3/12/16 Report - Most Popular Metal Detectors For Water Hunting. Thousand-Year-Old Settlement Discovered.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

The Kellyco People's Choice Awards results are in.  Kellyco allowed detectorists to vote on their favorite detectors.  There were five categories.  Today I'll comment on one category - the top water detectors. 

When the voting was concluded, Minelab Excalibur II was the top choice, followed by the Fisher CZ-21, with the Garrett Infinium LS coming in third.

The only one of the three that I have used extensively is the Excalibur.  The first thing I will say is that unless you have used a detector a lot, and I do mean a lot, you are not in a good position to judge it.  It takes a while to learn to use a detector well.   You can use a detector a lot and still not use it well.  I don't see how you can say detector X is better than detector Y without having used both extensively.  Still, the results do tell you something.

As you probably know, Excalibur detectors are popular on the Treasure Coast.  You'll see a lot of them out there.  They are fairly rugged and reliable.  It is a fine detector.  At about $1500, the cost is about the same as the CZ-21, but nearly $500 more than the Infinium.

I almost always used my Excalibur with maximum sensitivity and minimum discrimination.  I used it in pinpoint rather than discrimination mode.  I'll comment more on that some other time.

The Fisher CZ-21 I have not used.  It looks like it has the same casing as the old Fisher 1280, which I have used a lot..  I once failed to properly screw on the cover after changing batteries, and it got water in it.  That was not much of a problem though because the battery compartment was sealed off from the electronics.  That is a good feature.

I'm sure you could do well with any of these three detectors.  I have extensively used detectors from all three of these companies.

I am sure there will be people that will argue that any one of these is the best.  It makes a big difference how the computer matches up with your own personal style of detecting, but learning to use your detector optimally is critical.  If you don't learn to use a detector very well,  you really can't judge the detector fairly.

Some people judge a detector after using it once or twice.  That is not a fair judgment.

Generally speaking, I'd say that a skilled detectorist will find more with a less powerful detector than an unskilled detectorist will find with a much better detector.

When you detect in the water, one important skill is knowing where to look.  Because of the sifting and sorting done by the water, there will be places with nothing but good targets, and places with only junk, and places with varying mixtures.  The real skill is to find the places with the highest good target density, and if you do that, you do not need much discrimination, because you will be hunting where there is very little junk.  And as I've said in the past, you will want to know where the junk is because the junk will also provide information that can point you to the better areas.

The Excalibur is easy to adjust and use.  It can be very effective.  I'm sure the others are effective too.

I'll post comments on the other categories in the future.

---

A thousand-year-old settlement was discovered by archaeologists.  Here is an excerpt from that story.

...During the archaeological dig the team found nine medieval coins, fragments of animal bone, clay smoking-pipe fragments and more than 200 shards of glazed medieval pottery that could date to the 1400’s or earlier.

Mr Mooney added: “It is very unusual to find so many coins in one place. We think it’s possible that people thought it lucky to leave a coin at the religious shrine.

“We’ve also discovered two gaming pieces, one carved of stone and the other a circle of green-glazed medieval pottery, which could have been used in a medieval game of some sort. This provides us with an all too rare glimpse into the past, shedding light on the medieval beginnings of Hamilton.”

The team also found a lead pistol shot in the floor of one of the structures, possible evidence that an officer involved in the Battle of Bothwell Bridge (1679) may have taken cover in the, then ruins, of the buildings at Netherton....

Here is the link if you want to read the rest of the story.

http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/M74-upgrade-unearths-medieval-settlement-23a5.aspx

---

The lead styli that I showed yesterday from the Battle of Brownstown Creek were identified as styli by archaeologists.  Maybe that is right or wrong.  I'm not absolutely sure.  Captain Jonah says they find a couple of those every year during salvage operations.

I can see how it would be possible, or even likely, that they are styli.  Modern day pencils were not available back then, and in a wet environment, such as on board ship or on a beach, especially after a hurricane, pen and ink and other materials for writing might be very scarce or difficult to find and use,  yet recording would be very necessary.  The styli, if that is what they are, would be very durable and easy to make out of any available lead.  I'd think that pencils, or the rough equivalent, would be common finds.  They could have also been multi-purpose, no doubt.

---

On the Treasure Coast we have a smooth surf again.  There are some pretty big tides.  That will open up some good spots in the shallow water when the high tide moves the mush.

The wind will be from the south.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

3/24/13 Report - Time To Analyze Your Find Records? It Might Tell You Something. What you do has a lot to do with what you find.

Written by the Treasure Guide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.BlogSpot.com.

Fossils And Sea Glass Recently Found In A Shell Piles
On A Treasure Coast Beach.

I got some email concerning the signal or ID you'll get from a Rolex watch.  As I said, using an Ace 250, if you are in coin mode, the test Rolex gave no signal, however in the Jewelry and All-Metals mode, you get an ID that shows up in the nickel to penny range, which also includes the pull-tab and gold/bronze range.  

The ID was different when the coil was swept over different parts of the watch.  If the coil was mostly over the band that produced a different ID than when the coil was more directly over the watch case. 

Robert H. said he got a good coin signal on a Rolex when using an Excal II in discrimination mode.  I don't know how much discrimination he was using.   He also said he almost gave up digging after a number of scoops because he thought it might be a can. Good thing he went for that last scoop.

Robert's observation is consistent with the ID I got when using the Ace in the Jewelry and All-Metals modes, but don't forget, the Rolex produced no audio signal in the Coins mode.  That is the critical point.  I don't know about you, but I don't want that to happen.  I'd gladly give up hundreds of clad coins for one good Rolex.  What I am talking about is making informed intentional strategic decisions that will maximize success however you may define success.  If success to you is a pile of clad coins, then  use the techniques and strategies that will accomplish that.  However if your goal is to find other types of targets, perhaps targets that are of a less determinate size or composition, you might choose to operate otherwise.

As I mentioned yesterday, one person said that the thing that motivates him is the possible big find that might come at any time.  In that case you want to be ready for the unexpected, not eliminating everything but the common.

I'm not trying to suggest that a Rolex will give one type of signal no matter what.  Just the opposite.  There are many types of Rolex watches.  They come in different sizes and are made of different materials.  Some are gold and others stainless steel.  And of course there are a variety of different types of bands too, which can affect your signal or ID.

There are also many types of detectors and different modes and settings you can select on each detector.  I've mentioned some of those differences.

The point is that you need to know the detector you are using because there is the distinct possibility that you could misidentify or entirely miss a very good target - perhaps repeatedly and consistently because of the way you hunt.  That is especially more likely if you always hunt the same way using the same settings.  You might habitually eliminate a specific set of good targets. 

I recommend a periodic review.  Analyze your record of finds.  What do you find a lot of?  What do you seldom find?  What have you never found that you would like to find?  The answer to those questions might tell you something about how you are detecting that you might want to change.

I've said this before, but back when I began detecting, I found a lot of men's rings but few women's rings.  I thought that men lost more rings.  That was wrong.  I was using a level of discrimination with my 1280 that made me miss many of the smaller and often more valuable women's rings.  After decreasing the discrimination setting on the 1280 I found out that there were as many women's rings to be found as men's.

Maybe you know everything there is to know, but I don't.  I intend to continue learning.  That is something that makes it all more interesting, and it is also something that helps me do better.

If you haven't made any changes in how you hunt for a long period of time, maybe that is a sign that you should think about that.  It is all too easy to fall into habits and get in a rut. 

I always like learning something new.  Not only does it improve performance but it also keeps it interesting. 

-----

The photo above shows some fossils and sea glass found on a Treasure Coast beach a few days ago.
Nothing great, but I do enjoy finding them.  Some, not these particular ones, can actually be worth some money.

If you keep your eyes open while detecting you can find things like this.  The fossils are much older than the cobs you might find.  And sometimes they can be worth more than a treasure coin. 

Nice pieces of sea glass can also worth something.  Fine examples of the less common colors, such as red or yellow, can be worth more.   They can also provide good clues.  An occasional Native American artifact can also occasionally be seen in shell piles.

------

Spike Found by Joseph G.
Photo by Joseph G.

I've been thinking of a bunch of things lately, but haven't put them together for a post. 

Did you ever hear of soil liquefaction?

Soil liquefaction is when saturated or partially saturated soil loses strength and stiffness in response to an applied stress, such as the vibrations caused by an earthquake or other  stress conditions, causing the soil to behave like a liquid.

Interesting!  Buildings can collapse etc. 

-----

I've really noticed huge differences in how some detectors eat batteries.  Battery life is much higher in some detectors than others. 

------

On the Treasure Coast we'll have a three or four foot surf for a couple of days with variable wind direction.  Nothing that will affect us much.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net