GB_Amateur

Happa 54's thread about hunting nickels (and Steve H's previous, similar thread) plus some recent hunts have got me thinking. Back in the early days of discrimination, all you got was a knob to determine what conductivity to cut off your signals. If you set it to detect nickels and above you had to deal with the annoying pulltabs plus other trash targets (including Zincolns). So there certainly was reason to set the discrimination level higher, even just below dime & copper penny, which cost you finding nickels. If you were on virgin ground, holding silver coins, there was extra incentive not to waste time dealing with trash just to be able to pull in those lowly nickels. I'm hunting a school which was built in 1926. Of 354 coins I've found there, only 7 (four Wheaties, one Indian Head penny, one Warnick, one silver dime) have been what I consider 'old'. (For me, 'old' means pre-Memorial penny, pre-Jefferson nickel, pre-clad.) Yesterday I pulled in 11 Jeffersons (no other nickels); one was 1939 and two were 1941. I realize these date+MM are among the highest mintage prior to 1960, and you can find them in pocket change today (particularly the 1941). Still, it got me wondering if previous seachers who took most of the old coins were skipping nickels. Thoughts? On a side but related note, what year did metal detectors start giving an indication of coin ID rather than just accept/reject above/below a certain threshold value?

Hope Alan Hale (aka 'The Skipper') isn't in charge. Take an MD along just in case.

I don't interpret what maxxkatt posted as depth limit. No way a silver dime can be detected deeper than a silver quarter under the same conditions. (Now someone is going to stack a bunch of quarters, fail to turn off the discriminator, and claim you can. ? )

Welcome, Leighton! Have you read Steve's reviews of these two detectors? That's the place to start. (For G2+, read Fisher Gold Bug Pro review; it's basically that with a few coin hunting bells and whistles, which you'll find described there -- same detector as the Fisher F19 with exception of the shaft.) One of the differences between sister models is the search coil each comes with. For example, the Gold Bug and Gold Bug Pro come with the 5 inch closed round. The F19 comes with the 5x10 in^2 closed ellipse. The G2+, Gold Bug DP, T2 come standard with the open 7x11 in^2 eliptical. Closed coils are usually better for ground where native gold is found. Also smaller coils do better with tiny gold, which is the most common size. You can buy coils separately so it's not like you're making a permanent commitment to the coil that comes with the detector, though.

Looks like I misspelled it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossicking

My sister ran into a fossiker when out camping who was having an issue with tiny shot while finish panning. He was sucking the shot into his snuffer bottle when trying to collect the gold. Any suggestions? I have a feeling he's not the first person to be annoyed by this.

Iron Age? No, but I checked one I found in a former redwood forrest in California -- probably late 1800's or early 1900's. In field-2 under 4 inches of moderately mineralized soil it was hitting 14 with excursions to 13 and 15, depending upon height of coil, orientation of swing direction, etc. Hopefully someone with a relic closer to your anticipated age & composition will give you a better response.

That's what I was thinking. Who goes from Western US (dry) scorching heat to Hawaiian (humid) boiling heat? More likely he did a nostalgic trip to his boyhood home.

One nice feature that can be applied in 5 tone (with the 800 model) is lowering the volume by tone zone. I, like many of you, want to hear 12-13 stand out as well as the higher conductors (19 and above if Indian Head Pennies are a possibility, 22 and above otherwise). So I set the zone volumes high for nickels and 'silver', low for iron, and medium for the other two. I also adjust the tone frequencies of the zones so that nickels are almost as high as silver, pull-tab zone next, small foil, and lowest iron. Turning down the volume of the trash zones reduces the fatigue of swinging over extremely trashy areas as you describe. Still, it's not a perfect solution.

Settings (including gain)?

No apology needed, IMO. There's a huge difference between digging in fertilized, manicured, thick, weed-free, well-watered sod and dry weed-infested hardpack with little or no grass. I've done both and there's just no comparison. Oh, I almost forgot -- nice loot!

Nice! From my scaling this appears to be smaller in size than a US dime. In bone dry soil, I suspect many detectors would struggle with something so small at such a depth. A good start with your Equinox!

I assume you're referring to the $650-$850 historical price range for the Gold Bug family. (And, yes, I know you are in Lord of the Rings land so your price likely is different.) First Texas has been running sales here in the US with significant discounts for over a year now. Recently they had the Teknetics G2+ and the Fisher F19 (both with the same performance as the Fisher Gold Bugs, but with more features) in the $400's if I recall correctly. Unfortunately that sale recently ended. Personally I don't think used detectors get enough attention. Sometimes (as previously has been the case with First Texas) the warranties don't transfer, so that can be an impediment. And, like buying a used car, you don't know how well or poorly an item was treated. But, given that the market decides the selling price, usually you can get a good deal if you shop wisely. As an example check this out -- an amazing buy on a Tek G2+ with two coils and two complete shafts, which probably had a lot to do with the fact that it was only a 3 day auction: https://www.ebay.com/itm/-/292650097596?nordt=true&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l10137 I suspect you, phrunt, with two GB-Pros already in house, couldn't have passed up this bargain. ?

I ask myself that same question regarding Zincolns. It seems someone is salting my dry land hunting spots with them just to frustrate me. I look at my pocket change (when I get some...) and the ratio of zinc to bronze seems lower there than in the field. If you think about it, given that field finds are distributed over 'history' it should be the other way around. One (actual, not imagined) possibility is that the detector I'm using is more sensitive to the (lower conductivity) Zincoln compared to the bronze Memorials. Another (WAG) is that Zincolns float to the top while bronze Memorials sink. Maybe people selectively pitch the Zincolns because (like we detectorists) they know they are PoS. Another (psychological) explanation is that they just seem to be more prevalent because we dislike them so much. For the practical among you who respond: "just discriminate against them", I answer: "I've tried that." In fact just last weekend I was cutting off above Zincolns and when I got home found an Indian Head penny in my finds pouch! It should have been rejected since they hit around Zincoln on the TID scale. Now I'm second guessing myself: "how many IH's did I walk past because I had my (mental) threshold so high to reject the Stinkin' Zincoln?" Sometimes you just can't win....?

This is a red flag in my book. Even the 'default' of 10 might be too high, depending upon the conditions. I have no experience or knowledge of the Garrett ATX but very few detectors can be run at max gain in the gold fields (and in fact many can't handle it even in parks/etc.). Have you watched the video below? Bill Southern and Kevin Hoagland make a big deal about not setting the gain too high. (They also talk about properly setting other things, such as threshold.) I'm sure you'll get some answers better than mine, but it's unfortunate Steve H. is away because he's used the ATX quite a bit.

How deep were those, Gerry? Just curious. I've learned to appreciate the eye appeal of gold on quartz specimens like these. Looks like you didn't even have to acid treat them. Beuties! Even the patina on the '62 Memorial cent -- you definitely know how to frame up your finds.

I'd like to see a Jeopardy style quiz contest between Steve H. and Carl M. with the topic 'metal detectors'. Grab some popcorn and a frosty beverage; then sit back and be amazed with the procedings.

I haven't felt loss at working any of Park-1, Park-2, Field-1, and Field-2. I start with one (usually one of the Parks) and then move to another when the environment (especially EMI) drives me. Like you, I turn the iron bias way down from the default when in Park-1. Eqx really is (more than) four detectors in one. If you only had any one of the modes it would be a top detector. Getting to choose according to conditions is a bonus. You said your Warnick ID'ed at 16? I wonder if that had anything to do with its depth in your (presumably mineralized) soil. Did you check it after it was recovered? I've been ignoring 15-17 range but you have me second-guessing my decision, now. I'm working sites which should produce those desirable targets and sure don't want to miss one. The only silver nickel I've found was right there with the copper variety -- 12-13.

Welcome Bob'ke! And congratulations on your year of research. You won't be disappointed with your choice. Well, I don't know the camaraderie of those two neighboring countries; I just hope this post doesn't get you deported. ? FWIW I was fortunate enough to visit Amsterdam several years ago and found it a very friendly, welcoming, intelligent, historical, and vibrant place.

Gerry, do you consider the Fisher Gold Bug Pro a "gold detector"? I've always thought of it as an all-around, although not in the same class as the White's MXT or Fisher F75. The Fisher F19 (and twin sister Teknetics G2+) are basically the GB-Pro and Tek G2 with just a couple added features, and they are sold as coin/relic detectors. Even the Gold Bug DP (just the Pro with a larger coil) is marketed as a relic machine. Of course I'm not telling you anything you didn't know many years ago.

Impressive finds, Mark! Reality is that a promising site trumps detector and even detectorist. You appear to have all three.

Well, if you want to get deep into pre-ratified-Constitution US coinage, the following is where you'll find it. Dave Bowers is both an excellent and prolific writer on all US coin subjects but also probably the most knowledgeable (overall) US coin numistmatist in history. I have several of his books. You can just use them as reference; you don't have to read cover-to-cover. https://www.amazon.com/Whitman-Encyclopedia-Colonial-Early-American/dp/0794825419/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532273660&sr=1-1&keywords=Colonial+Coins For an overall view of US coinage, the 'Redbook' has been the go-to reference for the past 70 years: https://www.ebay.com/i/253723373032?rt=nc&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20160908110712%26meid%3D55ce265db895489aaec3f095e2911916%26pid%3D100677%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D30%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D372268875624%26itm%3D253723373032 For online info, including *retail* prices, plus the best grading guide, this is my go-to site: https://www.pcgs.com/prices/ Ebay is the most reliable place to find values because they effectively cut out the middle. But don't trust asking prices, rather prices realized (used the 'adanced' search and check the 'sold listings' box). PCGS is a grading service and their prices are not only retail but also assume the coin has been professionally graded. That carries a premium. But short of that there is quite a bit of info on their site, more than you'll find in the Redbook and it's free to access. I like the Redbook for quick reference, and I'm old fashioned in that I find thumbing through physical pages easier than virtual ones.

Good stuff! The dated one (1739) appears to say 'Hibernia' which would make it from Ireland. Upper right shows George III. I can't see enough detail on the other coppers. If I were you I'd continue researching. People have found rare old coins in the US East.

Looked through my RedBook and didn't see this exact one. It appears to show George II and the date looks like 1740 or 1749, consistent with his reign. The North American made pieces depicted in the RedBook are typically George III and dated in the 1770's and 1780's. Now I'm wondering if yours was actually minted in England. I bet some of our British readers can educate us.

Heck of a find; congratulations to your mom! You should send the pics and story to First Texas. Might make their website or a future periodical. I recognize a US Colonial strike, but my recollection is that there are several with this same reverse, some extremely valuable. Have you identified this one?