GB_Amateur

🤣 Another example of the founder leaving and the inheritors not having the same enthusiasm/vision/dedication. Charles Garrett gets a lot of the credit (if 'credit' is the right word) for me being in this endeavor. His books were (still are) inspiring. Apparently he isn't looked upon as highly as a designer/innovator as much as some others, but he was (and at least his successors still are) at the top of advertising and marketing. The 15 kHz Ground Hog is acknowledged by many as the first productive gold nugget detector. Charles's books on how metal detectors work carried the banner for a long time (but are now replaced by Carl and George's Inside the Metal Detector). I would have owned an ATX a couple years ago if they weren't so ridiculously heavy. Your LTX was a great existence-proof mod and I still kick myself for not buying it when you put it on Ebay.

I wonder what the runtime is on the White's TDI detectors. Typically you get about a day with alkalines or NiMH, and as you note, there is a continuous deterioration in voltage output as those discharge.

Any signs of historic habitation (such as glass) are good indicators of where to hunt. Glad to hear your daughter enjoyed the adventure. Quartz in the right form, etc. is valuable, as I'm sure you know. But the thrill of the hunt is often the greatest value and she seems to have discovered that already. Good fortune finding a successful hunting spot closer to home.

So that squelches the rumor that Minelab is phasing out the X-Terra. Or maybe its going to be a limited release market for African fossickers. But if the Vanquish doesn't have a gold mode there is still room for the X-Terra in their product line across the globe.

It's not just brand loyalty that Garrett has going for it, but advertising. In the US, anyway, nobody does that as well as Garrett. But, yes, the question is: "is it enough?"

Did you see if it was attracted to a magnet? Even if part of it is brass there still could be iron/steel. Can you show a side view?

Banish that thought from your mind.

Maybe you said in another thread -- what coil are you using for this test?

Curb strips are an oft ignored producer. I've started to hunt those more regularly but so far in my recent hunts they are so loaded with modern coins (and trash) that I'm not getting the deeper, older stuff. I'm sure it's there and I won't be giving up. Nice dimes!

Super nice condition for an IH. I can see why you want to go back. Good ploy offering to mow it. That is almost a guaranteed permission.

Where I live a lot of the parks and schools were previously occupied/used sites. That has paid off for me not only because there is old stuff there, but also because the 'competition' looks at the date the park was established and decides it's not worth searching since there won't be anything old there. Another thing that can happen on public properties is that the municipality backfills from reclamation projects which can be old, populated/used areas they are redoing. There are so many ways old things (including coins) can arrive at their current resting place.

Interesting that you're using high frequency (18.75 kHz). Did you get that coil for natural gold hunting? Nice to have a choice of frequencies on one coil. Existence proof that Minelab will cooperate/colaborate with the Eastern European aftermarket coil manufactuers.... Obviously 18.75 kHz does well with coins from what you show. I have the Coiltek 15" at 3 kHz but it's a heavy beast.... Never have given it much of a chance due to its weight. All three (frequency) 6" coils found coins for me. Nice haul for just 45 minutes. Bet you'll be going back!

NP, Steve. It's fun to speculate on what could have been. The reality is that we can't step back. We either move forward with optimism or deteriorate in our reminiscence. In 1980 (just after the peak of precious metal prices and still in the boom) I strongly considered going up to AK to search for gold. But I had no bankroll and little knowledge. I took the easier (but probably also wiser) route of working in the lower 48, eventually going back to school and a new career. I chose a satisfying path. In fact we only get one choice when there are many routes to choose from. If I had come to Alaska I would have missed out on all the enjoyable things that did occur. I'm glad to see you still have the strength and enthusiasm to give it another go. If I were you, though, I wouldn't wait until 2021. I'm not yet shopping for rocking chairs myself. Too many choices/paths to still take!

When I saw him do that performance (on TV), I was 27 years old. I thought it was funny then. Perspective (and emotion) has changed in the last 39 years.

(With citation to the movie The Graduate) I just want to say one word to you, just one word. Are you listening? Retirement

I don't exactly know what 'simultaneous' means in terms of server usage. When my computer browser is running (~14 hrs / day) I always have a tab with this website. Would it help if I closed the tab and then reconnected when I want to access the site (which would cut it down to being on ~12 hr / day ?)?

You reminded me of George Burns and this song of his:

Another great 'nugget' of info from the site admin. From my own experience, my finds tend to fall off with time during a hunt. As I've spent much of my career trying to distinguish random events from non-random, this experience has happened enough that I'm pretty sure it's systematic. In my case it's not boredom, but a related performance killer -- fatigue. My back starts hurting; my ears start hurting (from the less-than-perfect fit of the headphones); my feet are dragging as my legs get tired. I get hot, thirsty,.... Staying hydrated, getting rest at night, good nutrition, exercise (when not detecting), all those things help. But I suspect among the most successful there is some kind of strong willpower that leads to overcoming all of these. Just another goal to achieve in this leisurely, simple pasttime.

You posted a nice photo -- except -- there is no way for us to determine the size. For small items, including a coin in the photo for scale does the trick. For large items (and even small), include a ruler or measuring tape in the photo. My guess it that what you found is some kind of magnifying mirror. The fact that it appears to be gold plated makes me think it was meant to be attractive. One possibility is that it was carried in a woman's purse for the purpose of makeup touch-up. I suppose it could also have been a fire starter. That's enough WAGging from me. ? The spike sounds like a railroad spike. What you're learning about your detector is common. Digging it all is an excellent learning tool and even experienced detectorists do that when first getting a new detector. Some even do it most of the time. Discriminating (the detector kind and the human brain kind) saves time but it also loses valuable targets. It's something to turn on and off as conditions dictate. Target ID isn't as simple as it is sometimes depicted. Nicely shaped items (such as coins) near the surface, and oriented flat -- yes. But even coins, the deeper they go and the further off-angle they are buried the more the TID varies. Jeff and Chase have mentioned that coil control also affects TID. That will come with experience. I think you're doing the right things; it just takes time = experience. When you meet up with that fellow detectorist next weekend you'll get more info (and confidence). ?

Error collecting is certainly a special section of numismatics. I'm not very familiar with it although I have studied/read about it over the years (mostly long ago). I just looked at a book from my shelf -- Modern Mint Mistakes by Phillip Steiner and Michael Zimpfer (4th ed., 1974!). In their section Off Center Stikes it says "Being fed partially between the dies causes a coin to receive a partial strike. An off center coin must lack part of the coin's image." It continues "The percentage of the blank planchet still showing tells how far off center a coin is" (emphasis mine). My crude estimation is that yours would be classified in the 40% class. Beatup is correct in what he says -- rare, and never supposed to have gotten through inspection. Unfortunately rarity often doesn't translate to value. You also need 'demand' and most mint errors (with exceptions such as extreme double strikes and over-date/mintmarks) just don't have that much collector appeal. You can probably find fair prices on Ebay. But it's a cool find, regardless of $ value! Looks like you've got a good spot there. Hope you have time to get back down to it between your trips to gold country.

I have so many ideas dancing in my head, many of which have been inspired by the Dankowski site thread and others by the responses here, my observations over the past 1 1/2 years (posts on this site just since the Eqx was released) and still others from my own experiences. I'm now treading new ground using my just completed test station (not exactly "test bed", but in the same vein), also sparked by the Dankowski site thread and this thread. We humans (and maybe it's unfair to generalize, because in many ways we are different) tend to look for simple solutions. That works to get started, but in the long run if it is relied upon too heavily it becomes a crutch. We're told (with good intention) to read and trust the manuals. We're told (or at least led to believe) that the engineers at the detector companies know what they're talking about. Yes, they do, but that extent is limited. Certainly theoretically they know, and in their (limited!) testing experience they know. And they have field testers. Those are a drop in the bucket compared to the hundreds of thousands of detectorists out there. The earth is way larger than all the test beds combined, by many orders of magnitude. The (hidden) targets, likewise. Books? I have most of them and they are well-intentioned. But could they possibly cover even a small percentage of situations? If they don't admit to their limitations then I wonder how much they are worth..., and what the true intentions of their authors are. This thread (and my last weekend's m/l bust hunt on virgin 1850's homesite) has opened my eyes -- thanks to all who have ever contributed to that. I've only begun my testing but already I've found things that I didn't know, and maybe things others didn't know, or at least didn't publicize. Unless I disappear, you're going to hear about those -- maybe more than you want to listen! I've for quite a while been somewhat uncomfortable with this forum sub-topic ("Equinox fan club"). This isn't (as it never is) a slam at its intent -- I understand the reasons for its intitiation, but I think it has long since run the need for a "fan club" as it may be the most widely subscribed / most popular detector in history if you acount for its still short existance. The main reason I feel uncomfortable is that, IMO, it paints a picture/heading that there is something unusual about the Equinox -- to the extent that other detectors don't share. Maybe its uniqueness is true, but how much of what is written in this sub-forum applies to other detectors, even most detectors? Certainly there is no prohitibition that readers of this sub-forum are required to own the Equinox, but I do feel that it alienates some, maybe even many -- sort of a clique. I have mixed feelings because I'm glad this sub-forum informs many, but wish it would be more inclusive, open, welcoming of those who don't own Equinoxes because not only do the ideas posted in it have the potential to help them, but the reciprocal relation also exists (maybe even more strongly!) that other detectors' performances can enlighten Equinox owners, too. I will state this -- the ideas posted on this thread prompted me to investigate (and appreciate) strengths of my other detectors. As an example, the discussion here and on Dankowski has led me test and sample the universe of settings my other detectors offer. As a specific example, I've noticed that the "Cache Locate (CL) process" of the F75 is more sensitive for small coins than any other process in certain conditions. Who would have thought (not I) that "Cache Locate" meant better performance on individual coins? But we see that kind of result when people experiment outside the box within the Equinox's many canned title settings -- Park, Field, Beach, Gold. In some ways these are helpful headings but in others they are detrimental. I've only been serious (and dedicated) to this endeavor for 4 years now. I realize many here have been serious for four decades (or more). So if you are thinking "yeh, I know that, what else is new" then I request that you go back to when you had four years (or less, because some here are newer than I) experience and put yourself back in those shoes. Stay tuned because if I have anything to do with it you are going to be reading more, and I hope it's not just I who is shaking up the status quo.

With the old coins you're finding, I wouldn't try and press my luck 'guessing' when it's a bottle cap. Keep up the good work! On the weekends do you go out there at lunchtime, too. ?

Great finds, Dan. It seems that spot is button paradise! Oh, do you know what that thing is with the heart on it? I found an identical one last weekend hunting an old homestead. Do you think it has military origin or just a coincidence that it showed up there?

Excellent find, and very nice condition as RR said, GKman! Thanks for the video and also reporting your settings. It's hard to quantify amplitude of sound, but did you have to listen really hard to hear it or was it pretty clear? I'm impressed with the depth. Do you recall what gain/sensitivity you were running?

Congrats on the ring, Jeff! I know Denver parks get hit pretty hard so I'm surprised you're finding so many ring&beavertail pull tabs from the 1965-75 era. Is that because nearly everyone is using strong discrimination?