Compass

Welcome to the forum. The TDIBH is my favorite beach detector. I have never used it diving but have dunked it quite a bit when working in the surf. I and (apparently) a few others have had a problem with condensation in the control box and my TDI stopped working. I sent my detector to Centreville Electronics and am awaiting word from them to see if they can repair it. Good luck!

Goldak (circa 1970). One of the worst ergonomically designed detectors ever!

Doesn't look like you missed much - nice job on the small targets!

You are a die-hard hunter Sir. Congrats on the finds and the last minute save!

Thanks CPT, What a great hobby we have that even after years of surprises we are still able to have these awesome moments of discovery! I appreciate the feedback VL! Sometimes it's easy to think that all the old coins and other old targets have been scooped up already by generations of detectorists but it's great that Mother Nature has a way of doling out some of her treasures here and there from time to time. This seems especially true for beach hunting and makes so many trips to the coast more exciting. You just never know!

Thanks F350, Yes, I have heard that there was a lot of military training on our local beaches and have found many bullets and shell casings. Thanks School, Because of age and condition I think I would have been less surprised to scoop out a silver dollar or gold coin. Thanks Mitchell, Nice! If I found a coin as old as 1933 on this beach I would be surprised but 1873 just seems crazy. I don't think I've even found any Mercs at this location and really not many silver coins at all. Thanks KOB, The condition of the coin is just as shocking as finding it. It must have had some nice detail when it was lost.

Thanks Sirius, The tides improve over the next couple of days so I will try to get back there as soon as I can. Here is a picture of the reverse. Not seeing any mint mark. 😬

Thank you GBA! You really know your coins. I guess I should take it to a coin shop to get a professional opinion.

I can't really call this a bucket-lister because as recently as last week I thought to myself that I was probably never going to find one of these. I was using my White's Dual Field at the beach today and finding a little clad down in the wet sand but not much and nothing very old. After a few hours I started working my way back towards my car but hunting down closer to the water since it was nearly low tide. I started finding lead fishing weights and to my surprise I scooped out a couple of silver Rosies, '62 and '64. Now I don't find many silver coins on this particular beach so the 2 Rosies were welcome sights. I was now running a bit late so decided to dig one last target before calling it a day. A shallow target turned out to be another silver dime but this one looked different. At first I thought it was a Merc but when I saw the "One Dime" on the back surrounded by a wreath I was shocked that I had found a Barber dime. I flipped the coin around and went from shocked to disbelieving when I saw a seated liberty coin, my first in 52 years of metal detecting! Even without my reading glasses I could see "1873" pretty clearly. Despite being blackened by seawater and being 150 years old the dime seems to be in pretty good shape. I believe that I have only found 1 other coin that was older - an IH penny from the 1860's. I can't make out any mint marks on the coin but the black patina is hard to see through. I wonder how this coin got here? Was it dredged up as part of a sand reclamation project? At this beach I have never found anything even close to being this old.

That looks like a rough hunt there with all those zinc pennies but conditions look more promising this week. It's funny how many eyeball finds us detectorists make. We seem to see a lot of things that other people just walk over.

That ring is a beauty - congrats! I also like the Merc. Haven't found one in that kind of condition in years. 😮

I'd have to say yes, the White's PI 1000 dive detector, in the 80's(?). I think I got it for freshwater detecting but it probably was much better suited for a salt water environment. I remember that pinpointing targets was really challenging and after a few years in the garage all the cable insulation was cracked and falling off. Now that I hunt salt water beaches 95% of the time I wonder how well that detector would have worked on some of the highly mineralized beaches that I encounter?

Thank you! These look good for the moving parts like switches and pots.

Good to know - I appreciate the feedback!

I recently sent one of my White's detectors to Centreville Electronics for repair. It is a TDI BeachHunter which has a waterproof case but condensation built up in the control box during a hunt in the cold rain and surf this past month and it stopped working. I believe that if I had taken the time to waterproof the circuit board in my TDIBH that I could have avoided the failure of the detector despite the condensation problem. I have been reading up on PCB waterproofing and have found out that it seems to be a growing practice in many do-it-yourself hobby applications such as waterproofing drone controls for wet weather use. There are several specialized products available but even a simple coating of nail polish was mentioned in a number of articles as being a cost effective method. Has anyone here tried this? It seems like cheap enough insurance to minimize the risk of damage to a detector if it gets dropped in the water, splashed on, spilled on or rained on. I am considering using the product in the attached picture.

The stem is frozen in place. The crown was there before I started the cleaning. 😬

I found this partial (dive?) watch at the beach last week. It is 37 grams and possibly brass that was plated at one time. Certainly has a vintage look to it. There were some internal parts that are still soaking in vinegar but I would appreciate any help in identifying it.

Great finds! We all like the big winter storms but, yes, the beaches can often be very productive without them.

That is one thing I hate with the Equinox too. The D2 and Tarsacci do not do this. Really makes target recovery in the active wave wash a PIA. Def a Minelab thing. Thanks for the feedback guys! FWIW, I just hunted a few black sand beaches since January 1st, mostly with my pulse detectors, and I saw the same thing. Not only would the target disappear from the hole, but the pile of accumulated black sand that I would dump to the side of the hole with my scoop would now give a false signal making it sound like the target had moved. I can't believe that I had never noticed this before and I can only imagine how confusing this would be to someone new to beach detecting. Nice to hear that the Manticore seems to be able to not only handle the black sand but also produce accurate TID's in the black sand as well. I don't think that the same can be said about the Nox 800, at least from my limited experience with it.

I hope the KOB doesn't mind me clarifying this but these amazing finds were not made on the same day but still only a few days apart. I believe that when using the acid test one must scratch the test stone with some pressure to get through any plating which should be pretty thin. I agree - I wouldn't trust my gold assessing ability enough to fork over thousands of dollars to someone who just walked in the door.

Since I saw the chain the day you found it I can honestly say that the picture doesn't do it justice. It made my neck chain look like a piece of brass. It might actually be a higher carat than the gold coin!

Piece of a horseshoe nugget ring.

5/8" x 5/8" x 1/4"

My most recent hunt was another great one thanks to the series of storms raking the west coast during the past weeks. The gold ring is my 16th gold for the year and weighs a very respectable 7.8 grams. The square whatsit passed the 14k acid test and weighs 2 grams. There are no markings on it so I suspect that it had an industrial or decorative use. At the open end there appears to be solder marks where it was attached to something else. Any help in identifying it would be much appreciated!

Congrats on the 4 gold hunt Mitchell! Good job on finding the right beach.