How Much Gold in 200 Hours? - a Guessing Game

Rick K

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Jan 3, 2007
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Since I spent my career buying and subcontracting, I spent endless hours doing worst case analysis on deals. Silly me, before you enter into any arrangement - do a best case analysis - if everything goes pretty much to plan - what is your gain - is it worth the cost/risk.

So let’s play a little game - pretend I just had a chance to get the world’s best beach detector for gold jewelry ( if such a thing existed) and let’s pretend that I had 200 hours a year to detect at a suitable beach and that I am an experienced beach detector operator. How much gold should I expect to find?

Let me know your thoughts - and remember, that this imaginary detector will be approximately twice as effective as any detector you have used previously at finding gold jewelry (kindly spare the lectures on whether such a thing is possible - let’s just assume - for the purposes of the game - that it exists)

What would I expect to earn in 200 hours - let’s try and normalize - say 12 karat gold (an average). How many rings at what average weight equals how many grams of 12K - feel free to go ahead and use one of those on line calculators to turn it into $, but remember, grams of 12K.

Post your guesses.
 

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biyaa

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Feb 26, 2017
24
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Australia
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Honestly, if your in hobby to earn x amount of dollar. You’re setting yourself for disappointment. Most guys do it for excitement of finding interesting things or just exercise. To find gold there three factors you must meet. Correct equipments, knowledge of reading beach condition and yourself. Even best detector won’t give you gold. If you don’t know how search correctly at the beach, you be digging up junks. If your mindset or health can’t handle long hour detecting. Then most likely finding gold is just like winning lottery. :)

However, it’s an interesting case study you put together. Why not go experiment it yourself and write down your result.

At the end of the day, do something that is fun and relax your mind. Some other might give you better reply but I just want put my 2 cent thoughts. Best luck mate.
 

Tpmetal

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Jan 4, 2017
4,437
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Since I spent my career buying and subcontracting, I spent endless hours doing worst case analysis on deals. Silly me, before you enter into any arrangement - do a best case analysis - if everything goes pretty much to plan - what is your gain - is it worth the cost/risk.

So let’s play a little game - pretend I just had a chance to get the world’s best beach detector for gold jewelry ( if such a thing existed) and let’s pretend that I had 200 hours a year to detect at a suitable beach and that I am an experienced beach detector operator. How much gold should I expect to find?

Let me know your thoughts - and remember, that this imaginary detector will be approximately twice as effective as any detector you have used previously at finding gold jewelry (kindly spare the lectures on whether such a thing is possible - let’s just assume - for the purposes of the game - that it exists)

What would I expect to earn in 200 hours - let’s try and normalize - say 12 karat gold (an average). How many rings at what average weight equals how many grams of 12K - feel free to go ahead and use one of those on line calculators to turn it into $, but remember, grams of 12K.

Post your guesses.

This question has so many variables that you really can't come up with any type of consistent data trend
 

OBN

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Dec 30, 2008
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This question has so many variables that you really can't come up with any type of consistent data trend


I have to agree ....1000%.........So many Variables..........Last year I scored 135 gold rings, so far this year I am a head of my pace by about 5..I think in 5 years I'll be luck if I can dig 1/3 as much. Just hoping the New Fisher will reopen some of these older spots to keep the pace going.

2017.jpg
 

OnTheBeach

Tenderfoot
May 30, 2018
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It seems to me that finding gold on a beach depends on the following:

1. location / opportunity
2. luck
3. good technique
4. effort / time spent
5. detector

I'm making the assumption that if one is hunting gold on a beach then they are using a detector that is up to the task.

There are a couple of cold water beaches near me that I doubt you'd find any gold in 200 hours but would probably find $100 in aluminum scrap! (just a wild guess)
 

smokeythecat

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Nov 22, 2012
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Yes, too many variables. Now for 135 rings, say you get $100 each for them as used jewelry, with scrap value much less, we're talking about $13,500.00

That's not so good. And 200 hours, you may get 1 ring every 3-4 hours, if you're lucky, so the math won't work very well. That's one reason why I consider my detecting recreation, exercise and a hobby.

And OBN does it better than anybody. For me it's 3 hours ' drive on a good day and over 100 miles to the ocean.
 

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Digger_O'Dell

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May 11, 2018
70
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Wow, odd question. But heres a little info from my personal experience. I live in Wisconsin and hunt many beaches in and out of the water. Lake Michigan to inland lakes and rivers using my CTX. In the past 3 years I've found exactly 3 gold rings and maybe 40 silver rings, hunting countless hours. That's only 1 gold per year if I'm lucky, which is still far better than most who hunt in my region.
As another perspective, I recently vacationed in Florida and had 3 solid weeks of hunting the beaches. I switched between the CTX 3030 and my GPX 4800. The GPX hit a penny easily at 30 inches. (Its on video on my YouTube channel) I've covered countless miles of beaches from Melbourne to Fort Pierce. The results? Not a single ring of any kind, much less gold. Only thing of note I brought home turned out to be a heavily encrusted and rusted sword only revealed by an xray. Certainly wasn't gold!
 

Terry Soloman

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I'll go with a five-year average of cashed in melt gold. The rings, bracelets and chains came from heavily used (millions each year) Long Island, NY, Connecticut Long Island Sound, and New York City beaches. The finds were made with the Tesoro Sand Shark, and Cibola. Over five years, I averaged 135-hours each season on the beaches, and $1,870.00 per season, or approximately 70-grams of 14K gold per season. :skullflag:
 

Slingshot

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Gold = 0, but 57 1/2 lbs. of pulltabs which pencils out to around $28.50 for scrap. Subtract your fuel expenses, time spent searching, cost of super detector, cost of batteries, motel or camping expenses, and oh yeah, did you eat out while detecting or buy anything cold to drink, as those beaches can get hot in the summer. Just subtract your scrap aluminum from all your expenses to determine how far in the hole you went for the year. Better luck next year!
 

OP
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Rick K

Rick K

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Jan 3, 2007
756
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Gold Canyon AZ
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Keep those estimates coming - no winner will be declared and there are no prizes - except the biggest one of them all - a growth in our collective understanding of the hobby/passion we all share.
 

LE.JAG

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Oct 31, 2013
78
154
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yes, far too many parameters
I have had years has more than 300 rings, others much less
winter storms are the most important thing to me...

where you are and competition can change the game
like that guy who weighed 1.2 kilos 18k in a month
in a lake, he was the first to pass..

or anyone else I know
who's been weighing over two kilos a month for years.
he was also the first / in the islands

there are still virgin detection spot in the world
India is probably the biggest potential
I know a guy who tried
a quarter of an hour with a deus: 2 gold rings and 3 silver rings
and crowd gathering + police + search at hotel lol

and volcanic sand beaches that will be exploitable in the years to come
also reserves big surprise...........

332cj0w.jpg
 

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cudamark

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I have to agree ....1000%.........So many Variables..........Last year I scored 135 gold rings, so far this year I am a head of my pace by about 5..I think in 5 years I'll be luck if I can dig 1/3 as much. Just hoping the New Fisher will reopen some of these older spots to keep the pace going.

View attachment 1602040

And I would hazard a guess that you spend way more than 200 hours doing it and that 99% of those finds were in the water. Depending on the location and time of year, you could hunt 200 hours in the dry sand and not find one gold ring. You might also find 5 in one hunt at more favorable times or better conditions in or out of the water. as Tpmetal said, too many variables to come up with a number.
 

OBN

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And I would hazard a guess that you spend way more than 200 hours doing it and that 99% of those finds were in the water. Depending on the location and time of year, you could hunt 200 hours in the dry sand and not find one gold ring. You might also find 5 in one hunt at more favorable times or better conditions in or out of the water. as Tpmetal said, too many variables to come up with a number.

I would guess in the area of 500 hours, 100% in the water. One of my best variables, putting myself in the right location at the right time.
I have many multiple gold ring hunts. This year..2018..Found a cut, got 32 golds from it in 5 weeks, 11 visits, spoiled me..now it's gone..:BangHead:

4 29 18.jpg

OBN00.jpg

OBN0001.jpg

On the dry sand, I'm luck if I can find a silver ring, waste of time for me, other then the view. I spent a few summers at the ocean, OC Md.......2014 and 2015, best time of the year for fresh drops at this location. Drysand, wetsand to in the shallow surf...10 gold rings each summer, about 3 months, maybe 200 hours of hunting each year at this location. I no longer go there for the odds of finding gold is less.

If the new Fisher PI lives up to what has been written, from my own experience, at the locations I now search, I know it will be a game changer for me.

Using it at the ocean, a fresh drop beach, I see some advantages, but the Nox has closed that window some.

My opinion.
 

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CASPER-2

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Jan 3, 2012
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One of my better years - that I have pics of - 2012 - I got like 80 pieces of gold (not in pic are the earrings and a few returns)
I got out like 62 times - most in water - 3 to 4 hrs a hunt (usually 1 1/2 to 2 hrs before low tide and after)
- so lets call it 220

OBN is lucky and gets into spots others never have or cant and he is retired and lives not to far from waters
YES Iam jealous :BangHead:
I am not retired and most spots I hit are 2 - 2 1/2 hrs away from saltwater - spots I hit are mostly ones
others think they cleaned out and gave up on - I search for left overs or I hit areas others don't want to try
cause they fish there now and don't want to dig all the sinkers
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/members/29748-albums1651.html
some spots I hit for the relics and know I'm not gonna get gold
got a few that I have fun going for minie and musket balls and other relics
but I'm not in it for profit - I'm in for the hobby first
I know guys that only want gold and sell soon after they find it - they pretty much throw everything else away
some hate finding silver cause its not worth enough - unless they get a huge chain or what not
if you look through my album(s) other than true trash - I have all the odds and ends ive found in a box or
container somewhere
 

BigWaveDave

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Rick K... you won’t find any gold if you get there after OBN and Casper.
 

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