9/30/19 Report - Stratigraphic Discrimination For Metal Detecting. Big Tides and Surf Predicted.

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

A few days ago I introduced the term stratigraphic discrimination to refer to selectively ignoring a particular layer or layers of ground.

There are times when you might be interested in only one or more layers.  For example, if you are interested in old items at a land site, you might ignore surface targets.  I mentioned the Surface Blanking feature of the Royal Sabre detector from the 1980s that provided a Surface Blanking function for that purpose.  While I haven't seen a surface blanking setting on other metal detectors, many do give a depth reading.

There are times when you might choose to hunt only for surface targets, such as when you are hunting a specific item that was recently lost.  In that case, you would ignore all of those more faint detector signals that night indicate a more deeply buried target.

On a beach the situation can be a little more complex due to the frequently shifting sands and changing of layers.   On the Treasure Coast the brown/orange deeper sand is often associated with old shipwreck items, however the same old items can end up on or very near the surface.

These days a light-colored sand from recent renourishment projects is often seen covering the dunes and the beach.  In most cases that sand is a bad sign, however there can be times when good old targets can end up laying on top of that sand.  That can happen, even though it is not common.

In the past I would never ignore deep targets, or any target for that matter, but as you know, deep targets on a beach can be very difficult to recover, especially when near the water's edge, and sometimes you might not have time to spend on a target like that, especially when there are easier good targets.

People are usually very focused on deep targets on a shipwreck beach, but in my experience most of my shipwreck finds have not been real deep.  In fact, many have been laying on or very near the surface.  My usual strategy is to focus on those areas of the beach where coins and such things can be found very near the surface.  I've mentioned before that I've eye-balled several reales over the years.  They were just laying there to be easily seen.  Hunting those types of areas is what reading a beach is all about.

There are times when I will try to get the very deepest targets and struggle to get the maximum depth out of a detector, but it is my opinion that the deepest targets represent a very small total value compared to the total value of near surface targets and take a disproportionate amount of time to find and recover.  Still, if you have the time, there is no reason to leave anything.

I'm not saying that I never go for the very deepest of targets.  There are times when I do, and when I do that I have some reason to believe that it will pay off.   I have reason to believe that those targets could have a high value and there are not equally valuable targets in the area that can be recovered more quickly.

Let's say I have a good coin hole, and the top layers have produced some very nice targets and the signals are becoming more scarce and faint.  Then I might change my settings and search techniques or even switch metal detectors that will be more effective on the deeper and fainter targets.

I often use one metal detector for general scanning, but will then switch detectors when I have reason. It is my opinion that constantly seeking the deepest and faintest targets is not efficient.  That can be a poor use of your time.  Techniques and strategies can be situational.  That is why I often like to do a little scanning, which provides additional information on the situation.

If you want to do stratigraphic discrimination and use the depth readout to do it, you might want to test the depth meter on your metal detector to become more familiar with the peculiarities and how accurate it really is.  That is something that I hope to test some day on the Equinox.  Perhaps you will want to test your own depth meter and offer some of your observations.

I could at this point get into some details on the shifting layers of a beach, but that will have to wait for some other time.

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Here is the predicted surf from MagicSeaWeed.com.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

They are predicting some pretty high surf for later today and tomorrow.   It has been pretty breezy lately, and we are supposed to have a very high tide today.

I'm curious to see what, if anything, will happen to the beaches.

You can't go home again because it never leaves you.  TG.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/18/18 Report - Old Silver Ring Stolen. Test of Metal Detector On Silver Coins.

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

Stolen Ring Thought To Be 1700s Era.

I decided to do a little test using the Garrett Ace 250.  I'll use other detectors in the future, but decided to start with a common and inexpensive model.

For test objects I decided to use coins that were close in size, weight and composition to Spanish reales.  I used a silver dime, quarter, half dollar and peace dollar - all of 90% silver.

The diameters were 17.91, 24.26, 30.6 and 38.1 millimeters, which is close but not exactly like one, two, four and eight reales.  Just as an example, the silver dollar is 38.1 mm and the eight reales would be about 38 mm.  Pretty close.

The weight of the silver coins is 2.59, 6.259, 12.59 and 26.73 grams.  Again, that is close to the weights of the Spanish colonial one, two, four and eight reales, which varied to some extent for a variety of reasons.

The diameters and weights of the coins used in the test are highly correlated.

The vertical scale is diameter in millimeters and the horizontal scale is weight in grams.

The correlation is naturally high, but as you can see the relationship between diameter and weight is not linear.

The similarity of the modern coins and Spanish colonial coins in both size and weight is not accidental - the American coinage being pretty much based upon the Spanish.

I did what I would call a ground test in an area with virtually no mineralization but some amount of ambient electrical interference.

Coins were placed on the ground and the height of the coil that continued to produce a good steady signal was measured.

The dime was detected at approximately 7.5 inches, the quarter at 8.0 inches, the half dollar at about 8.5 inches and the Peace dollar at 9.5 inches.

Depth approximations were not highly precise.  Results were also specific to the location and environment.

Depth detectected relative to coin weight.

Depth detected relative to coin diameter.

Coin weight and diameter are highly correlated, which makes it difficult to tell which is most important, but I have previously found and stated that surface area is more important than the weight of the object in determining how deeply a coin will be detected.  The surface area of the coin, however, is not as important as the presented surface.  By that I mean a coin with a large diameter, if tilted or on edge will not have as large a surface area relative to the position of the coil and therefore will not be detected as deeply.

Given the number of variables and the lack of precise measurements, the results should be taken as only approximations.

All-Metals mode and maximum sensitivity was used during the entire test.

Spanish cobs are all so different that I thought the silver U.S. coins would be more useful as test objects and allow more comparisons and generalizations.  Beach recovered Spanish cobs are all of different sizes and shapes.  As I've reported, they can be less than half the minted weight and are of different shapes.

It should also be noted that the depth was measured when the object was under the center of the detector coil at near optimal sweep speed.  When the object was closer to the edge of the coil, depth was less.  And if a less optimal sweep speed was used, depth would have been less.

I've commented at length on the limitations of both air and ground tests.

In the future I will be conducting more tests with other metal detectors.

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I received an email reporting the above ring stolen during a club meeting.  The owner would like it back.

That, by the way, is another good reason to keep good records on your finds.

Most detectorists go out of their way to return lost items, but like with any group of people, there are some bad apples that spoil it for everybody.

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A lot of people are still reading my old Cooper's Treasure posts.  I don't even watch it.

There is no tropical cyclone in the Atlantic.  The surf is up a foot or two.  The tides are still pretty good, but lessening slightly.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/24/14 Report - Watching Surf And Sand Movement. LIDAR Discovers Roman Gold Mining Nework. Beach Detecting Conditions Rating Downgrade.

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

Breaking Wave As Seen Saturday Morning Near High Tide

Notice where the wave in the above picture is breaking, and where the water is flat in front of that.  That is where the water is moving over sand in front of the beach, and the rough water near the bottom of the picture is where the water meets the bottom of the slope and the water coming back down the slope.

There are three things I want you to watch in the following video.   First, where the waves are breaking.  Second, where the water surges over the sand in front of the beach after breaking.  And then something you didn't see in the above illustration, how it surges up the slope until it hits the cut and then back down again.

Here it is with lines and arrows added to show the area where the waves are breaking, surging across the bar and where the incoming water hits the water returning down the slope near the bottom of the slope.



You can clearly see where the wave is breaking (top horizontal red line).  That is where the water gets shallow enough  for the wave to break.

Then the surge across the sand in front of the beach (from the top red line to the blue line).

Then the rough water where the incoming water hits the water returning down the slope.

When you see waves breaking way out, you know the water is relatively shallow that far out. 

The waves at this beach were breaking fairly close to shore.  You can get an idea of where the water is deep and where there is a lot of sand from where the waves are breaking.  

The illustration immediately above is from six seconds in on the video.

Here is an illustration from sixteen seconds in where you can see the slope better.

The top line shows general area where the sand builds up and the waves are breaking.  The second line shows the approximate beginning of the slope.  And the arrows shows the slope where the water goes up and returns.

The angle of the video and perspective makes this difficult to diagram and illustrate, and I know that I didn't explain it very clearly.

One of main points is that you can tell a lot about where the sand is and how deep it is by where the waves are breaking and how the water is moving.  That is useful information.  Always figure out as much as you can about how the sand is moving. 

There is a lot more that you can see in this video, such as the angle of the waves as they hit the beach.

Here the waves are breaking closer to shore than some of the other beaches.  The sand in front of the beach will have to be moved or at least stirred up to uncover the older materials before they can be washed up. 

The next day (Sunday) a good number of coins were found on this slope in front of the cut.

I hope you got something out of that even though I didn't couldn't make it real clear. 

I advise watching the video a few times after reading this.

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The most "google plused" post of October was the 10/4/2014 Report -  Tuning A Pulse Induction Metal Detector For Gold.  Permit To Take Photos In Florida.  Higher Surf Coming.

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Hidden under the vegetation and crops of the Eria Valley, in León (Spain), there is a gold mining network created by the Romans two thousand years ago, as well as complex hydraulic works, such as river diversions, to divert water to the mines of the precious metal. Researchers from the University of Salamanca made the discovery from the air with an airborne laser teledetection system (LIDAR).

Here is more about that.

http://www.agenciasinc.es/en/News/Laser-from-a-plane-discovers-Roman-goldmines-in-Spain


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I got out to take a look at the beach this morning, and I am downgrading my beach detecting conditions rating back to a 1 (poor).  Beaches that eroded are filling again.

On the Treasure Coast the wind will be from the South for a couple of days and the surf will be slightly reduced.

Wednesday we'll have another front coming through and the wind will shift again and be coming from the North again but at the time the surf will be only around two or three feet.

I'll probably be going back to a "1" rating on my Treasure Coast beach detecting conditions rating scale before long.  I'm actually surprised that the beaches haven't refilled more already.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

11/13/14 Report - Highest Price Gold Coin From Sedwick Auction. Usefulness Of Deep Seeking Beach Detector. Distinctive Signals. Searching For WWII Planes.

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

Gold Coin From Recently Completed Sedwick Coins Auction.

Here is the gold coin that received the highest bid in the recently completed Sedwick Coins auction.

The winning bid for this coin was over $28,000, about twice the selling price of any of the escudos.

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I ran across a YouTube video showing a fellow trying out a borrowed ATX in bathtub calm water at Miami beach.  In a short time he dug a few targets, including three coins and two bobby pins.

You are going to hear bobby pins when using pulse induction detector.  Although PI detectors don't have much in the way of discrimination, those that I've used, including the Whites Dual Field, will allow you to identify bobby pins and other junk items if you use them enough to learn how to identify the distinctive signals.  (In a previous post I showed  once how the pulse delay setting on a PI detector could be used to discriminate out bottle caps.)  

I can identify fish hooks when using a PI detector.  Fish hooks sound similar to nails or other long thin objects, but yet give a signal that is different enough to identify.  I don't know how to describe the distinctive signal from a fish hook, but, like I said, it is a little like the signal given by a nail, yet different.

I've explained in previous posts how long thin objects such as nails can be identified by many detectors - not just PI detectors.  When sweeping over a nail or similar thin object in one direction you'll get a broken signal, while sweeping in the other direction you'll get a solid signal.  

You'll can learn to identify many types of signals by sound, but it takes time.  Sometimes when I don't use a particular detector for a while it takes a little while to relearn it, but relearning is fast.

Another thing I noticed in the video is that all of the targets were dug very near the surface.  It won't argue against a good deep-seeking detector, but depth is highly over rated in my opinion.  It is not nearly as important as many people seem to think.  That is my opinion and is partly the result of some of the search strategies that I use.

If you keep track of how many good targets are actually dug at a depth that is near your detector's maximum capability, I'll bet it is a very small percentage.  I'll also bet that if you ever dug cobs on a beach, the vast majority were found within the top two inches.  Keep track of that.  Figure out how much a couple more inches would actually help you.  It might surprise you - especially for beach hunting.   And some targets that seem to come from great depth, actually don't.  They slip deeper as the hole gets deeper.

People often talk about wasting time digging junk.  Digging deep holes can be a big waste of time.  You say that the good targets are deep.  That can be true, but a big part of my strategy is to find the areas where the good targets are near the surface.  I'm not so interested in digging a few deep targets as I am interested in finding accumulations of good targets that have been uncovered.  Of course, you can't always do that.

The fellow that was using the $2000 plus ATX dug only items that were near the surface during the video.  It only took a couple seconds to dig and sift each of them.  Once again, my point is that depth is often over-rated. 

Even more than good targets, most junk on a beach will be found near the surface.  It can take more time to ID junk items than it takes to simply scoop them up and remove them, especially if your pinpointing and recovery skills are good.

A detector that will detect deep gold will also detect small gold, such as gold chains near the surface.  That is more why I like a deep seeking detector.  It is not as much that I want to dig deep holes, but a good deep seeking detector will also do a good job of detecting small shallow targets.  Considering beach hunting, if I had to choose between getting all of the good small surface targets or the good targets found in the last inch of depth that I could get out of my detector, I just might choose the first. 

Keep track and try to answer that for yourself. 

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According to the most recent issue of Kovels Komments, here is the order of most frequently used price search terms.

1) Fenton, 2) Coca-Cola, 3) Occupied Japan, 4) Stoves, 5) McCoy, 6) Wedgwood, 7) Bavaria, 8) Depression Glass, 9) Delft, 10) Capo-Di-Monte, 11) Lamps, 12) Pepsi Cola, 13) Hull, 14) Banks, 15) Belleek, 16) Scales, 17) Satsuma, 18) Trunks, 19) Haeger, and 20) Red Wing.

That tells you something about what collectors are interested in and what you could probably sell easily. 

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Here is a mesmerizing GoPro video Searching For Heroes, which shows top-notch underwater search technology being used to find WWII planes.  I should have had this one for Veterans Day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wB6i7i7fKU

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The surf on the Treasure Coast will be near flat Thursday and Friday.  Then it will bump up a touch.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

9/29/14 Report - Things That Can Affect Your Metal Detector ID Readings. Depth Readings. Rare Gold Coins.

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



Three Dollar Gold Coin
Source: See link below.

I did a little test using the Ace 250 today.  I wanted to see if the depth meter is very accurate.  I used a new dime and quarter and Tungsten ring for the test. 

The depth meter on the Ace is in two inch increments, starting at 2 inches and going to 8.

I placed the items on the ground stuck a yardstick in the ground beside them and moved the coil over the individual objects at various heights.

With these surface objects, the depth meter worked somewhat but was not real accurate.  I can only characterize it as somewhat accurate - not highly accurate.   

This test was a very crude test, so I won't try to draw a lot of conclusions from it.  My general conclusion is that the metal detector's depth readings for items when tested in this manner does give some idea of depth, but may not be real precise.

I don't know if naturally buried items would result in depth readings that are more or less accurate.  There are limits to how precisely you can measure the depth of buried objects when you dig them anyhow.

When you are leisurely detecting, take time to carefully notice the precise signal and readings and try to remember them and relate them to the actual object when it is dug.  That will help you learn to better understand your detector.

In my estimate, this inexpensive little detector works very well considering the low price.  There are times when I would use it instead of detectors that cost ten times more.  It isn't the deepest seeking detector in the world, isn't always totally accurate, and has other limitations.  It is enjoyable and useful though.  I've previously described my multi-detector approach to some sites.

One side note is that the Tungsten ring was identified as a pull tab on the ID scale.  

The Sinker.

Just after conducting the above test, I spent a few minutes detecting in a yard that had been detected probably twenty times before with different detectors.  In those few minutes I found a couple of interesting things.  First dug was a zinc penny that had obviously been missed before.  It was right beside a lead sinker (see picture), which might be why it was passed over.  The sinker jumped back and forth between penny and dime on the ID meter.  Actual coins read more consistently. 

Also found in those few minutes in the seemingly over-hunted yard was the following Alabama tag which reads 2.5 Alabama.  The tag is 1.25 by 1.5 inches.

It produced a less consistent ID reading than a coin.  When flat on the surface, it was identified as a quarter and half, jumping back and forth.  It also occasionally gave an iron reading.

After digging it up I did a little test to see if I could find out what caused the mixed ID.  When the object was flat on the ground, it read as a coin (jumping between quarter and half), but when I stuck it in the ground so it stood on end and detected over the edge, the ID was iron.

The Alabama Tag.

My most general conclusion is that the position of an object in the ground can affect the ID reading.  Second, an object buried at an angle will give a variable signal as the coil goes over it at different angles and positions.  Sometimes the coil will be more parallel to a slanted object and at other times moving so as to detect more of the edge.  That will result in different types of signals and different IDs.

I decided to try to replicate the experiment with a quarter.  Of course I got a good consistent ID when the quarter was flat.  When I placed it on edge, I got a good reading most of the time, but also, but also now occasionally got the iron ID.  The iron reading with the coin on edge was rare though, unlike with the tag.  The iron reading obtained by detecting the edge of the tag was pretty consistent.

I'm assuming that the more accurate and more consistent ID on the standing quarter was due at least in part to its additional thickness. 

I'm guessing the tag is tin, but don't know that for sure.

I continue to learn more about my detectors and how they respond to various objects. 


Anyone know what that tag is?  Please let me know.  I don't think dog tag, but maybe.


In a nice series of articles on rare coins that can be bought for under $5000.  This one (part 6) is on hree dollar gold coins.

http://www.coinweek.com/featured-news/rare-gold-coins-5000-part-6-three-dollar-gold-pieces/

Close Up View Of William M's Found Locket.

A day or two ago I mentioned GoPro.  They make the action cameras that are often used on TV detector and diving shows.  The stock went up another ten dollars, hitting 90 at one point today.

I posted some items found by William M. the other day.  One was a runner medallion.  Bruce B. sent me the following information about that.

 Just a note, I have a cross-country medal my grandfather won in 1910 or 1915 very similar to the medallion here. My grandfather eventually became a Big Ten cross-country champion, but the medal I have at home is for a much smaller venue—a competition in Evansville, Indiana. The piece in your photograph hence would seem to be typical of the period.

Thanks Bruce.  I'm sure William  will really appreciate that info.

Here is a correction concerning the locket I posted yesterday.  William M. sent me a close-up of the locket I showed yesterday.  He says the picture in it is a print rather than a photo.  Notice the dots. 


Today on the Treasure Coast we have a 2 - 3 foot surf.

The surf will be 1 - 2 feet for the next few days.

There is no tropical activity that will affect us.

There is one day remaining to give your response to the blog poll.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

6/414 Report - Half Cent, More Glitz, TV Treasure Hunt, Queen's Coach & Three Characteristics of Metal Detector Signals

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

Find and photo by Steve S.

Steve S. is from Iowa, but like many detectorists, visits the Treasure Coast where he does some metal detecting.

Here is how he found this half cent.

He said, Went out last Sunday to a nearby village and detected a residence built in the 1840s. This 1829 Half Cent was all that I found. Nice shape for Iowa.

That is a very nice find.  In uncirculated condition it would be worth well over two hundred dollars.

Congratulations Steve!

Photo of find by Steve S.

Half cents are rare finds.




Here is a web site that discusses and gives values of half cents.

http://www.coinstudy.com/half-cent-values.html





NBC's Today Show has been having a daily treasure hunt.  They hide an envelope containing prizes in the city of the day and then give clues to where the envelope can be found.

http://www.today.com/allday/al-roker-launches-todays-treasure-hunt-inspired-hidden-cash-craze-2D79739309



The Queen of England got a new coach.  It is Covered in around 400 books of gold leaf, it contains timbers from king Henry VIII's flagship the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545, and Isaac Newton's apple tree, which inspired him to form his theory of gravity.

Here is the link for more about that.

http://news.yahoo.com/queens-state-coach-encapsulates-british-history-220653016.html

Timbers from Henry VIII's flagship!  Is that saving history for the public?   Maybe it is.  Doesn't seem the best use to me.

Find and photo by Robert H.

I've been showing some of the finds of Robert H. lately.  I posted his trash finds one day too when I was talking about how much trash is picked up by detectorists.

Here is another one of Robert's finds.  This one is really glitzy!

Congrats Robert.  





A few posts ago I was talking about signal detection theory as it relates to metal detecting.  I talked about how signals usually exist in a field of noise.  I wanted to talk a little about three features of good signals when you are using all-metals or pin-point modes.

First, of course, is loudness.  Obviously a loud signal will tend to stand out, but not necessarily, if you have a lot of noise, including a very rough threshold or poorly ground balanced detector.  Increasing volume can increase noise as much as the signal and therefore won't necessarily be of much help.

Signal loudness, when considered in conjunction with other variables, can tell you something about the depth, size and composition of a target - even in all metals mode.  Of course shallow targets will tend to be louder.  Larger targets will tend to be louder.  And more conductive targets will tend to be louder.

Distinctness is another quality of a signal.  Signals will be more distinct (have a more sudden onset and termination) sound, when the target is more shallow.  Distinctness will generally make a good signal easier to identify in a field of noise.  However, as the target gets deeper the signal will appear more smooth.  It will not be as loud and will not be as distinct.

A third signal quality is duration - how long the signal remains loud as you sweep your coil.

You can get a very good idea of how shallow a target is by combining these three signal characteristics.  A small target near the surface will be loud and distinct.   The duration of the signal will, however, vary depending upon the size of the target.  Duration and distinctness, as I've defined them are different things.

A deeper object of the same size and composition will produce a signal that is not as loud and not as distinct.

A larger object of the same composition at the same depth will produce a signal that is as louder but the signal will not be as distinct, and the duration will be larger (The signal will be more spread out.).

If you sweep multiple times over an object in all metals mode and vary the direction of your sweep, you can get some idea of its size and shape.

One peculiarity that I've talked about before is the double signal produced by narrow long objects such as nails when you sweep in one direction and single beep when you sweep at 90 degrees to that.  I've gone over that in detail in the past.

With practice you can use your detector in all metals mode to gain a lot of information about suspected targets from the loudness, distinctness and duration of the signal.

Back to the signal in noise problem.  Signals giving faint signals are more difficult to detect in noise, as are signals that are less distinct.   Faint indistinct signals will often be lost in noise such as that created by black sand and salt mineralization or even an erratic threshold tone, however you can easily detect near surface objects in black sand from the more distinct signals. 

Learn to understand what your detector is telling you.  It might be saying more than you would guess.


I showed a photo of two detectorists on a beach a day or two ago.  They wrote in.  The detectorists are Tim and Betty M. 

Thanks to all of you who write and submit finds and information.  I really appreciate it.


On the Treasure Coast the surf today is three to five feet.  The surf will be decreasing the nest few days and we'll be back down to something like a two foot surf.  Don't expect any improvement in beach conditions.  The tides are pretty flat now too.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/7/13 Report - Detecting Strategies, How To Cut Down Your Digging & More

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

Gold and Diamond Beach Find.

This ring is a nice heavy man's 14K ring with a good diamond.  


Not too long ago I wrote about putting a wood handle on a long handled steel scoop, or should I call it a sifter?  It is a sifter.   After all, that is what the holes are for.

If you read some of the things that I posted from our State officials and the Florida Public Archaeology Network, they, like many other people, think detectorists go around digging a lot of big holes.  As I've explained in the past, a lot of detector finds will actually be very near the surface, some covered only by a thin layer of sand, and some plainly visible.  If you have a keen eye and know where to look, you can find coins and things without a detector.

And don't think all surface finds are new.  I've seen a lot of old stuff on the surface, including 1715 Fleet cobs.  The better you are at hunting out the right spots, the more surface finds you'll encounter.

There were times when I have gone out eye-balling.  Eye-balling is challenging for sure, but some targets will be exposed.   Many other targets are covered by only a thin layer of sand.  Absolutely no digging is necessary to recover many shallow targets, especially those in dry sand or those in the water that can be fanned.

As I've explained before, one of my primary hunting strategies is to locate areas where items have been uncovered or recently deposited so that they are very near the surface.  I will often walk down a beach and look for a surface coin or two.  If I find an area where coins or things are being uncovered, then I stop and use my detector to thoroughly cover the area.  In my opinion it is poor time management to heavily detect areas where targets are scarce or too deeply buried.

If there is one thing that I believe many detectorists put way too much emphasis on, its depth.  They brag about how many inches down a target was found.   Of course there are some targets that are deeply buried, but my primary objective is not to set a record for the amount of time spent moving sand to get to a target.  Going deep is a last resort for me.  And I am not usually interested in spending an hour to pick up the last few targets on a hunted out beach.  There are rare exceptions.

If you were hungry where would you rather hunt game, where the game gather in large numbers or where there are only a few wiley ones left?   If I was hungry, I'd take the former.  If you want the challenge, you might choose those that are more scarce and hard to find.

I'm not saying, that there is no value in having a deep seeking detector, but I am saying that it is more effective to locate the areas where the targets are near the surface than to go around trying to find the deepest possible targets.  It is a matter of strategy and emphasis.  Of course I wouldn't want to pass up a good target at any depth, but I'd much rather find the coin holes and coin lines where targets are laying very near the surface in numbers where I can recover a high number of good targets in a small area.  I'd generally much rather do that than spend my time where the targets are so deep that most can not be detected.  

As long as sand is moving there will be places where objects are being uncovered.  During poor beach detecting conditions, those spots will be harder to find, but they can be found.

When sand goes to one place, it is coming from someplace else.  I've said that in the past, and it is always true.  The trick is to find and go where the sand is uncovering targets that were previously gathered but have been uncovered.

Back to my point about digging holes.  On a dry over-hunted and heavily-populated beach like a lot of the detectorists hunt all the time, the targets are so near the surface that you seldom have to dig at all.  Most of the time you can kick a target out with the toe of a boot without any digging at all.  It helps if you are good at pin-pointing. 

A lot of digging is caused by poor pin-pointing.  If you are not very good at pin-pointing, practice to improve.   It is worth it.  Try to kick targets out without using your sifter.  It will reduce the amount of wasted time.

I didn't get to some of the points I wanted to make today.  I'll get to those some other day.  Among other things I have some tips for fanning.  You might be surprised how quickly you can move sand.  And I plan to address a technique for using your scoop that you've probably never tried.


Here is an article about an early Russian settlement in California at Fort Ross.

http://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/features/siberian-links-to-california-could-be-unearthed-by-archeological-dig/


Some think that the price of gold is headed down to $1000 an ounce.  Of course nobody knows but here is a very good analysis of gold prices and gold demand.

http://goldnews.bullionvault.com/silver-and-gold-new-divergence


I hope you'll consider doing some genealogy research as I suggested yesterday.  I think you'll find it interesting.  And with all the resources on the internet, it is easy to find a lot of stuff.



On the Treasure Coast it is a bright hot day.  The wind is from the southeast.  The surf is still pretty low - down around one or two feet.  The surf will increase just a touch for a day or so.

The low tide this afternoon is around 3 PM.  Looks like the low tide won't be real low.

Beach conditions remain poor.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net