Scratchy Low Tid - 18ct 37gm Chain (video)

[TTT2866]

Hard to describe the mixed feelings here. From initially seeing it come out of the sand and going.. "GOLD!"...then feeling the weight and being ehhhh, then getting to the car and not seeing hallmarks..but then saw no worn plating..but then it's very light...but also "well if it was brass, it's so cheap, why hollow it out?" "hmm looks pretty clean tho" . Ughh. Went straight to the scrap gold buyer with the XRF and was more than pleasantly surprised to hear that it was testing between 17 and 19ct gold!! Wow what a relief. I was hoping 9ct at best lol. Didn't sell, just holding it for now. 

The links are hollow and it's super worn, like hanging on by a thread of gold. Definitely for the scrap pile. 

 

I was soo thrown off by the weight. Being hollow links I thought maybe 13-12 grams, but not even close, 37.4 grams!! Although there has to be a little sand and water in the links so maybe closer to 35g. Still over 1oz and my heaviest gold to date. 

 

Up at 5:40am, left at 6am, got there 6:30am right at sunrise and left by 8am. Made roughly $2700AUD in scrap gold hehehe. Overall, terrible conditions in the water, super rough, 5m vis, very very strong current and big waves. I found a small patch and found a silver 2 shilling coin and a silver ring as well which was nice. Was hoping to snag a gold ring too in case the chain was fake but it was hard going after sunrise so I just left. Tides weren't ideal either. HH

 

 

 

[Valens Legacy]

Thanks for sharing the video and glad to see the saves, very nice items.

Good luck on your next outing.

[TampaBayBrad]

Very nice. I bought my GF a hollow link 18k bracelet back in 2001. She still wears it every time she leaves the house now days. It shows signs of wear, but has held up so far. Nice find!

[matt]

Another great find for you!

Some question if you don't mind because I am beginning to start this type of detecting. Do you use a sand scoop or just fan the sand and use the pinpointer? Do you use dive weights to help stay in place in the surf? My last trip to Hawaii was in the surf and shoulder deep and I could not stay in place with the waves pushing me a couple feet every time they hit me.

[Skull diver]

12 hours ago, TTT2866 said:

37.4 grams

💣🏴‍☠️

[midalake]

13 hours ago, TTT2866 said:

was more than pleasantly surprised to hear that it was testing between 17 and 19ct gold!! Wow what a relief.

BOOM>>>>>>>>Awesome!!!!  

[TTT2866]

14 hours ago, matt said:

Another great find for you!

Some question if you don't mind because I am beginning to start this type of detecting. Do you use a sand scoop or just fan the sand and use the pinpointer? Do you use dive weights to help stay in place in the surf? My last trip to Hawaii was in the surf and shoulder deep and I could not stay in place with the waves pushing me a couple feet every time they hit me.

Thanks all!

I use a scoop only in murky water/rough conditions where I can not see underwater. This spot is usually clear enough that I can snorkel it so I don't bother with the scoop. I find so much here that I don't bother ever using the scoop, I just wait until I can swim it. 

I always use dive weights when I'm in the water, it helps keep you down, otherwise the wetsuit makes you far too buoyant and it's soo hard to dig targets, especially when there's waves which constantly push you around. I just weighed my belt and I'm using 13.1kg (10 weights) . It'll depend on your BMI as well, I'm 6ft5 & about 92kg, so you may need more or less. My wetsuit is also very thin, about 2/3mm. When I tried out a thicker wetsuit I was using near 20kg of weights and it wouldn't keep me down, so keep that in mind. It can get pretty cold in winter. A wetsuit hood also makes a massive difference. If you're planning on going deeper in the water (eg, scuba diving) it'll also vary as your wetsuit shrinks at depth. 

A quick tip as well which I find helps a lot; find a yearly graph of water temperatures for the location you wish to detect and print it out. I can see the water temp for each month of the year so I know when it will be coldest and warmest. Take advantage of the warmest months.  

[matt]

9 hours ago, TTT2866 said:

Thanks all!

I use a scoop only in murky water/rough conditions where I can not see underwater. This spot is usually clear enough that I can snorkel it so I don't bother with the scoop. I find so much here that I don't bother ever using the scoop, I just wait until I can swim it. 

I always use dive weights when I'm in the water, it helps keep you down, otherwise the wetsuit makes you far too buoyant and it's soo hard to dig targets, especially when there's waves which constantly push you around. I just weighed my belt and I'm using 13.1kg (10 weights) . It'll depend on your BMI as well, I'm 6ft5 & about 92kg, so you may need more or less. My wetsuit is also very thin, about 2/3mm. When I tried out a thicker wetsuit I was using near 20kg of weights and it wouldn't keep me down, so keep that in mind. It can get pretty cold in winter. A wetsuit hood also makes a massive difference. If you're planning on going deeper in the water (eg, scuba diving) it'll also vary as your wetsuit shrinks at depth. 

A quick tip as well which I find helps a lot; find a yearly graph of water temperatures for the location you wish to detect and print it out. I can see the water temp for each month of the year so I know when it will be coldest and warmest. Take advantage of the warmest months.  

Thank you for the detailed response! Fortunately the water in Hawaii never gets cold so a wetsuit is really not necessary at any time of the year. The water is almost always very clear unless there is a bug storm surge. Hopefully I'll have some success next trip there.

[okara gold]

Beautiful chain! Congratulations on an epic find!

[rvpopeye]

Great find  !🏴‍☠️  🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️