GB_Amateur

According to Wikipedia, Job Corps was conceived during the Kennedy Administration and funded in 1964 (during Lyndon Johnson's presidency). Your ring could of course be later as apparently that program is still in existence. I'm looking forward to seeing a picture of it.

Glad it wasn't New Mexico. A lot of people who predicted that didn't give him credit for being energetic and resourceful. "He just walked out his back door..., then told eveyone it was somewhere in the Western USA." Still a chance that it was in Yellowstone Park (my prediction, along with thounsands of other peoples' prediction). I wonder if that disgruntled ex-wife is still calling it a hoax. (I bet she would have sued her ex for half if he had actually found it.) IMO, she and anyone who sided with her doesn't deserve to know the truth, anyway. Let them go to their graves believing in their fairtytail version.

Can't you slide a piece of paper between them to prevent conductive contact? Nice find! The inside of the inner ring -- showing the hallmark, etc. -- sure looks gold to my eye, and quality at that. But others here are way more experienced than I. You should be hearing from them shortly.

That's the only thing in your 1st paragraph concerning me that is even remotely true. Hard to watch them when no one can find them. Copy the internet address and paste it into a post on this thread. You continue to alienate those who could potentially help you.

Readers and posters here are a pretty tolerant and helptful bunch. However, there's a right way and a wrong way to seek help: 1) I see you've made 4 posts in your presence here, all within the past 24 hours, all on this single subject, and 3 of the 4 on threads that were inappropriate. 2) Rather than to post the YouTube video you want people to watch (and help you debug), you tell us to go search for it. When one of our most tech/internet saavy members tries to search under the title you give he can't even find it. Your task is as simple as copying the location and posting it here. 3) You complain about the manufacturer not responding to your e-mails but also mention the coil has been replaced. Sounds like they did help you. If your communication with them wasn't any better than it has been here, I understand why they've gone silent. 4) Specifically Nokta/Makro has been the best communicator here of all the metal detector manufacturers, and IMO it hasn't been close. They have a lot of satisfied customers and loyal and knowledgeable users. Repeatedly bashing them and their product is not the best way to get help. Have you considered it might be you that's the problem, meaning you aren't setting/using it properly? I would start with that attitude. Remember that you are the one with the problem and if you'd like (free) help from others, the onus is on you to be polite, courteous, helpful (meaning posting information so your problem can be debugged), and grateful.

I definitely enjoyed reading that, Chet. Here in North America we get a lot more info on our gold rushes than those in other parts of the world, as you know. The description of the conditions sure reminded me of California in 1849. And to think those two occurred almost simultaneously. Those were crazy times and some even participated in both (and even more)! I think it said the finders sold the nugget for 10,000 British Pounds. I wonder what that is equivalent to in today's currencies.

Not a problem, and thanks for the clarification. It sounds like you have a good relationship with the tellers. I understand, but since you work for the bank, I'm guessing that goes with the territory. Now this 30 year old 'kid' who's been collecting since he was 10? I'm 66 and have been collecting since I was 6. Let him know he has a ways to go to catch up with me. 😆 You mean 75% of all halves in the bags are the 40% (1965-70) variety, or 75% that aren't cupro-nickel clad are that variety? I often wonder if the fraction of coins that are silver found in circulation today (as you are doing) is higher than at certain times in the past 50 years. You might be able to answer that. Here's my thinking -- back in the 1965-1970 time period when people were removing the silver coins, lots of people were doing it. 50 years later, how many are even aware of the difference? Lots of those people who knew the difference back then are six feet under. Grandma dies and the heirs find a container in a dresser drawer with a bunch of loose change. "Granny sure was senile, hanging on to that near worthless stuff. Well at least the bank will cash it in, even if they charge me a fee to do so. I can probably use it to get halfway to the cost of a triple mocha latte!" How many born in the last 50 years know the difference between 90% silver Washingtons/Roosevelts and the clad versions? Heck, a majority of them can't even tell you what country Nebraska is in. (I'm kidding -- well, sort of....)

I wonder what you mean by 'higher end models'. The current AT's (Pro, Gold, Max) are probably already hurting since they aren't simultaneous multifrequency. If you mean Garrett should have come out first with an AT/SMF, that is a good question. Let's consider some possible answers. If they were to come out with a $700-$900 competitor to the Equinox, it would need to be at least as good, and preferably better than the Equinox. Maybe they aren't there (yet). Another thing to wonder is "how many current AT owners are going to buy an Apex?" Throw in the question "how many non-AT but current Ace owners are going to buy and Apex?" And then there's the third category -- those who own neither. As always I sound the warning alarm -- we here at detectorpropspector.com are not the typical metal detectorists. The fact that the Apex may not appeal to us doesn't mean it won't sell. Minelab knows how to sell to the enthusiasts. Garrett knows how to sell to the masses. Seems like they are sticking with their expertise.

And, that was extremely well done. Yours aren't the typical YouTube vidoes -- far from it. I see commercial TV quality in your work. I'm sure it's many hours extra effort on your part compared to others, but it shows. You are a craftsman. Steve, compliments to you as well for your part of the presentation. Having done a few interviews for both radio and TV ('few' means counted on one hand), I know it's not easy. Here you talked nearly nonstop for almost a half hour without throwing in the 'uhs...' and 'wells...'. Nicely done. I have to admit that this interview got to me emotionally. The ending text, music, and photos alone are priceless. This video reminds me of where I've been, what I've attained, what I've missed, and most of all, what is still out there, still possible to achieve. It wasn't about me at all, and yet I leave feeling a part of it -- past, present, and future. Much thanks to you both!

Sounds like you've been doing your homework. That's good. AFAIK, most if not all the mechanical concerns you mention are related to using the Minelab Equinox in the water. Water detecting is extra stressful on detectors. It sounds like that isn't your intended type of hunting so I would expect the likelihood of you having a problem with reasonable use (i.e. not using the detector as a cane or crutch, etc.) is minimal. And it does come with a 3 year warranty which most who have needed to use it have been pleased with the customer service they received. A lot of detectorists treat their detectors like some do automobiles -- customizing and modifying. Jeff mentioned wanting a different arm cuff, for example. But most people who drive cars leave them stock and get along just fine. It's completely up to the individual. I modified my shaft because I happen to be one of those detectorists who prefers an S-shaft. (A kind of boxers or briefs preference...) I also was having wrist problems I thought might be related to the shaft type but later found out that was arthritis -- not caused by swinging a detector. I added some padding to the arm cuff to tighten things up. I used a different screen protector than what was included. I added a ring of foam to the handle to keep my hand farther from the control unit. All personalized touches which most don't bother with and do just fine (as I would have, too). Sure, there are things I would like to see done differently, such as ease of access to the 'profile' (save alternate settings) button, and I recall lamenting that situation here on this forum. Overall, though, Minelab got things right. I have many detectors and I use the Minelab pretty much exclusively for parks, schools, and (private) historical residences. My actions vote for me. Finally (and Steve went into this quite a bit), there is a parallel in consumerism to the cliche' "the squeeky wheel gets the grease." If you've bought on sites like Amazon and pay attention to the reviews, you probably know what I mean. Human nature, apparently, leads to unhappy purchasers being more vociferous than the content ones.

OK, as usual I'm confused. I get the part about the banks having to pay the clearing houses, and that coins that the bank buys in rolls/boxes are unlikely to be more than modern (clad, etc.). It's the part about short-circuiting that route and getting coins that the bank recently exchanged & counted from its individual customers that has me confused. (The few times I've taken coins to the bank for exchange they've given me slightly less for their count than mine. As a result I've not been keen to exchange.... Thus my experience with them is quite limited.) 1) When coins (and non-coins, I assume) are rejected by the counting machines, what happens then? You say that those can be purchased/exchanged by individual customers but I assume someone (human bank employee) has to count/sort/etc. When you say "anything rejected by the coin machines", besides the Ikes, what else is there that you would be able to purchase? (Bobby pins, paper clips, gum wrappers,... presumably you don't want those. 😄) 2) You say "Great way to get silver and wheats..." Are you still referring to the counting machine rejects or rather the old coins that were accepted by the counting machines but that you subsequently 'buy' before they get sent off to the clearing house? I'm aware that clad coins weigh less than their equally sized 90% silver alloy coins. Do the bank counting machines differentiate that and somehow separate them out? Ditto on 95% copper pennies vs. Zincolns?

Just curious if you remember any details of when you found the 1932 Florin. Even given its condition I'm thinking your heart was racing when you realized what a rarity you had discovered.

Agree with you both. I watched all the videos in the latest Garrett Searcher, over an hour total, and I only remember two times when I heard the detector beep. Those could just as easily be condensed to still pictures and a couple paragraphs. I was wondering if Garrett had some kind of restrictions on showing the detector in action. Total waste of an hour. I didn't notice any obvious proportional audio in this one, although maybe that's difficult to convey on a noisy beach. Lots of beeping, though -- I'll take it. I'm curious as to how much water it will take to cause problems. Still might be more water-tight than some of the Equinoxes.

That's like 14 for every resident of the country. How could any country do something so crazy? Oh, wait, the USA has done this many times with the Stinkin' Zincolns, in the running for the most unpopular (and worthless) coin in world history. Nevermind.

Nice finds, Norm. You seem to be very good at searching out those old camping sites that (apparently) no one else has detected. What is the composition of this Luxemburg (I'm using the German spelling 😁) coin and what digital TID did it show on the Eqx? I'm surprised such a small country (population just over half million today, and the size of a 32mi X 32 mi square) even has a mint. (Or maybe I should use past tense?) Have you found the quantity minted for the 1954 date? As a personal side note, my maternal grandmother came to the USA from there in 1887 at the age of 4.

Do you mind telling us the region you're finding natural copper nuggets? Western USA? Great Lakes states/provinces? Somewhere else??

How many hours before it wears out?

Thanks for the link. I'm pretty sure I saw a ring-tab in the first scoopfull when he pulled out a lead sinker. Anyone else see it? I'm now impressed with the salt water performance of this $255 (single frequency) detector. Also, IMO this is a well done video. In particular I like his objectivity (see text at the end). One improvement would have been to hear the audio when a target was being detected, but I assume that's difficult when in the water.

Welcome, tunde! You can breathe easy with regards to your concern about getting a good detector for natural gold. Now comes the hard part -- learning how to find the gold. Lots and lots of valuable info here on this site. If you haven't already done so, check out this and this.

(I realize the Flowpan is a special device for speed processing coarse material. This question doesn't pertain to it.) Mike Pung (of Gold Cube) talks about the value of a recessed bottom on a gold pan. What do you experienced panners think about that? (Jeff, do you know Mike and/or Red Wilcox? I recall seeing videos of them in that Clear Creek park where non-mechanized placer gold recovery is allowed. I think Red is from Colorado and Mike from Oklahoma.)

Check out one of Predator Tools's models. (I couldn't post an image here since its .webp extension. I tried opening in Gimp and that didn't like it, either.) What do you think of their construction? Predator is associated with (owned by?) George Lesche who devoloped the tools that WW Manufacturing now makes and sells. Predator tools carry a bit higher pricetag (~20%), but they have extra features (like rivets on their sheaths) which are probably worth it. I realize you (Phrunt) may not be able to take advantage of their tools (i.e. paying a reasonable price) given that they are a smaller company and AFAIK you can only buy directly from them.

You forgot the smiley face. Dogmatic posts (no pun intended , well maybe a little) are more likely to get pushback here. Steve's database (for starters) shows this site is open minded. (You know all this, but I don't want new members to get the wrong impression.)

But we didn't fall over that edge. There is a selection effect here -- the fact that we're still around to talk about it. The ones who went over the edge.... Also, danger is relative to preparedness, experience, and performance under pressure. Those things we have a say in. (Even with that, we probably shouldn't let our spouses / significant others read this thread.)

Good so far. Here are a few others: sun blocking hat that covers your face and neck, rare earth magnet (better if attached to either end of your pick), GPS device (I guess some cellphones work, but instead or in addition, the handhelds can be found for ~$100 on sale), maps and/or aerial photos (even as simple as printing off images from Google Maps & Earth -- mark terrestrial coordinates of key landmarks for use with GPS), whistle, trail bars (food), day pack (light backpack) -- you can take it off when you get to where you're going, i.e. when you start detecting. There's a show on Weather Channel (erratically scheduled) called SOS, How to Survive which recreates stories of people (usually in Western USA) who got into life threatening situations and almost didn't make it. Two consisent errors made are: (in warm/hot weather) running out of water; (in cold weather) having insufficient clothing to keep warm and dry. Often the claim was "I was only going out for the day and weather was nice..." My advice -- take at least twice what you think you might need. Most of this assumes you won't be within easy access of your vehicle (although vehicles break down), but if you are, often that means you won't be finding gold, either. The easier the access, the more likely it's been hammered.

I recall tokens that like that one from back in the 60's (maybe as late as 70's), typically aluminum. I might even have one around somewhere from my mom's collection (she never threw anything away 😁). I don't remember if these were some kind of item handed out by retail businesses (gasoline stations or supermarkets) but that was fairly common back then. Collect the full set and redeem for discounts -- that kind of thing. I really like your friend's railroad tag. I hope he can straighten it out without ruining the patina. I wouldn't be surprised if that has some value among railroad collectors. I'm guessing it was pretty hot for that hunt....