GB_Amateur

Great find, Dave! Pd is one of the six platinum group metals, possibly the least valuable (being the most common) of those but still quite valuable as you note. I think it's the only one besides platinum itself that is used in jewelry. Pretty sure these metals 'hang out' together so for anyone fortunate to find a platinum group nugget in the wild it likely has other(s) mixed in -- similar to how natural gold is usually alloyed with its 'neighbors' such as silver or copper. 40+ years ago I got a silver-palladium alloy crown (and I still have it). Recently I told my (young) dentist about it and he had never heard of Pd being used in dentistry, so I guess it was a short-lived treatment. Back then Pd was ballpark $250-300/ozt if my memory serves me, about half the price of gold at that time.

Minelab uses the words 'global' and 'local' to indicate what is applicable across all search modes vs. what is specific to a particular mode. So if you do a search mode (only) reset, the settings in other modes are left as is. If you have the User Manual online you can search for the words 'global' and 'local'. If you have access to the User Manual in any form, go to page 83 where the search mode (local) variables are spelled out on the Manticore Default Settings page.

That's been my impression but I'm still a beginner with the Manticore (way fewer hours and more settings to deal with) compared to the Equinox. In my case I try to use every feature available (sound purity, sound volume, strength/'depth' indicator, 2-D target trace, red ferrous highlighting, angle of attack, pinpoint function info) to make a dig/no decision unless the signal is obvious (e.g. shallow coin). Thus although I pay attention to the strength bar readout, I try not to expect too much from it.

I'll be interested in seeing your results. Indians are often in the corroded Zincoln region, but can be higher, all the way to uncorroded Zincolns and/or soft drink bottle aluminum screw caps. I've read (most recently in Carl's new book, but likely also here on this forum) that any object will have an optimal frequency for which it gives the best signal. My (semi-educated) guess is that an IHC would be well below 19 kHz. A USA nickel would be closer. There's probably a way to calculate this (maybe in the book?) but I won't be surprised if it also depends upon the ground properties. Experimental determination is likely an even better method of determining this, but we don't have continuously variable frequency detectors (that I'm aware of), just discrete frequencies, e.g. the ML Equinox 800 having {4,5,10,15,20,40} kHz options.

Interesting observation. Would you mind checking the Fe3O4 level in your ground? Here's the page from the G2+ manual that covers that. I think the G2 model also has this feature. (My GB-Pro has it.)

Excellent result for a park you've hunted before. I'm trying to decipher the dates. One Buffie is a '35, but what is the other (and does it have a mintmark)? Also, I can't read the date of the Wheatie just below that one. I'm hoping for your sake it's a '31-S, but even a '21-S or '31-D would be an juicy find.

Would one of you post a picture of a similar 'rope' bracelet? I sort of have a picture in my mind but I don't think it's accurate.

Am I interpreting the depth correctly -- ~35 cm (14 in.)? Also, what was the reason to put the Euro coin simultaneously in the same location as the silver pendant? Were we supposed to interpret a different tone as a kind of discrimination?

That is likely part of the problem. (I'm not denying the Manticore is better, just pointing out something.) IMO the headphones (ML 105) that come with the Manticore sound way better than the headphones that came with the Eqx 800. But for the 800 I used the WM08 receiver with Sunray Pro Golds (in cooler weather) which sounded way better than the supplied ML80's. I do use the WM09 receiver with the Pro Golds on the Manticore but the difference between the sound of those and the sound of the ML 105 is not nearly as pronounced. Again, my opinion with my ears. 😏

This Wikipedia entry might provide an answer: The area and buildings that makes up the Mount Lemmon Station Observatory are leased from the Forest Service by the University of Arizona. The telescopes on the mountain are still used for astronomical research today by organizations such as the Catalina Sky Survey, the Mount Lemmon Sky Center,[13] the University of Arizona Astronomy Camp program,[14] the University of Arizona, and the University of Minnesota. The educational resources at the top of the mountain make it a unique research and teaching destination.

...Where it says: Marlex is a trademarked name for a crystalline polypropylene and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Similar plastics are used by Minelab for coil covers ('skidplates'), as just one example. These are extremely difficult to attach with adhesives so if that is a desired property of a plastic housing you can see why they aren't more commonly used. And that's just one property that might or not be meaningful. Lexan is a trade name for polycarbonate. This plastic is quite tough (as you note) regarding breakage. However it scratches fairly easily compared to other less durable options. A major consideration for any manufacturing using plastics is injection molding, which (for mass produced items) is cost effective. Chemists continue to work on finding new polymers that can be used for this method but they are still limited. Bottom line is the choice of materials for detectors is complicated. Could the manufacturers do better? Maybe, but I wouldn't say they haven't considered a lot of properties when making their choices.

Would a bigger screen (like those on multiple recent Garrett detectors) help here, too? The ML Equinox was a leap forward in many ways but emulating its screen, as Nokta for one has done, wasn't the direction to follow, IMO. (Hope I'm not off base here -- my comment is more appropriate for the Comparisons forum.) I'd like to see a 2d menu screen layout where you use arrow keys to select the 'box' of the feature you want to adjust. (See pigeonhole analogy below.) Scrolling through in one dimension, or more accurately one dimension at a time until you find what you are looking for, wastes user time.

Pretty interesting stuff, IMO. There is a profession for someone (I'm serious) to study the chemistry of metals as it applies to coins and relics. Maybe there is someone out there with that depth of knowledge but I've never seen him/her write about it. Yes, you get people who provide lip service but what I've seen is just a smoke screen for lack of true knowledge.

'Reactivity' is actually XP's term. Both the Equinox and Manticore use the term 'recovery speed'. Unfortunately this practice of manufacturer specific terminology goes way back to other companies as well. Don't expect it to change now....

Joe, good to see you back in detecting form after a summer (was it the last?) not being able to much. And as usual, you find the goodies. What is going on with those three (silver?) coins that have holes in them?