Looking For Metal Detector That Only Finds Silver And/Or Gold!

[sirseek]

I live in an area where salt is used during winters which destroys all clad coins (the zinc and copper layers create a battery with the salt water, it breaks the coins down to unreadable circumstances after 20 years). Even plain copper wheat pennies take heavy damage here and I am sure copper coins burried for more than a hundred years would be no good and unreadable (history goes back to 1600s here, should be decent Spanish/British coins to find with the right equipment in north New York state).

I have great luck with finding silver coins that the salt has not bothered, so I am wishing to find a brand and model of a metal detector that will only find silver or gold (or both as a bonus, but will ignore anything non gold or silver), any ideas? I am tired of digging clads and old rotten copper coins...

http://www.sirseek.com/findings/ for my brief metal detecting/detector web page

 

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[JW]

Explorer2, hands down, when you get a feel for all the sounds, its easy to just find gold and silver. Plus you can program it to find specific gold and silver coins and pieces. Get the Sunray X-1 inline probe as well, you won't regret it.


HH

JW

 

[Monty]

And I'm the king of England! To the very best of my knowledge no such detector exists that will find only silver and gold! In spite of all the incredulous claims by the various manufacturers, they will all still detect unwanted items. This is due mainly to the often cussed and discussed "halo effect" caused by deteriorating metals. To explain it in laymen terms most of us can understand, the halo effect is the conductivity of all the various oxides and trace elements that are emitted and deposited around a buried metal object as it deteriorates. A metal detector works by picking up the conductivity of metal, not by detecting a specific type of metal. The use of modern electronics allows most detectors to discriminate out the return signal of some metals within a specific conductivity range. The detector does indeed detect the discriminated range of conductivity, it has to in order to identify and short circuit the return signal. The detector knows the metal is there but just doesn't allow you to hear it. Unfortunately, some of the gold and silver targets may fall within this discriminated conductivity range and often with the discrimination set too high you might miss them. On the other hand, the halo effect causes the detector to err in identifying those deteriorating metals within that specific range of conductivity. Therefore an undisturbed but otherwise deteriorated iron nail may fool the detector into thnking it is silver or gold or some other metal. When it is disturbed by digging, then and only then will it permit the detector to broadcast into the headphones its return signal as being what it truly is. That's why a target may "disappear" when you attempt to dig it up. It's there still but due to the halo effect being broken, the detector now can read it as a piece of junk to be discriminated out. Hence, the return signal is no longer allowed to get back to the operator.
So, how does one keep from being fooled by the halo effect? You don't! That's the Catch 22 of metal detecting. With today's advanced electronics why hasn't some manufacturer come up with a detector that will not be fooled ? They are trying! But so far it is like the Midas touch, the cure is often worse than the disease! The end resut is that only the operator can discriminate well enough to overcome some of the halo effect. It takes hours, days and weeks and yes often years of hands on practice and a great attention to detail for the operator to be able to decipher when your detector is being fooled. It may be a subtle tone or a faint whisper or even the complete lack of a signal what will tip the experienced detectorist off as to what actually lies below that coil. I have not reached that level of expertise yet and may never reach it. Others may be born with the gift and pick up on it in a few short sessions. But in the meantime if that magic detector is invented that will pick up only silver and gold, every time, I will be first in line to pick one up! JIM

 

[cryptodave]

I'm looking for a metal detector that only finds civil war relics, anyone help me with that?

Actually, someone I know SWEARS by the Tesero Lobo for gold finds. I don't know, never used a Tesero product, but thats what I've heard.

 

[sirseek]

I will look into some of those brands, check out some dealerships in NYC next time I am there and see if I can test them.

Thanks for input so far, I am hoping that this day and age of awesome technology that we can detect gold from copper without having to spend a million bucks to discover a few bucks...

 

[neilo]

Looking for a detector that only finds gold or silver,there isnt one thats for sure.
Silver is pretty easy to isolate because it gives a very strong signal ?and is high in conductivity.Gold is another story gold jewelry is a mixture of metals.9 carat gold is 9 parts gold 15 parts other metal,18 carat is 18 parts gold and 6parts other metal and so on. Then the metal which is mixed with the gold can vary,one jeweller might use more copper than the other or more silver. Even gold nuggets are not pure metal some are part silver or copper. so the conductivity reading for gold items can vary a lot which makes gold items very difficult to isolate.The only detector which would come close to doing this is the EXPLORER2 .it can do this because it reads the ferrous content of the metal as well as the conductivity.The conductivity varies greatly but to ferrous content does not so this helps narrow down your search for gold considerably.
I have put an item in DETECTOR REVIEW BY OWNERS section explaining how to set the machine up to do this.
YOU mentioned having to cope with salty conditions The EXplorer will handle that with no problems.You might not be able to afford one so I would go for a minelab SOVEREIGN with a digital readout screen and a sunray probe this machine has the capabilities of not being affected by salt ?and has a notch type of discrimination.


JIM, you put an interesting article in about vanishing targets and halo effects.I have had plenty of experience with these in the past but I am pretty stubborn and generally succeed in finding the target.Sometimes the original item has completely corroded away and all you have to show for your trouble is a small ?discoloured piece of dirt usually green or black in colour.Normally if a target vanishes it is when using the machine in discriminate if you turn on all metal it will usually reappear.I use a Explore 2 ?sometimes you will get a strong good signal you start digging the target vanishes ?then you keep digging and ?when you get close to the target it reappears at the original strong signal andl reading.If it says its a good target it at the start ?it is. ?Other vanishing targets can be small coins which get turned on their sides making them too small to detect When this happens usually the coin will be in your next shovel full of dirt.Then there are ?small targets which you have already dug up but dont realise that are sitting in your heap of dirt. What has happened is the item has turned showing its smallest profile making it too small for the detector to find.The answer is to move your heap of dirt around which will make the small target move giving a bigger profile one big enough for the detector to see.
Then there are gold chains which bundled up give good signals but opened out wont give a signal at all.ITs all to do with surface area.I have done a fair bit of gold detecting around the old gold diggings. I usually take a rake with me, detect over a heap then ?rake it disturbing the top couple of inches.I have found a lot of small nuggets which would have originally been laying in the ground giving a small profile making them too small to detect by raking I have altered their profiles making them bigger and detectable.
Going back to vanishing targets sometimes you can dig down alongside the target and just miss it. I have a sunray probe which is a great investment I can scan down around the side of the hole and save myself a lot of frustration.That device pardon the pun is really AN ACE IN THE HOLE. I would recommend getting one to everyone the amount of time I am saving digging targets is great giving me more detecting time and find more goodies.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?well better go seeya Neilo

 

[Born2Dtect]

Minelabs Explorer II and Quattro MP have the ability to detect iron content or conductivity. This allows you to do a better job of identifying before you dig. This takes a little practice but you do identify better. Check out Minelabs web page for details.

Ed Donovan

 

[ClamBob]

I need to find a place where there is only gold and silver to be found.

HH,
BobJ

 

[Born2Dtect]

That would be your local bank or coin shop. I don,t think either one like you to metal detect there !

Happy Hunting!

 

[ClonedSIM]

I need to find a place where there is only gold and silver to be found.

HH,
BobJ

Aren't we all.....

 

[bakergeol]

I had to chuckle a bit on this tread. If there was a detector that detects only gold and silver we would all be using one.

Try as I might I was not able to distinguish a gold ring from a pull tab with an Explorer 11(Yeah I read the literature on that pulltab Ferrous idea too). Believe me if we had a machine that could distinguish aluminium from gold I would already own it. Now I felt the Explorer was pretty good on shallow silver getting that flute silver sound but If you want to dig gold you will simply have to dig aluminium. A glance at any VLF VDI chart will see that gold has a wide range of numbers depending on size among other things. Using a MXT a 1/4 oz nugget at the surface may have a VDI number of 25, 1 oz nugget a VDI number of 60 and a 2 oz nugget a VDI of 70.

Now the problem is when we start to put good stuff into the ground at deep depths. Put that 1/4oz nugget with a VDI number of 25( on surface) into the ground and it reads 10. Put it at maximun depth and it may read 0 or lower indicating iron. Same thing with the Explorer. Deep good objects(coins, relics, etc) will read all over the meter on an Explorer. Reading good stuff as iron with depth is true for ALL VLFs. It is why you dig deep "iffy" signals. Those dig it all goofy guys who dig all deep signals- are as crazy as a fox.

So from the above examples you can have gold reading a VDI number below zero(iron) to a maximun of 70 from 1/4 oz to 2 oz nuggets. So good luck with using VDI numbers to distinguish gold.

Why does the above happen? Why do good objects read bad at depth? Why is this the inherent problem with all VLFs. Are we just dealing with the natural ID depth limitations of a VLF or more? The best answer I have heard is that the deeper you go with a VLF the more iron ground mineralization your detector reads and all good objects start to read toward the iron end with depth. It is why 2 tone PIs such as my GS5 are so interesting as they are not effected by ground mineralization the way VLFs are. A small gold nugget will give the same low conductor tone at 15" as it will at 5" with a GS5.

George

 

[ClamBob]

On the serious side. I loved my old Whites 6000 DI when it hit silver. I almost always knew. That Bong sound was loud and clear. I sure miss that machine. My ex gave it away after our split. (I had told her to give my old Micronta to the neighbor kid and she didn't know the difference.)

Silver is the best conductor. It is no surprise that it shows up so well.

Now I have my new CZ20 and can't wait to find my first silver. I know better than to test on top of the ground...never the same.

I'm also putting my Dad's old Garret Sea Hunter 500 XL back together. I don't know where the old pole went and it needed new batteries so I ordered them last week and they arrived yesterday. I'm told that it's a PI machine and can detect deeper.

Hope you find more gold and silver than you can carry (and leave the rest for me).
BobJ

 

[jeff of pa]

Explorer2, hands down, when you get a feel for all the sounds, its easy to just find gold and silver.? Plus you can program it to find specific gold and silver coins and pieces.? Get the Sunray X-1 inline probe as well, you won't regret it.


HH

JW

This IS true , to a POINT.

You Can Program it to Detect ONLY 8.1 Pennyweight 14K Gold Rings. IF you Have One HANDY.

HOWEVER,? It will Still Pick Of Certain Pieces Of Aluminum & other Items That Hit at the EXACT SAME SPOT.

 

[JW]

They may hit in the same or close to the same spot but they sound very different! I run zero discrimination and ferrous tones, I listen to every piece of metal and then dig the ones that don't sound like trash. How, simple, use the machine a whole bunch and yes, dig a bunch of trash. Until you learn what the difference between foil and gold is and then you begin to dig what you want.

The Explorer finds everything yes, but I think of all the machines out there it gives the user the most information to make an educated dig. You don't have to believe a single word I say, fine with me if you decide to get a different machine, you'll just be leaving more goodies for me to get later.


HH

JW

(Don't buy the Minelab- leave the good stuff for the Explorer users...)

 

[jeff of pa]

You don't have to believe a single word I say, fine with me if you decide to get a different machine, you'll just be leaving more goodies for me to get later.

(Don't buy the Minelab- leave the good stuff for the Explorer users...)

? ? I AGREE

THIS is the EXACT reason IF I was Going To Become a DEALER, I'd Refuse to Sell MINELABS,
? ? ? ? Jeff

 

[JW]

Jeff!!!




JW

 

[jeff of pa]

JW what headphones do you use ?

I get Great Tonal Seperation with KOSS - ACCUSOUND,

But I'm Wondering IF there Is Better.

I havn't Mastered the tone Thing As well as you yet, But , I do Know Good Phones Are KEY.

jeff


P.S.

I'v talked so many Locals into Minelabs, Kellyco & Minelab should Make Me an "HONARARY"
Dealer And Send Me a Few FREEBIES.

I keep EMailing them telling them This, BUT they won't Bite

 

[Gigisdiamonds]

Ok, I really would love to understand what your talking about, settings and such . But I don't yet. I really need help. Its getting me frustrated! I'm new to MDing and have a ACE 250. It finds any speck of metal. So far I have found lots of nails, a couple of old match box type cars and one huge ring (I returned) but ..I'm still lost with it. Can any of you help me out with figuring out what what signals I should be digging or what settings I should use to find jewelry? Just talk to me like you would a dumb blonde, lol so I can understand what you mean. Thanks for any help you can give!

H.H
Gigi

 

[jeff of pa]

Ok, I really would love to understand what your talking about, settings and such . But I don't yet. I really need help. Its getting me frustrated! I'm new to MDing and have a ACE 250. It finds any speck of metal. So far I have found lots of nails, a couple of old match box type cars and one huge ring (I returned) but ..I'm still lost with it. Can any of you help me out with figuring out what what signals I should be digging or what settings I should use to find jewelry?? Just talk to me like you would a dumb blonde,? ? lol so I can understand what you mean. Thanks for any help you can give!

? H.H
? ?Gigi

Talk to you like your a Dumb Blond , Huh ?


Well to Find Jewelry, First You gotta Take Your Detector,( thats the YELLOW THING) & put It in Your Car.

DON'T FORGET BATTERIES.

Then Get In Your Car, "The Drivers seat." Thats The one where the Steering Wheel Is.

Now If you Rememberd Your Keys, Put the Key in the Ignition ..............


Sorry , You Asked for it

I'm not Familiar with the 250, However thats, a Fairly Simple Settings Machine.

Just Set it to the point, Your NOT getting signals from NAILS, Above Ground.

and Dig Everything you get a signal on.

Gold can Come in as Can Tabs & Aluminim Foil & Nickels, QUARTERS, & yes Even Broken Nail Signals.

IF your Digging These Trash Items, You Will Find Gold, IF your Coil Is swung at the Right Spot.


By the Way, With My Sovereign, I got a "NAIL" signal once that Turned out to be a .25 Carat, KEEPSAKE DIAMOND Ring. You JUST NEVER KNOW what that Signal REALY is till you Dig.

HAPPY HUNTING

Jeff

 

[Gigisdiamonds]

ROFLMAO !!! Jeff....I loved that made me really laugh! Somedays, I know I need to be told just that...a step, by step, walk to get myself to together, to get out the door! I gather the sweat equity really goes into anything we do find! I just wish the cool weather seasons would last longer so digging "everthing" wasn't so *#!@ hard to do!
OK, keep those responses coming and all the fun ones too!!! After all thats why were all here to help encourage each other to go out there and find whatever may be there!
Thanks for the laugh Jeff!

HH
Gigi