4/16/20 Report - Detectorist Sells Find for $54,000. Toned 1932 Quarter Sells for $4,800. Test and Prove.

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

A metal detectorist’s find, a silver penny of Ludica, a virtually unknown Saxon king of Mercia, realized nearly three times its high estimate during a March 10 auction in London.

The coin was discovered by Andy Hall while metal detecting in Wiltshire. It realized £41,216 ($54,004 U.S.), including the 28.8 percent buyer’s fee...

At Coombe Bissett, in Wiltshire, in January 2016 during an organized search on farmland, the coin was found buried 3 to 4 inches deep in a rotted stubble field. Hall, using an XP Deus metal detector, found the coin in a ball of thick mud.

Hall had been detecting for two years when he found the coin. He saw that it was a Saxon silver penny and took it home before carefully removing the mud... 

Here is the link for more about that.

https://www.coinworld.com/news/precious-metals/rare-silver-penny-found-by-detector-sells-in-london-auction


Notice the word "detectorist" there.  It seems to be becoming mainstream.


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Here is a 1932 Washington quarter that sold for $4,800, which is a much higher price than most  comparably graded 1932 quarters, which usually sell in the neighborhood of $700.

… The year 1932 marked the start to the series, and Pogue’s example, graded Mint State 66 by Professional Coin Grading Service, with a green Certified Acceptance Corp. sticker, featured gorgeous toning described as “most vivid, varied and expansive on the obverse, where particularly impressive shades of sea green, olive-gold, lilac and salmon pink are seen.” 


So it looks like the toning helped the price a lot. For me it is too spotty.

Here is that link.

https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/market-analysis-final-pogue-presentation-generates-over-15-million-dollars

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I have one silver coin that has developed some unusual toning (below).  It was found years ago.  I think the toning developed over time in storage.

The photo is realistic and has not been edited or anything.

The gold toning is the nice part.  I could do without the black.

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I thought the 1944 metal detecting story I posted yesterday was cool.  Don't know if anyone else liked it.   

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For a long time I've been repeating a few things over and over again in different ways.

Observe, theorize, hypothesize, test, then accept or reject, and repeat.  That is simple enough.  And I don't think it is asking too much of anyone that claims to be scientific.  Of course there are epistemological discussions we could get into, but I won't

You wouldn't believe how many times I test myself.  I take samples all the time.  I don't assume I am right.  I test it out.

And that is what I suggest you do.  Don't believe a thing I say without testing it out for yourself.

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I got out of the car in the WalMart parking lot the other day, and over a loud speaker came some sort of message about washing hands and taking precautions.  It immediately reminded me of  George Orwell's novel Nineteen-Eighty-Four.

Now we have drones flying around warning people who get too close to other people and all sorts of Orwellian things.  People are tracked through cell phone data.  Neighbors report neighbors for being outside in the yard exercising.  A father and daughter arrested and handcuffed for being in a park.  And the beaches are closed!  Who could of imagined all that?

Well, here we are with all the beaches closed - at least to most of us.  My original purpose for this blog was to report on beach conditions.  After that I got into a lot more.

But with the beaches closed, and with the blog so big now, maybe it is about time to shut it down or do something different.  People have been asking me to do a book, but I'll consider some other changes, such as doing something similar by subscription or something.  The site is continually growing and getting more views, but it feels like its about time for a change.

Right now I'm thinking about a non-public blog for a small group of people or a blog-PLUS with extra info for a small group.

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The wind has shifted and is now coming from the northeast.  Rainy too.  And the tides flat.

The surf is supposed to increase later today.

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

8/21/19 Report - New Salvage Finds Down South. Coins Found At Eroding Site. Metal Detector Testing and Noise Adjustments. Storm Scene.

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

Silver Ewer Spout Find.
Source: https://www.melfisherartifacts.com/

What do you think the object shown above is?  I'll tell you below.

Down south the crews of the Dare and Magruder recently found silver coins musket balls, pottery shards, a barrel hoop, and a possible carpenter's file.  

They also found an ewer spout very much like one shown above.  I know that the single view didn't give you much of a chance of figuring it out.  Multiple views are always helpful.

The spout shown above was found on the Atocha site years ago and is pictured in the melfisherartifacts database.   Entire silver ewers have also been found with the same kind of spout attached so there is no question of what it is.

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I got a few responses on John E's mystery object that I posted yesterday.

Joe D. looks like an aluminum sprinkler repair tool!

And Susan E. Plumber's multi-tool.

Steve M . says That is definitely an automotive battery connection cleaner.  I have seen those in the 70s but could still be in use today.   They cleaned the lead clamp inside and the lead post outside.

I think John will be able to decide which of those it is.

Thanks to all of you for the help.

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An archaeological site being eroded by the sea revealed Roman coins and pottery.

"The main problem is that everything is under a metre of sand and we're wondering if it blew in in the big storm in 1330 - so it looks like it's been buried for a long time and it's superbly preserved."

Archaeologists' initial estimations think the Roman pottery could be from around 200 to 300AD while the fort is thought to be from the Iron Age, which dates from around 800BC to 43AD.

"That's not to say Romans occupied the site but perhaps a tribe lived there that traded with the Romans," said Dan Amor, of the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust...

Here is the link for more about that.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-49397328

1. Luke 3:5 ⁵Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low...

--- Yesterday I described some air tests I did. It seems I can't do that without repeating the limitations of an air test, and the importance of not making too much out of the results. You have to start somewhere, and an air test is a convenient starting place when you are just starting to become familiar with a metal detector.  You can form some initial theories to be tested more effectively at a later time, but an air test will not tell you what you will get in the field with real targets. An air test is an OK starting place, but that is about it. If you want to compare metal detectors, the best way is to take those detectors out to the area you want to detect and compare signals on UNDUG targets. Don't dig the targets until after you have thoroughly explored the signals and all of the adjustments you might be interested in. It is important that the targets remain undisturbed in the naturally settled sand or earth to get a good test. If you are interested in the wet sand area, compare the performance of your detectors there. If you are interested in submerged areas, test there. Or dry sand, test there. Test in the same type of area you want to detect. Testing in dry sand for detecting in wet sand will give you very misleading results, but it will help you learn a bit about your new detector before venturing into the wet sand. Also, when conducting a test, you should sweep as you would naturally sweep when hunting. Since I conducted the air test in an area with a considerable amount of electrical interference, I wanted to make a few comments about that. The Ace 250 isn't bothered too much by electrical interference (much less than some metal detectors) but when you need to, you can turn down the sensitivity. The Ace 250 does not have other additional options for dealing with that. The Equinox has a frequency check function to find the best frequency for you. Besides that, you have several choices that you can manually select. You can choose multi-frequency or other specific frequencies. I found that both 5kz and 10kz worked well when I needed to adjust. Sometimes multi-frequency works well, but if you are getting a lot of noise, you can easily change frequencies. You can just cycle through the various frequencies and use the one that seems to work well. From my limited experience, I've been impressed by several things about the Equinox. I didn't expect the display to be as clear and easy to read. Also, for the variety of features that are available, the options are easy to understand and use. The human interface was well designed. Eventually I'll get around to testing it in the field on real targets. That is what really counts. ---

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Way to the north is Tropical Storm Chantal, and on the other side of the Bahamas is another system that could form. I'll keep an eye on that one. Happy hunting, TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/9/19 Report - Intitial Impressions of Equinox Metal Detector. A Few Finds.

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

Recent Find
Vintage Button.

I think it is probably a vintage button.

I don't know what the stone is - probably glass, paste or rhinestone.

Back of Same Button.

---

Several weeks ago I said I was going to do some metal detector tests.  I didn't do that, but today I took out an Equinox for a test run and spent maybe 20 minutes.  Using just the factory default settings, I found two pennies (1969 and 1989) in an area that I had covered several times before with three or four other detectors - both high end and basic.

I used the default factory settings.  I made NO adjustments.  The area I was working has a lot of underground and overhead cables in the area.  In short, there is a lot of ambient electrical interference as well as rebar and fences  The coin finds in the previously worked ground, I believe, were due to the quieter operation of the Equinox in this particular environment.  Of course with all the rain, and this area is home to a lot of moles and critters, so there is also the possibility that the found coins were moved some since the last time the area was detected.

While promising, I can not say how performance will compare on a quiet salty beach, but it was impressive in the particular environment I worked today.

I've always said, though, that it is good to work a promising area with more than one metal detector.  The different operating characteristics, as slight as they might be, will often result in different finds.  And we can't forget the extensive experiment that one reader did on a city lot that was completely sifted.  Repeated metal detecting by different detectorists only found a small percentage of coins that were found by sifting.  (See link below.) Noise, junk, and other factors play a roll.

One thing I liked about the Equinox during this first test, is how it responds to targets.  Being a person that has relied heavily on sound for target ID, the auditory signal produced by the Equinox provides a lot of information.  It seems like you can tell a lot about the target just by listening to the auditory signal.  One thing I found was an old shot gun shell casing that was bent.  I believe I could tell it was bent from how the signal varied as I swept at different angles.

Bent Sears Sportload Shotgun Shell.

The casing is bent at about 90 degrees even thought it doesn't look like that much in the photo.  "Sears" shells were not made after 1980.  Maybe someone can give me more on the date of the shell.

Back of Same Shell

Overall, my first twenty or so minutes with the Equinox was encouraging.  I'll test it in other environments and with other settings in the future.

As I said, I did not vary any settings this time, so my test was not really much of a test of what the detector can do, but if you simply use the default settings, it seems like it would work quite well in a park or yard

It is light, easy to assemble and use right away.  The only think I didn't like so far was the ear phone cups that came with the Equinox 600.  They were not made to keep out much ambient noise.  The earphones were light and folded up conveniently, which are pluses.

You can find the post in which sifted coin finds were compared to metal detected finds on a city lot by using the following link.

https://treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com/2018/03/82618-report-first-investigation-ever.html

See also the 3/30/18 post for concluding remarks on that.

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Yesterday I posted a lapel pin from a hospital.  Duane C. found a similar lapel pin from another hospital in North Carolina.

Lapel Pin Find.

Find and photo by Duane C.

Duane said, Lol I found one too. Mine showed 10k but after further cleaning saw the 1/10. Stone is also like yours blue sapphire. Good luck down there.

Thanks Duane!

What I've learned is that they are service pins.  They might give a silver pin for 10 years of service and a gold pin for 20 years, for example.   I don't know what actually goes with the different years, those are just random examples.

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The surf is still calm.  The salvage guys have had a lot of good days to search this year.  I'm sure they are finding more.

There is nothing of interest on the National Hurricane Center map.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/14/19 Report - Old "Imitation" Cob. Treasure In The Sewer. Artifact Collection. Coil Test Report.

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

Imitation Cob

Source: Current Sedwick Auction Listings.

There are some very interesting lots in the current Sedwick auction.  Lot 912 is this "imitation cob."  It looks very much like a 1752 2-reale, although it is said that it was struck in the 1820s.  I don't  know how they know when it was struck.  

Was it meant to be used as money or sold as a collectible? I have no idea.  It says it was "struck."  There are really a lot of questions about this one.   It would be very difficult to figure that all out if you dug it up. The lot description doesn't tell what metal it is made of either.

It has a bid of $400 already.

Here is the lot description.

Tucuman, Argentina, "imitation cob" 2 reales, date "752" (struck 1820-24), rare. 5.83 grams. Bold full date above waves, good full cross, AVF with coppery sediment around details.

And here is the link.

https://auction.sedwickcoins.com/Tucuman-Argentina-imitation-cob-2-reales-date-752-struck-1820-24-rare_i33012225

There is at least one other "imitation cob" listed in the auction.

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Crews went digging through Annapolis sewer lines — and found pottery dating back thousands of years...

Here is that link.

https://www.capitalgazette.com/news/annapolis/ac-cn-green-street-dig-20190412-story.html

Turn over enough ground and you are going to find something interesting.

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U.S. returns 2 pre-Hispanic artifacts to Mexico...

The artifacts were among thousands ranging from arrowheads to shrunken heads that U.S. federal agents removed in a 2014 raid at an Indiana farm. The farm’s owner, Don Miller, amassed the 42,000-artifact collection over several decades. He died in 2015 at age...

Here is that link.

https://yucatanexpatlife.com/u-s-returns-2-pre-hispanic-artifacts-to-mexico/

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Here is a test report from Sebastian Steve.

... I just reluctantly bought a 7" Concentric for my Nokta Anfibio Multi (3 frequencies 5,14, 20 kHz.  Already owning the 9" Concentric, I pretty much thought later on that this purchase was a waste of money.  Not at all the same as the 9"  Moral of the story:  "Do not judge a coil by just the number of inches in diameter, far more changes come into effect."   

I was digging very small non-ferrous items in my yard today with the 7" Concentric.  Areas that have been passed over literally 30-40 times already.  But change up the coil or machine modes, and there is ALWAYS SOMETHING MORE TO BE FOUND...ALWAYS...an odd tapered copper/brass bullet, a small round magnet in a conglomerate the size of an acorn, a half of a bronze screw.  All very tiny items, but monster targets due to this coil.  And again goes to show...there is ALWAYS MORE TARGETS TO BE FOUND...NO MATTER THE BEACH (ESPECIALLY THE BEACH) Your own back yard, Park, old home sites, etc., just by changing modes, tuning levels, coils, direction of approach to the field, etc.

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The tides are moderate. The surf is about two or three feet, but will be decreasing for a couple of days. Low tide will be around noon.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

8/30/14 Report - Silver Cobs Metal Detector Test Continued With Results. Quartz Crystal Pendant.

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

Silver Quartz Crystal Pendant

Here is a beach find.  Oxidized silver and quartz with a tigers eye.

Notice the phantom in the quartz. 

I don't know how old it might be.


Now I'm going to pick up today where I left off yesterday.  I'm going to show you something new that might surprise you.  It also shows how specific you have to be about detector tests, particularly the types of targets you are interested in and the environments they are used in.  A number of factors have to be considered when selecting a detector for a particular job.

A lot of people seem to accept what they hear or accept the results of simple tests on clad coins that actually leave out a lot of important factors.  They think if detector A is a good detector or has a good reputation it is the detector to use.  The fact is, as I'll show today, it is much more complicated.  And as I showed yesterday, there are situations when an inexpensive detector will actually do a better job than a highly regarded more expensive detector.  The basic questions are, what do you want to find and where are you going to hunt.  I say those are basic questions, but to answer them well involves more factors than you might think.

If you haven't read yesterday's post yet, I recommend that you do that before continuing.

Here are the same small beach cobs that I used for the tests that I reported on yesterday.  The one on the left weighs about 0.4 grams, the next 0.5 grams, the next 0.6 grams, and the next 2.0 grams.  I will refer to these cobs going left to right as 1 - 4.



Four Treasure Coast 1715 Fleet Beach Cobs.  Three Half-Reales and One 1-Reale.

Yesterday I tested these in a high EMI environment using the Ace 250.  Today I'll report on my results using an Excalibur.

I used both discrimination mode and pinpoint mode for all my Excalibur tests.

Which cob do you think consistently produced the best (loudest and clearest) signal?  It was cob 3.  You might expect it to be cob 4.  I did.   But cob three consistently produced a signal that was a loud and distinct, and a slight bit better than cob 4.  That was true on many attempts varying the sweep speed, and sweeping at different directions.

Tests were done with the coil at the approximate same height over the cobs, and also at different heights to give a rough measure of depth.  By varying the height of the coil I essentially did a type of air test but with a sugar sand background and relatively high EMI environment.

In case you wondered, signal loudness and distinctness correlated with air-test depth.  In other words, cobs that produced a fainter signal when the coil was at the same height for all cobs, were detected only at smaller distances from the coil.  Those cobs that produced louder more distinct signals were detected at greater heights when the coil was raised.  So relative signal strength, as you might have suspected, is a decent (not perfect) measure of how deep a target would be detected.  That makes sense, but the test results did strongly support that conclusion.

Now the question is why did cob three, even though smaller by weight and presenting less surface area produce a louder signal.   I do not yet know.   Yesterday I suggested that one possibility could be different alloys or composition of the silver.  We know that the composition of cobs was regulated,  but we also know that there were some differences.

Surprisingly, cob 1 consistently produced a more distinct signal than cob 2 despite its smaller surface area.  It is thicker.  All other cobs produced better signals than cob 2 without exception.

Another reason could possibly be the ground under the cobs, but I changed where I did the tests and the results were the same.

The results did not change when I switched from discrimination to pin point mode. 

I often hunt in pin point or all metals mode.

Ordered by signal strength, it was cob 3, 4, 1 and last, 2.

Being in a high EMI environment, I varied my sensitivity.  I actually got slightly better signals with reduced sensitivity. 

Some people are afraid to reduce sensitivity.  I seldom reduce sensitivity and am accustomed to identifying signals in noise, but there are times to do it.

I always recommend testing your detector and settings with the type of target that you want to find and in the environment that you will be hunting before beginning to hunt.  I think these tests support that recommendation.  Things are not always simple, and if you want to optimize your detector and settings, do it in the environment and with the most desired targets.

When selecting a test target, Id select a smaller test target.  Generally if you are set for the smalls, you will find the larger targets too, whereas the other way around is not necessarily true.

A lot of people are running around with detector settings that would not detect the smaller cobs shown above if the cobs were laying on the surface with the detector coil right over them.  I know I have met people on the beach who were discriminating out anything that small.

As I showed yesterday using the Ace 250, these test cobs generally were identified as nickels.  That's not bad.

The best way to learn how to better understand and use your detector is to experiment.  What you read may or may not be true, and your detector and your environment might not be the same as those you read about. 


On the Treasure Coast we're back to a one-foot surf again.  Nothing much in the Atlantic either.  Just one disturbance down by Central America.

Get to know your detector better.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

8/26/14 Report - Rare and Valuable 1725 OMD 8 Reale. Few Small Cuts On Treasure Coast. 3 - 5 Foot Surf Continues. Ace 250 Tested On Beach. New Disturbance in Gulf.

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

To be auctioned during the upcoming SedwickCoins Nov. 6, 2014 auction.

For more information here is the link.  http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=9a501b2f-1cb3-4254-b702-c38b9ca8b983&c=116708e0-3539-11e3-b96a-d4ae52844279&ch=12520520-3539-11e3-ba6f-d4ae52844279

One Foot Cut On A Treasure Coast Beach.

Above is one of the few scattered cuts that I found on the Treasure Coast.  It is about one foot.

It is actually the front ledge.  Behind is cut is the remains of a cut that was created quite a while ago.

The sand in front of the cut is mushy.  Not very promising at all.  To top it off, the sand that was eroded is newly accumulated sand.   No reason for a beach conditions rating upgrade.

The above video was taken at another beach after yesterday's high tide.  Again no significant improvement in beach conditions.

Christobal has produced a little bigger surf on the Treasure Coast, but so far it hasn't done a lot to improve beach conditions.



Yesterday I gave the Ace 250 its first beach test.  Previously I tested the 250 inland and posted the results.

Once again my expectations were exceeded.  Perhaps it was because my expectations were not very high.  I did not expect it to do well in wet salt sand.

Before I get into that though, it worked fine in the dry sand.  I'm not talking about earth shaking depth, but decent depth and good target ID and discrimination with no other problems.  The light 250 was a joy to swing after swinging a heavy underwater detector with a weighted coil.

After testing in the dry sand, I tested the 250 on the beach front where the water was washing up over the berm.  In fact it was right behind the cut you see at the top of the post, but near high tide when the water was washing up over the berm.   The 250 detected coins easily at decent depth in mushy wet sand.  When the moving water hit the coil or when a hole was dug in the newly wet sand, false signals did occur.  Detecting in the wet sand when the water was not rushing caused no problems.  Basically the same thing happens with more expensive detectors such as the Excalibur are used at the water line with moving salt water.  The difference is that with the Excalibur I would switch modes to deal with that, but there was no good solution with the 250.  What do you expect?  The price is only about 20% as much.

This test was not a highly controlled or very precise test.  It was just my simple first test of the 250 at the beach and in wet sand.   It did better than I expected in the wet sand.   It is fine in the dry sand, and workable in wet sand as long as conditions aren't too rough.

Source: www.nhc.noaa.gov

Besides Christobal, which is heading north, we now have two other areas to watch.  Note the new one in the Gulf.

The surf on the Treasure Coast is predicted to be 3 - 5 feet Tuesday and Wednesday.  The wind is blowing this morning and the surf is up. 

Thursday the surf will begin to decrease again.

While Christobal heads north, there is another disturbance that is approaching the West Indies. 

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

7/28/14 Report - Target ID Test On Silver Beach Finds. 13 At Beach Injured By Lightning. Old Bomb Stuck In Tree. New Tropical Wave.

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

1715 Shipwreck
Ornamental
Silver Fragment

Silver Bullion Coin.  1966 100 Pesetas.

As I promised, I did additional tests of target ID and discrimination using the Ace 250 for the tests.  This time I used some things that have been found on 1715 Fleet beaches over the years as well as a few other items.

Today I'll show what happened when I used this ornamental piece of silver.  I don't know for certain what this piece of silver was.  It obviously is broken.

 

This item and another very much like it gave an inconsistent pull tab ID in all four modes that I tested (All metals, relic, jewelry, and coin modes.).  It displayed pull tab a good bit of the time but jumped around.

 

You can't really expect a detector to correctly identify an item like this.  Yet you'd probably want to dig it.

 

Another item I used with this test wasn't a 1715 item.  It was the 1966 100 Pesetas bullion silver coin shown above.  It came from a Treasure Coast beach, but not a shipwreck treasure beach.  It weighs 0.6 troy oz.

 

This item was consistently identified by the detector as a 50 cent piece in all four modes.  Not exactly what it is, but not bad at all.  You couldn't expect any more of a detector.

 

Also I tested a silver dime.  Just like clad coins, it was properly identified as a dime 100% of the time.

 

I'll get into cobs on my next report.

If you are going to use target ID or discrimination, you should know how it works.  It is not always as simple as it seems.  You can easily miss some of the best things out there.  As I often say, test your detector on the types of targets you really want to find.

 

 

Here is an important warning!  We've had a lot of thunderstorms. 

 

Lightning killed one person and injured thirteen others when it struck the beach and water at Venice Beach, California.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/27/us/lightning-strike-venice-beach/index.html

 

Be careful when lightning is anywhere around.  It can come from miles away very unexpectedly.

 

 

Buried million dollar treasure in Yellowstone Park?   That is the rumor, and the rumor has the park service alarmed. 

 

http://xfinity.comcast.net/video/Park-rangers-warn-against-treasure-hunt-in-Yellowstone-National-Park/312753731795/Comcast/Today_in_Video/?cid=hero_sf_TIV

 

I suppose only treasure hunters have been rescued?  Why not the same alarm over climbers and hikers that get in over their heads.   I'm sure a lot more of them have been rescued than the two "treasure hunters."  

 

Don't get me wrong, don't hunt in parks or other places where it is illegal.  Obey the laws.  I just think treasure hunters and detectorists receive disproportionately bad press.  Treasure hunting is a bad word for some.

 

 

There was an clean up of the waterways around Sebastian.

 

http://www.veronews.com/news/sebastian/spotlight/trash-plucked-from-area-waterways-during-annual-cleanup/article_48e2cbae-1528-11e4-a402-001a4bcf6878.html

An old bomb remained stuck in tree for 75 years.  Interesting picture. 

http://www.thelocal.es/20140711/civil-war-bomb-stuck-in-pine-tree-for-75-years


There is a tropical wave over by the Verde Islands with a 30% chance of becoming a cyclone in the next 48 hours.  It is a long way off, but could develop.

On the Treasure Coast still more of the same.  No change in beach detecting conditions.

Use the g+1 button at the bottom of posts to indicate which posts you particularly like.  That will give me feedback on what you like to see.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net.

7/25/14 How Not To Miss Gold: Detector Mode Test Results. Saga of the Central America.

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


Sample Gold Items For Detector Test

There is no detector that can identify any and every type of relic, watch, ring, or whatever with 100% accuracy. I am certain that you will miss some very good things if you simply pass over items because of how they display on an ID screen or because of the audio tone. You have to make a calculated decision concerning how much of what you are willing to miss. 

It is relatively easy for a detector to correctly identify modern US coins.  They can do that well, but the question is, is that what you really most want to find.

Not very long ago I talked about making those decisions in my post on Math for Metal Detecting.  I pointed out how a single good find can be worth more than hundreds or even thousands of coins.

Whatever your decision making process, there is little that is more important than actually knowing your detector, especially how it reacts to high value targets such as gold.   And there is no better way of getting to know your detector than working with known test targets.  It doesn't matter if you are hunting cobs or modern gold, you absolutely need to know how your detector responds to the items that you really want to find.

I did a field test of the ACE 250 not long ago.  It is a low-cost discriminating detector, that in my opinion is a very good detector for the price.  I used it for the following test.  I wanted to see how well it identified various samples of gold jewelry.   For me, these types of tests are mandatory for any detector that you want to use.

I got a sample of gold items that varied in size and weight for the test.  They are pictured above.  I labeled them 1 - 5 going from left to right in the picture.

The first thin ring weighs .04 troy oz.   The second weighs .09 troy oz.  The second is smaller but wider than the first.  The third weighs .23 troy oz., and the forth, .27.   The fifth is a bracelet weighting .67 oz.

The ACE 250 has five hunting modes;  coin, relic, custom, jewelry and all metals.  I tested the Coin and Jewelry modes first.

I put the targets on ground that I have used many times in the past (so I know it is clean) for such tests and ran my coil over the test targets.

In Coin mode the small rings labeled 1 and 2 were identified as nickels.  Fine!  You might think you are digging a nickel and be surprised to find a small gold ring.  No big problem.

Still in Coin mode, items 3 and 4, were not detected at all.  By that I mean there was no audio tone.  

I ask you, would you rather detect a clad coin or the average size gold ring?   If you don't want to dig anything but coins, that is fine, but realize what you might be giving up.

Still in Coin mode, the bracelet (item 5) was identified as a nickel.   Hope you are digging nickels if you go over a bracelet like that.

In Coin mode, you will dig smaller gold items that display as nickels.  You will, however, miss larger gold that falls in the pulltab range.

In Jewelry mode item 1 jumped back and forth between nickel and foil on the ID display screen.  Item 2 was identified as a nickel again.   Items 3 and 4 were identified as pull tabs.  And item 5 was identified as a nickel again.

If you want to find gold in Jewelry mode, you should be digging nickels, foil and pull tabs. 

This test was done using one particular detector.  Results with other detectors can vary, but these test results should show you how important it is to know your detector.

To summarize, if you were using either the Coin mode or Jewelry mode, you very well might have missed items 3 and 4.   That is two out of five gold items.   And they are pretty typical rings, which makes it even more important.

In Coin mode, you would not have detected them, and in Jewelry mode you would have misidentified them.

A lot of guys use Jewelry mode rather than Coin mode when hunting and say they find more coins in the Jewelry mode.  The Jewelry mode does not discriminate (eliminate the audio tone) for as many non-coin items. 

In this test it should be noted that I'm using a best-case scenario.  Items were on the surface and not near other items or junk which could have added additional mistakes.  Also deep items in the field may not be identified exactly the same as shallow items.

As I explained when I talked about Step Searches, I would not exclusively use a single mode on a promising area, but would switch modes and also detectors and cover the same ground multiple times.   What one detector or search mode misses another might not miss.  That is one big reason for going back over the area after having analyzed the area and likely targets.

This inexpensive detector has already found good numbers of coins missed in areas heavily hunted by much more expensive and powerful detectors.  Each different type of detector has its own specific strengths and weaknesses.  That is another good reason for searching the same area multiple times with different detectors.

Some detectors are very sensitive to electric lines and underground cables, for example.  Some are good at target separation.  There are different things that will allow one detector to find what another, even another more powerful detector, will not find.

I found this test enlightening and hope you did too.

I'll cover the Relic and All Metals modes tomorrow.



The site of the Central America had not been worked since 1991 until a court-appointed receiver awarded a contract to Odyssey Marine Exploration to salvage what remains on the Central America with the hope of obtaining more treasure and paying back investors.  Odyssey Marine has since recovered 43 solid gold bars, 1,300 $20 double eagle gold coins, and thousands more gold and silver coins.

Here is the link to that interesting story.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/ea11e3bb7d9f45c9b6abb503cb9a42b3/US--Treasure-Dispute


On the Treasure Coast we're still stuck with a South wind and East swell and only a one foot surf.  That has been the pattern for a long time now.  Still watching for a change.


I think this was a very useful post.  I hope you think so too.   It explains in an empirical way much of what I talk about.  More tomorrow.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

7/17/14 Report - Testing A Good Inexpensive New Detector On a Yard and In The Woods. 1829 Large Cent Found

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

1829 Large Cent Found By New Ace 250 Detector

I'm going to do something today that I never do.  I'm going to give you a review of a metal detector.  It is the Garrett Ace 250, which just out of the box was able to detect various types of old and new targets on its first three short outings.   I was surprised by one find in particular (See photo.).

The Garrett Ace 250 is an inexpensive but very adequate metal detector.  For the price, it is an excellent detector.   Selling for just a little over $200 as compared to something more like $1200 for an Excalibur, it offers excellent performance for the price.  Don't, however, confuse it with something like the Excalibur, which has a totally different purpose.  As I've discussed before, a detector should be selected based upon what you plan to do with it, where you are going to hunt, and what you want to find, etc.

The Ace 250 is not a submersible detector.  In fact you should not get the control box wet.  So if you think it might rain, be sure to carry a cover or something with you. 

It is very compact and light weight.

It is very easy to assemble.  It came with batteries and headphones.  I assembled the entire thing and had it working in probably less than fifteen minutes.  It might take slightly longer if it is your first detector.

After quickly taking it out of the box and putting it together, I did a couple quick air tests  on coins in the house.  Everything looked good.  Then to the outdoors.

I took a penny, nickel, dime and quarter, threw them on the ground with a small distance between.  I  ran my coin over them and got good audio and display responses.  Again, no problem.

If this is a first detector for you, spend a lot of time on this step.  Also take a nail, pull tab and bottle cap.  The more time you spend practicing the better off you will be.

I'd start in coin mode.



Ace 250  Display and Buttons

The detector has five different modes that are selected by push button.   They are coin, relics, custom, jewelry and all metals modes,

You'll short change yourself if you don't spend good time practicing with known targets, but I've talked about that a lot in the past.

After some time, place some test targets very close to each other and on top of each other, like a nail and a coin.  The goal is to really get to know your detector and how it sounds when you encounter things in the field.

The settings and adjustments on this detector are easy to select and use.

Within an hour of first opening the box, I found a wheat penny along with a handful of other newer coins with this detector.  I was working an old yard that had been lightly worked before.

The one thing that you might find disappointing if you are new to detecting is that target ID is not as simple as it sounds.  It has both a graphic display, which is well organized and effective, and audio tones to discriminate.

When you first read about target ID you might imagine that it is clear cut and simple.  Just wave the coil over an object and read the ID.   It is not quite that simple though.  Many targets will cause the meter to jump around.  A target might read pull tab then nickel and the pull tab again, for one example.

In this yard there were a lot of roofing nails,  The display usually jumped back and forth between quarter and iron on those.  After a while you know how they display.

It does take time to get to know things like that though.

When a coin was detected it usually gave a pretty consistent reading.   Some cases were more complicated though.  For example when multiple targets were on top of each other or close to each other.

On the first day using this inexpensive detector in the first hour of operation in the yard I found several regular coins, including a wheat penny.

The next day I took the detector out on an old path where I found a 1909 wheat penny and some other clad coins.  Then back to the yard for a little more hunting.  I switched from the Coin mode to the All Metals mode. 

If you know me, you might be surprised that it took me that long to go to All Metals mode, but I wanted to explore the Coin Mode, so played with that a while first.  After switching to All Metals mode, one more wheat penny and a nice brass relic popped up.  I'll show the relic some time.

Then the next day a couple of hours in the woods resulted in finds which included another wheat penny, a 1829 large cent and an old inexpensive ring.

You'd never believe where I found those.  It was a very steep hillside in the woods.  A lot of the time I was following a deer path.  There was no obvious reason to suspect those items were there.  Also found was the metal end of a shot gun shell and a bullet casing.  Those types of finds were expected.  I'll show a picture of that woods area maybe tomorrow.

You can use the various modes together too.   For example if you are hunting in All Metals mode and get a signal that you want to check in Coin mode, that is very easy.  Just hit the push button with your thumb to change modes. 

I would use All Metals Mode a lot and then switch modes when I want to double check a target.

That shows what you can do with a detector that costs not much more than two hundred dollars.  I thought it worked well.  Part of it was my search strategy.  I'll get into that more sometime too.

One feature that this detector has that is better than the high-end detectors that I use is how easy it is to change the modes and settings.  Just use your thumb of your hand holding the detector without letting go of the detector rod or using your other hand.  That is a feature that I'd really like to see on my high-end detectors.

To summarize, the Ace 250 worked well inland, and I'm sure it will work well in dry sand too, although I do not know how well the few exposed metal parts will stand up to constant salt spray without some extra protection.

One reason I did this review is that a lot of people ask what they should get for their first detector.  I'm not saying this is it, because as I've explained, it depends on a lot of factors, but in many cases this would be a good first detector.

I highly recommend this detector as a first detector, especially if you are going to hunt inland.  It is easy to use and effective.  It would also make a good back-up or special purpose detector.  I thought it was a great value at a low price.

I did not test it on the beach and suspect that it is better choice for hunting inland.  I suspect that it might function well in dry sand.  I don't know how it would do in wet sand. 


On the Treasure Coas the surf is still small, but the tides are unusually big now.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/6/12 Report - Testing Gold and Diamonds & Thought Control

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

Electronic Gold Test Equipment (riogrande.com).

If you've been detecting a while, you've probably found some things that you aren't sure about.  Maybe you're not sure what the item is made of.  Maybe you haven't been able to find the owner or the item is broken and not usable anymore.  If silver, maybe it is corroded beyond recognition.  In cases like that, you might choose to recycle the materials.  Scrap gold or silver can be melted and recast, but first you'll want to know for sure what you have.

I've mentioned acid testing before and discussed how to do that.    You can search past posts by using the blog search box to read about that, but there are other ways to test gold.  There are electronic methods.  Good electronic test devices are more expensive than acid test kits but can be bought for as little as $200.  The less expensive electronic test kits require use of a chemical that must be changed after every use.  More expensive electronic test equipment, up around $400, do not require any test chemicals.  Unless you are finding a lot of items that need to be tested, an inexpensive acid test kit will probably be good enough for testing gold, silver and platinum.

You can easily get your items tested for free these days.  Simply take the item to a pawn shop or jewelry consignment store or a place that purchases gold and you can probably get them to test your item.



Electronic Diamond Tester  (riogrande.com)



There are also electronic diamond testers.  Good ones start at around $100 and up.

A lot of the places that buy gold will simply pay for the gold but not give you anything for the stones.  I'd take any good stones out and keep them.

Here is one of those articles that gets me going.   A physician was tried for removing and attempting to sell antiquities from Italy even though the article says he was tried not because the coins were antiquities (they weren't) but because he "believed" the coins were antiquities.  Does that make sense to anyone else?


Here is the link if you want to read that article.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2018592771_apusitalylootedcoincase.html

One of several things in that article that gets me going is the issue of attempts by any legal system to determine what is in a person's head, and worse yet, to pass judgment on that.   How do you know a person's mind?  And even if you could know for certain what is in another person's mind, should thought be legislated?

You can say, yes, it is done all the time.  There are "hate" crimes, for example, which I would say might be better described as "thought" crimes.   And there are attempts to judge a person's mind in other ways, for example to determine intent or insanity.

To me, the most basic freedom is freedom of thought.  Not far behind that is freedom of speech.

Not only do I believe freedom of thought should be protected because it is the most basic of freedoms, but it is also near impossible to "know a man's thoughts."   I suppose the next thing is to judge a man's subconscious mind - things he doesn't even know he thinks.   Where does it end?

Thoughts may be fleeting occurrences, the result of mistaken observations, mistaken conclusions, creative artistic or scientific explorations, or the result of illness, drugs  or delusion.   Although we can detect brain activity in a general way, we can not see thoughts.   I believe that any attempt to make laws that judge or depend upon assessing the presumed thoughts of a individual are misguided and very dangerous.

Well, that was one of the things in that article that got me heated up.  I'll leave it at that for now even though there was much more. 



Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Conditions and Forecast.

The wind is from the south today and the seas calm.   Not much change.

Tomorrow and for the next couple of days, according to the predictions, we'll have more of an east wind and slightly higher seas, but still not much more than two feet or so.

Conditions for finding old shipwreck items on the beach remain poor.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net