Compass

"but at least your clad coins can offer up clues as to what else might be around." Very true. When conditions are ideal in the wet sand a lot of greenies are found but not many zinc pennies. Numerous quarters are usually a positive sign as well. On my beaches, lead seems to be the most important indicator of the presence of gold. Despite the huge surf in California last week I found very little lead and very little gold. "no detector needed for the first three hours !!" I've heard of such events at my local beaches and would love to experience that myself!

I've been envious of the larger denomination coins that can be found Down Under. In the US it is just the opposite. We continue to circulate practically worthless coins and the zinc ones are just trash after they have been in the ground or water a while. Our modern clad coins are somewhat of a nuisance and I will tune them out and focus on gold targets under the right conditions.

Thanks OG, I'm not losing any sleep over it but I am kicking myself a bit. The small piece of chain and thin medallion are 5.3 grams of 18K. I may have left 20 grams or more of the remaining chain in the hole. Oh well, pretty good chance it is still around there somewhere and I may still find it someday. Thanks VL, The collective knowledge of members on this forum is amazing. Seems like someone always has an answer for any question. 👍

Wow, this is very helpful F350 - thank you! The thought crossed my mind that it could be a passage from the Quran/Koran but I didn't know where to find that info. Awesome! Thanks SD, Being a rope chain it was a bit stiff from the sand particles getting wedged in the links. That would have made it more susceptible to damage from my scoop but perhaps more likely it was broken in the powerful surf. How I would have loved to find the whole chain intact! The color is amazing - like the high karat gold that you find.

Thanks RVP, I just realized that I should have poked around that hole a bit looking for the rest of that chain - maybe I broke it while scooping it up? I should know better but I think I got caught up in the moment. 😮

Added content: Thanks to all who chimed in. However, the small (14K) gold watchcase still remains a bit of a mystery so I decided to do a little speculative reconstruction. (see added picture below) Maybe someday I'll find more parts and can update. 🙂 What a great "problem" to have eh? Yesterday I tried one last time to get a little more gold before the end of the year and was rewarded after 6 straight days of detecting. I was pretty sure that the big surf/extreme tides in California were going to make for some good hunting but until yesterday the gold had been eluding me. Using the TDI BeachHunter in "ground balance" mode to differentiate between high and low conductors I was able to pick out a couple of pieces of yellow gold jewelry from the wet sand last night. The first piece is the medallion which I believe is Middle Eastern. It is on a fragment of 18k gold chain. The second item appears to be the case of a very small gold watch. There is a solder mark opposite the protruding piece on the other side of the "ring" so the item probably once had an identical protrusion making the item more symmetrical. The side of the case is notched where a watch would have a control knob. Happy New Year everyone!

More like persistence = good luck I think. Congrats on your first gold ring. Nice one too!

I didn't see Jesus yesterday but I think I heard angels singing. I'm quite a bit south of Santa Cruz in Orange County and the surf was pretty big here as well on west facing beaches - 10ft to 15ft. I didn't do near as well as Tom but I did get another silver T & Co. ring. Surf is supposed to be bigger tomorrow.

Wow - 1970 seems to have been a life-changing year for a few of us! I was sixteen and I bought my first metal detector, a Goldak. I believe that it was designed before the word ergonomic was invented. 😄 It had a fixed shaft length, a particle board coil bottom and hard black plastic headphones like you see in scifi movies from the 50's.

Welcome! There were some waterproofing issues with the 800s and 600s but I think that the 900s and 700s are rated deeper so there must be some improvements there. My friend has the 900 which I believe is essentially the same as the 700 and he has done well with it this past year.

Thanks RVP, Any type of gold is always welcome but, yes, the scorpion is pretty cool looking despite the damage to the loop.

Wow - congrats!!! Sometimes I think that I live in the wrong part of the world. 😞

Yeah, when you said that you were done for the year I had my doubts. 🙂 I've said that to myself a few times over the years only to go back out the next day. To be able to go outside your front door and dig hundreds of years of history is a luxury that most of us can only dream about. Congrats, Merry Christmas and good luck in 2024!

Welcome Gil. I'm sure that someone will chime in on those Nokta's.

Nice find - those are pricey. Still on my bucket list.

Thanks VL, Just trying to do my best to save the planet from gold contamination. 😄 Merry Christmas! Thanks Brad, Yes, the coins were not that old but many were "greenies" so not recent drops. You are very observant to notice those 2 things that also stood out to me. The shape of the loop break on the scorpion indicates that it was ripped off a chain - perhaps by someone else, or the heavy surf or maybe it got caught on something. The link shapes on the chain are indeed different than any I've seen before. It is an appealing design despite not being higher karat gold.

I appreciate the tip NCtoad.

Thanks Sinclair, Certainly more than the past few beach hunts and more than expected. Thank you CPT, Even sweeter because I never saw another hunter all day. Thanks Rick, Always nice to find something different. Kind of odd to not have any markings though. Thank you Dan, I'm feeling optimistic about next week. Thanks Tony, I was using my TDI BeachHunter. Was tempted to use my new Manticore but I knew the TDIBH would handle the black sand better.

Awesome finds - congrats!!!

Perhaps the El Nino impact is starting to be felt at our local beaches. The recent storms moved a little bit of sand around and it sure was therapeutic to dig a few targets from the wet sand again. The 3 gram scorpion pendant tests at 14K, the ring is silver and, I believe, the chain may be a lower karat gold. The watch is a vintage Seiko dive watch that looks relatively dry inside the case but I don't know if it can be or is worth restoring. The beaches seem primed for some good hunting next week with favorable tides and good swells in the forecast. A little more treasure would be a great way to end the year!

Absolutely stunning! Recycling at its best.

I sell my gold rather than letting too much accumulate around the house. Before I got married I let my fiancee wear a gold coin that I had found and had on a gold chain that I had also found. Both were stolen when her apartment got broken into. Best not to keep valuables out in the open.

A once-in-a-lifetime find and truly inspirational - congrats on that beauty!!! I would imagine that there is a serial number on that ring so maybe Bulgari would help with a return?

Thank you Steven and Carl. I'm going to contact Todd.

Thanks GhostLight, The stickers appear to be vinyl or plastic and are mounted on the outside of the box.