Tiftaaft

On 10/22/2018 at 7:25 PM, tvanwho said:

My friend gets silver dimes in the Coinstar machines where they are kicked out along with copper pennies and foreign coins.

I have yet to find a single coin in any local Coinstar machines?

Oh well.

-Tom

I have had some accidental luck at coinstars... a few silver dimes and foreign coins mostly.  But I don't hunt them, just when I happen to walk by a machine while grocery shopping. ?

On 10/20/2018 at 5:48 AM, GB_Amateur said:

Glad you didn't spend that $30 on the two big lotteries (MegaMillions pays $1 billion; Powerball about half that this weekend).  ?

Thanks GBA!

I will say I was decidedly less successful in my Powerball investment this weekend. ? ~Tim

16 hours ago, GaryC/Oregon Coast said:

Found silver paid for many, many toys back then.

Wow Gary, you were dedicated!  Sounds like it paid off for you while it lasted.  Where did you cash in your silver to get the best value?  I'm not in a rush to sell it, I tend to be more of a collector, but good to have options ?

10 minutes ago, fredmason said:

Simon, most or all of the world stopped making coins with silver around 1964....prior to that time 10c,25c, 50 c and dollars were silver ( about 90%). Now they are all junk coins and some are even iron. In the USA the Gov still wastes money making Zinc pennys that cost 1 and 1/2 cents to make...very stupid. All other coins are a copper alloy of some kind.

So, when you are detecting silver coins are good...but, your 1 and 2 dollar coins are very nice too- I wish we had them here.

Thanks Fred, our notes crossed paths ? Tim

9 hours ago, phrunt said:

Being from a foreign land I have no idea the significance of this and you seem very happy about it so would you mind explaining why it's so good??... are the older coins more valuable than their face value? 

I wonder why they had a bunch of old coins in the first place, someone brought them in and exchanged for notes? 

Sounds like you had a lucky day.

Thanks Simon,

In the US, the government used 90% silver composition for dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollars until 1964.  In 1965, dime and quarter coins were changed in composition to "clad" which is a mix of copper and nickel.  Silver dollars were issued until 1935, then were not produced for circulation again.  In 1971, the clad "Eisenhower" dollar was issued for circulation.  The exception to the post 1965 clad issues, are the Kennedy half dollars issued between 1965 and 1970, which are actually 40% silver.  So the silver content of these coins, at current silver market rates, makes the silver melt value somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 per 1964 and before coin, and $2 per coin on the others...  against a face value of $0.50.  As GBA calculated out.    Hope that helps ? Tim

I realize this is a detecting site... but I just had to share...

I went to the bank today to take care of some personal business... on a whim, I asked the teller if she had any rolls of halves or dollars.  I like using big coins to treat the kids for acts of kindness, or for buying lemonade from the neighborhood lemonade stand... plus, maybe I would find a silver mixed in.  

My teller didn't have any, so she asked another teller down the line, who happened to have 3 rolls of halves in her till.

I bought all three.  

When I got back to work, I pulled them out of my pocket, and opened up one end of a roll for a sneak peak.  Wouldn't you know there was a 1964 Kennedy staring at me.  I slid the rest of the roll into my hand... then the next roll...  then the next.  

60 coins.  45 coins 1964 or older, 15 coins 1965-1969. 

I thought my day was going well when I found a silver rosie and a silver canadian quarter in a sidewalk strip at lunch... little did I know what was waiting for me at the bank.. 

I am still a little in shock. 

Thanks for allowing my distraction from the detecting forum for a moment. ? ~Tim

5 hours ago, Mark Gillespie said:

Great information. For years I've wanted to take the time with a small coil, find and mark what I believe to be good targets, then switch to the stock coil and see what I get.  That would be very interesting to say the least.

I may do just that this weekend.. great suggestion Mark.  

17 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

For me, the key here is to adjust the volume of the various tone regions.  I want to hear iron but I don't want it blasting my ears so the volume for the iron region (0 and below) is my lowest. 

So do you find that the feedback with all metal gives you a less masked/cleaner tone when hunting?  I toyed a little last night in all metal, using the 600/6", and lowered the volume in the tone 1 section (though the break isn't movable on the 600... or I haven't figured out how to do it yet).  It was kind of like a threshold feel with the constant iron chatter (I was in a pretty infested site last night).  I switched back and forth... in and out of all metal a few times... I didn't notice a difference on the few non-ferrous targets I found, but I did feel like I wasn't missing anything in all metal.  I will try it some more, as well as with my 800 and more customized settings ability.  Thanks!

5 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

Well done for just a 45 minute hunt.

Interesting that it hit mostly 11-12, not the 12-13 of typical US nickel 5 cent piece.  I wonder if the TID was pulled down by the surrounding trash you mention.  Those who despise lone beavertails (not I) wouldn't have even dug it.  ?

 

I found that interesting as well.  It was giving me enough "12's" to keep my interest, but it never did give me a 13.  The tone was soft, but tight, if that makes sense.  I have a nice collection of detached beaver tails.. those and pencil tops give me nice nickel id's... but I don't mind digging them knowing there are Nickels, and possibly yellow lurking below .  I agree, it very well could have been a blended id based on the other lower conductors around it.   

10 hours ago, flakmagnet said:

I finally got the time to put in a 3-tone setting. Now to get the time to use it.

Starting at 19 is where I made my last break as well  (although I was tempted to set it at 21 and leave the 19's and 20's in the second tone break, I hate pennies and have never heard of a half dime being found in CA).

Zincs are annoying for sure.  But I have also found some interesting finds (mostly at depth) in that zinc range... including my two IHP's (not to mention two gold rings).  I battle with myself over that same dilemma every time I hunt, and usually leave several shallow zinc signals in the ground... I'm not proud of that.  haha.  ~tim.

5 hours ago, NCtoad said:

I'm curious as to why you're not running the highest recovery speed.  On my 800 I hardly ever go below 5 and am usually at 6 or 7 in my trashy parks.  

Good question NCT.  I usually do run the 600 at max recovery.  I normally run my 800 at 6 or 7.  On this day, I was wanting to see if a lower recovery would clean up some iffy deeper targets.  Based on the co located iron and trash targets I found, the higher recovery would probably have been better.  Tim

2 hours ago, Jackpine said:

Did you check the back of that Merc for a mint mark? ??

Jack, I did... sadly, it is a no mint 1916...  not a Denver :/. 

Boy, that barber is in great condition!!  you were right in your comments about how nice that is.!!  Tim.

Wow GBA!  Congratulations.  I was just getting ready to post my head scratching 6" coil finds, but you definitely bested my few coins (see my thread here ? 

?

I am going back now to study your notes.  I am intrigued by the all metal.  I haven't yet got enough confidence to try that, but your results are compelling.  I love the detail of your hunts and the settings you are using.  Thanks for taking the time to share your hunts and your amazing finds!!

Tim.

Installment #2 to my hunts and review thread for the 6" coil. 

Back out at the pounded park today at lunch.  about 45 minutes hunt time, bookended by the V Nickel within my first few targets, and the Merc on the last target before turning off the machine.  I give the credit for both these finds to the 6" coil. 

The V Nickel was about 5" around some roots and around the 11-12 tone I received, were some other mid conductor trash (can slaw, a pop top, and some deeper iron that I left in the ground).  But in between all those competing tones, the 6" coil narrowed in on a quieter but solid nickel tone.  This is my second V and the ground is really hard on nickels in my area, but at least I can make out the date on this one.  1907.

The merc was only a few inches down, and no doubt I (and others) have been over the top of this coin many times.  It was surrounded by all kinds of iron tones... a few pieces I dug out were a few rusted nails, and a two wire fence nails, the ones that are "u" shaped to capture the fence against a wooden post.  But between all those grunting iron tones, a solid 25-26-27 tone kept ringing through.  1916 Mercury dime.  (And my 2nd Quest for Silver completed... about a week after it started :)). 

I am really learning to love this coil.

I was running the E600 with original firmware in Park 1/50 tones/sensitivity 20/recovery 2 (4 on the 800) and IB 0.  And I was making an effort to swing slower than I normally do (though this was probably faster than others... I have a bad habit of swinging too fast).  

Tim.

2 hours ago, kiwijw said:

Hi Andy, It was the top end of a handle of something???? Surely you watched the programme: The Detectorists. If not then you must do. It will be right up your alley. There were 3 series. Do a youtube search & you will be able to catch up on it all. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+detectorists+full+series

Good luck out there

JW 

LOVE this series!!!

Just received my 6" coil today.  Did about an hour hunt at one of the hardest hit old schools in my town... was able to squeak out a wheat and some copper memorials... all amidst trash and all 4" or less.  Need to do more hunting to get a better feel for it.  

I see this thread died a few months ago... if there are subsequent posts where you share results Steve or Dew or anyone, please point me to them.  Thanks ~Tim

Great Find Dukester… beautiful gold!

Quest For Silver - SUCCESSFUL!

An update on my on-going and repeated search at the above pictured school for my personal quest for a silver coin. 

Last night, I had a nice break in the Pacific Northwest weather, and an hour before dark, so I decided to continue my hunt for the elusive silver coin out of this old school that as previously reported, has given up many wheat pennies.  With my E600/original firmware/Park 1/50 tone/Sens 22/recovery 3 (6 on the E800)/IB 1 (2 on E800) I hunted in the area just below the tennis courts and tree line - which I had previously passed through a few times, but really never attended to in a concerted effort to cover the ground in grid fashion. 

I hunted most of the hour of daylight left and found several memorial pennies (a few zinc, mostly copper), a couple dimes and 3 nickels.  At dusk, walking back to the car, on the north end of the track (which you can barely see outlined in the pic above) I hit a solid 13 at depth.  I pinpointed it, and estimated about 6" depth... and off to the side of the hole, my first silver coin from this location after many hours of hunting this location over the past year.  1943-S War Nickel.  I was not expecting this to be the silver (was really thinking I would find a Rosie or maybe a Merc with a scratchy tone). 

Happy to report I slept well last night knowing my unfinished business with this location now has closure.  :)

~Tim

Some of the responses to this video is why I will never don a Go-Pro (even if it would be cool to say "Go Pro Stop Recording").  What I took from this video (which I had a choice to watch or not to watch) was a guy who was feeling very positive about being heard on some issues, and hopes that other issues will be heard and addressed to.  That is engagement.  I can't fault that.  Some cringe worthy comments, but no worse that many other vids I have watched.  I think we all have dreamed about a feature on our machines that would give us the advantage in the field.  He just happened to put it on a video.  He is more brave than I, I edit myself from posting on this site to a certain extent for fear of backlash and being perceived as an idiot (and compared to other forums, this one is light years more supportive), even though I know that is opposite the purpose of this forum Steve created for us all to enjoy and learn from.  The spirit of detecting is alive in this vid.  I support that. :) ~Tim. 

Hey Steve... do those awesome new lower rods come with the 6" coil as pictured?  

Looks great, can't wait for them to be available (even without the coil lol)

~Tim.

CG was much more eloquent with his comment on audio feedback than I... so I will simply and respectfully give it a +1... that is what I was trying to say :).

~Tim

That is a beauty Andy!  Nice!!  Tim.

35 minutes ago, Dubious said:

Covering ground with the 6" looking for coins is a lot like using a golf club.

I guess the size of your divot would make all the difference ;).  I just ordered the 6"... looking forward to hitting a few of my trashiest of trashy old parks with it :)  I expect the TID to be similar enough (with the Equinox's inherent TID variability) to not make much difference... for me it is all about the tone baby.  :) ~Tim