Gerry in Idaho

Everything is so lush and green there right now...including your wallet. Not only did the land owner dig a semi key date low mint Seated Q (thanks to your kind heart - smart man), but then you save a fine condition Overstamp 18/17. Yes it is genuine and certainly one we do not see often. Some of those other dodads and artifacts are very interesting. The sun one especially. Is it ok if I share the photos of your SLQ find Strick? Thanks for sharing such a double wammy story.

Take it to the beach and scoop up a nice 1/3 oz gold ring. We can dream right.. Have fun with it.

Stunning recoveries my friend. The patina on the KG is fabulous too. Nice variety of saves and got to love the little digger, all smiles. Thanks for sharing.

Very nice D Cuff button and the other (hard to tell, but looks a litter larger) probably coat? You certainly have great coil control too, evidence of the primer caps. Your post got me excited and I need to put my 15" back on for a few more hunts. Most of my sites are extremely trashy, so I prefer the small 6" coil. Nice story and pics. Thanks for sharing.

I posted photos of some recent find and last week and asked about a buckle that said Reed with bee (see photos). Found out from another EQ user who said it is a Match Book Box Holder (see photos). This is my 1st of this style. Anyone else find any likes these? Thanks for all your help folks.

Very good finds and details on the settings. Those brass rivets get my heart pumping each time, as they are usually nice high tones and #'s, but I realize you set it for 2 tone. Keep at it.

I love ornate artifacts and especially ones that have details of ownership. Stunning find and great story with it. Returning such family heirlooms is a big Karma King for you my friend.

Hats off to you Dan. I totally know the feeling as I have actually dug 2 out West in 40+ yrs of swinging. When one of those pops up, you get the shakes real bad and then the best natural high possible. I get excited just looking at your photos and re-reading the story. The other saves are nothing to be ashamed of either. Thanks for the story and sharing.

Nice find. I am a big fan of the 6" coil in so many ways. Sniffing tiny gold nuggets, prying seated silvers from old cabin burns with square nails littered everywhere, to beeping a coin or two next to another bad target and still getting good target separation. My NOX and 6" coil rocks. Thanks for sharing.

OK, I need to post this video and maybe it has already been shared? If so please delete my post. Many newer EQ owners out there now and some of the great info and posts are pretty deep. One of the most ocurring phone calls and emails I get from new 800 customers is on how to sync the wireless headphones to the detector. Here is a video that makes it so simple. Hats off to this young gun Matty for a fine, easy, short informative video.

I was a little pissed at 1st for the guy blaming it on the EQ being unbalanced. There are numerous detectors that have some kind of issue with balance, ergonomics, weight, too long, bulky etc. Each one could be a hazard to someone on any given day, if they fall. Bottom line is...Minelab stepped up and did a fantastic job at a really cheap price for the guy. I agree, the Minelab Repair Department of OLD, has finally turned a new young shiny face. Lets hope they keep it that way. Thanks for sharing the thread.

You bring up a good point. I'll have to check when I go back up there. Good catch.

Pulled a few dodads & a dime. Also something similar to a buckle but has the word REEDS stamped over a bee. Says "Buy Reed Craft Bags", I think? If anyone can tell more about this find I sure would appreciate it, so share to your fellow beepers & history buffs.

Now Minelab comes out with a statement saying how precise their detectors and coils are made for certain machines (SDC-2300). I agree with some of what they are saying. At the same time, other coil options will find me more gold. Just like with the new Flat wound coils of NuggetFinder and Coiltek, they perform better in many situations to allow the end users more gold. Just like the very popular Coiltek 15" WOT coil for 15+ years, which is still popular today, it will allow your detector to do more things. I'm not going to get into a Yes or No, Right or Wrong here as I just try to give detector and coil options to my customers. Here is what I would do. Those who use their SDC-2300's on land for Prospecting, I would not hesitate 1 bit of getting an accessory coil to allow for more options, terrains, depths of different sizes of gold, ground coverage and overall value. If you are one of the few who do hunt in the water? Keep on swinging and having fun/success with the machine they way it is. Minelab did the same thing to Doc years ago with his aftermarket battery system, which is very popular and both parties are still here with thousands of happy customers.

At least you have something to show for your efforts. Try the SDC-2300 on it just to get an idea for those who have an SDC and keep dreaming GPZ. Thanks for sharing.

Trevor, It was very kind of you to take the time away from CoilTek and clear up some of the questions from everyone on this fine forum. There are so many people who have purchased SDC-2300's from me and other dealers. The #1 complaint was the lack of coil options, but the amount of gold we find made up for it, which was a win win. Now we get the opportunity to have more gold finding coils to make the SDC and our experience even better. I look forward to seeing keeping my customers happy and also look forward to even more CoilTek options down the road.

Lanny, As a guy who has used the SDC-2300 in water at Lake Tahoe and found really nice gold with diamond ring (watch the videos) and also used it for hundreds of gold nuggets, I know it pretty well. It is actually harder to swing than a GPX-5000 and those of us in the know use a Swing Arm. Yes it was designed to find small gold, but just like a high kHz VLF detector with a small coil is also designed for tiny gold, but why so many of us have a bigger coil? For bigger and deeper gold. So the same can be said with the SDC, just like you do with your GPX too. Yes the original SDC-2300 is waterproof (somewhat) and the coil too, but the coil is buoyant and wants to float. Most users of the SDC-2300 are nugget hunters who do not hunt in water, just like most users of the GPZ, even though the coil on the GPZ is waterproof. If CoilTek wanted to make coils WP, they could.. but it would cost them more money, meaning the end user more money as well. Lets go back and look at history of the SDC-2300. When I seen the 1st version, it was based off of the Military F3. That unit was already waterproof, so when they converted, they already had most everything so they kept the Waterproof. Yes there are limitations to going large coil on any detector. Remember all the cussing when the SDC-2300 came out, so many people were complaining about it not having any coil options? Now we have those options and I am very thankful. These coils are here for the folks who have an SDC-2300 and do not want to have to purchase another detector. 10" ellip coil will be able to find smaller gold than the stock 8" coil. The other 2 larger coils will find larger deeper gold than the stock coil. I am not saying it is a GPX-5000 or GPZ-7000. Here's something I would like to open up a few eyes. I promise EVERYONE this. Go to Rye Patch, NV where so many people hunt gold and I assure you the SDC-2300 will find more nuggets than a GPX-5000. Are these coils for everyone? No, but at this time, these coils will help many users of the SDC-2300 have more options and open up opportunities. To throw another idea out there. As someone who enjoys competition. I'm pretty sure NuggetFinder is watching all this and they just might make a waterproof coil for the SDC, but like most all their other coils, I'm sure they will be $100 higher in price, Here is the video of us using the SDC-2300 finding a different kind of gold.

Julie, Both sides of the coil will hear the target. I imagine when running the coil over the nugget (when on the ground), my coil was much closer to the ground where the picker of gold lay. When it was in the cup, I was off of the coil some. try to keep the coil as close to the ground when swinging and when a target is in cup or plastic scoop, be sure to do the same thing. That is why you see on some coils, a few scuffs and rub marks on the top of the coil. The attached photo is from the White's 24" small 6" round coil when I was testing it. You'll notice little black nick marks/scuffs across the coil "horizontal". I like to have a slight hum of threshold at all times and that way it is easier for me to hear the change from a potential target.

All of about 3 ounces is all I was able to get my coil over. Did manage 1 nice specimen though.

I get asked so many questions in the early Spring about Gold Detectors, one of my specialties. To help some of you newer members to DetectorPropspector that use a Ground Balance capable VLF gold detector, this video I did a few years back on the White's GMT will help you. Even if you have the newer Gold Monster 1000 with no Threshold, this video has some recovery tips to help. Proper Coil Control and correct recovery tools are very important when trying to find tiny gold.

You better take more than 1 machine for sure. Back when I went there to donate sweat to the flies, I took 2 GP-3500's and a GB-2. I sold one of my 3500's after the trip to Jack Lange, as the amount of gold I found did not allow the weight for me to take 3 machines back home. The SDC-2300 being so compact is a serious consideration in my book.

The new coils for the SDC-2300 by CoilTek will not void your warranty. Trevor himself told me this. CoilTek has a great working relationship with Minelab and in fact makes coils for the X-Terra series, the FBS series detectors, the CTX-3030 and of course the SD, GP and GPX series. Minelab is best known for spending time making "Metal Sensing Technology" and new detectors that fin us more treasures. Would you want to be the Minelab Engineer that gets handed the job of "making a coil"?

I'm taking names for a Pre Order LIST here in the US (not even on my web site yet) so contact me direct. Trevor at CoilTek called and was giving me some info on these coils that is not in the brochure. The prices are in the photo below I am posting, as is my business name. Realize I am not taking money, just getting names for those who want one. Are these coils for everyone who owns an SDC-2300? I would never say such, but I do not know. The 10" ellip coil will be able to sniff out tiny nuggets better than the stock 8" coil and will also have 2" more of ground coverage per sweep. Many of the folks already are familiar with Elliptical coils and their ability to get up under brush and rocks, in those tight areas nuggets like to hide and the areas others can't get their larger coils (virgin ground pockets). The 11" round coil will give the most depth on larger gold and you get 3" more of ground coverage. It is the deepest of the 3 accessory coils and vs the stock coil on bigger gold. The 14x9" is a hybrid coil which will offer best ground coverage per sweep and increased depth on larger gold. If you already own a GPX or GPZ along with the SDC, then you probably do not need one of these coils. But I imagine that is not most of the folks who own an SDC-2300. Here is a fact that just happened 2 weeks ago with my staff members in AZ. One was using his SDC-2300 with stock coil and found a small patch of nuggets. He cleaned the patch out and called Lunk over with his GPZ-7000. Sure enough, Lunk smiles with a golden grin. He shows Wade exactly the spot and lets Wade listen. Wade spent some time on the target and went through all the settings, trying to get the signal to respond and nothing. Luck carefully removed a few inches and let the SDC check it. Sure enough, Wade could finally hear it. Folks it was just a matter of a few inches and Wade would have had the largest nugget of the hunt. He feels the 11" round would have heard it and paid for the coil right there. What was the nugget Wade missed in that small patch? Just another 1/3 oz'er to ad to Lunks collections. Again, Contact Gerry's Metal Detectors if you want to get on the Pre Order List (not taking payments until I have them in stock and I call you to ship) to get one sooner as Trevor said there will be a limited supply coming into the US at 1st, which is typical.

Thanks for all the nice comments and additions folks. It is so funny to see a few of our favorite finds are actually not very valuable at all if in $$ terms. Well a few of them are and that 3 legged Buff OneGuy found is certainly nice. How did you get the toning to look so nice? Jim, You always have a way to make your finds look so special too and I really enjoy seeing them. To me, the research to find a not so well known site is fun. Then drive across 3 states to get there and walk around for a couple days hoping to recover a coin valued at .65 cents... Indian Head Cent from the 1880's is even more fun. My research and detecting skills located the site and I was able to save a treasure from it. I look forward to seeing others value ideas, finds and stories.

I have not run a 3030 since last Fall. I sold mine as I have an E-Trac with X-1 probe and 15" WOT if I need DEPTH. I know, I need to pst some pics of my MX finds, but I don't want to look like I am bragging, to much anyway.