Hardest object(s) to find?

Monty

Gold Member
Jan 26, 2005
10,746
166
Sand Springs, OK
Detector(s) used
ACE 250, Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Just wondering what most of you think is the hardest coin or object to locate when out hunting. For me it's the gold chain or necklace. I've only found one and it was next to a penny so I was getting some weird signals. First it would read in the dime range, then in the penny and finally in the nickel and foil. Bounced all over the place. I finally pinpointed the penny and saw the tip of the gold chain when I dug the penny! I dug this target more out of curiosity than for thinking I had a "good" target. The hardest coin for me to find is the nickel. They show up on my Garrett detectors just exactly like a bent or damaged pulltab. I can differentiate between the two if the pulltab is whole bit if bent double or damaged it sounds just like a nickel. I have found more nickels with my ACE 250 than with any of my other detectors though. Monty
 

Blackjack77

Hero Member
Jun 16, 2006
599
14
Minnesota
Monty,
I'd have to say Gold jewelry- I've found all other objects except gold. >:(
Maybe just bad luck, all rings and things have been silver or just plated or
junk. I run Jewelry mode most of the time if trashy-- all metal in non-trashy
sites.
HH
 

Bigcypresshunter

Gold Member
Dec 15, 2004
27,000
3,338
South Florida
Detector(s) used
70's Whites TM Amphibian, HH Pulse, Ace 250
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
For me it is gold chains. Very small linked delicate gold chains are hard to find. Even when I know where it was lost.
 

stoney56

Gold Member
Oct 4, 2004
6,888
56
Oklahoma
I agree, small gold chains and bracelets. They're especially hard if they are laying flat. I don't know how many short lengths of wire I've dug thinking and hoping since they just barely seem to register above iron. It also seems that if they're more than a few inches deep in soil (not the beach), it's almost impossible unless they are a thick, wide chain.
 

SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS

Gold Member
May 22, 2005
7,205
60
Primary Interest:
Other
Tough question for me.:-\

Think I am always looking for my digging
tool, always seems to get lost. ;D

Also I put my pipe down on the ground often;
yes, many pipes out in the woods. ;)

Not sure as to what finds are hardest to find.

all have a good un............
SHERMANVILLE
 

EDDE

Gold Member
Dec 7, 2004
7,129
65
Detector(s) used
Troy X5
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
thin gold chains falls at foil or below
3 cent piece falls at foil
 

weasel606

Silver Member
Jan 28, 2007
2,683
152
West Virginia, USA
Detector(s) used
Minelab Xterra 70 ,Bounty Hunter Landstar, Garrett ACE 400
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
anything gold , lots and i mean lots of pulltabs and foil around here, drives me nuts lol ;)
 

Gypsy Heart

Gold Member
Nov 29, 2005
12,686
339
Ozarks
I dug a fine gold chain last summer and remember how it made the detector jump from gold to foil pull tab rapidly. I almost didnt dig but glad I did. For a long time nickels were hard for me to find and then all of a sudden I started to find them. I used to discriminate iron out...but now I dont as the tone will tell me more what it is rather than the signal. A friend of mine lost a platinum ring...it rang up as iron to foil....
 

Murph

Full Member
Jul 19, 2004
197
0
sarasota
Detector(s) used
Sovereign GT
If I excluded all the beaches I have in my area I would say the hardest thing to find would be a good place to hunt.

I get the evil eye in parks when hunting anything but the sandy areas. The grounds keepers and sports guys just don't want you digging holes all over the place which I can understand. Even when repaired properly the whole is a soft spot and potential ankle bender for those using the grounds for other activities.

School yards? Well a grown man hanging around without his own children is going to attract bad attention in this day and age and rightly so.

Private property? In this day and age of litigation it is highly unlikely anyone is going to grant permission.

I dare say if it were not for the miles and miles of beach I have to hunt I probably would not be as interested in this hobby. Besides; digging the sand is sooooooo much easier. Targets tend to be more spread out and I can pretty much dig any decent signal. Makes learning the detector a lot easier also. The tourist provide for constant replenishment of finds and I can hunt the same areas back to back and still have decent days.
 

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Monty

Monty

Gold Member
Jan 26, 2005
10,746
166
Sand Springs, OK
Detector(s) used
ACE 250, Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
One thing I am seeing constantly as being hard to find is gold anything! Gold is hard to find in nature also . Just look at all the miners who went to the gold rushes and came home empty handed. When I get one of those targets taht bounces all over the place I use to think trash, but the last gold ring I found bounced from nickel to foil to penny and back again. But since the tone was so strong I went ahead and dug it and sure enough it was a big 10k class ring. Every time I have dug gold I have been surprised when I finally see it. I was out in my front yard doing some experimenting with various metals and I found that a gold ring on the surface will react completely different from one that is buried. I was using my GTI 2500. I don't know why unless there was something else buried a little deeper than the ring that was interfering with the signal? Gold is such a unique metal. Just think how many years the alchemists have been trying to turn lead into gold. Monty
 

Eu_citzen

Gold Member
Sep 19, 2006
6,484
2,111
Sweden
Detector(s) used
White's V3, Minelab Explorer II & XP Deus.
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
UFO? :-X
Most stuff I've dug has not been hard to find. (no jewellery yet)
A polish coin for 1976 I think was showed as a pulltab.got it for testing the detector (recycling the pulltabs to coins?)

The hardest was those small bent nails scatted all over the garden.
 

piggman1

Silver Member
Apr 7, 2007
3,120
5
Austin, TX
Detector(s) used
Whites Eagle Spectrum, Compass X-100, Whites Beach Hunter ID, 2 Whites Spectrum XLT's
Definately gold. You never know exacyly how it will read. I think a lot is skipped over due to thinking it was junque.
 

eagle77

Sr. Member
Jan 23, 2007
458
5
Nebraska
Detector(s) used
Teknetics T2, 3300, XTerra 70
gold by far is the hardest. I get lazy and get tired of the pulltabs, foil and junk.
If I would spend more time and learn the subtle differences, then maybe it'd not be so difficult.
 

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Monty

Monty

Gold Member
Jan 26, 2005
10,746
166
Sand Springs, OK
Detector(s) used
ACE 250, Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
eagle77, I don't know if there really is a subtle difference. I have seen some people who claim there is but they must have a much more keener ability to differentiate than I do. I have a high frequency hearing loss in one ear so maybe I am just not hearing everything? I have never hunted gold nuggets or flake gold though so that may be all together different than gold jewelry? Monty
 

eagle77

Sr. Member
Jan 23, 2007
458
5
Nebraska
Detector(s) used
Teknetics T2, 3300, XTerra 70
Monty - There are claims (like you said) that there is a difference...I'll be darned if I can find that "subtle difference". I am planning on hitting areas (this fall) that gold rings and such would be more predominate. Maybe I can figure out what the difference is. If not, of well it is worth the effort.
 

luvsdux

Bronze Member
May 16, 2007
1,767
690
Lewiston, Idaho
Detector(s) used
Multiple Tesoros and Whites
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I agree - nickels versus pull tabs and gold versus pull tabs can be very hard to determine. My machines sound off well on nickels as long as I set the discrimination below nickels, but that lets the tabs respond well, also. Unfortunate fact of life for detectors. However light gold chains with fine links sometimes won't cause a detector to respond well at all, whereas more substantial rings etc. will. If you really want to find gold and nickels, dig everything and be patient.
Dig deep and often,
Bill
 

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Monty

Monty

Gold Member
Jan 26, 2005
10,746
166
Sand Springs, OK
Detector(s) used
ACE 250, Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have a Sea Hunter MkII water detector and it is supposed to be able to better detect gold objects (according to the manual), but I haven't used it enough or found gold with it to tell. It is a PI machine so you are almost forced to dig everything with it. Talk about digging junque! Now it is junque digging machine! I have use it in a couple of freshwater club hunts and my only complaint is that it goes too deep for competition where the tokens are right on the bottom. Sure I pick up the tokens but a target at 10" will show just as well as a token flat on the bottom. I was competing with the Fisher water machines mostly and they had better luck because they don't go as deep. Also, you don't know how deep your target is with the PI machines and you have to go entirely on the strength of the signals. I haven't had enough experience with it to be able to judge signal strength. I need to use it more even on dry land to get the hang of the tones. Monty
 

re-tek

Sr. Member
Jul 15, 2007
435
1
miami fl
Detector(s) used
coinstrike, tigershark, ace250, OLD radioshack
all you guys and "gold gold gold".. heh..

shoot, i cant seem to find silver coins!
 

Rob66

Bronze Member
Jun 30, 2006
1,800
7
California
Detector(s) used
Whites new coinmaster-Teso Silver Max-Minelab GT
I would have to say natural gold and dealing with nature. I would have a better chance find gold at the beach.Then again I have not nugget hunt in a long time.
 

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Monty

Monty

Gold Member
Jan 26, 2005
10,746
166
Sand Springs, OK
Detector(s) used
ACE 250, Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
re-tek, I have only found 3 silver coins and they were surprises. But I found out you usually have to hunt where there is a better than even chance of finding silver coins and that often involves a lot of research. The ones I found were sheer dumb luck! First one was in a fairly new park where it was hauled in with the backfill. Second one was at an excavation site in the town triangle where social events have been held in years past. And the last one was in a housing tear down area. Monty
 

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