CoinShooter

In the winter, the traffic is down because the salmon aren't in. This makes for nearly vacant parking lots 🙂

Here in Sterling, Alaska with about three feet of snow on the ground. Cabin fever is getting to me and I am thinking of a quick drive to Soldotna. Although I have never detected in the snow, I wonder if searching on the sides of parking lots, where the snow plows have pushed the snow, would produce finds? Has any of you ever done this? If so, did you have any success? Thanks, John

After thinking about your modification to protect your coil wires, I came up with a solution. I walked around my shop looking for something I already had. I found an old piece of black foam that is used to protect pipes from freezing. I made the foam long enough to keep the the wire near the coil stiff. I also inserted the electrical connector that attaches to the main control of the metal detector inside the hole too. I'm going on vacation in a couple of weeks so I will be able to test it out. I appreciate your post... John

Nice find! Where there a lot of people IN the water detecting? I'll be heading to Waikiki in two weeks. It's cold here in Alaska and I need some sunshine. I'm hoping my Manticore will do well in the water. This will be my first water hunt with it. John 🙂

I think what you did is a great ideal 🙂 I ruined a small coil a few years ago and wish I'd done what you did. I just received both the M15 and M8 coils in the mail two days ago so I'm going to use your idea in a few weeks on my vacation to Waikiki beach. Thanks. Not only did I order an M8 coil, but my wife bought me one too. Took me forever to get one coil and now I have two of the M8's. I guess I should put the extra M8 coil in the classifieds. John

If I would have known about that bag I could have saved myself a little money and some time. Thanks for the update. I'll keep this one in mind next time I'm looking for a smaller carry bag. My custom bag was not padded. John

Hello, I have several traditional carry cases but now that the newer shafts are mainly telescopic, I found them to be too big to carry around. Especially for my Manticore. I got bored one day, took a short drive to Jo-Ann Fabrics (Soldotna, Alaska) and purchased a few supplies like: A 36" zipper, some black canvas fabric, a small amount of Velcro. And lastly, the carry straps came from an old fishing wader belt. With absolutely no sewing machine experience and minimal frustration, I managed to make my own carry bag for around $20.00 USD. I even added an outside pocket with Velcro to bring along a few accessories. If the quality craftsmanship fails, I know who to contact 🙂 Anyways, I just wanted to show you guys that are interested, that one can be made at a bargain price. It also comes with a little pride and accomplishment too. It really was easy, I promise. John

Hello sir. I hope your holidays were great! I agree that the Manticore coils are starting to trickle to customers. Even though I am in Alaska with about two feet of snow on the ground, I still have the M8 coil enroute to me from Florida that I purchased a week ago. It seems my coil is having an awesome trip. In the past week it has been to Florida and Guam, it's currently sitting in Hawaii, and awaiting it's final trip to the Kenai Peninsula. Maybe the M8 coil will arrive before the thaw. 🙂 Thanks for the update in your neck of the woods. John

Nice treasures. Great job!

You got me!!!!! 🙂 But I sure was hoping this was true...

Hello and thanks for the info on the prospecting aspects of both the Nox and the Manticore. I appreciate the info 🙂 Been hammering the Sockeye salmon the past five days and haven't even had time to pull out either detector. Once the fishing slows down, I'll be out looking for a few nuggets as well as some old homesteads of miners. You never know what is lurking in the ground. Hope you have a great day! John

Thanks for the reply Brad. Been on the road and just got into Soldotna, Alaska two days ago. Will be testing the manticore out in the future in some gold creeks once the high water goes down. Waiting on the M8 coil for sure. John

Great finds! Congrats 🙂

I personally like the XP Deus pinpointers. They are rechargeable and the battery last a long time in between charges. If you have an XP Deus detector then the MI-6 would be a great choice because you can connect the detector with the pinpointer. If using another brand detector, the MI-4 would be a good choice. I also like how the frequency of the volume increases the closer you are to the target. Keeps me from being careless and scratching an old coin or relic. Just my opinion and I'm sure others have theirs too. Happy hunting! John

Hello all, Will be leaving next Friday enroute to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska for a year or so and was wondering if anyone on this awesome forum has used their Manticore (with upgraded software) for gold prospecting yet? I know the Kenai may not be the best spot for gold prospecting but I'll have to at least give it a try with the Manticore. I've used pans and a sluice box in the past along with my Nox 800 in the Kenai and found a little gold and a lot of buckshot. I know I really need the small coil and I think they'll be on the market soon I think. Also, if anyone reading this is in the Soldotna area, give me shout. I'd love to meet up and go on some outings. Thanks, John

Hey all, Was detecting on a river bank in West Virginia a couple of weeks ago and found this interesting find. It is an aluminum lid off a 1920s-1930s condom container. The container held three of them and they were marketed as "reusable." Anyways, you never know what you'll find near riverbanks. The 3 Merry Widows are Agnes, Mabel and Beckie. Thought you might get a kick out it. Happy hunting, John

I almost think its Citrine but this is just an educated guess. Found this on the web: Citrine is yellow or orangey quartz. Topaz is often in the same color family but because of its higher hardness it has a higher luster. Because of its different crystalline character it has stronger secondary color and can possess richer colors.

Looks like quartz rock to me. More specifically, a mixture of Oxygen and Silicon (SiO2) 🙂 John

I agree, horned coral. What state are you in? This may help in dating your find. John

Personally, I haven't noticed any depth issues with the update. I was out last week and pulled a Merc at about 7 inches. This past weekend I found a few Wheaties and one of them was around 8 inches. I crank my sensitivity up at around 28 to 29 because I like to run my machines as hot as I can. Depending on your soil that may not be an option but it works for me. Hope you get the issue resolved. There's a lot of people on this forum that are really smart and are always happy to help. Happy hunting! John

Updated the software on both the M-core and the headphones. It was super easy, even for a technologically challenged guy like me 🙂 Yesterday, I took my updated Manticore to a heavily worked area and managed to pull out this Mercury dime. Been to this site a few times over the past couple of months and this is the first silver. Did the update seem better to me? I dug less iron during yesterdays outing. Based on my one time use with the new update, I do feel that it performs better. Will be heading to the Kenai Peninsula in a few weeks and will be putting it to use looking for those elusive gold nuggets. Happy hunting! John

Hey Chase, Yes, I have been having great success with the Manticore. So much in fact that I wrote a story on it and Minelab picked it up. As a nice reward, they sent me a Nox 900 as a thank you gift along with their Pro-Find 35 pin pointer. I thought that was extremely nice of them. If you Google, The Mythical Beast and the Harvest you'll be able to read the story if you'd like. I have grown accustomed to Minelab detectors since the Safari came out. At first, their detectors were hard for me to learn because of all of the different "flute like" sounds. However, sticking with their detectors and learning the different sounds has really helped my silver coin finds excel like no other detector. I am nearly 58 and have been detecting since I was 14 years old I used the 900 yesterday and pulled out a few Wheaties from a very worked out city park. My wife showed up she tried the 900 too, and pulled a 1935 Buffalo nickel. Not counting over five bucks in newer clad. My Manticore is my go-to machine and I am looking forward to the smaller M8 coil being release. I detect a lot of trashy sites and those small coils do an excellent job and plucking the silver from the trash. My wife really like the 900 because she has the 800 and it is similar to use. The collapsible shaft is an added bonus. Hope this helps 🙂 Happy hunting! John

On a side note, I have been using my Manticore for the past few months. There was a learning curve to it (as always) but I am finding a lot of silver coins with it. I am hoping the Nox 900 provides the same results. John

Hello Jeff, I do have an Equinox 900 but just got it the other day. It's so new the coil hasn't touched the ground yet. However, that will change after today 🙂 I hate to hear that the coins IDs are so unstable. Thanks for the heads up on what I can expect though. I normally dig by sound, but like the ID numbers as a reference so I'll be seeing on whether they jump around in my soil. Happy hunting! John

Has anyone found or created a target spreadsheet for the Nox 900? Curious as to what the target ID numbers are showing when it comes to U.S. coins and civil war relics. Would you be willing to share with the rest of the world? More specifically, us on this awesome forum 🙂 Thanks, John