GB_Amateur

Just a reminder -- I think this applies to all modes. On the Eqx 800 you don't have to listen for low tones if you'd prefer some other tone range. You can customize the tone audio frequencies ('pitch') and volumes of the different regions (and choose the start and end digital TID's of those regions) to suit your preference.

Are those typically shallower than the coins you found and show in the photo? Or were you specifically cherry picking those in previous hunts? Are those white coins in the photo silver? And along the same lines (possibly already addressed), why do you think these coins were missed in your previous hunts? Thanks for the writeup. Makes me want one!

There is a lot of anecdotal evidence within the metal detecting community. Systematic studies, OTOH, are rare. Finding a 'statistically average coil' would be a significant (and costly) undertaking in itself. It's not like there is the equivalent of a government funded National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for metal detecting equipment. Even if you could find such, so much of this endeavor involves specific conditions (e.g. soil/ground condition, electromagnetic interferece environment, intended target / test target choice, actual human doing the test,...) that it's conceivable one coil could be superior in some situations and a different coil in others. Take everyone's statements/claims with a grain-of-salt. And if someone (particularly the claimant) objects to such caution, make it two grains of salt.

Mike, since you already also have a White's V3, are you familiar with this T/R style ("2 box") add-on that ElNino77 just mentioned here:

Who makes that and is it still available? Its searchcoils look like they could be used on a standard detector, but I'm figuring that is because they emply housings common to those, but are wound differently (i.e. just one coil in each).

NP with the chart. I suspect Ball used a lot of slight variations in their logo, possibly unintetionally and maybe just manufacturing method variety. Sounds like I stumbled upon the right location. Watch your back as I might be sneaking up on you while you're hunting there next. Of course if you really are even close to your Avatar you will both hear and smell me before I can knock you on the head and steal your loot. I've heard that chunks of raw meat are a good distraction but so far your finds aren't worth a juicy steak. 😄

You mean only recently or do they extend back into the silver coinage days? You mention iron. If that is from the car shows (and I'm interpreting correctly that you mean display type shows, not parts swap meets) then I assume you're talking about crown caps and maybe old (pre-aluminum) cans.

I see the reasons for your conclusion. I wonder if that chart is complete, though. Yours shows signs of the 1923-33 logo shown but that one appears to be missing the underline, even though every other one starting in 1885 has it. The distance between the 'B' and the 'a' looks more like the 1923-33 than the 1933-62 and also the lower lobe of the 'B' matches the 1923-33 better. Still, the top right curl ('hat') of the 'B' doesn't match either one. Another reason I question the chart's completeness & accuracy is that the ones I have come closest to the 1933-62 but not perfectly. I don't think this is a big deal but I always try to date sites and knowing when a recovered item was made helps that. Overall I see things in your finds pile that seem older than 1953. That doesn't rule out that these items were dropped since then, of course. As an example, that broken enameled metal piece that has something like ___vin Mont. Co. -- is this site in or near Montgomery County, PA? The font on that looks late 19th Century or possibly even earlier, to my unexpert eye.

As I dig a bit deeper into this magazine, I see that Mike Haer is a major player (editor). He's a member here and in fact did an online podcast interview with Steve H. a couple years ago. Here is his 'first impressions' of the Apex from his website.

https://dirtdigestmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Emailing-ddjuly2020.pdf I stumbled onto this well written (67 page current issue) online magazine. I don't know if this was meant to take the place of the now defunct hardcopy Lost Treasure and Western and Eastern Treasures but I actually find it better written than some of the late issues of those. It appears non-partisan (manufacturer-wise). Included is an interview with a field tester of the Garrett Apex although it seems to be similar to the YouTube videos by other Garrett 'homers' (this interview is of Gypsy Jewels -- wonder if that's her birth name -- who has her own YouTube channel) so don't expect any new revelations. I still think it's worth reading as is the rest of the magazine. Articles are mostly coin and relic hunting although there is one (rather introductory) about Midwest gold prospecting as well as a typical lost 18th Century horde article. It appears they've been publishing monthly since April 2019. Here is their explanation: About Us Here at Dirt Digest Magazine we have a simple mission: Bring the wonderful world of metal detecting, gold prospecting and artifact hunting to the masses. When Dirt Digest Magazine was in the concept stage we had some good long talks about how to separate ourselves from the competition. Priority #1 was to write for the readers, not for the advertisers. That is actually uncommon in the industry and in doing so we may have alienated ourselves from some potential sponsors. However, we wanted to bring the best of the best to all of our subscribers and let the advertising speak for itself. Then, of course, there was cost. Dirt Digest Magazine has a global message and reaching an audience of that size can be a daunting task. Sure, we could charge a premium for subscriptions to our content, but that would limit the audience greatly. That is why all subscriptions to Dirt Digest Magazine are free and always will be. Finally, we want to be able to showcase those that deserve a voice. Being a digital platform we are not bound by the constraints of printing costs and setup fees. We are able to bring our readers more content and reach a larger audience. So as you can see, we are doing things a little differently. We may be ruffling some feathers in the industry, but that’s okay. Times change and Dirt Digest Magazine is leading the charge.

Wish I could live that long.... Was there a dwelling on the property previous to 1953? Nice finds. I wonder what that 4.5 oz bronze chunk is. Could there have been a forge here in the past? Sure looks old. Don't know if you can date the zinc Ball canning jar lid. (Come on, Tim = 2Valen. This is why we keep you around!) I just looked at some lids I have (not metal detected) and the center loop connecting the two lobes of the B on yours appears much better defined than on mine, which I"m guessing are from the 40's or maybe 50's. My WAG is that yours is pre-WWII.

About what percentage of the time have you used the 6-1/2" White Elliptical Concentric Closed Coil - Item 6COIL-E when swinging the F75? (I pasted this from Fisher's official site.)

I wonder if repair delays have to do with pandemic induced international shipping issues such as those Simon (Phrunt) has been revealing over the past several weeks. I suspect the big users (strong squeeky wheels) receive better service in that regard. Getting Minelab parts from the other hemisphere to the USA...?

Thanks for the detailed response, Mike. In the case of the Tek Gamma, it appears it has considerably fewer settings/options than its big brother (Omega). In regards to the F75, you've mentioned the gain and threshold relationships before. It's good to see it again. I may be wrong but it seems to me this is something that wasn't widely publicized/explained in official literature. And detectorprospector.com came along a few years after its introduction so the kinds of (deep) discussions we get into around here for the "latest, greatest detectors to possess" either never made it here or occurred in threads created earlier than those I started reading. Glad you're around to assist in my knowledge of these (increasingly) less popular detectors.

Look forward to your finds -- I assume you'll give it a test drive pretty quickly? I bought a Tek Gamma model (same 'Greek' family) and gave it to a relative. But I did stipulate "when I come visit and don't bring a detector, you have to share." 😄 I noticed on (only) one occasion it picked up EMI, I think from power lines. Have you (plural) dealt with that, and if so, how did you overcome it? I recall I had to turn down the gain/sensitivity to somewhere between 50 and 60 to quiet it down. I think I was operating with the elliptical concentric.

If that was a picture of you early in the video, I have to say you don't look anything like your avatar. 😁 How deep (sea floor) were you detecting?

That is impressive. I'm pretty sure Gerry McMullen filled the first USA Lincoln Cent Whitman folder (1909-1940) from MD finds which is quite a feat. Your accomplishment is in the same ballpark as that. You mention that you started in 1979. But even with that advantage (beating others to the goodies) I'm sure you can count your time in the field in person-years, not hours. I notice five empty spots in your two folders. Do you still maintain hope you can fill those from MD hunts (directly)? I've found only one coin for my 20th Century folders that I started filling as a kid, going through bank rolls and loose change. I have found a few others that I didn't collect at that level (e.g. 2 cent piece and shield nickel -- 19th Century coins). There are four Jefferson nickels from the first 25 years (1938-1962) that I never found in circulation in my 60 years of collecting. I wll be thrilled if I ever get one of them. Still holding out hope....

Did you find these with a metal detector?

I guess it depends on how you define 'fast'. There does seem to have been a trend lately by some to announce a new product and then we wait (and wait, and wait). Note the Apex hasn't made it to market yet, so any award for getting in consumers' hands quickly needs to be kept in reserve until we see that. I think originally they said second half of July. Now we're hoping for early August. Tick, tock, tick, tock,...

One thing I think we enthusiasts at detectorprospector.com need to keep in mind -- Garrett has their way of advertising and this video fits that mold. In recent years (in particular) they've appealed to the masses rather than the detector zealots. It's interesting to see their (almost every issue) ads on the back cover of the ICMJ Mining Journal. Both June and July they've been featuring the Apex. For many months (~3 years in fact) before that they more/less alternated between the AT/Max and the ATX. It's hard for me to figure how the Apex (or the AT/Max) is particularly appealing to natural gold detectorists and prospectors. But Garrett forges on, doing things the way they choose. Anyone who dares underestimate their marketing effectiveness is in for a jolt, IMO.

I think you should extend your vacation indefinitely, until you can get all those sites cleaned out. 😁 I872 Indian Head penny is a semi-key, 5th fewest mintage in the series. I don't know if that's its value rank (and of course value depends on several factors), but it's still a great find, IMO. If I were you I'd think twice about cleaning it until you know for sure that won't cause irreversible damage (in the eyes of numismatists) or reduce its value. (I don't remember if you're one of those 'clean first and ask questions later' detectorists. From the looks of the coins in the photo I'd say you aren't....) Don't know much about your non-coin finds, but that button(?) with the black onyx(?) pie wedge looks interesting.

We'll see, because I'll be searching both! But not until cooler weather (probably October onward). I've still got unsearched areas that, depending upon time-of-day, I can hunt in the shade.

I second that! But your silver haul lately shows the bad days are temporary streaks, and hopefully the exceptions. Still good practice. Every target dug, trash or keeper, should add a bit to one's knowledge base. You mention trout fishing. I also see a lot of parallels between these two pasttimes. For me, if I got juicy treasures every time out it would take some of the excitement away. The bad days and mediorcre days make the good days just that much sweeter. One more parallel (I'm on a roll 😁) is golf. Most of the time I played golf it was I vs. I. Getting a rare (for me) birdie was like digging a silver coin or tiny nugget. (I wasn't very good at golf, as you might have deduced.) I had my goals and I measured my performance against the past. Hitting a good shot was an accomplishment in itself. My very best shots would be so-so shots on the PGA tour, but those guys aren't my competition. I'm my competition and I only answer to myself. Exact same situation in metal detecting.

Hopefully you're aware of these proof of negative Covid-19 test results requirements -- something you'll apparently be presented (confronted?) with when you get off the plane: 06112020-Mandate-10-Travel-declaration-form-Ver-2.0-6-10-f.pdf

The other thing the Equinox introduced was its low price/performance ratio. Advances equivalent to the Fisher F75 and White's Vision (eventually V3i) at $1300 and CTX at $2500 -- probably won't work in the 202x decade. I realize there are those who will pay whatever it takes to get the top performer. There are also those who won't, and obviously one of the manufacturers' toughest decisions to maximize profit (or to an extreme, to simply show a profit) is how to set the price point.