Againstmywill

Out for two hours today to a local park around a fishing pond. I have fished there before, but caught nothing. I have also dirt-fished there and caught nothing but coins. There were a good number of dimes and nickels, so it has not been pounded too badly. 

I was detecting around the pond trying to hang where people would picnic and lounge. I got a strong 18, and I actually dug it! Usually it takes a lot to dig an 18 after digging so many crusty pennies at 18! This was definitely a stronger signal than a penny, so it was dug. The ring was only about 1-2" down, so either it has been passed over many times or just missed.

I had very high hopes that the stones would test well, but my initial tests done using the Amazon tester were not promising. However, gold is gold, and it looks really nice. Always great to have that adrenaline rush when something like that is in the hole!

Equinox, 15", 7 recovery, Park 1, all metal

13 hours ago, relic ray said:

Anyone know what those strange markings are on the ring?

Figured it out after watching The Curse of Oak Island tonight. Those must be the box drains that have been buried for centuries. You have Templar gold, Baby! Did you find it in a swamp or next to large stones with carvings on them? 

9 hours ago, relic ray said:

Anyone know what those strange markings are on the ring?

Wonder if it's the layout of the school the ring's wearer attended. You may just do a satellite Google Map search of the local high school(s) in your area and see if it matches the general shape on the ring.

9 hours ago, relic ray said:

Within 10 minutes of turning it on I dug a massive gold ring. 10k 25.3 grams.

Awesome find; thanks for sharing! Do you remember what number the id was?

My guess is a curtain rod end.

It doesn't appear to be the eagle on the reverse. It looks to be very similar to this picture with the hand. I wonder if there were fewer of these made than the with the eagle? https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/x-anti-nazi-medal-for-british-war-relief-1941-bro-176-c-3bb5a4d679

This link has a bit more meat: 

http://beta.medallicartcollector.com/medal/saint-george-forward-to-victory?scrollTop=0

Out today to a local soccer complex that I have detected before. I believe it may have been an auto junkyard because there are tons of signals that sound amazing. It's only after I start digging to the earth's core that I realize it is not a silver coin, but rather a large piece of aluminum trim or car door handle, etc. Nevertheless, I had two signals that were actually good, solid high-tones with repeatable numbers. The 50¢ piece was a 33 id. I thought for sure it was going to be a silver ring, but the coin isn't bad either as I don't find many of those anymore.

The next high tone that caused pause was a 37-39 id. It was under a soccer goal, so I'm sure it has been detected before--likely left alone due to it sounding a lot like the rest of the trash in the ground. I also was going to leave it, but when the coil was raised and waived over the signal, the audio trailed off quickly. It was very caked with sand, but some brushing help reveal at least some details. The front looks like the rest of the medals I found online, but the back does not appear to be the same. Do any of you have anymore information about these medals? Also, how does one go about cleaning the crusted sand from the medal(bronze)? I know it could harm it possibly, but it certainly won't be worth anything in its current state. 

Equinox 15", 7 recovery, all metal,  Park 1

11 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

So you got it up for sale on Ebay already?    Nice find.

Sure looks like the same hallmark.  I'm impressed you were able to match it.  I didn't notice in your post how deep it was.  How does the 15 inch coil leave you (arm, back,...) feeling after a decent day's hunt?

It was about 2 inches beyond the depth of the Carrot. As for the 15" coil, I tend to only have about 2 hours to detect at a time, sometimes 3. Due to the nature of my hunting style, my legs get far more fatigued than my arm/shoulder/back in that window of time.

Was out to the local park on the football field. It just rained a couple days back, so the ground was moist. Usually these conditions mean that deep wheat pennies or silver is easier to get to. Today I hit a 33 in Park 1, recovery 4, 50 tone, and all metal. I thought there was a possibility of a silver quarter, but to my surprise there was a silver ring instead. Looks like it may be from the 1940s. It was resting on top of a clay layer under the sandy surface. I think there were 3 wheat pennies, but they are very crusted with sand.

6 minutes ago, Valens Legacy said:

Yes I have been hunting parks and baseball fields, but do not have the 15" coil.

I have the stock 11" coil and most of my finds is with the sense at 18 with everything else on factory settings.

I will remember what you have stated and give it a try the next time I get a chance at another field.

Did you see the 23 cents I found a couple of days ago?

Yes, those were very nice finds that I would be happy with any day! Congrats!

What mode are you using? I hunt in Park 1 about 99% of the time. If you are not using 50 tones, I would suggest you use that, or assign the numbers I said just one tone so you dig everything in that range. I personally like the 50 tones for the information that can be aquirred by investigating the item from different directions.

3 minutes ago, Valens Legacy said:

I am using my grandfathers Equinox 800 since he died, and no I have not found a ring yet.

Have you hunted parks? I have found that using the 15" on the Equinox helps me cover far more ground. I generally run on 17-18 sensitivity and 7 recovery. I'm not going for depth if I am looking for jewelry; I'm going for coverage. If you are hunting a very trashy site, your ears will cry out for mercy in 50 tones. Stick to a football or baseball field and find a place away from the stands where foil is generally thrown down. For gold, focus on solid, repeatable signals in the 6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13 range. Yes, gold can be outside of those numbers, but the law of averages can keep you from digging crazy amounts of trash. For larger silver, like a men's band, you will generally want to watch for a number close to a quarter or just a bit above. 

10 minutes ago, Valens Legacy said:

Great finds, and one of these days I will find a ring (I hope).

Have you ever found a ring? What machine (s) do you use?

Out to some softball fields and surrounding grass patches for a few hours today. I was kind of cherry picking my way today because there were a lot of signals in the ground with the 15" on the Equinox running in Park 1, 7 recovery, 50 tones, and all metal. I was listening for high tones after I dug low numbers for the first half hour. There are many items in this ground that give over a 30 signal, so discernment is critical.

The two aluminum tokens were not close to each other, but the dates are so close in time that it is uncanny.

The ring is the heaviest silver that I have ever found. Its numbers alternated between 30-32. After thinking it was going to be a piece of flashing, it was a pleasant surprise! There is a screenshot of a ring with the same weight by the same maker on ebay right now.

Lots of quarters and dimes today, one nickel, and mostly copper pennies.

One more thing...it was cold. The weather today in Florida was in the 50's! No need to throw pennies my way northerners, just sharing my trials of life.🙂 

For my style of hunting--parks, baseball and football fields--I keep the 15" on 99% of the time. It finds things so small at times that I have issues locating the item even with a pinpointer. It really doesn't go much deeper, but it allows me to vacuum much faster. When I use it along with 7 recovery speed, it picks through targets very well. Would I use it downrange at a trap shooting range? Probably not. 

I have used it at the beach before with mixed results; it found nothing good just like the 11". The negative that I have experienced at the beach is when the coil gets wet and then you start detecting the dry sand. The extra weight of the sand can be a bit much until it dries enough to shed the sand. In addition, the drag in the water makes swinging it for long periods of time a killer to my joy of detecting at the beach. 

Some finds are attached to show what the coil has found in the last year. It is no slouch when it comes to the thin rings.

Decided to go more for silver today at a possible older site that now is a grass parking lot for a school. I had really high hopes of the Equinox pulling silver from the ground as there wasn't much trash so I lowered recovery to 4 and increased sensitivity to 24. There was plenty of depth, so I even busted out my t-handle shovel. I got a very strong 32-36, and decided to dig it even though the coil was still able to pick it up about 10 inches off the ground. I was expecting a can given the footprint of the sound as the coil waved over the object. Down about 6 inches was what I thought might be a money holder or a makeup compact. 

I waited to open it until I got home. Sadly, there were no gold or silver coins inside. It is still kind of cool. From the looks of the design, it appears to be from the 40s-50s. The makeup still smells similar to how it should smell. There are no words that I can find on the outside or inside. It is not magnetic, so I assume it is brass. Anyone with an idea of a brand name would be appreciated.

The silver dime was unexpected. Given that I don't find a ton of silver coins, each shiny coin coming from deep in the ground is also thrilling! Although I have detected the area a time or two in the past, I have not found anything good there. Plans are being made to go back.😁 

The weather in FL was warm today. I know other parts of the U.S. have frozen ground, so I thought lots of pics of fairly mundane items might be appreciated.

1 minute ago, locator said:

Hello Againstmywill. May be it is one of thosel, just older? --> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock-climbing_equipment#/media/File:Belaying8.jpg

Should have mentioned that it seems like it is brass...good heft to it. Does look similar, however. Also, I'm in FL.😁 Thanks

Anyone have any idea as to what this is? It is not magnetic at all, and rang in as a 32 on the Equinox about 12" down on an athlete field. Thought it was going to be a silver half, but it turned out to be Andre the Giant's ring! It looks like it was not bent, just mounts at the angle that it is. Old hood ornament?

https://aweinspired.com/products/ruth-bader-ginsburg-necklace-solid-14k-yellow-gold

Looks like you may have the less expensive one:  https://aweinspired.com/products/ruth-bader-ginsburg-necklace-gold-vermeil

Was out today at a local park for a couple hours. We just had quite a bit of rain yesterday, so beware of fire ants! After making two trips to the park, having left my earbuds on the workbench the first time, the grass had a chance to dry off a bit. The True Love ring was first, about 4 inches down with a sold 9. I'm thinking it may be stainless, as there are no markings. The 14K gold came about 10 minutes later with a solid 11 down about an inch...maybe. This is the same park I found the gold turtle at a few months back. To cut down on penny retrievals, I tried ignoring the 19-21 numbers unless they were screaming. Was using the 15" on the Equinox in Park 1 with 7 recovery speed. 

Really like the video showcasing the spoils from all your hours of toil! Was the lake drained after a long time of being full, or is this an annual ocuccurance? Thanks for sharing and allowing us to vicariously enjoy your finds.

7 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Have you wondered why these fractions occur -- e.g. almost as many quarters as dimes, and considerably fewer nickels than either of those?  Also, do you have a breakdown of the pennies into 95% copper vs. Zincolns?  (I assume 'Sacajawea' includes the same composition later dollars, e.g. Presidentials.  But no Susan B. Anthony nor the larger earlier format?)

I hate digging pennies! I can 95% of the time know when a penny is going to be dug. The only reason I dig them is because of the chance of a larger gold ring or gold coin. As I look at the number of times I dug pennies, and compare that to the number of rings that were in the same numbers, I have dug thousands of pennies with no rings...or gold coins. I should probably just cut my losses and bypass the pennies, possibly missing something. Years back I did not dig many nickels because I was not smart enough to know that is where the gold hung out as well. Nickel numbers are improving with time. The quarters and dimes are dug because it is easy money. All $1 coins were counted the same. The vast majority of $1 coins were found in Utah. I believe I have only found one in FL the last 2 1/2 years. I do not take into acount the difference between copper/zinc pennies.

7 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Does this report include older coins (e.g. 90% silver)?

No. I started out counting all my coins after a hunt. Then life got busier and I would let the coins collect for a while. I would still go through and count them, but then even that ended due to time and interest in keeping that up. Now, the coins get counted if they go through the CoinStar machine. So, all the rejected coins that are shown in the pictures above are not coined toward the total. I recognize that it throws the data off, but time is money!  The silver goes into another spot that does not get counted toward the totals. I find very few silver coins, so it is not that big of deal.

Just added the CoinStar-counted coins to my ongoing spreadsheet. Here is a breakdown of over 22,000 coins I have dug since 2011. Makes me sad to know that the 8,813 pennies I have dug are only worth less than $88 (loss due to crusty pennies). Total value is $2,213.63.

I have sent in a number of the Garrett Pro- pointers. Upon taking one of them apart thinking I could fix it---which turned out not to be the case---a capacitor was bulging when opened up. The rest of them were having the same issue as that one, so I assume that is what goes bad with them. Each of the Carrots I have had seem to last about 3 years before displaying the issue. In all fairness, Garrett did me a solid by replacing the units for a very reasonable amount. See post from last year.

2 hours ago, FloridaSon said:

I can see wear between the washers - the whitish areas. Also across the break point. And look in the holes that accept the bolt. So may be a combination of things.

From the looks of this, for the wear to be the cause of the breaking, the fracture would have to follow the arc that is scored in the plastic. It did not; it snapped perpendicular to the possible weak spots. While there is stress that causes the failure, it seems likely that it has more to do with the composition of the plastic, IMHO.