Mercury Dimes/8x6 SEF, 15x12 SEF, Pro Coil Analysis

[gibsondan]

If this is global warming, I like it!

The weather here in Ohio was just too nice yesterday. It was time to dust off my E-trac. I had to get out there and do some detecting and try out my new 6x8 SEF Butterfly coil. I took it to a place I've hunted many times and wanted to see if it would pull some keepers out of the ground. I did manage to find two Mercs. The signal on the second Merc was very iffy. Initially I decided not to dig because it was so terrible. The numbers jumped all around and the ferrous number dropped to 34 - 35. Shoot, the signal even disappeared and reappeared. So I walked away. But then something told me to go back and dig. I'm glad I did.

Here are some pics and a video of the hunt. (Scroll down for an analysis of the stock Pro coil, the 15x12 SEF Butterfly coil & the 6x8 SEF Butterfly coil.)

Video:



Search Coil Analysis (Stock Pro Coil, 15x12 SEF Butterfly Coil & 6x8 SEF Butterfly Coil):

The signals on both of those dimes in the video were on the iffy side. I have hunted that same area repeatedly with the Pro coil and just once with the big 15x12. I have found a total of 18 silver dimes at this site. Here's the breakdown of what I found with each coil:

Stock Pro Coil: 15 silver dimes %81
15x12 SEF Coil: 1 silver dime %6
6x8 SEF Coil: 2 silver dimes %13

I think the above shows how great the stock Pro coil is. It found all but 3 of the silver dimes. I believe it could have found the dime the 15x12 found also. However I really don't know if the Pro coil would have found the two silver dimes the 6x8 coil found. I think it's safe to say it would not have hit on that second 1926 Merc. That signal was barely detected by the small coil. The stock coil found %81 of the silver dimes.

I still enjoy having the two extra coils. It's a challenge to see if they can squeak a few more good finds out of heavily hunted areas. The 15x12 coil would be excellent for relic hunting. The 6x8 coil is a great additional coil for coinshooting. I'm keeping them both! Happy Hunting!

 

[gibsondan]

Re: Mercury Dimes/Search Coil Analysis

Awesome Mercs!
Did they come out of the ground looking like that? Most of mine come out with some degree of tarnish. Turf hunting in January... I've only been able to get to the woods around here, but also I am hunting in the mid 20's to mid 30's.

They came out of the ground nice and shiny. I just rinsed the dirt off and used a small dab of toothpaste between my thumb and index finger to lightly clean them up.

 

[Eu_citzen]

Did you use the Pro coil first to clean out the site? Then brought in the other coils?

 

[gibsondan]

Did you use the Pro coil first to clean out the site? Then brought in the other coils?

Yeah. I hunted this site many times with the Pro coil. I found multiple silver coins here each time. Then one day I hunted for several hours and didn't find any silver. An 1882 Indian Head penny kept me from getting skunked that day. So I brought the 15x12 SEF another day and found a 1917 Mercury dime. I only hunted that place once with the 15x12 but it paid off by squeaking out one more silver coin. I took the 8x6 there and it squeaked out two more Mercury dimes - the ones in this post.

 

[Eu_citzen]

Did you use the Pro coil first to clean out the site? Then brought in the other coils?

Yeah. I hunted this site many times with the Pro coil. I found multiple silver coins here each time. Then one day I hunted for several hours and didn't find any silver. An 1882 Indian Head penny kept me from getting skunked that day. So I brought the 15x12 SEF another day and found a 1917 Mercury dime. I only hunted that place once with the 15x12 but it paid off by squeaking out one more silver coin. I took the 8x6 there and it squeaked out two more Mercury dimes - the ones in this post.

Ok that explains the large difference of find ratios between the coils.
I was rather curios for why the Pro found around 80% and the others found a great deal less. But that explanation was simple. 8)

 

[gibsondan]

Ok that explains the large difference of find ratios between the coils.
I was rather curios for why the Pro found around 80% and the others found a great deal less. But that explanation was simple. 8)

I'm sure each of the two other coils would have found much more if I used them exclusively. I like to get all I can with the stock coil first.