A Stupid But Insightful Experiment

bigscoop

Gold Member
Jun 4, 2010
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Wherever there be treasure!
Detector(s) used
Older blue Excal with full mods, Equinox 800.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
This afternoon I conducted an experiment that I'm sure my knees are going to pay for tomorrow. So here's what I did this afternoon.

I opened my Equinox 800 up, and using the small coil, I selected a small area of really trashy ground to hunt to explore the question, “Just how much gold is masked within all of that non-ferrous trash?” This was a really old area adjacent to a pavilion that has been around for over a 100 years, a pavilion that frequently gets rented for events such as wedding, family reunions, and that sort of thing. “Got to be some gold in there somewhere!”

I came home with $1.27, that included 3 quarters,5 nickels, 2 dimes, seven pennies, and about a billion pull-tabs of every variety and other pieces of non-ferrous trash and junk. And this was about 3 hours of detecting.

Now I have picked through this area before in search of clad and silver but for obvious reasons I had never attempted to pick though all of this trash in search of gold, and likely never will ever again......lol

However, it certainly solidified one obscure notion and that is, “He who digs it all gets more treasure.” I mean, I recovered 17 coins today that I had either refused to dig before, missed, or had passed over due to uncertainty or even false returns.

I still have little doubt that gold is hidden there and if I were in the water with a long handled scoop I'd have no problem chasing it, but on land and having to drop to my knees every few feet, well, maybe when I was 20 years younger........lol
 

Upvote 7
I know what you mean, I enjoy hunting parks but I pay for it the next day. I have an old property I have permission to hunt but have been putting it off knowing how my knees are going to feel afterwords.
 

This afternoon I conducted an experiment that I'm sure my knees are going to pay for tomorrow. So here's what I did this afternoon.

I opened my Equinox 800 up, and using the small coil, I selected a small area of really trashy ground to hunt to explore the question, “Just how much gold is masked within all of that non-ferrous trash?” This was a really old area adjacent to a pavilion that has been around for over a 100 years, a pavilion that frequently gets rented for events such as wedding, family reunions, and that sort of thing. “Got to be some gold in there somewhere!”

I came home with $1.27, that included 3 quarters,5 nickels, 2 dimes, seven pennies, and about a billion pull-tabs of every variety and other pieces of non-ferrous trash and junk. And this was about 3 hours of detecting.

Now I have picked through this area before in search of clad and silver but for obvious reasons I had never attempted to pick though all of this trash in search of gold, and likely never will ever again......lol

However, it certainly solidified one obscure notion and that is, “He who digs it all gets more treasure.” I mean, I recovered 17 coins today that I had either refused to dig before, missed, or had passed over due to uncertainty or even false returns.

I still have little doubt that gold is hidden there and if I were in the water with a long handled scoop I'd have no problem chasing it, but on land and having to drop to my knees every few feet, well, maybe when I was 20 years younger........lol
i use a 1/2 classifier and a long handled shovel.i just dig and put it in the classifier and shake it.i all most never get on my knees. if i do iam glad i have the shovel to help me get up again.you have done the hard work now go get the good stuff, good luck.
 

I know what you mean about the knees and next day. I use volleyball knee pads (very light & comfortable), but in practice, I usually wind up sitting next to a hole rather than kneeling or squatting. Missus thinks I look like a kid playing in the dirt/sandbox, surrounded by my shovels & implements of destruction detection.

[Heavy sigh] I loved playing in the dirt & sandbox when I was a kid...
 

Your experiment suggests that littering would be reduced if pull tabs were made of gold.
One would think attaching the tab to the can would reduce waste, but it seems there are just as many "stay on tabs" in the ground as there are "beaver tails".
 

Here's a story that might get you to try again.
I the late 80's I stopped by the local detector shop on my way home from detecting. There was a young man joyously talking with the owner and another patron. The young man had RENTED a detector for the day and went to city park down in Denver. He got a signal and went to dig only to find a plug had already been dug and there was a pull tab in it. He put the pull tab in his pouch and checked the hole. Still a signal. 2 inches deeper was a late 1800's half eagle.
I saw the coin with remnants of soil still clinging to it.
It's still out there under all that can slaw and tabs...I just know it, dang it! lol
 

Here's a story that might get you to try again.
I the late 80's I stopped by the local detector shop on my way home from detecting. There was a young man joyously talking with the owner and another patron. The young man had RENTED a detector for the day and went to city park down in Denver. He got a signal and went to dig only to find a plug had already been dug and there was a pull tab in it. He put the pull tab in his pouch and checked the hole. Still a signal. 2 inches deeper was a late 1800's half eagle.
I saw the coin with remnants of soil still clinging to it.
It's still out there under all that can slaw and tabs...I just know it, dang it! lol
My pinpointer runs pretty deep and I seldom miss much once the plug is dug. And with today's detectors, pretty easy to identify multiple targets, often when they can't even be separated. This is why I'm frequently switching back and forth from disc mode to all metal, etc. I don't want to miss anything....lol
 

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