Just two small questions, if I may.

[WHADIFIND]

I've always wanted to just toss these two questions out there and see what I "catch".

The first is really general and I'm still trying to figure out best practices with this new-fangled ATP of mine. I've been hunting for 2 years and pretty much have it figured out. Except, for manual ground balancing. I usually just let the machine figure out where it's happy. But, I know some fine tune that balancing. I just don't understand the theory. What is gained/lost by changing the machine's tuning to a few points higher or lower?


The 2nd one is more about chemistry and experience. I have had the good fortune to be hunting in the 70's and again, now in this new millennium. I have found just about every type of coin this time around as I did in the beginning. Of course, they're a lot fewer nowadays as there's been so many hunting in the meantime.

My question: Is there an age boundary for coins like copper/brass/bronze? What I mean is, will these metals start deteriorating worse after a certain time? The reason I ask is that I have found many wonderful coins that look like they came from the bank and were buried the same day. Oh sure, they have the solid green patina but ALL of the detail is there! (on some of them) Almost NONE of the ones I've found this time around, (almost 50 years later on), seem to be in much shape at all.

Now, I know this is completely dependent on the type of soil. But, is there a certain amount of time where the metals themselves just kind of give up the ghost? So to speak. Like lead turns white after about 100 years does copper/bronze sort of just start crumbling or some such? I'm beginning to think that we are running out of time to find any of these coins in decent shape anymore.

Thoughts?

And thanks for reading!

 

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[Moresound]

Roman coins are still unearthed.

I found an Indian head yesterday that looked like a resent drop but was near to seven inches down with no oxidation what so ever ... It was in sand with a moss ground cover.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Question one I can't help you with, I don't have an ATPRO.
Question two is interesting. I'm thinking like you said it depends on the soil and what leaches into it, acid rain maybe a factor, as would any new pollutants we put into the air. Why some metals survive and some don't, not really sure, but it makes sense that over time metals would possibly return to their natural state. I guess nature's all about recycling!

On the other hand I'm happy as all get out that the zincs are disappearing at a rapid rate! I get signals saying its bottle cap but a lot of times it's zincs in various stages of decomposition. If I dug a hot rock signal I may find a little area of whitish decomposed metal- zinc.

What would be your theory of why the dinosaurs and trees and plants were bigger back then, was there something different about the atmosphere? Maybe things are still, in the process of change. No human that we know of has been on this planet long enough to be a witness to all the changes it has gone through. We can only guess why certain things happen or don't happen.

 

[Erving]

On question one. I don't have an AT Pro, and I could be wrong, but I think any machine with the auto ground balance option works pretty much the same way. On my machine with the auto ground balance on, it ground balances itself, and if I have auto track on, (which I do), it will reground balance automatically if needed as often as I set it to while I'm detecting. (I have it set to check about every 8 swings) If I were to set it on manuel ground balance, I would have to manuelly ground balance it, and that is where it would stay no matter what the soil condition is as you detect. In other words, I would have to keep checking to see if it was still ground balanced periodically while detecting, and if the ground has changed because of a more, or less mineralized area or whatever, I'd have to stop and manuelly ground balance again. I personally think auto ground balance is a great feature to have, but that's just my oppionion

 

[Pointman]

This question has gotten me thinking on this again. It is very interesting to think about. I remember first detecting with my dad back in the 70s but I was still young and I don't remember exactly how the coins came out of the ground looking like. It would make sense that they will eventually deteriorate. Consider large cents. More than half the ones that are found that are posted are deteriorated, and I am sure that they were in much better shape when they were first dropped. Consider the battleships lost in WWII. A lot of them they estimate that they will be totally lost to the elements in another 50 years or less. A lot of them have completely crumbled. I think that it all depends on the soil and environment on how long something will last in the ground. You may have a coin that will deteriorate perhaps less than 1% a year in one spot and then across town it may be 5% or more. (I would suspect that it would be much less than this as a rule). I've seen CW relics found at the turn of the century that actually had a lot of the wood, etc, still intact. I've also heard where CW relics that were found within 40 years after the war literally can still be found on top of the ground.

The only true way to know or be able to measure this would be comparing uncleaned coins from an area, say from 40+ years ago in comparison to some newer coins and see.

 

[WHADIFIND]

If I were to set it on manuel ground balance, I would have to manuelly ground balance it, and that is where it would stay no matter what the soil condition is as you detect.

I understand that and auto balancing would usually be better. But, maybe I'm not phrasing my question right. What I'm trying to figure out is why some prefer to get it balanced and then de-tune it either a few points higher or lower. What is the benefit expected from doing that, is it more sensitivity? Or maybe to do with depth? An insignificant question from an insignificant mind. Just a curiosity.

Thanks!

 

[WHADIFIND]

No human that we know of has been on this planet long enough to be a witness to all the changes it has gone through. We can only guess why certain things happen or don't happen.

Funny, but it seems to me that once the dinosaurs went away, the plants started shrinking. Probably lack of fertilizer.

 

[bigfoot1]

one must consider that as time marches on new thing/coins will become valuable targets.We are so close to the scene that we can easily miss the big picture.How many of us know which clad coins are worth more than that vintage slq?I recomend we all go to websites that can teach us about this.I use numismedia.com and find that there are many clad coins that have real value.As to the gold and silvers...obviously no time worries there.The coppers...depends on where you are.I nailed a lc that is awsome in condition 2 inches deep...go figure.

point is......there are a ton more coins in circulation every year to support a larger population who loses them at a rate never before seen in history.Heck alot of people wont even bend over to pick a coin up when they see one.
Some of those have value too....even 1970s costume jewelry is worth keeping.

future looks bright say I

cheers

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Great things have come from seemingly insignificant questions!


Your probably right about the dinosaurs fertilizer! Lol! That thought never crossed my mind!

 

[DDancer]

Manual ground balance can sometimes bring out targets that are normally weak or may be tuned out by auto ground balance. One can practice with this setting on any machine that has manual features for GB. In highly mineralized soils weaker targets can be masked or rejected by auto GB because they don't make the threshold the detector is setting itself up at in auto mode. This is usually not a problem for most types of detecting however manual GB is most often employed in prospecting where one is looking for tiny targets hiding in very reactive soils.
Many newer machines are much better at GB verses weak target rejection due to advances in signal processing~ the machines actually look at targets below threshold and may capture them. In the case of prospecting manual GB can be used to detect areas of high mineralization for the purpose of locating placers. Manual GB can also be used to determine if the area your hunting is relatively stable, in terms of minerals and salts, and allow one to turn off the auto feature. This will give one a bit more depth and sensitivity~ it will also prevent the machine from tuning out chatter due to changing soil conditions so you have a trade off.

Practice with it


As to coins~ as you said there is chemistry involved. By and large the longer something sits around the more prone it is to degrade. So time is a factor. What the metal is made of also affects degradation. Best bet here is to get those coins out of the soil as soon as possible Keep swinging. Hehh

 

[WHADIFIND]

Many newer machines are much better at GB verses weak target rejection due to advances in signal processing~ the machines actually look at targets below threshold and may capture them.

That's the theory! Funny, but I never thought about how GB might eliminate a weak target as well. Now I see why some experiment with this. Interesting!

Thanks!

 

[Frankn]

I skipped most of the posts, but here's your answers.
Ground balance is merely the deleting of the signal returned by the ground. Needless to say, the ground is not constant so there is always the possibility of eliminating a return adjacent to the ground return. That is the reason some set it a little off. This offset is the slight hum that you hear as you scan. Silent hunters miss out on this.

Coins don't get week with age, but corrosion is usually a slow constant process. The speed of this process is set by the reaction to chemicals in the ground and the moisture at any time.

Frank...-