F350Platinum

Probably the first piece of advice I would give you is to make yourself VERY aware of detecting laws in your area, and never hunt any plot of ground that isn't yours without permission. I can tell you this hobby is a blast, but there are some "ground" rules. 😀 A good search would be "metal detecting etiquette". This site in particular, as Tiftafft indicated, is probably one of the best organized sources of info on the internet. Try a search on "metal detecting laws", get familiar with them. You've got anything as a possibility from parks to farms to beaches to gold prospecting, this site has some heavy hitters from everywhere. In my short time here I have enjoyed the patience and experience of others. Start in your yard!

Always good to find gold stuff! Of course if you found more than the gold cap from a tooth you might have some 'splainin' to do... 😀

Hi and welcome from another new member! I started back in August of last year. Bought a mid-level detector just to find nails after a roof replacement. Tried it out in the backyard and started turning up history. I retired in October, and have been out every day possible in the large farm in from of my house after obtaining permission to hunt it in November. Like you I had a heart condition, I am now on a Pacemaker. I was extremely active (boating, hiking, playing in bands) prior to the incident. I now own a Minelab Equinox 600, and it is fabulous, but because of my newness I would defer to the more experienced members of the forum who will no doubt grill you on specific areas you would hunt before recommending anything. I mainly hunt farm and river now, in the spring I'm going to try beach hunting. You've come to the best place! Get yourself acquainted on the internet and particularly this site with metal detecting videos and information, this is a big hobby, but doesn't have to be. 🙂

Turkey. I was there in the early 90s while in the Army. The problem with that is that you can't keep anything you find, their laws regarding antiquities are brutal at best. I visited Ephesus, and would love to see Troy now that they found more of it. If conditions ever become more relaxed, it would be the trip of a lifetime. My wife wants to go to England, that may have to do. Mexico would be good too. I've been a few places there, mostly Mayan sites. Detecting didn't occur to me at the time but I do see that some detectorists go there. Otherwise my front yard will do just fine...

Heh, 60. Now I'm 61. 😎 I messed with Bounty Hunters and such when I was younger, but it never took root like it has now. Too old to play in rock bands anymore, and I think I've photographed enough for a lifetime.

I'd like to find ONE gold coin, had pretty good luck with silver (Spanish only) in my area. I have yet to search an area that had horse racing in the 1700s that is part of the enormous (now over 300 acres) permission I have. I have set my goals low and really appreciate the simple things I have found so far. Heck a colonial period button makes my day, but it happens almost every day I go out there.

That's what bugs me on this one too. The object is obviously "straight" sword-shaped, and has a thinner strip of metal holding the two pieces together visible inside where it broke. There are some nails at the top which held something inside, maybe a guide. It could be a ceremonial sword of some type. I'm going to look for the hilt, it was getting dark when I pulled it out of the bank it was stuck in. Honestly I have no idea how to preserve this relic, or even begin to disassemble it.

Is an ox knob tapered inside with threads? Cool! I was wondering when I would find one, the D buckle is animal tack, found lots of it. I put the real I found a couple weeks ago next to the one I found today for comparison. These and the cut Pistareens I found early on searching this field do indicate trade, I've found buried broken kettles with oysters in them, thimbles, and LOTS of tacks. The coins were found in the same field about 250 yards from each other.

Today I went out to the farm instead of the steamboat landing. It was cold, never got above 35, but the ground here still hasn't frozen. Never really does on average. Ground balanced the Equinox for the first time, it was acting kind of squirrelly today for some reason. Highest Id goes to the strange round fitting, it was a 32! Tapered screw threads on the inside, I'm thinking compression fitting of some sort. I think I broke the old dog tag but found all the pieces. I've been pretty lucky not breaking stuff, don't know what happened. The large piece at the top ID'd at 25, the copper nail was a 9 at first but was a 15 out of the ground. Not sure what caliber the bullet is but it looks like a match bullet. One of the longest I've seen. D buckle is silverplated, found the most fragile buckle yet, dug a thimble, and two buttons, one I think is pewter and the other says "STANDARD COLOUR GILT". It's an old one with an alpha shank. Musket ball, and some tiny bits that ID'd high, the smallest bit was a 22. Oh yeah, and the small coin on left bottom is a Half Real 😎, second one I've found in this field. It has no identifying marks save for one letter on one side but it's non ferrous and weighs exactly the same and is the same size as the one I dug previously. It has a hole to keep it on a thread or ribbon, or to sew it in clothing. Great day!

Here is a photo of what I think may be a sword. It was jammed into the ground and what looks like the scabbard had snapped. Hilt is missing. What holds it together is probably the sword blade inside. I did quite a bit of searching last night but could not find a scabbard with a "nut" attached.

This one has a bit of a bronze or brass look to it. Kinda sad because some very famous "Boys" just north of me find all kinds of coppers from the 16-1700s in the rivers. I have found one so far but in the field up top, it was a "smooth" coin with barely any features. The river is 80 feet below me. I think the prognosis for finding anything but silver and gold in good shape is poor. As the weather warms up I'll be looking! This Sunday the tide should be much lower but we are looking at a second ice storm.

Yes, about 50 feet up the hill. The ground there is really soft with a lot of sand under the topsoil. Despite the roots from the high brush that grows there every year (it has been vacant since the Steamboat landing buildings were removed) a good root shovel like my Predator Barracuda goes through it easily. I've found a few of those "potato peeler" looking things now, this was the fourth. I'm putting everything in a separate display case because the owners asked me to show them what I find, but said I can keep it all. I may have found a short sword in the scabbard with no hilt yesterday but have yet to verify.

Here's an update. It got up to 50 today, the sun finally came out. The water was 42 degrees, the tide wasn't low enough to go out far. Found this heavily corroded Indian Head penny (no date), and in the other picture there is an additional coin that is nearly gone. On the bright side I dug all the other stuff, a 1920 wheat penny, and a lot of odd things with lettering. The pocket watch is an Ingersoll "Yankee" 'dollar watch' circa 1935-40, there is a bolt marked A.H.T. Co. PHILADA (Arthur H Thomas, a company that makes scientific devices) a washer that says C.A.W. KIRK PATENT JULY 17 1850. The large decorated object is some sort of pin, it has a clasp on the back. Pretty much nothing but 19th and 20th century stuff comes out of this area. Who would patent a washer? Must serve some other purpose. 🤔

The button looks like a Tombac. One of the buckles definitely says "New York" on it, but the rest is hard to read backwards. Nice relics and coin - heck the button would have made my day! 😀

Got $30? the original Matlock sifter https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0749P51QM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 is intended for that very purpose. It's 15x15" total, with 11x11" sifter space. Extremely light and comes with the rope and carabiner. If you're not going to wave a detector or pinpointer over it, the galvanized 1/4" mesh wouldn't be a problem. If you are going to use it for metal detecting, you'd have to do something similar to what I did. ☺ If ya don't like blue it comes in a bunch of colors. Shoulda got red for the Equinox but that's not one of them. 😉 I got 3mm Ballistic nylon for the strength and tiny holes. Don't want to keep detecting those .22 shells!

64.5 cents. 😀 Found an 1809 half cent. This doesn't count the cut pistareens.

It's a brackish (somewhat salty) tidal river that runs into the Potomac. I'm waiting for the tides to come around to morning to hit it again. Only had a half hour to high tide last time, water is in the low 40s. Thanks for weighing in!

I bought one of the $21 Matlock sifters on Amazon, and turned that concept into a better one. Got some 3mm ballistic nylon mesh and replaced the galvanized 1/4" screen with it. Totally undetectable.

The verdict is in. Took it to a jewelry store. They put it on their fancy Gold-O-Meter, and it barely moved the needle in the below 10kt range. 3 people tried everything they could to get a reading. They were as mystified as I am, but agreed that it should weigh a LOT more than my half real at the similar thickness if it was gold. It should be tarnished! Has any river hunter here found a bright penny or clad in a river, let alone a brackish one? So that part of it is still strange, but the coin is not gold. No gold club for me yet, but hold my beer... 😀

Another test: The silver Half Real I found last week is .0395, only slightly thicker (.0385) and it weighs .04 ounce vs. .03. It is nearly the same size. Copper density is 8.96g per cubic centimeter, and silver is 10.49. Gold is 19.32g/cc, it would weigh almost twice as much. It's copper.

And therein lies the oddity. I got together a 1916 copper wheat penny, a modern dime, the "coin", and my 3 ounce 14k white gold wedding ring. I ID'd them all: Wheat penny was a solid 20, dime a solid 25, my wedding ring a 15, and this "coin" came in at 14/15. 🤔 I guess only an assay will tell for sure.

Ok some specs: It's almost exactly the same size as a dime, It's about 0.0385 thick, it weighs 1 gram or .03 ounce. It rings when dropped on a table. I'm saying if it quacks like a duck it's probably the copper core of a modern dime. What keeps it so shiny is still a mystery, could be that it's kept polished by the sand. I'll have it tested, but it's probably copper. Had to leave something behind that ID'd at 25 behind when the tide came in, it was under a large piece of piling on its side. I didn't want to pry the log up with my sand scoop. Went out in the field afterwards and had a good day there, musket ball, old dog tag, 5 buttons. One button is silverplated, 3 tombac, and one that says "Double plated London" on the back. We're looking at a bad week ahead so I made the most of it.

That's what I was thinking. From my boating days, Brackish water = bad. We lost zincs up in most of these waters in two years or less if the boat stayed in. I totally agree that this may not be gold, but at 14/15, and as sparkly as it is, I wonder if farm runoff may have something to do with it? Bronze buttons found in land come up with major bronze disease, I've never found any brass that looked this good out of water or land. Kinda bums me a bit to think of what would happen to copper and silver in the water here if this is gold 🤔 I'll try to get it assayed or figure out some kind of home test.

Yes I do. Out in the field right now, tide came in fast. Gotta get me some stuff to do scratch tests, and figure out how to do specific gravity I suppose. Water here is brackish, I'd be surprised if any metal came out undamaged. Not a lot of rocks but a ton of oyster shells at low tide. Would gold get eaten away by these conditions? The river bottom is mostly sand and blue marl. Not many rocks.

Decided to visit the river this morning, over the weekend I got permission to search the steamboat landing near my house. It was my 61st birthday Sunday, and the permission came in the morning. My wife got me a Predator Barracuda shovel! What a day. Of course it rained all Sunday. Just threw some high insulated boots on, it's cold out but not freezing, about 40. Not five minutes in the water and I got a solid 14/15 with the Equinox in Beach 2, all metal. Tried out my CooB sand scoop, and the result is this about 1/2 inch paper thin round object, this is exactly how it came out of the water.