GB_Amateur

Nice relics! Quick Google search found this. You might want to 'dig deeper': http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist11/pacificpostal.html

That's a simple question without a simple answer. Many things: ground mineralization, electromagnetic intereferece (EMI), depth of target, purity of alloy, size of target, size of searchcoil, etc. affect the detector response to jewelry, including rings. Park 1 mode, default settings is a good place to start. TID's can be anywhere from +1 to +20 (and I wouldn't rule out lower or higher in rare cases). Rings tend to give a consistent TID, regardless of approach angle, but nearby trash can negate that consisency. Relative to coins, jewelry is a tougher read. Jewelry detectorists tend to dig a lot of trash because jewelry reads like trash (in terms of TID). If you are serious about finding jewelry, start digging everything with positive TID and refine your search criteria from there. Oh, and welcome to the forum!

Yes, the F19 is the Gold Bug Pro with a few extra bells and whistles. I have one and really like it, although it's taken a back seat to my Minelab Equinox 800. Several reports of the GB-Pro performance are here on this website, for example: Note that Phrunt has experienced a big improvement with the Detech Ultimate 13 inch coil compared to the stock coils. Of course that's another $170.... But that would likely really help hunting deep relics at battleground sites. Don't ignore the used market for coils but especially for detectors. I've seen some very good buys on the Gold Bug family (and that includes the Teknetics G2 which is equivalent to the GB-Pro and the G2+, equivalent to the F19).

Looks like 'UNION HDW' (Union Hardware Company)? Bottom to right of year: 'SIMER...'? I like oldmancoyote1's guess(?) that it's a railroad tie date spike, although I've never seen one that looked like this.

Just recently heard this here (in another thread). What I'd like to have answered: so there hasn't been water in the ground touching the coin for the past several decades while the coin was just sitting there? Ok, I'm getting off-topic. Probably I should start a new thread with this as the title.

Quite the skill you have with that pen, Lanny! And you keep us hanging in anticipation of the next installment. Thanks.

(Pure) molybdenum (Mo) is very close to silver in specific gravity (10.3 vs. 10.5). Pure tungsten (W) is up there with gold (both 19.3). Mo and W are in the same vertical column on the periodic table meaning they share some chemical and physical properties. Both are quite hard and have high melting points. Tungsten (often alloyed) has a lot of industrial uses. Molydenum not as many AFAIK. What you have is likely some kind of alloy, which makes identifying it more difficult. Still fun in my book. ?

Too bad they left off the fact that it had a -D (Dahlongega, GA) mintmark. I understand most readers wouldn't know what that meant, but another sentence or two would reveal its rarity and add even more to the amazement. Very well written story, otherwise.

That snowball seems to be growing. Just ordered one from Gerry that carrier says arrives Friday. Weekend doesn't look great weatherwise but Monday and Tuesday do. Can't wait to take it to my hunted test sites and see what it will turn up. If I find a Barber dime as nice as yours I'll make sure to get excited. ?

Sorry to hear about the weather, CC. Getting on a long road trip with a few days built in to hunt and you only got 1 decent day. But you made the most of it! Thanks for the well done video. I was going to razz you about being almost disappointed at finding a 1900 Barber dime (and from the end of the video the condition looked near top of the scale) but then you found those two (rather low mintage) -S mint Seated dimes -- beauties! I can see why 1900 seemed new. ? Glad you were careful not to scratch any of your coin finds. The 1868-S looks particularly sharp (low wear) ==> extra valuable. How deep was the Barber dime? From the view of the hole and the amount of dirt removed it appeared to be quite deep on the video.

You need to get the following book (by the Geotech founders): https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Metal-Detector-George-Overton/dp/0985834218/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1550599062&sr=8-1&keywords=inside+the+metal+detector.+by+george+overton+and+carl+moreland It includes DiY detectors, but it's much more than that. As far as analog detectors, they already exist since that was the technology in use in the early years (prior to the 90's, anyway). You can find all of them on Ebay to your heart's content. Although not all purely analog, the Tesoro detectors are the 21st Century version (throwback) of the early analog detectors. This isn't meant to discourage you from building your own analog metal detector. Just giving you options & research material.

VLF's are induction balance detectors. IB is general; VLF originally meant specifically 3kHz to 30 kHz IB detector, but it's gotten sloppy since then. As a result you can think of IB and VLF as synonyms in today's metal detecting world. If you really like building things, then you can have fun building a detector. If you really like detecting then you're probably better off buying one (used or new).

I'll go one further. I'd like to see the latencies in ms, not in some marketing/engineering jargon like "low latency". Chase says : That's the kind of detail I appreciate. And it makes me wonder why some people are running off selling their WM-08 module. I used the WM-80 headset a few times but once I tried the WM-08 attached to my favorite headphones (winter) or my favorite wired earbuds (summer) I've never gone back. (No, I'm not selling the WM-80's, so don't ask. ?)

Hope they got to keep their haul, or at minimum a significant percentage of it. I have two 150+ year old permissions coming up this year. I need to review contract agreements. Finding stuff is fun, but not getting to keep it -- not as much.

Yes, it's been linked to multiple times previously, but never hurts to be reminded -- such a good site. Besides old aerial photos they also have overlay USGS topo maps going back (in my case, anyway) to beginning of 20th century. I use this site quite often, and probably should use it even more.

Nice to hear more about you Lanny. British Columbia once again sounds like one of the (few?) places where unsearched/undersearched ground is still yielding. Glad you've taken the opportunity to savor it. Your experience helping the big boys (and getting to keep what you find) reminded me of what the Las Vegas sports books used to do (and maybe one or two still do). When the US football lines (odds) were first determined (typically on Sunday, a week before play) they'd invite a couple sharpies to make wagers, but for a limited price. They would then adjust the lines (in the direction of the bets) until there was no more interest. The experienced bettors got some good bets and the bookies got a cheap 'lesson' on where to open for the public.

If Gary Drayton found it on Oak Island he'd be claiming "Templar, baby!" ?

That's what I was thinking. Lots of 'weekend' artisans out there. I recall when in college (long time ago ?) one of my dorm-mates was making silver rings. They were pretty crude but definitely a high grade of silver (with no marks). I've also found high grade silver jewelry with iron attach rings. Doesn't make a lot of sense to us detectorists (because we know how bad iron corrodes in the ground). I guess whoever made it wasn't figuring it would end up buried. ? BTW, a good specific gravity test would go a long way to confirming, but that can be difficult to do because the volume (difference between dry weight and submerged weight) is difficult to determine with high accuracy. You're effectively trying to distinguish s.g. of 10.3 (sterling or coin silver) from s.g. of 8.9 (silver plated copper).

Good fortune, C_C, and we look forward to your reports of finds. I know the Pacific NW has been getting hammered with weather the last few days -- hope that doesn't spill too far south and affect your adventures.

Banjo Pan from Mike Pung (Gold Cube). Here's Mike showing how to dry pan with it: And a demo when you have water available:

Welcome, Ken! You live in a great location for relic and old coin hunting. You already have a nice arsenal. I look forward to you posting your finds and sharing your experiences.

Nice finds, particularly for middle of a not so mild winter. That half Real is a beut! How deep were these? Have you considered taking along a spray bottle to gently clean your finds in the field? Rubbing on a coin that turns out to be valuable can be a significant equity reducer. We all want the instant gratification of knowing what we just recovered, and sometimes knowing what we just dug helps in mapping/planning the remainder of the hunt. The water spray does both without the risk of damage.

Not to take anything away from the TDI Beach Hunter's versatility, but I wonder why the TDI/SL doesn't have the same option, since (electronically) it's the same detector. Does it have to do with balance? With its simpler enclosure (not waterproof) it's already only 3.5 lb (and less with smaller coils). Water detectors have the advantage of coil buoyancy. Without a control box would the TDI/SL become way too toe heavy? But then were the original Pulse Scan TDI and TDI Pro ("big box TDI's" and subsequently heavier) toe heavy when the control box was chest/hip mounted?

Deja vu. I was at a local creek where people (past and present) pan, sluice, and dredge. I asked a self-proclaimed expert if gold in the area could be found with a metal detector. He scoffed at such an idea, then proceded to point out a place in the creek where he moved a large chunk of concrete and subsequently found "the largest nugget anyone from around here had ever seen recovered". I asked him what it weighed and he couldn't tell me. But he did indicate it was about the size of the fingernail on his pinky finger.... It is pretty much guaranteed that gold in the area you want to hunt is more difficult to find than in the past. That's typical of the "low hanging fruit is the first to be harvested" reality. But it's not all gone. You have access to better tools and knowledge than the old-timers, which allows you to reach the high hanging fruit. One thing you have in common with them: they worked hard.

Another one of those "I've got to bookmark this and reread it many times" kind of post for me. I"ve never seen anyone go into such detail on the 'why' of choosing settings. In fact, most don't ever say why, just "here is what I did" (or worse, not even reporting settings). This will help me with all my hunting -- coins, relics, natural gold. A great example of "give me a fish and I'll eat for a day; teach me to fish and I'll eat for a lifetime." Thanks, Steve!