Can 6 inches do the job? I tried to find out by looking for some pretty ladies!
pcgs69
Posts: 4,331 ✭✭✭✭
Ok ok, before you report me for having my account hacked, this is about size... coil size that is.
I've exclusively used the stock CTX 3030 coil since buying it. And before that, used the stock coil on the E-trac. There have seen some super high iron concentration spots I've hit over the years that I've always wondered what I could be missing.
Decided to break down and bought a 6" double D coil for the CTX. It wasn't cheap. No idea why, but it costs $300 new. Was able to take advantage of an eBay bucks offer and got something like $24 eBay bucks back, and 2% on my CC, so net cost was about $270. Still a pretty penny.
We finally had some rain and yesterday was the perfect opportunity to give it a shot. Was hoping to find some pretty ladies on coins that were missed by the stock coil.
Put it on and wow does it look small! Did some quick air tests and confirmed it worked. Got out to an old faithful site that I've hit hard since 2012 with both the e-trac and CTX. Figure it'd be slow but this was the perfect place to test it.
Finds started slow, but the coil was able to sniff out a couple finds there I missed before. But the CTX sure loves to high-tone false on iron. So dug plenty of nails and other bits of iron.
Due to its small size, moving seems to take forever, and you have to be careful to not miss ground. Movements need to be slow and calculated to overlap sweeps.
First "huh" find was a mid tone. Dug down and pulled out a nail and thought, "maaaaan" then re-scanned and the signal was still there. Turned out to be an 1893 Indian Head cent. Definitely missed before, due to the nail.
Similar thing with the 1899 V Nickel. Found a nail in the hole, then got the nickel signal again. Found another nickel that I know was covered up somehow - and it was a 1939 Jefferson. Was hoping for at least a Buffalo, but still neat to have found it.
Right under a tree got a mid-tone signal and a couple inches down got that looked like a mechanical pencil pendant. Looked silver, but put it away and kept going...
Got a few other goodies. Some I'm sure were overlooked by the coil. Got a small piece of a pocket watch from Robert Roskell. It looks to date around the mid 1800s.
Got home and could see the Sterling mark on the pencil!! Dates to somewhere around the 1910s thru 30s I'd guess. I assume the other coils have missed this before, but it was a very clear signal now, that I can't imagine passing it up previously.
Overall first reaction...
Does it pick up objects missed by larger coils? Yes
Did it open up a whole new world of treasures and unicorns? Somewhat. I was hoping for a silver coin as a nice treat, but it does well with lower-tone objects for sure that were missed before.
Is it worth $300? Maybe. I'm sure I would have felt differently if a gold ring had come out. It's a lot more work, but it does have some utility.
Depth? Seemed pretty good. Soil wasn't too damp, and it did get some targets around 6" without any problem. May have to do a test garden to find out its depth limits and see how it compares to the stock coil.
Overall, got a nice piece of sterling, and a few other goodies. Will have to try it a few more times to get a more solid opinion. Hope you got through this wordy entry. HH all!
I've exclusively used the stock CTX 3030 coil since buying it. And before that, used the stock coil on the E-trac. There have seen some super high iron concentration spots I've hit over the years that I've always wondered what I could be missing.
Decided to break down and bought a 6" double D coil for the CTX. It wasn't cheap. No idea why, but it costs $300 new. Was able to take advantage of an eBay bucks offer and got something like $24 eBay bucks back, and 2% on my CC, so net cost was about $270. Still a pretty penny.
We finally had some rain and yesterday was the perfect opportunity to give it a shot. Was hoping to find some pretty ladies on coins that were missed by the stock coil.
Put it on and wow does it look small! Did some quick air tests and confirmed it worked. Got out to an old faithful site that I've hit hard since 2012 with both the e-trac and CTX. Figure it'd be slow but this was the perfect place to test it.
Finds started slow, but the coil was able to sniff out a couple finds there I missed before. But the CTX sure loves to high-tone false on iron. So dug plenty of nails and other bits of iron.
Due to its small size, moving seems to take forever, and you have to be careful to not miss ground. Movements need to be slow and calculated to overlap sweeps.
First "huh" find was a mid tone. Dug down and pulled out a nail and thought, "maaaaan" then re-scanned and the signal was still there. Turned out to be an 1893 Indian Head cent. Definitely missed before, due to the nail.
Similar thing with the 1899 V Nickel. Found a nail in the hole, then got the nickel signal again. Found another nickel that I know was covered up somehow - and it was a 1939 Jefferson. Was hoping for at least a Buffalo, but still neat to have found it.
Right under a tree got a mid-tone signal and a couple inches down got that looked like a mechanical pencil pendant. Looked silver, but put it away and kept going...
Got a few other goodies. Some I'm sure were overlooked by the coil. Got a small piece of a pocket watch from Robert Roskell. It looks to date around the mid 1800s.
Got home and could see the Sterling mark on the pencil!! Dates to somewhere around the 1910s thru 30s I'd guess. I assume the other coils have missed this before, but it was a very clear signal now, that I can't imagine passing it up previously.
Overall first reaction...
Does it pick up objects missed by larger coils? Yes
Did it open up a whole new world of treasures and unicorns? Somewhat. I was hoping for a silver coin as a nice treat, but it does well with lower-tone objects for sure that were missed before.
Is it worth $300? Maybe. I'm sure I would have felt differently if a gold ring had come out. It's a lot more work, but it does have some utility.
Depth? Seemed pretty good. Soil wasn't too damp, and it did get some targets around 6" without any problem. May have to do a test garden to find out its depth limits and see how it compares to the stock coil.
Overall, got a nice piece of sterling, and a few other goodies. Will have to try it a few more times to get a more solid opinion. Hope you got through this wordy entry. HH all!
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Comments
Have you tried using the old coil and just flagging the hit instead of digging and then using the new coil and see if there is a difference that you can tell?
Good luck and HH to you too.
bob
*insert funny pic of shrunken clothes here*
You can't possibly get much street cred with the ladies with that!
I occasionally used a 6" coil with the GPX in Australia, and almost felt like I'd have to run away if I bumped into another detectorist or they'd go Simpson's Nelson "Ha Ha!" on me
Interesting results. The "good target and junk in same hole" probably happens more often than one might think. I haven't gone the small coil route myself yet. Instead, I've tried to dig everything if a site has potential. I've gotten two targets from the same hole many times, including iron blob + gold ring.
A small coil may be a much more productive method.
I have some places where the terrain is very uneven and it's hard to get a large coil into every nook and cranny. The closer proximity to ground with a small coil would probably more than compensate for any loss of depth.
I'll make a prediction that you'll end up pulling a nice silver from right next to a junk target before too long, and will then like this coil even more.
After all, you got two 1800s coins already that you'd probably missed before. I'd say that's a pretty good start.
The pencil is a great find! You're on a roll with interesting silver items. I guess in your case pcgs stands for "pwning coins, gold, and sterling"! Congrats!
PS. Minelab is pretty good at extracting maximum price for their products, esp. high end ones
I can imagine it takes LOADS of patience though, much slower going. Happy hunting!