Coin depth tests make sure you do it right

[BestAntiquities]

You have to make sure the ground is absolutely free of all iron within about 2 foot of your test spot. Yesterday I tested a new machine and could only get 4 to 4 1/2 inches depth on a quarter. Today I found a new spot and completely cleaned out the iron bits. At this spot the same detector detected the quarter at least 2 inches deeper. I was set in discrimination with pulltabs discriminated out. 6 1/2 inches isn't bad for pulltab level discrimination. I'm very pleased now

Also I should note that it gets about 7 1/2 to 8 inches in all metal mode. At 8 the signal drops in and out.
Another thing is make sure you tamp the ground down well because an open hole with a coin at the bottom isn't good. At first I tried to detect the coin with the coin looking at me from the bottom of the hole. No signal. When I filled it with dirt and tamped it I got a nice solid signal. Anybody know why this is?

One final thing is I found when I removed dirt from the test spot I lost the coin signal. I had to dig the coin totally up before I could get a signal on it. That was weird. Now I wonder how many coins I've left behind because while digging I lost the signal and just refilled the hole and left that spot? Thanks
PM

 

[JasonB]

I've had similar experiences with the soil in the hole vs. a dry hole when testing. I also found that a coin buried for a period of time puts off a better signal than a freshly buried coin. I could probably call the Tesoro techs and they could explain why.

Try leaving you test garden in the ground for a few months and see if it's easier to detect.

Jason

 

[Iron Patch]

One final thing is I found when I removed dirt from the test spot I lost the coin signal. I had to dig the coin totally up before I could get a signal on it. That was weird. Now I wonder how many coins I've left behind because while digging I lost the signal and just refilled the hole and left that spot? Thanks
PM

It all comes back to knowing the detector, only chasing the higher % iffys, and digging them out. My Sunray probe totally eliminates the issue of leaving something in the hole, love it.

 

[BestAntiquities]

Thanks Jason. This isn't a Tesoro machine so I'm very glad to know it's not just my detector. But I have to say the no signal after digging down a few inches was really strange. I would think the signal would get louder. I tried this several times to make sure I didn't hit the coin and turn it on edge thus making it lose signal. I've got to get back to some of my old sites and rehunt them! I had this happen many times there but I assumed false signal.
PM

 

[BestAntiquities]

Yes Iron I can see the advantages of having a probe.

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

Unfortunately when hunting you cannot remove the iron/mineralization from the ground.... This is why I mainly use a Minelab now... Adding the 6" dd Excelerator coil also has helped handle the mineralization.... The Se easily is my detector of choice for depth... As far as depth 6-8 inches is nothing for the Se...

Seems having the right coil for the right situation helps too.... I used the 6" on the Se in an area I had hunted with the dfx... the Se...picked up a 20 and 47d wheatie yesterday on a path I have hunted several times.... The depth was 7-9 inches.... The Excelerator coil also allows for running the sensitivity quite a bit higher....

 

[TORRERO]

Unfortunately when hunting you cannot remove the iron/mineralization from the ground.... This is why I mainly use a Minelab now... Adding the 6" dd Excelerator coil also has helped handle the mineralization.... The Se easily is my detector of choice for depth... As far as depth 6-8 inches is nothing for the Se...

Seems having the right coil for the right situation helps too.... I used the 6" on the Se in an area I had hunted with the dfx... the Se...picked up a 20 and 47d wheatie yesterday on a path I have hunted several times.... The depth was 7-9 inches.... The Excelerator coil also allows for running the sensitivity quite a bit higher....

Can you actually verify that those targets dug with your Minelab, would not have been detected with your Whites ?

When I am hunting with a partner and we are reasonably close, if I get a signal I call them over to check,
and they call me over as well, sometimes they can't get mine, and I can't get theirs,
but all signals that turned out to be coins, we were both able to detect.

(as in, if it sounded good to one but not the other, and we dug for it anyway we did not find the target or it was
some sort of trash)

Also, targets in sandy soil (like coastal regions or like Columbia S.C. has sandy soil) can be detected much deeper than targets in other soil types, I believe this to be true because sand does not have the mineralization issues that other soils have...

 

[BestAntiquities]

Unfortunately when hunting you cannot remove the iron/mineralization from the ground.... This is why I mainly use a Minelab now...

Yes I used a Sovereign GT for a while and during that time (200 hours or so) I dug maybe 6 nails total. Before the GT I averaged about 6 nails per hour. It's no myth that Minelab has defeated the iron problem. And my GT found nice large targets right in the exact spots I had covered with my Tejon and Nautilus IIB (10 & 15 inch coils). I dug a Civil War era belt buckle at 14-18 inches deep with the GT and stock Tornado coil. I found coins in the 1800's from sites others told me were totally hunted out. I know all about Minelab. I owned the Explorer, Explorer II, SE, and Excalibur 1000. I dug my deepest wheat cent with the Excalibur. I took it into my yard one day and got this good signal. I dug and dug and was ready to give up but then figured I had already ruined the grass so I kept digging. I found the coin dead center the hole and I won't even say here how deep it was cause no body would believe it. That was just one of those far-out strange things. I rarely even mention it because of so many who exaggerate depths. But I know in myself that sometimes for some reason these detectors go so deep it's hard to believe it even though you dug it yourself.

Yep, Minelab is one excellent brand!

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

Unfortunately when hunting you cannot remove the iron/mineralization from the ground.... This is why I mainly use a Minelab now... Adding the 6" dd Excelerator coil also has helped handle the mineralization.... The Se easily is my detector of choice for depth... As far as depth 6-8 inches is nothing for the Se...

Seems having the right coil for the right situation helps too.... I used the 6" on the Se in an area I had hunted with the dfx... the Se...picked up a 20 and 47d wheatie yesterday on a path I have hunted several times.... The depth was 7-9 inches.... The Excelerator coil also allows for running the sensitivity quite a bit higher....

Can you actually verify that those targets dug with your Minelab, would not have been detected with your Whites ?

When I am hunting with a partner and we are reasonably close, if I get a signal I call them over to check,
and they call me over as well, sometimes they can't get mine, and I can't get theirs,
but all signals that turned out to be coins, we were both able to detect.

(as in, if it sounded good to one but not the other, and we dug for it anyway we did not find the target or it was
some sort of trash)

Also, targets in sandy soil (like coastal regions or like Columbia S.C. has sandy soil) can be detected much deeper than targets in other soil types, I believe this to be true because sand does not have the mineralization issues that other soils have...

Yes the Minelab is going deeper I am 100% sure...but remember I said this is in my case...

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

Unfortunately when hunting you cannot remove the iron/mineralization from the ground.... This is why I mainly use a Minelab now...

Yes I used a Sovereign GT for a while and during that time (200 hours or so) I dug maybe 6 nails total. Before the GT I averaged about 6 nails per hour. It's no myth that Minelab has defeated the iron problem. And my GT found nice large targets right in the exact spots I had covered with my Tejon and Nautilus IIB (10 & 15 inch coils). I dug a Civil War era belt buckle at 14-18 inches deep with the GT and stock Tornado coil. I found coins in the 1800's from sites others told me were totally hunted out. I know all about Minelab. I owned the Explorer, Explorer II, SE, and Excalibur 1000. I dug my deepest wheat cent with the Excalibur. I took it into my yard one day and got this good signal. I dug and dug and was ready to give up but then figured I had already ruined the grass so I kept digging. I found the coin dead center the hole and I won't even say here how deep it was cause no body would believe it. That was just one of those far-out strange things. I rarely even mention it because of so many who exaggerate depths. But I know in myself that sometimes for some reason these detectors go so deep it's hard to believe it even though you dug it yourself.

Yep, Minelab is one excellent brand!

Good post...agree 100%.

 

[BamaBill]

Ok, what's the lightest of the Minelabs you mention? Only reason I went looking for another machine after using my MXT for two years, was the weight after a full day of relic hunting. But, I would consider a Minelab if it could get the kind of depth you're talking about and was anything less than 4 lbs.

 

[BestAntiquities]

Ok, what's the lightest of the Minelabs you mention? Only reason I went looking for another machine after using my MXT for two years, was the weight after a full day of relic hunting. But, I would consider a Minelab if it could get the kind of depth you're talking about and was anything less than 4 lbs.

Hi Bama, you probably weren't addressing me but I'll add my worthless comment

Personally, I've found all the Minelabs to be too much on the heavy and/or off-balance side for me, but then I'm a wimp. Of all of them I've tried, I like the feel of the GT the best and it seems to be close in depth with the others I've used.

But I must say they all could take a lesson from Tesoro when it comes to balance and weight