Gold coin VDI question

BentFork

I have a question for the folks who have actually found gold coins in the past. What kind of VDI numbers can I expect if I were to encounter a gold coin in the ground? And more importantly, what would it sound like passing the coil over top of it? Is it a sharp sound, dull sound, is it very high pitched when pin pointing, or is it soft like some coppers and brass give off when pin pointing? I have found smaller gold rings in the past and they can be very deceiving. Likewise I have dug up what I would have sworn was a pull tab and it was a nickel. I'm sure all of you have encountered such things. The VDI number was just too high for a nickel. Anyway, please don't quote from field tests and white papers. Since I don't own any gold coins I thought maybe the folks experienced with finding gold coins could provide me with some insight.

Thanks,
Gary

millennium

The gold coins I have found registered as follows:

A 1907 $10.00 gold was a solid 7.5 and just before the CENT signal on my Garrett GTi2500

A 1781 Gold Escudo registered a solid 4.o and under the NICKEL signal on the same Garrett GTi 2500


You can see that if you are descriminating nickels, you could miss a gold coin....

Good Luck!

lordmarcovan

Like Steve, I can't help you much with VDI numbers since I am also a Garrett man. But I also airtested a $10 gold piece and got a reading of 7 to 7.5 on my old Garrett (zinc cent/screwcap range). Steve's two finds were actual ground finds, which is amazing. The only gold coins I have "found" were in air tests. As I recall, a $5 gold piece read in the pulltab range. Since his Spanish escudo is smaller than a $5 US gold piece, it is not surprising to hear it came in below pulltab range. I shudder to think of how low a gold dollar or even a $2.50 must read. One of these days I need to airtest some. Since a $10 airtests in the screwcap range, I would imagine a big $20 piece would read up into the coin ranges, though not necessarily as high as one might think due to its size. It should read in the penny-dime range at least, I would think. Too bad I don't have one to test right now. As a matter of fact, I am sold out of gold coins at the moment.

BentFork

Thanks guys. Since I don't actually own any gold coins that I could even air test, I thought you might be able to give me some insight regardless of the detector maker. From what you've said, your experiences pretty much follows the white papers I've read. Can either of you give me a clue as to how gold coins sound in comparison to pennies, pull tabs, and other objects?

goldrush00013

Here is a list for the XLT.

Linkage

BentFork

Cool chart GR!

lordmarcovan

<< <i>Can either of you give me a clue as to how gold coins sound in comparison to pennies, pull tabs, and other objects? >>

Well, Steve is the only one on this thread so far who can tell you what it really sounds like and feels like to dig a gold coin, but I can tell you that the audio on them is probably pretty clear and "round". Y'know how a small round target like a coin gives off a tight, clear signal? I would imagine it wouldn't be any different with a gold coin, in audio terms. In air tests, the few gold coins I have tried gave off clear "round" audio signals like any other coin. It's just because of their conductivity that they give lower meter readings than copper or silver coins of the same relative size.

BentFork

Thanks again, LM
Gary

lordmarcovan

I hope to be able to provide real-life answers to this thread one day, based on personal experience.

BentFork

Don't we all, LM?

millennium

On the gold coins I dug..BOTH gave good solid signals....The main reason I dug them and did not pass over them as trash, is because no matter which direction I swept the target area, the sound was solid...Not broken up or intermittent like typical trash does. But the signal itself was solid. Not a belltone , the Garretts have a Belltone mode, but neither belltoned....