Still havent found silver

samuel_schumaker

Jr. Member
Jan 15, 2008
56
3
Holton, Ks
Detector(s) used
Explorer SE Pro w/ Sunray, Garrett AT Pro, Garrett Pro Pointer
Okay, i dont have a ton of hours on my minelab explorer se pro that i bought almost a year ago but i have spent atleast 50 hours with it in hand. I cannot find a silver coin to save my life. I will say first of all that most of my hunting has been in my own yard, but it dates to the late 1800's and i have found wheats from 1927 all the way thru the 50's along with current clad. Maybe im not getting deep enough using just the factory preset pattern, i have tried using iron mask set at different areas like the people in andy's book recommend but my yard is very trashy and it seems like theres so many tones that i cant distinguish them. Some of the wheats have been as deep as 6 inches but i really havent found a single coin size object any deaper then that. I run my sensitivity in auto and sometimes in manual but if i set the manual up too high it seams to erratic. Anyone have any suggestions? Silver does sound pretty close to modern day quarters and dimes correct? About as high of a pitch as u can get in conductive mode? i feel like im not getting the greatest depth with the factory settings which is obvious but i wouldnt think the silver coins would be any deeper then the wheats. I know i need to get out and try some other yards but i feel like there should atleast be a silver coin somewhere around this place. Any feedback? Thanks, sam
 

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Kevin in IN

Sr. Member
Feb 21, 2011
478
369
N.Indiana
Detector(s) used
Minelab Sov.GT , Explorer SE Pro , Excalibur 1000
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hi Sam. Sounds like your coil just hasn't hit a silver coin yet. Do some research and try some new places. I have the same machine your using and did get a silver ring at around 7 inches and was loud and clear. My problem is I can't put my Soverign down long enough to fully learn the explorer. I don't care for the pinball machine noises. Your finding wheats, silver will come along. Good luck and keep swinging. Kevin
 

fistfulladirt

Gold Member
Feb 21, 2008
12,204
4,917
Great Lakes State
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
dirtfishing
Primary Interest:
Other
I've hunted a lot of yards, sometimes the silver just isn't there. Many older yards have also been hunted previously, detectors have been around for a long time. Keep at it, it will come.
 

G.A.P.metal

Gold Member
Jul 5, 2010
6,468
7,387
"Kan-a-we-o-la" Head on a Pole N.Y. Seneca Territo
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Deus, 11" Low Freq. , 9" X35 Coils, MI 6 Pointer...
Land or Sea Pointer
King Of Spades 40" KS-D SA and 40" KS-S-SA
L
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Take a drive in the country close to you, look for posted signs the land owner signs them, and ask for permission most farmers dont care if you ask, then look for old orchards lots of coins and rings lost there some will be silver.
Gary
 

gleaner1

Silver Member
Feb 1, 2009
4,491
1,023
Gateway to the 1000 Islands
Detector(s) used
Sometime(s)
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You are probably doing only one thing wrong, not sweeping over silver yet. Keep going. If you are finding copper coins, you will certainly find the silver. Keep at it and re-do your yard. Take a silver dime and bury it 6 or 7 inches deep. You will see....
 

Ism

Hero Member
Jun 17, 2009
639
205
Michigan
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Vaquero
Whites TDI
Minelab Sovereign GT
XP Deus
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I'm not familiar with your detector, but if you are on a preset coin setting maybe you should drop the disc to just above iron or foil. Then dig everything with a decent signal now that you've gone over your yard fairly well. If you go over it in a direction perpendicular to your original path, coins will suddenly appear that weren't there before. I searched a few old homes and only one turned a lot of coins. The others barely coughed up a wheat. I think much depends on whether the property was a gathering place for family and friends or if there was a vegetable stand...etc. You could potentially find a gold coin before your first silver so don't give up. You have an opportunity that others could only dream of. Good luck
 

mlayers

Gold Member
Oct 29, 2007
5,576
429
Northern, OH
Detector(s) used
DFX, White PI, Bounty Hunter, Whites Surfmaster II and Excalibur II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have the DFX and it took me over 3 yrs before I found my 1st piece of silver with it. I also bought a house that was built 1920 and I shearch my yard wth it over and over each year. Last year I finally found a silver quarter and I been over this area a dz before. So you just have to get the coil over it just right. So keep on searching and good luck.......Matt
 

Jason in Enid

Gold Member
Oct 10, 2009
9,593
9,229
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Like the others have said, do some research and find a new place to hunt. The last 3 old homes I searched gave up ZERO silver. It's really disapointing when it happens.

The more you use your detector, the more you will understand it. 50 hours isn't very much swing time. Keep at it, it will get better.
 

Swartzie

Hero Member
Mar 15, 2009
791
52
Tuscarawas County, Ohio
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Tejon
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
If you're finding wheats then there should be some silver. You say the place is trashy. I would clean out some of the larger trashy targets. They may be masking some good stuff. Also go slow and use short swings of your coil when you get into a trashy spot. Try and work the coil between the trash. Start digging more of the iffy signals. The silver is probably no deeper than the wheats especially if they're dimes which are light and tend not to sink very far.

-Swartzie
 

ds6191

Full Member
Dec 29, 2007
136
1
Illinois
Detector(s) used
E Trac
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Go read the peak silver thread. There is no silver left. lol ;D
 

lastleg

Silver Member
Feb 3, 2008
2,876
658
Hate to break it to you but the silver crop was harvested years ago. It was fun while it lasted.
 

ds6191

Full Member
Dec 29, 2007
136
1
Illinois
Detector(s) used
E Trac
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Jason in Enid said:
ds6191 said:
Go read the peak silver thread. There is no silver left. lol ;D

Nobody said there was no silver left.

No harm intended! I was feeling a bit silly. :wink: I didn't have the joy of detecting during those times. Back to original post. It took me almost a calender year to find my first silver...1894 barber dime semi-key date vf condition.If it was an S I would have had a heart attack.

Keep at it! Those Minelabs love silver. :icon_thumright: Dan
 

OP
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samuel_schumaker

samuel_schumaker

Jr. Member
Jan 15, 2008
56
3
Holton, Ks
Detector(s) used
Explorer SE Pro w/ Sunray, Garrett AT Pro, Garrett Pro Pointer
Well i finally found one. Nothing to write home about, just a 1960 rosie but im happy. I decided to hunt on my lunch break, ( 1 hour) at the local fairgrounds. I have been wanting to try this spot since i first got my detector this past spring but i just never tried it. Think i was too scared about my digging nice plugs and the public looking at me funny but not anymore. I also found 1.06 in clad, 3 were quarters just under the surface. Suprisingly the rosie was only about 1 1/2 inches down and a couple other clad dimes were 4 inches deep. This spot i am hoping to find much more on. Heres why i think so, there have been steel bleachers sitting here for who knows how many years, i would say since atleast the 40's and probly even longer then that. Its where the talent shows and other stuff takes place outside. Well 2 years ago they moved the bleachers to the fairgrounds outside of town that they are in the process of building so this 30ft by 100 ft area has never seen a detector, and i have never seen anyone try it since the bleachers were moved. My shop is literally right across the alley, its where i park my truck. Literally a 30 second walk from working to hunting. I hope i can find some more stuff. I was just using the coin program for now thinking i would go back after i have recovered some of the clad and use iron mask set at like 22 or so. I did notice a lot of what sounded very good signals that wouldnt repeat. Like there was a lot of trash present. But the ones i dug where textbook back and forth loud crisp sounds and i knew they would be coins. I didnt really notice a difference in sound from the sivler coin but i havent dug any coins lately so im sure with some more practice it will have a different warble or whatever everyone calls it. Anyway i am very happy now and look forward to finding more. Thanks everyone for the help and recomendations. Sam
 

Dwight S

Hero Member
Apr 26, 2010
558
70
NC
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT-Pro & White's TDI & Tesoro Compass uMax
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Congratulations on the first of many silvers to come! Don't skip any signal that sounds reasonable. It may be something good being partially masked. As they say... DIG IT ALL. Yes, you'll dig some trash but I bet you'll also find some good stuff that may be deep.

I've gotten a Barber dime at 1" before, so don't let the shallow depth on a target fool you!
 

LuckyLarry

Hero Member
Dec 16, 2005
750
390
Sweet Home, Oregon
Detector(s) used
I had to sideline for awhile, too much quarreling, brand defensiveness, and seeing certain people waging war on others. It got to be too silly for me after awhile..
Primary Interest:
Other
I've never found any silver dimes deeper than 5". Most of them were found in "sidewalk strips", the grassy area between the street and the cement walks. Secondly, I found them right near the sidewalks in the very front of the lawn right next to the sidewalks. Lots of silver nickles in parks next to the sidewalks too. My old Compass Relic and Coins finds the most silver nickles, mostly in old parks, and now and then 7" deep.

I've found wheaties deeper, up to 8" in soil, and 9" or so in wood chips. Most silver halves were no deeper than 3", same with silver quarters. I found a cache of them at an old fairground too at 3", and another cache of silver at only 2" under a giant Douglas Fir tree in a park by a river.

The homes were between 40 and 80 years old, but the age of the home was not a factor. Most of the soil here in Oregon is really nasty and highly Fe mineralized.

LL
 

gleaner1

Silver Member
Feb 1, 2009
4,491
1,023
Gateway to the 1000 Islands
Detector(s) used
Sometime(s)
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Other
The very last frontier of silver is in fact the area between the road and the sidewalk. Lots of trash to deal with. Not gonna be easy. But there are millions just under your feet, just out of reach.
 

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