F350Platinum

Beautiful day today, started out a bit chilly but warmed up to 62, little to no wind. Decided to go to my oldest farm permission, I wanted to finish up around a "staff" house, and maybe just poke around a bit to see what random stuff I could find. I never made it to the farmhouse in the distance. ? As soon as I got in the field I turned and walked along a hedgerow and a bit into the field, and pretty much got everything I dug today in that area. Guess it was a little hotspot, there was a road running through the farm that was on the 1910 Topographic map, I think the "staff" waited in this area to be picked up for the day, and perhaps a vendor came through. There are bits of iron and stuff everywhere in about a half acre, any good signal is a good find. First thing I hit was this large heavy brass Star, it appears to have been attached to something by 4 clips on the back which are broken, but the star is complete. To show how big it is, here it is next to one of the two 1902 IHPs I dug today: I might try to shine it up using Tarn-X or Brasso or something, it's pretty awesome. Got some buckle parts and a 1900 V nickel in pretty good shape: I don't usually get one that I can read the date on. Went up to where the house was and searched around, didn't find anything but the foundation that had been pushed into the woods. A pile of cinder blocks and concrete, none of these houses are very big. There is another in the property but is owned by someone else, so it's off limits. This was a very large plantation, probably one of the oldest in the region. Decided to go somewhere else, went along the woodline until I got to this little clearing where I got my "thank you for coming" gift from the field. Got a solid 91, and unearthed this pretty minty 1934 Mercury dime. My silver count is off the charts (for me) this year. I was very careful to spray it with distilled water instead of brushing it or rubbing it off. Here's the total haul, lots of brass bits and a couple of small buttons including a Tombac and a small two piece. I'm pretty sure the spoon bowl is aluminum, but would be thrilled if it isn't. Only a handful of trash, I did get a large block of lead, but I didn't photograph it. I have no idea why a pink capacitor was in this ancient field, but there are always surprises. ?

Nice job NC! Any silver ya get is still silver ? seems to me you got you some lemons and made lemonade! Cool pendant too. Find some new spots!

Very cool short one Cap'n! ? Really like the ring, that's one that would disappear into my wife's jewelry box the second she saw it. ? Trying to figure out what the stone is. ? Very little trash and some Victorian pull tabs. I wonder what nefarious scenario surrounds the hotel tab... They always have a story. ? If only they could talk.

Going there (Culpeper) in a couple of weeks, bringing the Deus 2. Chase will have the D2 probably, and the Axiom. I'm going to try my relic program and see if I can tweak it to work there, or find out if it already does. ? It's a seeded hunt but sometimes you find original stuff.

Congratulations Dan! ? Sure is impressive. I put the 13" on mine and haven't taken it off. Balances well and I can swing it all day. Even with the big coil it doesn't fall over much. I think I told another user that lining up the RC and coil is easy, lay it on the floor, the "V" in the coil is there to help you line up. Loosen the camlock and lengthen it to what you like, lock it and check. You can make the 13" or 11" coil feel like it's "floating" by shortening the lower a bit, you'll feel it when it's right. It's also really easy to keep clean. Great creation, worth every penny. ?

Nice that he got a chance to play with it, but none of what he does in the video is impressive. Subtitles are only Dutch. Hopefully you won't take this the wrong way, but Cap'n I suggest researching this site before you post. ? I learned the hard way, just passing the torch. I admit that sometimes I still mess up.

Haha, just come up with "backhoe" settings (use Relic as a base) and label it "BHO". I don't have the patience to create much more than a 3 character name on the D2 ?

And I never wrote it was. ? Thanks for the input midalake, I know you to be an experienced user, I respect and trust your tests and opinions. ? I have used it in dry/black sand, and had no real ìssues to speak of, but I don't test, I just hunt. My Equinox didn't find anything else there afterward, about the only test I've done. How deep are we talking here? PI range? Depending on what the target is, I've truly had it hold ID as deep as 12" or more. Solid ID. The objects were larger, but not huge. When I go to a beach I'm after recent targets, not archaeological digs. Sorry about the bi-metal Mexican coins, that's good to know but I've dug a Tombac button with an iron shank or 10 at 6-8" and knew exactly what it was. Solid ID. More often they don't have the shank anymore but the iron halo is still there. Solid ID. I might hear an iron tone or that "squiggly" one. I've adopted a a new maxim, "Squig means dig" ? With the settings I'm using lately after hundreds of hours on the machine myself, I don't dig much iron at all anymore, as a 45 to 90 degree turn tells me all I need to know. I can't imagine not doing that. ? These are cherries, I'm not picking cherries. What if the update solves some of these small issues? ? Especially the small gold problem I've read about? That will only serve to make the D2 even better than most at everything. I've also read you have difficulty with the coil not staying straight in the surf. Does a smaller one solve that issue? ? In general I can't see many/any of the new machines doing a better job by any margin that makes the D2 less preferable overall, especially when factoring weight, interaction with accessories and portability in. Most certainly not where I am. I've even seen the new 900 sidelined here. We don't know why yet but it is what it is. Real issues are read and dealt with fairly well by XP, I recall the first few updates, luckily I bought mine shortly after the 0.71 update so I guess I am prone to far less skepticism/cynicism than early adopters. I'm fine with the current version, like the good Captain above. As implied I have a strong feeling XP is out for blood with the upcoming update, I think it will be well worth waiting for quite simply because it has taken so long. Thanks for playing! ?

Yet again you show that there are detectors for this, and detectors for that. Never ceases to amaze. ? The contrast is stark, but the work is hard. Quite the trade off ? I know I'm missing the deep stuff. ? I have to clean my detector(s), gear and finds as soon as I get home, tired or not. So I dump my bags in the driveway, my finds in a sifter pan, wash it all, oil my shovel, and I'm done. Kinda trifling when it's cold. Even camping, God forbid I get sand in the palace ? Glad you're getting enough decent weather to get out, I think you've done more this year than last. Are you getting less precious metals this year than last?

Drop on by man! ? Accommodations here are sparse but I'm sure you can find something in the area. Ain't "digging it all" for ya tho. ? Chase and I have been discussing using the Axiom in a place or two here, that might be enlightening. ? I'd like to see a Pulse Induction in action.

What Cap'n wrote above. ? And more... Y'all can bash the Deus 2 all ya want, but it blows my Equinox 600 out of the water, both figuratively and literally. I can't imagine or think of a better all-purpose detector than the D2. Just add some discipline and it works in just about every scenario. I did just fine in Culpeper last year, and will probably do better in a few weeks. Sure, I'm not gonna get the depth of a PI, but if there's something under my coil, it's mine. I will find it. Google "flooded my Deus 2". Google "EMI problems with my Deus 2" Look up "iron falsing with my Deus 2" Research "inaccurate ID's with Deus 2" I could go on and on. You're not going to find much really bad press if anything, and there are tens of thousands if not way more out there. For sure it's a winner in my state. It's not any wonder to me this update is taking a while, and they put testing it in some of the best hands in the world. I'd be more than happy to have anyone wave any other detector over where I've been, and prove that there was something incredible I missed. Bring it on ? You'll have to pay your own way tho. ? Hell if I learn something it'll be worth it! Many of us that took the time to really learn this machine (and yes, deal with a few quirks) are coming out with settings and tweaks that quite simply cannot be matched, and after the update there will be more. What more could you want? It's great now, it's only going to get better. I have written it before, this detector will prove to be worth every penny, it already has for me. Feel free to see my posts using the Deus 2, and watch my posts for future finds. ? This is a finding machine, not a hunting machine, kinda like fishin' vs. catchin'.

Great job, persistence and learning your detector both pay off. ? Nice rings, congrats!

Thanks Cap. ? Just noticed this logo for Jamestown, does the coin in the background look familiar? ? Going to take about a 4 day break, but hopefully I'll get out Monday. ?

Congrats on a great bunch of relics, Cap'n. ? Top picture top left is a Model T valve cover, I find them all the time. The "Neusilber" thing is "German Silver", or nickel silver. I almost misread the "Face Cream" compact or lid. ? Doesn't look like you're missing a thing with the Deus 2, truly killing it. Great stuff! That '32 penny does look new.

Went back to this farm today to see if there was anything else in the little "hotspot" where I found the hammered Sixpence. One of the interesting things about these small fields is that they are composed of a strata called "Blue Marl", a silty gray clay soil. When wet, it's sticky and heavy, when dry it's like concrete. We've had a good amount of rain this season so it's got a lot of water in it. It's one of those soils that makes your shovel creak. ? Walked the back two fields for quite a while, decided to go out in the woods and try to find a house location that was on the oldest topographic map. I found the house location but the house was long gone, nothing but metal trash and bottles everywhere. Coolest thing was this overturned Model T. I got pretty much all of this searching the area where I found the Sixpence and buckle: A large unique button that looks like it has one soldered into it: Looks like it might have some backmarks. Got two flat buttons and a very old Tombac. An odd bread shard, and a decorated bit of pewter. Got a 1971 memorial, and a ring thing I thought was a coin or button, but it's neither. Trash was next to nothing, I dug two iron bits intentionally to see if they held any context associated with the King James coin and buckle. I think I'll separate those finds and put them in another small display box. ?

Thanks Cap'n! Kinda boring stuff after my spectacular find last week, I'm about to do a short tutorial on farm field hunting and testing my methods. It was great to have Chase there to bounce wild theories off of. ? In the ~half mile stretch of this field, there are hotspots where people gathered for horse shows or racing or both, I'm getting a really solid picture and intend to share it with the owner. It must have been very popular as I've dug over 100 buttons, horse tack, thimbles, drawer pulls, and other objects that indicate such activity. While others have hunted around the house, they completely missed a wealth of stuff in the other fields. Research and plain old ground pounding have paid off. I'm told by a friend that the stirrup could be valuable, I'm contemplating restoration efforts along with a sword I found my first year detecting. ?

Thanks VL, I brought the Equinox with me, but the cell tower was a nightmare in the place I was looking for stuff, so I had to use the Deus 2. It was silent all day after one noise cancel and ground balance.

Thanks JCR, This farm never fails to be an interesting place to hunt, it's been a very busy place for a long time. We've found that it isn't really worth detecting near the house, others with their "eyes on the prize" have cleaned it out. Scouting new areas and keeping track of previous searches helps a lot. ? There are other fields on both sides of the highway for a couple miles that are also productive. I'm pretty sure that doorknob plate was carried over to this field by farm equipment, there is an old road dividing the two where an old house stood. Just odd it was a foot deep, a resounding 94 on the Deus 2.

I only wear one on my right knee, got some splints from doing too many stage acrobatics playing guitar. ? Any knee pad with gel or just really good padding will work, always cross the straps wearing them. Keeps them from slipping better than straight across.

Nice hunt strick! ? I know it isn't much but just getting out in the open fields is awesome. Beautiful scenery and evil sticks, I can knock the ones that grow here down easily. Sorry you are getting all that rain. ? We're having the warmest February in a long time. It's been great! Those ditches look deep enough to handle some serious runoff, you should see our 100ft deep ravines here, treeline and bam. ? If some of the trees that grow in the bottom of them were on the higher elevations, none of which are really all that high, they'd be 200ft tall. ? Always nice to swing that D2, ain't it? ?

Gotta say after finding that 1607 sixpence half, today was very relaxing. February 28th started out cloudy, but ended up sunny and warm. I invited Chase to pick a place and he chose a farm near me, we've found lots of great stuff here. The farmhouse was built in the 1740s and is still in use, the family that owns it has been there for a very long time. I got there early, poor Chase has a 2 hour drive to get here. Today I decided to hunt the "Turn Zone" of this field, we've hunted this farm many times but never by the road where they turned the animals plowing. As usual it provided me with many finds. We hunted mostly in this area and some other places, but I got nearly everything here. First the trash, no more than a handful, my program works very well and I don't dig much junk. Next, the stuff that doesn't fit in a display case: The stirrup was the only iron thing I dug today, it insisted it was a 78 until I finally excavated it almost 2' down. Even fooled my discriminating pinpointer! Got a small 3-ringer, ~52 caliber. Another ox knob that either has a stick in it or horn material. A heavy brass door knob escutcheon, what I think might be a heavy brass heel protector and a split ring half. Now for the finds destined for display: Some buckle bits, a stud, and some odd rounded thing that may be a squashed bullet. 10 buttons, the largest only slightly larger than a penny. One broken Tombac with a shank, one small fancy decorated one, and a couple silverwash and one silver plated. For coins I got a 1945 wheat, and a 1906 IHP. Only walked 3.5 miles today, it all came from about a 4 acre spot in this huge field. Chase got some interesting stuff too.

Sorry Meister, I don't have a Legend. I do have an Equinox 600, it's how I cut my teeth detecting. Bought the Deus 2 last February, really started using it later in the year, then I put the WS6 Master together. The Legend seems like a great detector, but I'm perfectly happy with my 3 machines now ? I beach and yard hunt from April to September, and Relic hunt from October to May. I am also interested in the Quest V80, but it's really going to have to be a killer machine. Thus far the D2 has done so well for me I can't see learning another detector. ?

I run the larger coils on Steve's rig, and the 9" with the WS6 Master on the stock shaft. Really the 13" is the resident coil, with the 11" for backup. Stuff happens. Steve's creation is extremely rigid and strong, and the locking device for the remote is much higher quality than others. I use it with confidence in stubbly fields and in the water. Love the camlocks. ? I'd like to see an even more compact setup and possibly the ability to use it as a standard "S" shaft or a straight one interchangeably. ? The need for that would probably not be a big one, but I'm intrigued. ?

Thanks George, ? I've been admiring your finds, sure is great to live amongst so much history.

Thanks Cap'n! This is a small place, looks like nothing would be there. Very humbling experience that I may not ever have again, but if I do y'all will be first to know. ? 1607 is the year after "Captayn" Smith discovered this area, and marks the year of the settlement/incorporation of "Jamestowne". It was another ~30 years before the first settlers arrived here from Maryland. This farm is very close to the "Patowmack", about 20 miles from where I live. I love those old spellings. ? Somebody was in that spot, and broke his belt. ? I realize that coins were scarce back then so it could have been much later that it was lost but it evokes some truly reverent sentiment. I would consider it a holy grail for me. Not going to quit looking tho.