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While on a recent gold hunt at a new site with the up and coming 24K I was not having much luck at finding gold. After 4 hours and no heavy yellow metal, I changed gears and decided to see how I liked the digital readout ID system on the machine. Well I can tell you this. Yes the numbers might move around some, but when it locks on to the right with a high number, you better dig. The site must have had a building, as there was iron, glass and even broken brick scattered about. I used the small 6" coil to get between iron trash and try to sniff out the high conductors and it worked. It actually did better than I expected and I should have saved the other bullets and buttons, but they were nothing special or neat about them. Pocket Watch is certainly a keeper. No it is not gold or even silver for that matter, but at least it was a timely find. The pistol bullet is an oldie for sure. The ceramic tube was odd, as I could not figure out why the detector kept hitting on it? Then I realized there was a copper wire going through it. Still not 100% certain what this find is, but I think it had to do with electrical wiring and or insulator of some kind? If you know, chime in. The coolest discovery to me was a really nice ornate bottle top. It's a screw on type made of lead and looks to be a crown. But it has white glass on the inside of the cap. There again, if you have an idea, please share you knowledge. So if I can be at an old mining camp and pick these treasures among iron, I feel a Relic Hunter could do the same thing. What about Urban Detecting for micro jewelry in a tot lot or volley ball court? I think you could pull a few ear rings, belly studs and toe wraps from those sites as most folks who hunt them find the larger coins and rings. Heck, their machines might even miss a dainty ankle bracelet too. Moral of the story. A gold detector is best at finding gold, but realize it also has other capabilities that can allow for more fun/finds. What are some of your favorite non gold nugget finds with a gold detector, I'd love to see them.

Reg Wilson is a bit of a legend in Australian detecting circles and has kept a comprehensive photo collection of his finds over 4 or 5 decades. Now everyone likes gold images and stories - and there are plenty here! I've been offered existing topics to post on, but I believe the topic deserves its own thread to do it full justice. All images are those of Reg Wilson unless otherwise attributed. The album consists of hundreds of photographs of not only gold, but many gold detecting industry characters, some of whom are no longer with us, but who all contributed in their own unique ways to the great gold chase we still enjoy today. Firstly, a bit of background. Reg first shot to international fame with the finding of this 98 ounce piece which he named the "Orange Roughie" in 1987, decades later to be fraudulently rebirthed as the "Washington Nugget" By no means his first find, Reg was already a successful detector operator and at the time was testing a prototype GT 16000 for Minelab's wizz kid engineer Bruce Candy: Photo: Australian Sun Herald L to R: Bruce Candy, the late Doug Robertson, Ian Jacques, Reg, John Hider Smith. Reg recalled: "The man standing next to Bruce Candy is the late Doug Robertson, who with his brother Bruce worked the aluvials below the famous and fabulously rich Matrix reef at McIntyres. They had an old Matilda tank with a blade attached to clear Mallee scrub. Between them they had a wealth of knowledge of the northern Victorian gold fields. (Doug's name may have been Robinson. Memory is a bit foggy)" Ian, Reg and John were prototype SD 2000 testers in Victoria, AU and were collectively known as the "Beagle Boys" a name bestowed upon them by Dave Chappel, the publican of the Railway Hotel Dunolly. On any Friday night huge nuggets, some weighing well over a hundred ounces could be seen displayed on the bar. 120oz from Longbush. Found all on its own, finder anonymous: The playing cards and US currency indicate that the nugget has just been purchased by the late "Rattlesnake" John Fickett, a US gold buyer who bought many of the big pieces back then: Ian Jacques and Reg with 44 oz 1989: Ian Jacques with his SD 2000 prototype late 80's. Real prospectors don't use bungees All for now, but at least we've made a start - - -

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?p=2934794#post2934794

http://www.thetreasuredepot.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/relic_config.pl?page=1;md=read;id=433467

I read this story about a little 'color' in a stream in Greenock. People talking about some flakes but then they talked about seeing them from a distance and then they showed this guy with a colander and he had a hand full of REAL nuggets. What a hoot! http://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/16128940.Gold_found_in_stream_at_Cardwell_Garden_Centre/

https://www.minelab.com/usa/go-minelabbing/success-stories

GOLD COIN ALERT. A HAND FULL of $5 US Gold Coins found today. Not only has he been a friend of our family for many years, my dad got him involved into metal detecting 20+ years ago and today was the PAY DAY. 1st his daughter digs a 1905-S $5, but then they dig 8 more. Congratulations to you both. Gold nuggets come in many ways and they will remember this day forever.

GOLD COIN ALERT. A HAND FULL of $5 US Gold Coins found. Just found today in Idaho

https://www.findmall.com/read.php?107,2434540

Anyone else got an Instagram for your finds Mine is QTeeKids

Paul is a very experienced detectorist. He is one of the nicest gent's I have have ever chatted with online. I have never met him personally. I actually have a piece of his equipment he has loaned me to try out. What an amazing find with Nox. Congrats Paul. Couldn't happen to nicer guy. https://www.findmall.com/read.php?107,2431871

Original GOLDEN EAGLE NUGGET dug by Gerry McMullen with a Minelab GP series metal detector in Northern Nevada. No, it is not slag. It is a genuine nugget dug up in the desert. How much would an NFL Football player from Philadelphia Eagles pay for this solid gold piece to hang around their neck?

Been watching Great Basin Man for a couple o' years now, here's his latest! Awesome Spot never quits producing! The gold coin vid is from 2017. Cheers Ig

I have hunted this site. Actually dug over 100 nonferrous out of using Deus. Folks told me they had been hunting this site hard since 1975. I haven't hunted in a while. Based on the trees in background and listening to the one gent talk, where the gold was found, ,when I hunted a few times was in pretty tall stubble. I have hunted with the gray haired gent once in Ky. He was a big time CTX man. Notice what he's running now in this video. Also notice how deep the holes dug are. I can attest personally soil in this site 3 bars on F75. Now I mentioned gold found. Not what you think. Cheers and enjoy the video. One heck of a find!! Big congrats to Jeff. Never have met him. Wonder what the rarity value of the find is?

https://www.minelab.com/usa/go-minelabbing/treasure-talk/it-s-not-about-the-gold-you-miss-but-about-the-gold-you-find I don't hunt for gold nuggets. But like what I see here. Congrats Jonathon.

https://www.minelab.com/usa/go-minelabbing/success-stories

https://www.minelab.com/usa/go-minelabbing/treasure-talk/sometimes-it-s-just-nice-to-be-nice

I picked this up on the bottom of this page here. Super find. https://www.minelab.com/usa/ http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/hull-hgv-driver-goes-metal-998593

https://www.minelab.com/usa/go-minelabbing/success-stories

This nugget is said to be the world's largest crystalline nugget. http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/sierra_lodestar/article_ca273814-da1c-11e7-b866-b37713f31b00.html

There was a recent find of a 117 ounce gold nugget in the Mt Monger area, south-east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia. Unfortunately so far I have only been able to find one very poor photo of it. What's up with that? The nugget is a bit different in that it is pretty long at 20" and narrow instead of a round lump. http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/regional/goldfields/a/20549863/faith-of-colleen-on-loan-to-museum/ Anybody have more information on how it was found or a better photo? I did find a photo on Facebook purporting to be the same nugget but I do not think it is.

We'll i finally got to join the 1oz+ club!! My buddy Dave and i headed to Gold Basin for a half day trip. We hit our usualy spot and split up. I headed to a wash that i found a 5.4 gram piece a couple of weeks ago. I didnt hit the whole wash, so i figured id start where i left off. A bit later, i get a nice signal by a bush in the middle of the wash. It turned out to an 8 gram specie with some dark host rock mixed in. 10 feet away in the bank of the wash i get another screeming signal. This was the flat nugget, also about 8 g. I radioed Dave to tell him the good news. The next couple of hours there was nothing except a couple of meteors. I decided to hit the bottom end of that same wash on my way back to the truck. After a bit i get a nice signal in the wash, it was the .8g flat piece. The wash had widened out, and the bedrock was deeper, so i wasnt detecting to slow wgen i got a slight sound. I thought it was just ground noise because i was running the GPZ hot at 18 sensitivity and high yield and normal ground. I did a scrape and the sound was still there. I took about 6 inches off with the pick and the sound seemed more distinct. I fugured it wasnt mineralization but rather trash because the dirt was silt, not hard pack. I kep widening and deepening the hole and when i got to over a foot it was screeming. I was figuring tin can ir something. After about 6 more digs and around 2ft deep. I get it out of the hold. I did reach bedrock so i was feeling hopeful. It turned out to be a 1.41 (OZ) nugget and a pretty one at that, with a bit of quartz. I finally joined the club. I feel like i deserve a patch or something lol. I radioed Dave to tell him the good news, and he was eccited for me. (He was already a member pf the club) a bit under 2 oz for the day. I took Dave to the wash, with his big coil on the GPZ, to try to score him a big nugget, no luck. We packed up and headed home. oh and i finally paid for my GPZ in nuggets ...and some. thanks Chris

A Lady decided to go out and spend $825.00 on a metal detector, And what an introduction in to the hobby, WTG Girl.

You need to check this out - great story with some excellent photos! Every cloud has a silver lining – Discovering a Medieval Coin Hoard (Part 1)