Amazing amount of nickels.... there has got to be a reason for such a concentration of one coin type. Cheers, RickO
A site that doesn't have much more than nickels is a site that has been cherry picked or hunted hard. In contrast, if I visit a site that has lots of clad quarters I can be confident that it hasn't been hunted in years, if at all. Any site with multiple silver quarters is a site that is likely to produce lots of additional silver.
I went to my muddy site, although it was dry today. I dug a bunch of clad, plus a spilled stack of five Lincoln cents. The spill was four cents from 1964 to 1969 along with a 1945 wheat cent. I figure it has been in the ground at least 45 years with those dates.
I've often wondered how long wheat cents were in circulation (in large quantities) after 1959 before they began being hoarded. Were they immediately, or did it start in 1982 with the switch to the Zincoln?
Some may have started early... there are always a few. Most did not start until the new cents began to be the majority in circulation.... There also are many that save ALL cents in jars/cans and barrels. Cheers, RickO
I took the girlfriend to the muddy site today. She usually goes for an hour walk while I detect, and then we leave. I wasn't finding anything great, some clad plus some deep junk. It was getting close to the end of our hour when I started to get a low battery warning on the Etrac. I had a spare battery in the car; but, it was so close to our time to leave that I decided not to retrieve it.
Normally the battery dies within minutes once this warning goes off. Even though the girlfriend was finished with her walk, instead of leaving immediately I decided to keep detecting until the battery completely died. My very last signal was a 1937 Mercury dime. It wasn't even that great of a signal, I definitely wasn't expecting silver when I dug the hole.
congrats on the silver! I like how the e-trac warns you before the battery dies. Surprisingly the CTX doesn't really do that. Or at least I don't think it does... been a while since the battery has died on me.
Those surprise finds are great...expecting not much then see the flash of silver or gold
I dug another transitional Lincoln cent spill at the muddy site today. This one was three cents from 1959 to 1962, plus a wheat cent with an unreadable date.
I forgot to mention that I dug my first ever skeleton key within the last week or so. I don't think it's super old though.
I need to find some new places to hunt. I went to the school site and the muddy site today. I dug a bunch of clad, but not even one wheat cent or silver.
During Friday's hunt, I cracked another Lesche digging tool. This one was the warranty replacement that the factory sent me last October, not even nine months old. I called the factory today and they're willing to replace this one under warranty as well.
Wow... you seem to be tough on tools or Lesche quality has diminished. I have a Lesche tool that I have used for years (17) and still no problems. Cheers, RickO
I finally bought a pulse induction machine today. I have been shopping for a used TDI SL; but, the right deal never came along. Today I bought a Garrett Recon AML-1000, which I believe is Infinium electronics in the ATX housing. Hopefully this thing will hold my interest longer than the Deus did.
Welcome to the PI club! Where will your first venture be with it?
I'm hoping that I can hit deeper targets in my hunted out park with it. I'm willing to dig junk in order to find the deep old coins that I believe are there. I don't know if this is feasible, but want to find out. There's no salt water to hunt here in Illinois.
I went to the muddy site today since the weather was cool. In addition to a pile of clad, I found a silver ring and two wheat cents, the oldest being 1920. I also bought an Explorer SE to play with as a backup machine. I've had a detector buying mania lately and don't think I'm anywhere near finished yet.
Any luck with the TDI? Thought there was a mention of it not working properly, but I can't find it. What was it doing that didn't sound right?
I initially thought there was a problem with the TDI, but, suspect it was just underpowered batteries.
It has been so hot that I haven't really been detecting in recent weeks. I took the TDI SL to my favorite hunted out park for half an hour recently, just to test it out. I only dug low tones. I got three shallow zincolns and three large pieces of steel junk.
Does the discrimination on the TDI SL fail at depth? More specifically, will a ten inch deep silver dime give a low tone and thereby indicate a high conductor?
With the TDI, the high conductive targets give a low tone on the detector and low conductors like nickels and gold give high tones. Opposite of the CTX in terms of signals. It loves nickels. I tried it in a grassy area once. Was interesting trying it and found a few nails that I believe came up like a coin signal (low thud tone). It's pretty true to the tone but sometimes it does switch signals once it's out of the ground. Pretty scarce though.
The only old thing I dug today is some kind of railroad token or medallion. I haven't cleaned it up, but, believe it says "Illinois Central System, 1856-1926." The weather is cool; so, I'll probably go out for another hour tonight if it doesn't rain.
I went to the hunted out park today. It was tough going. After about two hours I hadn't found enough clad to buy a postage stamp. I decided to leave and on my way to the car, I got an iffy nickel signal that was relatively deep. It was a very nice condition 1937 Buffalo nickel.
I replaced my plug and rescanned the hole. I got a 19-15 signal at the same depth, right on the periphery of my plug. I was pretty sure it could only be a war nickel. I dug an adjoining plug and pulled a gorgeous white 1942-P war nickel out of the hole.
This is the first silver coin I've dug in over a month. It had been too hot to hunt for weeks.
Not a bad haul on the nickel spill! Seems like if you slow down and listen, there tend to be some low-tone targets hiding. High signals are the first to go.
It's a public park with very poor drainage. When I first visited this place last year, it was littered with coins like you wouldn't believe. I had to switch to a small coil just so I could pinpoint amongst all the coins. I've got it significantly cleaned out now, but, am still hoping there are some deep signals remaining.
I bought an old Nautilus DMC-2B today. I've been curious about trying this reputedly deep seeking machine for a while. I suspect I'll like it better than the Deus.
I went to a new place today that has some history. I didn't have much time to hunt there though. I dug a bunch of older clad, almost all of it from the 1960s and 1970s, including a Bicentennial half dollar. That at least tells me this place hasn't been hunted hard in the past.
I had to get home to take the girlfriend for an eye exam. She didn't want to drive home after getting her eyes dilated. We had about 90 minutes to spare before leaving for the eye doctor; so, we went to the hunted out park together. I wasn't expecting to find much; but, she found three surface quarters using just her eyes within minutes. Shortly thereafter I got a deep signal that I told her would most likely either be an old nickel or some junk. It was a 1920 Buffalo nickel.
Sounds like a promising place. Half dollars are pretty scarce to find. It's funny how with a little patience, the older nickels come to light. Hope you guys get some rain, and can hit some more deep signals with the damp ground.
Not sure what a Nautilus DMC-28 is, but keep us posted on your results. How many detectors do you have now?
Comments
Amazing amount of nickels.... there has got to be a reason for such a concentration of one coin type. Cheers, RickO
A site that doesn't have much more than nickels is a site that has been cherry picked or hunted hard. In contrast, if I visit a site that has lots of clad quarters I can be confident that it hasn't been hunted in years, if at all. Any site with multiple silver quarters is a site that is likely to produce lots of additional silver.
Lafayette Grading Set
Normally the battery dies within minutes once this warning goes off. Even though the girlfriend was finished with her walk, instead of leaving immediately I decided to keep detecting until the battery completely died. My very last signal was a 1937 Mercury dime. It wasn't even that great of a signal, I definitely wasn't expecting silver when I dug the hole.
Those surprise finds are great...expecting not much then see the flash of silver or gold
I forgot to mention that I dug my first ever skeleton key within the last week or so. I don't think it's super old though.
Welcome to the PI club! Where will your first venture be with it?
I'm hoping that I can hit deeper targets in my hunted out park with it. I'm willing to dig junk in order to find the deep old coins that I believe are there. I don't know if this is feasible, but want to find out. There's no salt water to hunt here in Illinois.
So now you have two PI machines?
I will once the TDI SL gets here.
Lafayette Grading Set
You're going to have a metal detecting arsenal soon. Which detector did you use today?
I'm always using an Etrac, unless my post specifically says otherwise.
Any luck with the TDI? Thought there was a mention of it not working properly, but I can't find it. What was it doing that didn't sound right?
I initially thought there was a problem with the TDI, but, suspect it was just underpowered batteries.
It has been so hot that I haven't really been detecting in recent weeks. I took the TDI SL to my favorite hunted out park for half an hour recently, just to test it out. I only dug low tones. I got three shallow zincolns and three large pieces of steel junk.
Does the discrimination on the TDI SL fail at depth? More specifically, will a ten inch deep silver dime give a low tone and thereby indicate a high conductor?
I replaced my plug and rescanned the hole. I got a 19-15 signal at the same depth, right on the periphery of my plug. I was pretty sure it could only be a war nickel. I dug an adjoining plug and pulled a gorgeous white 1942-P war nickel out of the hole.
This is the first silver coin I've dug in over a month. It had been too hot to hunt for weeks.
What kind of muddy site are you working?
It's a public park with very poor drainage. When I first visited this place last year, it was littered with coins like you wouldn't believe. I had to switch to a small coil just so I could pinpoint amongst all the coins. I've got it significantly cleaned out now, but, am still hoping there are some deep signals remaining.
I had to get home to take the girlfriend for an eye exam. She didn't want to drive home after getting her eyes dilated. We had about 90 minutes to spare before leaving for the eye doctor; so, we went to the hunted out park together. I wasn't expecting to find much; but, she found three surface quarters using just her eyes within minutes. Shortly thereafter I got a deep signal that I told her would most likely either be an old nickel or some junk. It was a 1920 Buffalo nickel.
Not sure what a Nautilus DMC-28 is, but keep us posted on your results. How many detectors do you have now?
The Nautilus DMC-2B is a deep relic hunting machine, popular in the South. I have 10 detectors right now, but, want to sell off 5 or 6 of them.