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This makes 10 gold rings and 14 total gold with the Manticore since my first hunt on Jan 15. It is size 4 and weighs 1.38 grams. I also found a 1964 Rosie. Nice to detect my name. LOL I do believe that I am getting the hang of this machine.

The librarian from the school contacted me today and apologized for not getting back to me sooner. I told her the fact that she was out last week with COVID was a plenty good excuse. She identified the ring owner. I headed to google. I found 4 supposed phone numbers for a lady with that name and the right age. I was skeptical but thought I'd call them and eliminate them. A lady answered the first number. I asked her if she were the woman who graduated from that high school in 1974. She answered in the affirmative. I then asked, "When did you lose your class ring?" She said, "Over 40 years ago." Anyway, I will ship it to a very happy lady tomorrow.

A couple of weeks ago I posted about finding a large college class ring. Now that the ring is on its way back to the owner I can share a few more details about it. The ring is from Texas A&M University and the gentleman lost it in the southern California surf in 2009. He returned the next day with a metal detector but was unable to locate it. 14 years later, on a cold, dark, wet and windy morning I was holding the ring in my hand admiring its golden sheen in the glow of my headlamp. The owner was very surprised and grateful to hear that I would be returning his ring. After speaking with the ring's owner I found out more about the rich tradition of the "Aggie ring". The Aggie class ring just might be one of the most cherished, celebrated and recognizable college class rings in the world. The rings are made by the well known Balfour company and, I believe that, Texas A&M is one of their biggest, if not their biggest, clients. The Association of Former Students oversees a lost and found program and maintains a registry to help reunite rings with their owners. Their website states that there are about 60 Aggie rings reported lost or missing each month! That should give you an idea of how many thousands of Aggie rings are out there. There is even a large bronze statue of an Aggie ring on campus! Now that I understand more about the history and significance of the Aggie ring I am really glad that I am able to return this one. https://www.tamu.edu/traditions/aggie-culture/aggie-ring/index.html https://www.aggienetwork.com/news/tagged/?tag=294

Been getting silver almost every time out with my Manticore so far, even at the park. But I've mostly been on the beach where I have consistently been getting Mercs. Yesterday just a '47 Rosie, but still silver. Today, I got my first gold with the new machine. A very solid two way 25 that wasn't shifting. Just 25, 25, 25 both ways. Showing 6" deep - which is kind of shallow for good targets on this beach and that's about how deep it actually was. I'm pretty sure I've got a nickel down there. Nope! 14K white gold, 6.4 grams - it's tiny, barely fits over the first knuckle of my pinkie, but I'll take it. And just to keep the sliver streak alive I guess, I also pulled a very tiny, ornate little silver ring. Not stamped, but the acid turned red and pretty much all silver comes out of this salt black - the below was after some electrolysis and silver polish to take down the black to more of a gray. It started as a much larger black encrustation that I suspected was silver due to the 80's it rang up and because it was black not green. Until the acid turned a nice blood red I still wasn't positive though. - Dave

Rang up a solid 46 on the Deus2 about 6 inches deep. Only .76g

Hit a park yesterday...it was fun playing in the mud... came home soaked and dirty but with a smile on my face. Look at the color on that little ring. It holds acid up to 22k for about an hour and I don't have acid that goes higher then that so I'm thinking its between 18 and 20K...it was smashed by the mower so I heated it a little and straightened it out on the mandrel. The wife wants that one so I'll be taking it to the jeweler so he can doctor it up. The pendant is 14k stamped and acid tests. If you have a M-Core dig those 13s and 18's you might get a nice surprise. strick

A few days ago I went to a park in a different part of town to test the ground since parks closer to home are still pretty frozen. It was a really nice day, sunny and almost warm, and I had high hopes since this park has huge sports flields and playgrounds. The fields were still largely frozen but I could see there were small holes everywhere from the parks department aerators. I figured that could be a good sign and maybe that would make the ground thaw quicker. I had been there but about an hour when the park started filling up with people, a lot of people. I wasn't finding much anyway and really just wanted to see how the ground was, so I started working my way back to the car when a got a signal that had a typical ring pull number but it sounded just a little too good so decided to check it out. When I peeled open the small hole I made I saw a greyish curved edge and thought, "Yep, it's a ring pull", but I was wrong. I could see a weird looking part where the tab would be and it had a stone on it. "Holy cow, it's a ring!"' I thought, "but is it real?" Turns out it was .925 silver with a stone of some kind. It looks like the aerator tagged it on the back part, but it's still intact and still silver. Well I figured that made my day and it was time to beat a hasty retreat while more people were piling in. As I worked my way out of the field, I moved into a scrub area near a dirt trail leading off to a creek from the parking lot. I poked around the scrub a little while finding some nails and bits of iron when I hit what I thought was a dime signal. I dug down about 4-5 inches and found a square hunk of metal covered in dirt and mud laying on a rock layer. Well it wasn't a dime so I through it in the junk pouch and called it a day. When I got home and verified the ring was silver, I started going through the trash and got to the square thing. It had some weight to it and as I started to brush it off, an oblong hole appeared. I could start to make out some lettering and figured it is probably a dog license since there was a dog park not too far from where I was hunting. When I finally got it cleaned off I could see it had Santa Fe Hotel , the number 11, and 529 E.PP on it. It was a hotel key fob, and it looked older too. There hasn't been a Santa Fe Hotel in town for as far back as I can remember. I started doing some research and located the probable location of the hotel which has a bank building on the site now, but on 1800s maps of the city it was a large lot with a large building on it on the eastern edge of town and was directly across from the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad depot. That building is gone in maps of the early 1900s and with the help of some of my detecting club members, we have narrowed the date of the key fob down to 1880-1890s. So there you have it. You just never know what you will find in the most unlikely places. And always check your trash, it could be something good, and strangely enough this has happened to me a few times lately.

At last the legend has found me a 14k gold ring. Was hitting up my usual beaches; all of them were barren, except the last one that I knew would have a coin line at least! (It's the same beach that has given me at least 1 silver ring every visit) Arrived on site and there was already another detectorist in the water, so I bee lined it to my usual side on the left of the beach. Hit a few targets and then this gold colored object popped out. At first glance, I thought it was another one of those gold colored circles that were usually made of brass and had threads on the inner part. Upon a second look however, I noticed the metal curved inwards, which is when I knew it had to be a ring! There was also alot of crud within the band where your finger is supposed to go. (It prevented me from knowing the gold content of the ring until after I cleared it out.) Afterwards, I circled around the area where I found the first ring, and popped out a damaged silver ring! Oh and I also found a 1951 silver dime. Pretty solid day, that beach is a treasure trove every time I go. 10/10

Have been trying to get out between some seasonably abnormal snow events in western Oregon the last 10 days. First, hit the beaches of the Columbia River not too far out of downtown Portland. Jewelry hunting was largely a bust, but I wanted to check all the black sand piled up from wave action, and satisfied my curiosity. 3 pans, 2 colors, and a dime in one pan not shown (How on earth in the millions of yards of sand up and down that 5 mile stretch did I pull a dime in a pan when i only found about 50 coins all day with the detector). Not enough to bother with....but there is gold underfoot! Next, hit an old park that has been incredibly stingy to me. I find plenty of good old stuff in our area, but this park has been well hunted and rarely gives up old coins. I used the Deus Hot program, and swapped in the Deep program checking targets, and found several whispers at 7-8 inches that have been waiting there a long time...and that countless detectors have passed over. Hit is twice more with modified programs that should have given me some additional depth and/or sensitivity to deep targets...and nuttin' in terms of old coins. One lonely vintage silver earing to show which was only 2-3 inches down. Bouncy signal probably resulted in it being undug. My buddy in our uncommon snow, taking the high ground to peer through the windows, and make sure she isn't left behind. Nothing that get's one too excited, but keeps me motivated to get out and dig a hole! Happy hunting! Brian

I had about 40 minutes to spare today before it got dark. Went to a local park which has a history of having very unfriendly fire ants in mounds hidden by the grass. I used the 10x5 on the Equinox 800 again. Last target of the day was this ring next to the parking lot about 2 feet away from a chain link fence. The TID was 27. Park 1, 7 recovery, all metal, 50 tones

And there's not even a close 2nd. The recent high wind driven surf and decent tides had me thinking that all the local beaches were going to produce a lot of treasure from beach erosion. However, it seems that some of that sand that got stripped away was "fill" sand and some promising looking cuts didn't yield as many targets as expected. Fortunately, I did find a beach that had a big cut (6' high in places") with enough targets to keep me digging during 2 - 5 hour hunts. Around 3 hours into the second hunt my TDIBH indicated a "high conductor" target low on the slope. I scooped the target out of the hole and started to feel around for it in the mound of sand. When I located it I realized that I had found a large heavy ring and when I turned on my headlight I saw the unmistakable gleam of yellow gold in my hand. It is a major university class ring and I am already taking steps to return it.

Went to a local tot lot today for about 1 1/2 hours. I have detected there in the past, but this time had the 10x5 on the Equinox 800 in Park 1 with 7 reactivity as I focused along the chain link fencing. The first gold, the small butterfly, gave a strong, solid 6 TID. The other gold displayed a locked-in 8 for the TID. It's been a while since I've been detecting and these rings are the first gold of the year. They were each about 1" deep in the very sandy soil. The Smithsonian jewelry piece displayed a 34-38 TID.

Someone asked recently about finding small gold with a 15" coil at the beach. I found a little patch today and slowed down enough to find a couple of pieces of tiny jewelry. If you have a compatible detector (x-terra pro) then this 15" coil should work. Will it work on others as well?

I got out today for a 3.5hr hunt. The hunt didn’t start all that great since my headphones wouldn’t power up. I had to hunt using the speaker and that was a PITA with wave action. The plated ring is the first one I found and it fooled me for split second. The next ring was the one with the hearts. I wasn’t expecting anything else in that area so I decided to move to a different area. I’m glad I did since my second target was the middle gold ring. A couple minutes later and few feet away I found the nugget ring. I gridded that area for another hour but didn’t find any other rings/jewelry so I called it a day. Good luck out there.

The storms are a few days behind us but there are a few good waves coming in to make some patches. I found one patch today on one of my 'go to' local beaches and got a couple of golds! One has some stones (10k/2g/diamonds) to go with it. The other is a 14k gold earring that is not so rare this year. It is my 2nd one after many years of the similar style being always junk.

A hunt from a few days back. Quarter in pic for size comparison. Going out for the 8th hunt today and after their gold brothers!

Today I went to good beach and a not so good beach! It is easy to know the difference between them. I can put some of my excuses away for a while. haha The trash to rings ratio was one of the best I've ever had. I was hoping to have the full day rather than just 2.5 hours but that didn't happen. I'm quite pleased with it anyway because it was not my intended beach. I had to get gas and that determined the new direction I had to go with limited time. Here is the not so good beach that I spent more time at than the good beach. (I don't think it will be that way tomorrow!) The 4 gold rings include a rare gold earring. The total weight is not too great but it was so much better than any of my previous hunts on the gold count. On my way out of the beach I ran into a forum member, Slim. I showed him what I found and I hope he was able to get some goodies of his own.

Couple day storm subsided but chummed up some targets. Couple pals broke a buck one dug a junk rink, some sinkers. They were out little past their waist. I stayed closer to shore hunting some deeper sand. Couple deep quarters, sinker, tent peg and of course some tabs ,caps. Sorta broke the Ice on the second target, a Blackened ring with stones. After some cleaning, 925 Silver. Where I'm hunting most targets are 2-3 deep scoops to the hard where what's there lays. Running mostly AM, sens a comfortable 7-8. Sunny but high 50's low 60's. Gotta suit up.

I got a late start at the tide today because of some birthday obligations but in the end it was interesting. I'll make it brief because I'm still researching the ring but I can say I found another .925 ring and a 1 oz silver bracelet. Here is the ring. A 'henkel' 6.4 g black onyx with stone. I hope it to be real (IT IS) but it is not marked. The closest I can come to a ring with this brand name was a 10k ring. The silver is also unmarked but it cleaned up with my aluminum/salt/baking soda so I feel confident with that. The small ring is marked.

No it is not a monster, but the young lady was quite happy to get it back. I always enjoy hugs and good Karma too. She is all smiles as I hand over her lost 14K yellow gold with diamond engagement ring. Equinox 600 did its job. Have you ever found a ring and returned it? Lets hear your story and see some photos if you have them.

One last day of 2022, so out I went to a local ballfield next to a rec. center. As soon as I stepped out of the vehicle, the drops began with distant rumblings. Sensing a deluge was not imminent, I started with the playground that is padded with wood chips. The swing set gave up some coins as did the rest of the structures. I was almost under the monkey bars when I got a softish solid 6-7 ID in 50 tones. After taking a bit of time to locate the item, even with the pinpointer, the silver, sliver moon showed its face. About 3 feet away, the same numbers displayed which turned out to be the back of the earring; the 10x5 is amazing at finding small stuff! After that, I detected a bit in the turf as the rain intensified. I hit a strange signal that was about a 17 ID. The lapel pin, along with the two backing pieces, was about 4 inches down. Happy hunting to you all in the new year!

Well beach was not producing really anything for me this morning other than a few coins and junk toe ring so I decided to shift gears. Went home swapped out machines and headed to the local park with my wife. She wasn’t detecting today — her back still hurts, but she wanted to get out and stretch her legs. Good news for me more coins and the best part my wife was walking up to see one of the holes I was digging and out pops a silver ring. The bad news is I lost the ring to her faster then I could dig it. 😂

Went to a local soccer complex for a few hours today in cloudy and cool (68°) Florida. (Sorry to those with frozen ground right now. If it makes you feel better, I went in shorts and a t-shirt just to pretend that I was suffering in the cold. 😁) The 15" coil on the Equinox covers a bunch of ground and can still find the goods, especially quarters, of which ai got about 15 today. The signal for this, I assume one-of-a-kind, silver bracelet was sketchy and jumped around a lot between 10 and 29. The place is LITTERED with bottle caps which sound very similar at this field. It was just under the surface, so I thought I would stop and investigate; must have been something about the largeness of the signal that caught my ear using 50 tones. There is no 925 stamp, but the aluminum polish really blackened up nicely and it sounds almost like a very large silver quarter when dropped. Park 1, all metal, 7 recovery

We arrived in Maui around lunch time today. My wife and I went to the grocery store to stock up for the week and while there find out the key fob battery is dead and can't lock the rental Jeep. Fortunately we can still start the car. Get to the house drop off the groceries and I have to run out to the hardware store to get a battery for the key fob. Get it fixed and get home to a note that my wife and son went to the beach and meet them there. I get on my swim suit and go to the closet to grab one the the Equinox 600's out of the closet and only 1 is there. My 15 year old already had one of them at the beach! I grab the other and head over. I drop my stuff and see him down the beach at one of my favorite spots. Watching him for a bit I see he has excellent coil control with it flat to the ground at the end of his swings and overlapping as he moves. Doing everything he was taught. He sees me and comes immediately over with a huge smile on his face! Before I could even ask he says loudly "I found something!" He pulls out this solid bracelet and hands it to me. Looking at it I said I think it's gold but without my glasses I can't read the inside. He grabs it and reads Na Hoku 14K. Holy crap put that thing in your pocket! If anybody asks if you found anything just tell them coins and bottle caps ( not wanting to attract attention). It's very unlikely it was lost this day. The last thing I need is a crowd gathering to look. He puts it in his pocket and heads over to show Mom. We got back to the house and looked on line. $1,549.00 retail! The bracelet looks new. What a score! Fits Mom perfectly!

I never leave home without my Sovereign Elite. Two 14k. and one 18k.