Does Cheap Really Mean Crappy?

[gollum]

Usually, YES. The phrase "You get what you pay for" means exactly what it says, and is most often correct ..........................buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut:

There have been several several amazing finds made with cheap crappy detectors, and find made with a dog.

*Here just recently, Coinman123 made a banner find with what he called a "cheap detector".

*A Mexican Gentleman (from Mexico not Los Angeles [the OTHER capitol of Mexico]) wanted to try his hand at nugget hunting, and here is a short bit of his story:

The story begins in 1989 in the area around Caborca, near the Gran Desierto de Altar in the Mexican state of Sonora. The nearest surface water is the Sea of Cortez; some 60 miles to the west. Arizona is 70 miles to the north. Ranching is the chief occupation, but there are a number of mines in the area along with placer gold deposits in some of the canyons. It is within these dry canyons that a local Mexican man began his quest to find hidden treasure in the form of placer nuggets. Some finds of nuggets had been made in the past, and fired with optimistic enthusiasm; our gold-seeker grew determined to find his share. At this point, our latter-day prospector did something very much at odds with tradition: visiting a Radio Shack store - he purchased a metal detector. Practicing on buried coins and other metal objects, he learned how to operate it, and then he set out for an area that was reported to have produced nuggets. Once there, he started to walk; slowly and carefully across the desert, all the while following a grid pattern that would ensure that no areas would be unchecked. Hundreds of boring hours slowly ebbed away with an occasional 'beep' from his ear-phones to signal a potential find. Most were due to scrap iron or old lead bullets. Then one day; the 'beep' sounded a little different. Digging down; he caught that first gleam from his own personal El Dorado. Hardly believing his eyes he kept digging, the gleaming surface kept going - and going. By the time he had completely uncovered this incredible nugget, it was obvious that it was huge. Just hauling it back to his home was a chore since it weighed over twelve kilograms.

This is the story of "The Boot of Cortez". It last sold at auction for $1,553,500. The moral to that story is that even with a cheap crappy Radio Shack Detector, if you do the research, work out an effective plan for searching, and spend the time, ANYBODY can find a fortune.

*The last story is about a nice couple that bought a cabin in the gold rush country in Northern California. While walking their dog on their property, the dog started sniffing around some old tin cans sticking out of the ground by the trail. Long story short, about 1600 gold coins worth approximately $10,000,000. Would they have picked up some old tin can if their dog hadn't started messing with it?

Yes, more expensive metal detectors will give you greater depth, better ground cancelling, better discrimination, and a host of other goodies. That said, I think more importantly you have to be intimately familiar with your equipment. A good plan of attack, and most importantly....... you have to be lucky and persistent enough to get that coil over the gold.

Enjoy - Mike

 

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[Loco-Digger]

There are very few finds that I have uncovered over the past 18 months that my first detector, an "El Cheapo" Treasure Cove TC-1023 would not have found. On the other hand I have dug some nice deep finds, (i.e. an 1812 5 Francs coin that was 10" deep). I am also certain that the coil on the TC-1023 would have been busted by now due to all the dirt fishing I have done since June 2014 and I more than likely would have dug tons more trash.

Research, persistence, & luck play a big part in finding treasure. I also believe in "The Secret".

 

[fistfulladirt]

Is it true that 90% of Americans will first go for the cheapest on the shelf, rather than pay for quality?

Well, I read that on the wwweb so it must be true.

 

[Terry Soloman]

There will always be a market for "New! Better! Finds More Treasure!" Guys with a Rolex and a Harley Davidson don't want your stinking Ace 250! They want the XP Deus or the Minelab GPZ 7000.

 

[TommyB]

No way to know how many treasures were NOT found due to a cheap detector.
You just hear about the few that were shallow that a 'cheapo' could detect.

 

[Loco-Digger]

Is it true that 90% of Americans will first go for the cheapest on the shelf, rather than pay for quality?

Well, I read that on the wwweb so it must be true.

I did the same and won't hold it against others who do. Sometimes you think you may enjoy a hobby, but after a while the thrill can subside. If you go for a cheaper unit, you will not be out much if the bug does not bite. My 1st detector cost $80 and I was forced to learn some of the basics like how to ID target depth without the use depth meter and how to ID targets by sound since the cheap meter on the detector was just there for looks IMHO. I then upgraded to a slightly used F4 (paid $104 under retail). I fell in love with the DD coil and dug $511 in coin face value in 2014 after 8 months of detecting.

 

[Loco-Digger]

The only "OLD" virgin property that I have detected could have been harvested using the El Cheapo since all old pre 1900 coins were only 5" to 7" deep. The silvers from the 40s s were only 2" to 4" deep.

 

[GA_Boy]

Is it true that 90% of Americans will first go for the cheapest on the shelf, rather than pay for quality?

Well, I read that on the wwweb so it must be true.

Old wives tale------should read buy the best for the money you have. I enjoy shopping around.

 

[GA_Boy]

Right on!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A good pinpointer would detect most things that I find.

 

[TheHunterGT]

In my area of Colorado, I can dig to bedrock with a spoon in many places. Not sure why I would want or need an expensive deep seeker. Not that they do not have their place of course...their place is just not with me.

Sons BH Gold Digger...$60....paid for itself with a 10k ring at 2-3 inches....and has paid for itself in clad. Had it since Xmas of 2014 and it has paid for itself 2X over.

My BH SharpShooter 2 and my BH Lone Star Pro have both found 1930's Colorado tax tokens at 2-4 inches and a 1943 Merc at 3-4 inches....barely had them 2 months now.

I'm doing ok with the cheap crap and the shallow stuff....

 

[CoinAddict]

I started out with a fisher f2 I bought from a buddy for $120. Found an 1845 large cent and 1866 two cent with it. Bought a Minelab safari a month later. That was in Oct 2013. Those were my oldest finds until my recent 1820 bust dimes set month. Cheaper detectors can still find old coins.

 

[Dave Rishar]

My first machine was one of those Radio Shack pieces of crap. I dug some very cool artifacts with it. Of course, it was a virgin site with cool history, and I shudder when I think of what I could have done there with my Deus. I wish that I could go back there.

I gifted that RS detector to a friend last year. While air testing, it could hit a quarter at about an inch if I remember correctly. It was technically a metal detector, but again, I probably would have done a lot better with a more capable machine.

 

[gollum]

Yeah, this isn't a cheap versus expensive thread.

I have a bunch of detectors I spent a small fortune on. I got the absolute best detectors I could afford.

Yes, the more expensive detectors will cancel bad ground better, discriminate better, punch deeper, and do more. If you can't afford one of them, then get what you can afford, learn to use it better than you can imagine. Sleep with it. Give it a name. Get to know it so well that........ oh hell, the following video explains just how well you need to know your detector (remove the word "RIFLE" and insert "DETECTOR"):



If you know your detector that well, the ABSOLUTE ONLY limitations on what you can find are your detectors capabilities and your luck at putting the coil right on top of something valuable.

As you find things of value, sell them, and keep saving that money for a detector upgrade. Once you move to a new detector, start all over. The secret is to let your detector pay for your detecting addiction! HAHAHA

Mike

 

[Brother Al]

As said before, my favorite find was a two carat emerald set in a beautiful platinum mount.....found with a Radio Shack Discovery 1000...wish that I had pictures to show you guys and gals but it is long since gone. It was about 8 inches deep at the bottom of the retaining wall, amphitheater, Lakewood NJ.
Bottom line is this, if it isn't there? You won't find it.... If it is there?... You gotta get your coil over it... And be ready

 

[releventchair]

I fight upgrading a 350.
Yet each year I'm relearning the dang thing over again and often learning albeit temporarily , a new twist..

The big thing is not being overly confident of any discrimination , though I do eventually abuse it.
There is a nuance involved in working a device that see's what you don't and vice versa. And a harmony that comes no other way than by doin.

 

[Terry Soloman]

It's all up in the fan in here! Woooo-EEEeeeeeeee! What are you people smokin?!

Gollum has gone all "Full Metal Jacket" on our collective souls; for Loco-Digger the "Thrill is Gone"; and I still can't get ice cream delivered!

Look people, it is like everything else in life right? You get back what you put in, sometimes. Karma in treasure hunting rules.



Sorry! Posting drunk again.

 

[Honest Samuel]

Old wives tale------should read buy the best for the money you have. I enjoy shopping around.

Same here, I enjoy shopping around looking for a girlfriend then a wife.

 

[Honest Samuel]

Is it true that 90% of Americans will first go for the cheapest on the shelf, rather than pay for quality?

Well, I read that on the wwweb so it must be true.

You were on the wrong website, Karl V. Mueller sold me a white detector with a wooden coil around 1965 that never did work, told me to buy a medium price detector, and let that find you buried treasures, single coins and jewel to buy a better detector which I agree with .

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

Same here, I enjoy shopping around looking for a girlfriend then a wife.

Not sure how that works if your wife is an avid shopper or has been shopped a lot

 

[GA_Boy]

It's all up in the fan in here! Woooo-EEEeeeeeeee! What are you people smokin?!

Gollum has gone all "Full Metal Jacket" on our collective souls; for Loco-Digger the "Thrill is Gone"; and I still can't get ice cream delivered!

Look people, it is like everything else in life right? You get back what you put in, sometimes. Karma in treasure hunting rules.




Sorry! Posting drunk again.

Starkle, starkle, little Twink
Who the heck you are, I think.
I'm not under the alkafluence of Ickyhol
Why, I've only had tee martunies