Best day yet! 52 coins and 2 rings. Ace 250 FTW!

[EpsilonMinus]

I LOVE ACE 250!!

I haven't posted in the 'today's finds' for a while because I was waiting until I had much more experience and something more substantial than a small handful of change. Even though this may not compare with many of the daily postings as far as 'substance', I am mighty proud of my reward for today, being basically still new to the hobby of metal detecting.

Before I get to my finds, I'd like to just bring up some 'newbie' observations...

To be honest, I was getting sort of discouraged about my lack of success until this week... I think it is worth noting that, being new to the hobby, one doesn't yet know what a 'hunted out' area is like, and might, as I did for a while, assume all the failing is due to inexperience with the machine as opposed to there simply not being many targets. This became abundantly clear as soon as I found an area that wasn't already extremely picked over. What a difference!! That said, spending 15-20 hours in nothing-land followed by 10-15 more in places with lots of stuff to find, I feel much more confident and comfortable in my still developing detector abilities, having gained a more balanced sense of when the problem is me not being familiar with the type of area I am detecting versus the area itself just being too emptied out. Now I am starting to get a better understanding of how important it is not only to know how to pick the best parts of any particular location to get results, but also when you should just pick a new location.

Also, I wanted to mention one other thing I noticed. On the net, and this forum especially, you see experienced hunters giving advice all the time to hunt in tot lots, and many of these are accompanied by photos off tons of coins found there. But, in my experience of hunting in about a dozen of these places, in all shapes and sizes, I have yet to find ANYTHING in them. Even when the surrounding area outside the tot lots is producing like mad, the tot lots themselves have all been complete barren for me... This makes me wonder, are there people out there who just detect tot lots exclusively? Do they go out and just drive to 20 of them a day and consider that as making the most of the hobby? I went to two tot lots today and, as usual, I didn't get a single beep!

And now for the goods:

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11 Quarters
5 Dimes
2 Nickels
34 Pennies

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1 Wheat (1945, not rare itself, but rare to dig up!)

​

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2 Silver rings (both 925, one with a Nike logo, one with a pink heart-shaped CZ)
1 Partridge in a pear tree (j/k)

This took me about 5-6 hours to accumulate, but I was also digging a ton of totally obvious non-coin targets (which is why I got two rings!). The ACE 250 is *AWESOME* about coins, it never lies!! Ok, it lies sometimes, but all of those times are like bubble-gum foil, and usually easy to figure out when sweeping from multiple directions.

Thanks for looking!

 

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[KOOTNEY KID]

Looks like you had agreat hunt ,congrats.Can't wait for spring things are alittle frozen around here

 

[canadian digger]

it will only get better

 

[EpsilonMinus]

Looks like you had agreat hunt ,congrats.Can't wait for spring things are alittle frozen around here

I have only global warming to thank for this, man. Even though it's Texas, this part is supposed to be under snow and ice right now, but I was walking around in a t-shirt. This is unbelievable for January. It's below freezing at night, then mid-60's all day, totally bizarre. I was just watching some youtube detecting videos by a guy in your area, near Vancouver who has a lot of success on the beaches there, as well as running a detector-for-hire business to help people find lost things, maybe you could try that out to fend off the withdrawal.

 

[dave-enc]

wtg on the finds yes there are those of us who hunt tot lots and school yards exclusively, and yes you are right that some produce and some dont, part of the experiance and developing your detectng sites involves figuring out which ones produce consistantly and which ones produce only occasionally and set your detecting up accordingly.do we make great finds at every spot ? I wish. It boils down to practice practice practice, and location, locaton, location
hh
dave+bobbie

 

[EpsilonMinus]

it will only get better

I know exactly what you mean. I get the impression there are two types of people in detecting, those who get frustrated or bored right away, and those who get addicted and can't get enough, even when the 'return' only buys the batteries.

wtg on the finds yes there are those of us who hunt tot lots and school yards exclusively, and yes you are right that some produce and some dont, part of the experiance and developing your detectng sites involves figuring out which ones produce consistantly and which ones produce only occasionally and set your detecting up accordingly.do we make great finds at every spot ? I wish. It boils down to practice practice practice, and location, locaton, location
hh
dave+bobbie

Yeah, that also reminds me of something I forgot to mention. When you first get a detector your first ideas of places to go seem to be the most obvious or convenient places, like the park in the middle of town where every other guy with a new detector also goes. It's funny now to think back on it after figuring this out, but there's no shame, you have to start somewhere and just get more creative.

 

[MZKITY62]

All I can say is you are an ACE. You eat me to shame. I have been hunting since the middle of the summer and teaching myself. My best day has been the day my son and I had at at tot lot in Alachua, Fl and we got a little over $5.00 from that trip. Sorry, but my keyboard is really bad. Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

 

[EpsilonMinus]

All I can say is you are an ACE. You eat me to shame. I have been hunting since the middle of the summer and teaching myself. My best day has been the day my son and I had at at tot lot in Alachua, Fl and we got a little over $5.00 from that trip. Sorry, but my keyboard is really bad. Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

I still have yet to make it to $5 in a single outing, it's not as easy as some people on the forum make it look!

It is a fun time when you get a chance to really learn your detector, and to find an environment rich in coins to experiment with.

I had a similar experience at "the Corner of Shame", where I had a chance to finally learn what deep coins sounded like on my DFX in a lawn.

That is one of the great thrills of the hobby: the "a-ha!" moment, where you understand for the first time some new function or capability of your detector.

The Nike ring is stamped "925" with the intent to deceive whomever originally purchased it. It is definitely not silver. The smaller ring is though, and it is a nice one.

Do not feel bad about the Nike ring, I have a couple of gigantic brass bands that are very prominently and deeply stamped with "18K". It is another joy of the hobby!

nice loot!

Man, I was wondering about that ring, especially with it right next to the other one, I didn't think silver could get that ugly, even after dealing with the elements in the ground for what has probably been at least a few years. If it's not silver, though, then what is it? Regardless, finding rings is still pretty exciting, fake or not. I have never heard of people faking brass as gold, that's ridiculous, but I bet your heart sank when you saw it in the ground for the first time (Then sank again after closer inspection). But yeah, 'aha moments' when things click and make sense are the best. The Ace, superficially, looks extremely basic and simple, but it actually outputs a ton of information, it's pretty amazing what they have packed into this little yellow box, heh. 18k brass ftw!

 

[vanoldschool]

Nice finds, Detecting is like Fishing Some times there biting, somedays there not, I am sure there are other Detectors out there searching the same tot lots you are, I try to go back to my lots Every two weeks remember slow and low, try Google Earth and Zoom in out your area, do you see any empty land lots go check them out good luck!!

 

[Bell-Two]

Way to go! I use an Ace 250 too and like you it took a bit of time to start to find things. The real trick is to look where the stuff is, most of us all start at a convenient park or yard and so many of those have been hunted thoroughly. The Ace is a good coin machine and does find jewelery as well I have three silver rings I have found using it. It will get fooled on certain targets the old square nails in particular come up as solid dime readings, I have dug enough of these that I now call them "Carpenter Dimes". Check out Crazyjarheads postings he finds fabulous things with his Ace. I don't find a lot in the tot lots too and like you sometimes do better around the perimeter of them. Keep working with it and it will find goodies for you.

 

[EpsilonMinus]

Nice finds, Detecting is like Fishing Some times there biting, somedays there not, I am sure there are other Detectors out there searching the same tot lots you are, I try to go back to my lots Every two weeks remember slow and low, try Google Earth and Zoom in out your area, do you see any empty land lots go check them out good luck!!

You remind of a youtube guy who makes videos about his 'Dirt Fishin', hah. But yeah, its a good analogy. I am also sure there are other detectorists out here, even though I have yet to run into one, it's interesting how you can tell what the last guy did, though, by what is left behind, like if you find a load of dimes but no quarters, you know someone else was skimming there. With the tot lots, I had read over and over in many advice posts here that they are best for consistent finds for 'pros' as well as newbies because of the amount of variety to learn with. I guess I will just have to wait until I find a tot lot that beeps before I can understand this more. I use Google Earth almost religiously! Not just as a hunting tool, but for many other things, such as making travel plans and just learning geography, it's such a powerful resource. I haven't tried hunting any empty lots yet, as usually these places don't have any ownership postings and I'm not fast enough to run away from a guy with a shotgun (People still have them in truck-mounts here!).

Way to go! I use an Ace 250 too and like you it took a bit of time to start to find things. The real trick is to look where the stuff is, most of us all start at a convenient park or yard and so many of those have been hunted thoroughly. The Ace is a good coin machine and does find jewelery as well I have three silver rings I have found using it. It will get fooled on certain targets the old square nails in particular come up as solid dime readings, I have dug enough of these that I now call them "Carpenter Dimes". Check out Crazyjarheads postings he finds fabulous things with his Ace. I don't find a lot in the tot lots too and like you sometimes do better around the perimeter of them. Keep working with it and it will find goodies for you.

Carpenter Dimes! That is hilarious, I will remember that one. I have seen Crazyjarhead's posts, he does really well indeed.

 

[comfortablynumb]

Being relatively new to the hobby, I've hunted several tot lots, and have only found an occasional clad. Never found jewelry of any kind, especially the bonanza of gold that most seem to find...must be cuz I live in a poor rural community.

My best hunting (for clad) has been in parks where city festivals have been held..or in large-group campgrounds.

To date, I have only found one wheatie, and that was under a bunch of rock (foundation from an old spring well) that a workman must have lost, and a no date buffalo with a WWI General Service button in the same hole.

Here's hoping for better hunting grounds in 2010. The snow has all melted, the ground is thawing, so it's just about dirt-fishing season in NW Missouri.

 

[EpsilonMinus]

Being relatively new to the hobby, I've hunted several tot lots, and have only found an occasional clad. Never found jewelry of any kind, especially the bonanza of gold that most seem to find...must be cuz I live in a poor rural community.

My best hunting (for clad) has been in parks where city festivals have been held..or in large-group campgrounds.

To date, I have only found one wheatie, and that was under a bunch of rock (foundation from an old spring well) that a workman must have lost, and a no date buffalo with a WWI General Service button in the same hole.

Here's hoping for better hunting grounds in 2010. The snow has all melted, the ground is thawing, so it's just about dirt-fishing season in NW Missouri.

I think there something worth noting there. You say you're in a 'poor rural area' and aren't finding anything in the tot lots. My experience is pretty similar to this. I the people having the most luck in tot lots must be in highly urban areas, which most will also emphasize the 'poor parts' of those areas as being the most fruitful. I will definitely start packing my detector when I go on trips to bigger metros to test this out. Wheats and Buffalos are cool finds, man!

 

[Rickiowa2009]

Great Job, one day at a time!

 

[comfortablynumb]

One of the more experienced MD that frequents a KC forum says he prefers the poorer neighborhood tot lots in KC; his rationale being the parents tend to put the gold chains, earrings & rings on their kids as a sign of "status."

The only shiny stuff you see on the kids in my community are the clasps on their overalls!!! (jk). Seriously, I don't think the folks in my town are overly concerned with status when they're out at the park....just what's in the picnic basket!!!

 

[allen]

That is how I feel about my ace 250,
shes a great inexpensive machine that
paid for herself in no time !
Love the close up pics of the 925 in
the rings, my camera cant get a close
up shot like that.

 

[EpsilonMinus]

That is how I feel about my ace 250,
shes a great inexpensive machine that
paid for herself in no time !
Love the close up pics of the 925 in
the rings, my camera cant get a close
up shot like that.

I didn't think my camera would either, as it is a basic, cheap digital camera but here is what I did to make it happen. I use a black mousepad to give a good contrast between the item and the background, helping the camera see the 'detail' I want to zoom into. Then, go into the camera options and select 'Macro' which basically translates to 'close up'. Then put a desk lamp 8-9 inches over the item, preferably at an angle to reduce reflection glare. THEN, and this is key, don't zoom in or put the camera really close, but have it about 4 inches away from the detail you want. This will help the camera balance the light and zoom in automatically using the auto-focus. After taking the pic, crop it to select just the detail, then resize the cropped pic after. Give that a try, man! Thanks for the comment.

 

[zaxfire69]

Just the tip of the Iceberg..Ace 250 all the way. Great Haul

 

[EpsilonMinus]

Just the tip of the Iceberg..Ace 250 all the way. Great Haul

Indeed! Btw, by your profile pic, one might surmise that your detector has found you a Chinese restaurant! Banner!! Hah.

 

[EpsilonMinus]

Just the tip of the Iceberg..Ace 250 all the way. Great Haul

No doubt there. Thanks!