F350Platinum

Thanks VL, I think there's a fine line between history books and hot water. 😅 All my finds are from verifiable private permissions, so I'm reasonably confident I'll make the former with a return or donation, albeit posthumously for some. I'm getting to the point as many do here that what I'm finding is the same old same old, so I'm pretty much only posting now when I find something somewhat spectacular or unusual. Currently for me that happens more often than not. Like a few others my posts are mostly to inform, educate and inspire metal detectorists. I hope I'm doing that. 🙂 I also get a kick out of reviewing new stuff. Just like my former music hobby I'm finding that I wish to find or do something legitimately with metal detecting that pays for my investment. Other than thrilling my wife with a nice bauble now and again, that hasn't happened but it's only been 3 years. I wish that some sort of fair and lucrative relationship between those that find history and those that curate it could be brokered. 🤔

Thanks Steve, I learned something new too. Apparently 900 silver was all the rage in the early 1800s for its greater strength (albeit no match for farm equipment 😅), and probably lower cost. Silver US coins are 900, not 925 or Sterling, making them a bit less prone to denting and wear.

Got some unexpected good weather this week, yesterday it was almost 50 and today it went over 60. Yesterday I just went out in front of my house for a short while, the ground was still kind of frozen, I only stayed out about 2 hours. Some places it was easy to dig, others the shovel just bounced. Got a few things and quit when the mail came, I received @steveg's new mount for his brilliant CF Deus 2 shaft. Today I invited Chase down, I figured the ground would be mostly defrosted, overnight the temperature didn't go below 40 so it did not refreeze. Today we went to the new field I scouted a while back, and took our time looking in the hotspots I found. I had my Deus 2 with the new right-hand tilted RCDIGS mount, I wanted to see if there was anything different about it. It was much easier to see the screen, I didn't spend any time at all tilting the unit to see the IDs and the XY screen. That was very cool. 😎 Today's hunt was about 7 hours and almost 7 miles of walking, it's a big place that apparently hasn't been hunted by anyone else before but me. 😁 Chase did much better than me, but I managed to find some cool stuff and keep my precious metal streak alive. First the trash, quite a bit today. 😵 Lots of buck balls, lead, and some iron. I was switching back and forth between my relic program based on General and an only slightly modified Relic program. Every now and again I had to switch to Deus Mono at 17kHz because of the power lines, but never missed a beat. Now for the good stuff, both days combined: From the day before a whatzit, a 1929 wheat, and probably the coolest gold plated cufflink I've ever found: Bizarre decoration but whatever. 😀 Got a weird "chicken leg" finial that I thought was a candle snuffer at first but it turns out the inside is threaded. A bunch of buckles, an odd ring that was a 92, a 1904 IHP, one Tombac and one brass button, a bit of brass horse tack that is heart-shaped, a Civil War minié ball, and a plated thingy that looks like it may have had a watch hanging from it. Most modern was a 1978 memorial penny. The oval with the holes might be a plate from an old rifle but the square holes are odd. 🤔 Pulled a Hail Mary in the 4th quarter with this silver find: It's a spoon handle, solid "900 coin silver", made by this silversmith: https://www.americansilversmiths.org/makers/silversmiths/117961.htm Fun day out, seemed like Spring. Glad it's not. 🤔

Y'all probably read my review of the RCDIGS mount for the stock Deus 2 shaft, if not it's here: I made a few suggestions on that review, helped him with some other stuff, and was honored with the opportunity to try the right handed version for his Deus 2 shaft. The best way to show the mount is, well, mounted. 😀 You can see that it has a right hand tilt to make it easier to see the D2 screen, the other one I have on the stock D2 rig is the "straight" version, and there will be a left hand version as well. I have to say I really like the right hand version. I also appreciate the thought put into it to allow the waveguide to exit the shaft and feed up the side tube to the top of the unit. You probably can't feed the waveguide without removing the mount first, and make sure you don't attach it to the coil before you get it all back together. It's easy to do, this version screws into the shaft. The purpose of this mount is to completely eliminate the worry of losing your RC, either land or sea. It's rugged, well made, and very secure. If you're a water hunter and have his shaft for your Deus, to me this would be a requirement. @steveg really cares about his customers, and I have to say this is above and beyond. I'm pretty sure he will be making them available soon!

Great first time out, JD! Keep in mind hunts don't all turn out like that, and also to laugh when you dig a pull tab 🤣 someday one of them might be Spanish silver. Or a gold ring. 🤔 I'm totally serious. Try not to discriminate too much, instead learn the tonal nuances. 🙂 Changing too many settings will cause you to not know what works. Heck that looks like one of my beach hunts this past summer, toy cars, clad and big coins. Keep it up! Are you hunting a park, or home?

A diamond tester (the inexpensive ones) would have said a moisannite was a diamond. It's probably CZ, or some other material. 🙂

Aww man, shame you missed the gold rush! 😵 I'd have missed the whole thing myself, can't take temps below 30 at all. Reynaud's is a curse. 😠 Still you managed to come away with stuff I find on relic hunts which is awesome. 😎 Fantastic hunt regardless. 👍

Thanks Compass, I went back to that spot hoping that tilling might turn something else up, and also that I might find the rest of the coin 😅 I am glad my hunch turned out. As for the cannonball, I went back there yesterday and carefully measured and weighed it, turns out it is a "12 pounder", 4.5 inches in diameter and actually 12 pounds. I still left it there, I'm waiting for the rain to clean it up a bit more, don't want to handle it too much just yet. 😬 Still looking for a fuse of some type, there are some protrusions that may be dirt, but brushing it with a steel brush wouldn't be such a good idea 🤔 The actual diameter of the ball opens up a tremendous amount of possibilities, from the Revolution to 1812 to the 1860s, so I have to be much more careful and do more research on canister balls.

Nice finds, MN. Your best bet would be to take that ring to a Jeweler, man if that stone is a diamond you might get an offer! 😀 My local Jeweler, a 40 minute drive away 😏 is great. If you hit them when they're not busy, and at least once buy a small bracelet charm for someone, you'll be surprised what they will do for free. They have tested and identified many items for me, and recently I brought them a very old ring and asked their opinion on what should be done with it. To my surprise one of the people there grabbed an XRF gun and examined the ring, told me every metal it had in it. We had a great discussion about what should be done, and they even offered to put a new stone in it if I wanted, but we all agreed nothing should be done to it eventually. I was not charged at all for the service, they have cleaned rings for free as well. I think it's the mystique of artifacts for the most part that makes charges go out the window, but I've brought them newer stuff as well. I have bought my wife a couple of charms there, and do a bit of browsing. 🙂 Establishing a relationship where I am goes a long way.

Hey Digs, Here is a link to my post about farm hunting, it will take you to my other post "Find more stuff!", which will refer you to another post about the use of online resources for examining old maps and using Lidar imaging. I don't own a Legend, but I see you're already getting some good advice. 🙂 GL, HH 🍀

Welcome JDigs, I started here about 6 months after I got my first detector, then bought an Equinox 600. Since then I've moved up to the Deus 2, invested a ton of money in it, but it's not necessary to do that. I think no matter what detector you have, if you learn it well, have patience and develop skill, you will do well if you have the right conditions: I'm very fortunate to live in a part of the country where there is a lot of history, and nearly all my hunts are on this forum. In my short 3 years I have made some stunning finds, but that's because the stuff is where I look, I spend a lot of time researching the permissions I get now, and have written some how-to's on research and how to approach farm fields, you will find them here if you're interested. And have farms near you 😀 In the summer the fields are planted, so I either travel to beaches and/or campgrounds, and have managed to get permission to hunt every campground I visit. I still consider myself a novice beach hunter. I don't have any public parks where I live and have not yet tried any schools, used to work for one, but thus far have not inquired. Tell us where you want to look for stuff, and ask questions but do read up on your detector in particular, your manuals and here. I've got my butt kicked a few times speculating, and it's all been for the better. 😅 There are some serious detectorists here. The more we know the more we can help you know. We also like pictures of finds. 😁 GL, HH 🍀

I got a second RC in case my first one ever has a problem, which it did 🙄 Now I've got the new one on the stock shaft with the RCDIGS mount, and am waiting for the SteveG RCDIGS mount for his rig. Meantime his standard mount is fine. I have the 9" on the stock shaft with the XP carbon fiber lower, I like the way the trapezoid moves in the water. The 13" is my main coil, with the 11" in my backpack vest should I get tired of swinging the 13", or find it wasn't charged enough. I have 2 WS6 units too, in case I want to go really light. I paid full price, people seem to be keeping their D2's of late 😏

Thanks! I found all the stuff in that display box in February last year. It was nice to find the "rest of the story". I'm going to keep looking for the rest of the coin as well, but I fear it was cut into "change". At least I got the date and value marks, it has "VI" on the other side, indicating it's a sixpence. I could not believe I dug a coin that old. It's part of the logo of Jamestown. Sadly they're not worth much or especially rare, but in this context with the other items it's pretty much priceless. Ultimately it will end up where it should. At present it is my oldest found coin. As for the cannonball, usually they're found where they shouldn't be found 😅, and worse. Should it be inert I'll have it restored. I believe it all comes down to weight, if it's an 18 pounder it is solid. I believe canister shot would weigh less.

My pleasure, NC. 🙂 We only got a dusting today, and last week's snow is all gone, benefit of being surrounded by water I think. Does NC have a lot of snow or frozen ground? Next week it will be in the 50s here.

Here ya go, they are about 10 bucks at Home Depot, as long as you cross the straps behind your knee they are light cheap, and will not slip. I only wear one, there are many threads regarding this subject here, someone will probably point you to them or you can use search yourself. GL, HH 🍀

I dug a potentially explosive cannonball yesterday. 💀

Yep blasting 82, all around. I knew it was deep iron, but the signal was so strong I wanted to see what it was. 🙂 Is your ball solid? No fuse?

Thanks Capphd, It is for sure, but I much prefer digging stuff like the 400 year old belt buckle 😅 I knew what the cannonball was when I got down to it, I know that the British used solid shot when they invaded in 1812, 3000 troops landed here in 1814, and there was a major offensive up the Potomac where they burned Washington DC. Local militias often fired on the ships and attempted to repel the invaders albeit unsuccessfully. The British also had Congreve Rockets, another lovely bit of ordinance I'd rather not find 😬 Francis Scott Key wrote a familiar song about them 🤔 There is no record of anyone firing on this area but at some point it happened, the question is when. The Union Army had a fort directly across the river, it could also have been an unrecorded shot from there, or it was from one of the Union boats that patrolled the Potomac in the Civil War. There was no activity at all here during the Revolution. That was all further south in Yorktown. It's not impossible to get killed by mishandling ordinance, so I am going to consider any further action with this object carefully. 🙂

The weather has been miserable here 🙄, every 3 days it rains with high winds, and we got a cold snap in the low teens and twenties recently. I know y'all have it much worse in some places, but winter is my relic hunting time, so every day that is marginal is precious. All I had was a couple hours yesterday before the next nor'easter came in. A little under a year ago I dug a 1607 King James I hammered silver Sixpence in this field, and some buttons, bits of pewter, and a broken belt buckle from the same period. It was probably from an exploration after the discovery of this area in 1606 by Captain John Smith, who founded Jamestown in 1607. I'm using the stock Deus 2 setup with the 13" coil and the new RCDIGS mount. Wherever the ground was in shade it was frozen, very difficult to dig. Thankfully the areas in the sun were easy albeit a bit muddy, it only got up to 42. I headed over to the spot where I found all the stuff last year and searched around, got a 67 and dug this: I immediately recognized it as the missing piece of the 1600s buckle I dug a year ago! 🥳 I searched around the spot a bit more and found some pieces of lead, nothing important. Then I decided to cross the field and near the other side I got a really strong 82, solid all the way around. I dug and dug and dug, and almost two feet down I managed to pull this out: It's about 5" in diameter, and weighs at least 10 pounds, I think it is a cannonball. Furthermore I think it is an errant shot from the British during the War of 1812, this field is near the Potomac River. There was little to no Civil War action here. I can't find evidence of a fuse, thankfully. 😅 I got home, and reunited the buckle bit in the display box with the other items: If you zoom the picture you will see the date on the coin. It was really great to find the missing buckle piece! Not sure what I'm going to do with the cannonball yet, I got it out of the field so they won't hit it with a plow or farm equipment, and marked the spot I left it on my GPS app. I'm not thrilled with handling ordinance of any kind and am glad I didn't get blown up digging it. 😬 I've dug lots of live bullets but this one goes boom 💥 or not. It could be solid, but if it is Civil War era, it could be live. A warning to you all. Here's the trash, mostly lead and interesting sounding iron bits. Glad I was able to bring something back. 😀

You're looking at the back of the button seeing the stamped grain. Above it (think orientation) is what appears to be a peened pin coming through the back. I'm thinking that pin is attached to the rabbit. Soldering would burn the brass, the rabbit obviously isn't stamped. Just expanding on what JCR speculated. 🙄

Thanks Mr. Meister, That's a beauty. 🙂 Right now I'm cool with what I have, hopefully a link can be found and posted here 🤔 does the nice looking cuff with legs come with it?

Wow. Now those are sportsman's buttons! 👍 Quite a collection. Looks like the rabbit is a pinned and peened addition. Awesome! 🏆

That looks like a nice one, got a link?

Wow, imagine having that job, detecting the hills of France as an engineer! Stuff like this makes me wonder why I aspired to the Pinnacle of Underachievement... 🤔 Nah. But it's better than sitting in a cubicle all day 😁

Thanks Steve, Don't get me wrong y'all, this mount is by far the best solution to issues Deus 2 users have with securing the RC. I think it's inexpensive insurance on either shaft, and intend to have both types myself. A little more discipline removing the remote to clean it each time I use it, also lubricating the screws, is in line with my mantra "Take care of your stuff, and it will take care of you". 😎 What's $50+ and a little extra work compared to losing a $750 remote? Sand, water and silt get into everything and introduce salts, ultimately locking up and/or corroding even the best engineered products, especially if you're a water hunter, or a relic hunter. Brass is great because It doesn't bind to harder metals, but in the case of securing the remote cover a composite might just be a better idea. 🤔 Ease of operation would be paramount. 🙂 Just had an epiphany regarding another problem I recently had, I'll be posting that soon. 😁 Funny how you wake up and have an idea how to fix something, it's why I always told my employers and employees, "There's nothing I can do at 8 o'clock tonight, that I couldn't do better at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning". 😏