Equinox 800 killing it!

[Indiana Mark]

Went on a short hunt Friday afternoon to an 1800s homesite off the beaten path. I have hunted this property a couple times in the past finding a few flat buttons, 4 Civil War era Eagle buttons, but no coins.

Not sure if I hit an area I missed before, but the 'nox delivered the goods. Two 2pc Eagle buttons, 1pc Eagle button (shame it has a hole punched in it), what I believe is a tombac button, a small flat button, small fancy button, an 1866 IHC and some kind of swivel device (for pocket watch/pendant?) Really appreciating how the Equinox locks on to solid targets such as coins and buttons. This thing is a monster!

Anyone have some ideas on how old the 1pc Eagle button is? Backmark reads Scovill Mfg Co Waterbury. Would love to see an image of a non dug example.

Thanks for looking and happy hunting!

 

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[Truth]

What a great hunt!!! Loving the Nox myself)
Congratulations

 

[HighVDI]

She's a sniffer....

Great hunt and congrats!

 

[vferrari]

Nice...settings?

 

[Indiana Mark]

Nice...settings?

I loaded a coin program in park 1 (search YouTube for Minelab Equinox 800-setting up for coin hunting). Just a tone break/pitch & volume adjust. Multi frequency with no discrimination, 5 tone, recovery speed 6, iron bias 2, sensitivity 22.
I'm thinking of loading the same program in park 2 and tweaking some of the tone breaks. Dug a V nickel recently that was bouncing between 11-12 on target id. (Supposedly, nickels come in at 13) Not sure if it was on edge or other junk on the hole, but was about 7-8" deep.

 

[gene the machine]

the swivel thing is a pocket watch winder key. part of it is broken or rotted off.

 

[vferrari]

I loaded a coin program in park 1 (search YouTube for Minelab Equinox 800-setting up for coin hunting). Just a tone break/pitch & volume adjust. Multi frequency with no discrimination, 5 tone, recovery speed 6, iron bias 2, sensitivity 22.
I'm thinking of loading the same program in park 2 and tweaking some of the tone breaks. Dug a V nickel recently that was bouncing between 11-12 on target id. (Supposedly, nickels come in at 13) Not sure if it was on edge or other junk on the hole, but was about 7-8" deep.

If the V was toasted in the least, that would also affect VDI. Yeah, uncorroded modern nickels at reasonable will typically lock in at 13 but anywhere from 12-14 is reasoable depending in corrosion, depth, orientation.

 

[sgoss66]

Great digs, Mark! SUPER!

Question, what's the difference between a Tombac button and a flat button? I thought they were the same, but you said you dug one of each?!

Also -- about the nickels, my nickels are usually solid 13 when shallow, and mostly 13 with some 12 bounces when deep. So today, I hit a sweet-sounding, rock-solid, never-wavering 12 ID, and figured I might have a gold ring! So, I pop the 4" to 5" deep target, and it is -- a 1950s Jefferson nickel! So, I set it on top of the ground to scan it...sure enough, SOLID 12 on the VDI. That one has me puzzled a bit.

Steve

 

[vferrari]

Great digs, Mark! SUPER!

Question, what's the difference between a Tombac button and a flat button? I thought they were the same, but you said you dug one of each?!

Also -- about the nickels, my nickels are usually solid 13 when shallow, and mostly 13 with some 12 bounces when deep. So today, I hit a sweet-sounding, rock-solid, never-wavering 12 ID, and figured I might have a gold ring! So, I pop the 4" to 5" deep target, and it is -- a 1950s Jefferson nickel! So, I set it on top of the ground to scan it...sure enough, SOLID 12 on the VDI. That one has me puzzled a bit.

Steve

Steve,

Flat buttons can refer to any Colonial period flat or single piece button of any composition. Tombac is an alloy of copper and zinc and flat buttons of this alloy come out of the ground with a silverish or gunmetal appearance rather than greenish or brown like copper and brass. Tombac buttons are typically more brittle than brass or copper buttons so if they are hit by the plow or other hard object then they tend to break rather than bend.

HTH

BTW - Mark - forgot to congratulate you on the great finds. Nice saves.

 

[sgoss66]

AHH. Thank you kindly for the education, vferrari. I did not know about that distinction in metal composition in the "regular" flat buttons vs. the "Tombac" flat buttons.

"Typically more brittle..." gee, that's no surprise, given how copper-clad zinc pennies fare underground for any significant length of time! LOL!

Steve

 

[Indiana Mark]

Steve,

Flat buttons can refer to any Colonial period flat or single piece button of any composition. Tombac is an alloy of copper and zinc and flat buttons of this alloy come out of the ground with a silverish or gunmetal appearance rather than greenish or brown like copper and brass. Tombac buttons are typically more brittle than brass or copper buttons so if they are hit by the plow or other hard object then they tend to break rather than bend.

HTH

BTW - Mark - forgot to congratulate you on the great finds. Nice saves.

V, thanks for the tombac explanation. Much better than I could have done!