Erik Oostra

What would you do if they didn't still have it? You'd have to prove ownership of that exact ring.. And the cops probably wouldn't love you too much for trying to test their honesty.. My guess would be that this would come back to bite you on the arse, maybe in the form of unwarranted speeding tickets.. 😬

Crikey! That puts a different spin on the dilemma.. 😬 If Kac is right I probably would loose sleep over it..

Thanks for that in-depth reply Tom, it looks like you've really studied this dilemma.. It seems to me it's a case of both 'Finders Keepers' and 'Losers Weepers'.. Although I usually check with the local cops if anyone has lost the jewellery I've found, especially if it has names or initials on it.. Thanks Kac and Hard Prospector, this has also been my policy..

I've already posed this question on Jim from Idaho's post in relation to gold bars, but I'm curious about the general consensus among detectorists.. Is there a time period after which the 'finders keepers' rule applies? I'm asking because I face this dilemma every time I find valuable jewellery (especially wedding rings) on the beach, whether to turn them in at the police station in case someone has reported them lost or to hang on to them and keeping quiet.. Value could not just be monetary but also sentimental.. Thanks for your feedback to a question I'm sure plagues the conscience of other detectorists as well.. Edit: just realised I've posted this on the wrong forum, it should be on the 'Metal detecting for jewellery' forum.. Not sure how to change it..

What happens when/if you recover the gold bars? Do you get to keep them? Or do you have to hand them back to the original owners? Is there a time period after which the 'finders keepers' rule applies? Just asking because I face this dilemma every time I find valuable jewellery or rings on the beach, whether to turn them in at the police station in case someone has reported them lost or to hang on to them and keeping quiet..

This article caught my attention as I've also been on the receiving end.. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-28/environmentalists-versus-bush-user-groups-veac-proposal/100096256

Thanks a million for the excellent feedback Tim.. I really appreciate it.. As I said I've been hesitating on buying the CT but from what you and others are reporting I get the feeling that it could provide a depth advantage, especially on the beach.. This is ultimately what I'm after on a patch I've called the 'Silver Mine' where the ML is getting as deep as it can possibly go and there could be more silver coins lurking below.. Again, thank you for your help in making up my mind..

not a meteorite? 😬

Sorry Steve, after your brilliant reaction to a similar post I just couldn't resist.. I fully agree with what you told the other punter.. This unusual specimen was once part of an ancient rock formation.. Any ideas what it could be? I'm guessing a meteorite.. 😬

Thanks a lot Dances with Wolves and GB_Amateur.. Gerry's video is exactly what i was looking for, it answers my questions in great depth.. Thank you Gerry!

Thanks a lot Tiftaaft.. I've been hesitating in buying one, they're expensive and I don't want to rush into it like I normally do..

Since the 15'' Coiltek coil for Equinox detectors has been out for a while, I'm wondering if there have been any meaningful comparisons? Especially regarding sensitivity and depth.. Any feedback would be much appreciated.. 😁

Good point! It would be interesting to see how it matches up with the other detectors on the chart seeing it's also a VLF detector like the Gold Monster.. Maybe Minelab doesn't consider it a true 'gold' detector but rather an all rounder..

I'm glad you said that Jeff, I bought a GPX 5000 just before the GPX 6000 was released and had come to believe that Minelab was breaking my heart on purpose!

Why don't most of these detectors perform too great on 10 and 100 gram nuggets? This doesn't make much sense to me, I thought that on nuggets this size they'd be real screamers..

Just wondering if anyone has ever used this app and if it's any good (or just another gimmick).. The blurb says all you need to do is take a picture of the coin with your phone and the app will identify it and tell you all about it.. It would be very handy if it worked.. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/coinoscope-visual-coin-search/id1329237590

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/apr/01/arabian-coins-found-in-us-may-unlock-17th-century-pirate-mystery

We're lucky that Australian silver coins minted between 1910 and 1945 contain 92.5% pure silver (sterling silver), later dates until decimal coinage was introduced in 1966 contain 50% silver.. There are some parallels to British silver coins after WWII with Australian silver coins dropping to 50% just as yours did in 1920.. Who says history doesn't repeat itself? Most of my pre-decimal coins were found at a spot I've called the 'Silver Mine'.. It's on the edge of where a grassy embankment meets the beach.. every time there is a heavy downpour or a really high tide, a huge amount of water runs down from inland creeks as well as up from the sea, continually exposing silver coins..

The coin was 25/26 and the little butterfly was 13.. normally i tend to avoid 13s as it's nearly always a aluminium pull tap..

This morning I found a silver Queen Victoria six-pence (1900) in the same hole as this little beauty! I thought at first it might be a pull-tap but Foxy Noxy kept reading a solid 13 instead of flicking between 12/13/14.. am glad I had another dig..

Thanks a lot for this AussieMatt.. The map I've shown is still used by Google and is on most tourist brochures.. even though my map showed old gold diggings outside of National Park borders, most of them are in some other sort of protected area.. for example 'The Dot' is within the Bolger Bay Conservation Area and the unnamed mine on the beach (bottom right on the map) is within a Marine Park.. Whilst the most obvious old digging outside National Park borders is in Horseshoe Bay, it is in the middle of a Skate Board Park (I'm joking).. 😁.. All this means there's very little wriggle room for prospecting on the island.. Good advice Valence Legacy! Some of the creeks from the old diggings flow into people's backyards or onto public beaches.. I've thought about beach panning/sluicing but am unsure about what can of worms I'd be opening in regards to regulations.. It's probably a hanging offence here in North Queensland (I'm joking).. 😁..

I thought I'd take a closer look at which of Magnetic Island's old gold diggings are within the borders of the National Park.. The first image is a map of the island showing the National Park borders.. the second image is a Google Earth map showing the locations of the old gold diggings..

Steve, I took the warnings very seriously and I haven't been up in the hills since then.. I tried to explain that I'd gotten carried away with the geology and history of the old gold diggings without thinking about where they were located.. I know that this is no excuse and that I only have myself to blame for sharing my findings in public.. Nonetheless, it was a huge shock to get a knock on the door from the Department of Land and Environment officers two months later.. I did not think about that it could have been 'greenies' monitoring this forum to cause grief, I jumped to the wrong conclusion as the officers showed me the print outs of my posts as evidence against me.. It's not my intention to make this out to be about forum members turning me in, I know it's all my fault for doing the wrong thing.. Now I'll have to face the consequences of my actions (as do my ranger friends)..

Spot on G4G! As i've mentioned to other members of this forum i got too carried away with the geology and history of that old gold digging and didn't think about anything else.. I practically live in a national park (most of the island is national park) and i guess i took it all too much for granted.. I know none of this is any excuse but on that occasion i really didn't think about the national park angle when searching for the yellow stuff.. more fool me! i'm just a bit disappointed that someone chose to go about it this way rather than having a chat to me about it first.. they've also landed my ranger mates in a world of shit.. just hope they're happy with achieving what they set out to do.. it's not my way, but whatever floats their boat..