Chasing that elusive beach gold...

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Zot
Zot Posts: 825 ✭✭✭
in Metal Detecting
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Inspired by PCGS69’s gold hauls, I’ve been chasing that elusive beach gold myself...


I’ve been to a trusty spot that’s also coughed up some occasional older stuff.





Looks like I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel here now. Not only are my finds getting fewer, they’re also getting smaller. Basically some "mickey mouse coins" (small, mind-numbingly common copper coins) that I’ve missed earlier. There are still targets left though, so all is not lost.


These are the coins I got. On the left are some Euro coins from dry sand. Water finds are on the right hand half of the pic. Somewhere in the range of 300-400 targets were dug to get these suckers.





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Nothing old this time. The oldest coin was an angry orange Swedish 1 öre coin from 1903.



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Plenty of time was spent digging iron junk like this:


Many of these targets sounded fishy to begin with, and I’ve skipped over them before. Now I’m digging everything..


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Here are some other things found:


-Copper nails from old boats


-A couple of keys


-Bullets. The big ones are interesting. I’m not quite sure what type of gun they’re from. They’re about 17mm, which doesn’t really match any ‘usual suspects’. I’ll have to look into it. For comparison, the one at the bottom is 7.62mm, which is what I mostly find.


-Hair pins, which may be my least favorite target! These tend to slip through my scoop, which is extremely annoying! image





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And finally, costume jewelry. I am the costume jewelry king!!


Whatever it is, as long as it’s not gold or silver, I have it! Here are some recent examples:




Nothing worth a damn in this pic. image




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The chase continues!


-Z
Minelab: GPX 5000, Excalibur II, Explorer SE. White's: MXT, PI Pro

Comments

  • Bayard1908
    Bayard1908 Posts: 4,184 ✭✭✭✭
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    What's the item with a German patent? It's marked DRP.
  • Zot
    Zot Posts: 825 ✭✭✭
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    Originally posted by: Bayard1908
    What's the item with a German patent? It's marked DRP.




    Good question. Not quite sure. It almost looks like a piece from suspenders, i.e. you'd clip the bottom end of it to your pants, and there could have been a spring inside. The back side of it is identical, i.e. it opens up like crocodile jaws when you press the top part, and the bottom part has some 'teeth' on it

    That said, old suspenders tended to have a bit different design than that.

    If I develop any insights, I'll let you know!



    Also not 100% sure about the DRP part. The items (even small ones) I've seen with German patents on them have said D.R.P. , and there are no dots between the letters here. I know this isn't a 100% rule, there are some exceptions. DRP could indeed refer to a German patent like you say. At least as long as there isn't any other explanation for the letters that would make sense..
    Minelab: GPX 5000, Excalibur II, Explorer SE. White's: MXT, PI Pro
  • ricko
    ricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    A lot of work there.... bound to be some gold around... Keep at it...best of luck.

    Cheers, RickO
  • pcgs69
    pcgs69 Posts: 4,406 ✭✭✭✭
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    what a haul of costume jewelry! And your bobby pin collection is second to none. If you get back here, hopefully the good stuff will show because you got rid of the layer of other stuff. Was this with the GPX?



    I remember digging brass/copper screw after screw and how frustrated it got with the TDI SL
  • lordmarcovan
    lordmarcovan Posts: 45,335 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    Though I know it can be a letdown, I think the costume jewelry is fun. That little owl with the green eyes is cute.



    PS- funny, I cannot recall ever digging a bobby pin (hair pin), though they must be everywhere. Heaven knows my wife and teen daughter seem to lose plenty of those and/or the rubber bands with the little metal clip on them. I find them in the shower.



    Maybe all the bobby pins lost in this hemisphere migrate via wormhole to the Finnish beaches where Zot hunts, who knows? image

    Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.

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