Everyone

No teeth broken I hope! 🙂

The scenario you describe with the 5 stones really makes you wonder. If the stones had no inscription it could be a horse and farm animals, but the fact they were all granite leaves not much choice for inscription if the deaths were quick and together, say from disease. Rough stones I've seen deep in my woods that marked people's passing were usually scratched into slate. But slate being way less hard than granite, weather usually takes its toll on reading them if they are very old. Sadly one large stone and four small might have been one remaining adult parent's life shattered... How sad!

Big searchcoils can often locate deeper targets, but those very deeper targets are generally proportionately larger than coins, buttons and bullets. Lightweight detectors can often be daykillers if their round 11" or larger searchcoil options make them overly front heavy. I use two elliptical coils, a 6 x 11" and a 5x8". The smaller elliptical can sometimes hunt as deep as the larger depending on the mineral and trash iron content. Fact of life is larger coils see more minerals. Either way elliptical's do not normally weigh as much as round coils and maneuverability is very important in the sites I hunt. Large coils can be more efficient when it comes to ground coverage in large fields, but if the minerals and trash are more intense, so should your skills be at pinpointing. I think the 2D elliptical's have become a comfortable game-changer for me in the tight places I hunt!

Nice finds and I believe you are correct... Gathered stones were likely collected to build a temporary hut base and used again for a barn once a more permanent structure was built. Often there was no time to dig a cellar for the temporary dwelling if Winter was fast approaching. How these early settlers and their animals endured our northeast Winters while they were building their homes is beyond me. Our ancestors were tough, but often died during the process. I come across early cemeteries often on my hunts and many people did not live past their 40's. I only wish I could travel back in time to spend a day in their lives. This is what enticed me to metal detecting.

I've seen a lot of older White's detectors when they were new and this looks like nothing I've seen before. The box side graphics almost look experimental, or possibly near the end of a prototype ready for production. What interests me is the user waterproofed toggle switch to the left of the meter with the "SM20" and "SM30" options. Looks as if this detector saw a lot of use in the rain and/or on the beach. The coil labels look to be worn off or maybe there were none to start as in again a prototype. The "GEB/DISC" mode says it has synchronous phase discrimination capability and the "GEB MAX" (Ground Exclusion Balance) would allude to it having extra all-metal non-motion mode depth. I would put this detector possibly in a time frame just before White's 6000 Di series.

Wow, another detector I created logos for! The Compass Scanner series may have been the first use of the modified Compass logo I did for them. I simply put their older "needle" inside the "O" of their original "Compass" logo. President Ron Mack thought it was brilliant, I was just trying to be efficient. Below is my original artwork I saved from back then when I first started to develop my idea. Later I added the "SCANNER" between bars to form the box side decals for the series... XP-PRO Scanner, Coin Scanner, XP-350 Scanner, and the Gold Scanner. The Coin Pro II must have debuted sometime after my involvement, but still carried the side decal. Everything then was done with an X-Acto knife, photostats and waxed to white boards. Thanks guys, it's fun remembering all this.