New permission was a let down :(

BigWaveDave · Feb 17, 2026

So I rolled up in an 1890s house today, got the ok after knocking on the door, awesome.
This place was upside down. First target was a Wheatie, LETS GO! 3 hours later, got fed up with 8 wheats, a broken crotal bell, and some play money that I knew right away it wasn’t trime time.
Fed up because the wheats were just below the surface. I’d otherwise be happy about it, but this is the kicker…. 4 clad quarters, one of them a state, 6 clad dimes, and 7 memorial…. All a foot deep! I will be back, cuz I know there’s GOT to be silver up in there.
1910 is the oldest cent, that’s about the highlight.
Oh, and this clippy thing is cool, no idea what it’s from.

Thanks for looking! :hello:

The Beep Goes On · Feb 17, 2026

Well done Dave; you didn't get skunked, but we always hope for the best. Maybe it was leveled with fill or something that was from older dirt, but not populated with much. If modern coinage is at 1 foot, the good stuff is probably deeper. Did you hit the entire area? Maybe the owners could supply some history...?

E-Trac-Ohio · Feb 17, 2026

Wheat Cents are still better then finding only clad coins - congrats !

BigWaveDave · Feb 17, 2026

I’m definitely going back…. I need to stop trying to adjust the manticore settings on the fly, and learn the basics first. The learning curve on this machine ain’t no joke. The permission was granted by a 92 yo guy, and his daughter, who’s in worse shape than him. They weren’t very social… just told me to go ahead, then practically slammed the door in my face… but a permission is a permission I guess.

sibbley · Feb 17, 2026

A bit of advice on the Manticore. Leave the factory settings alone, no need to adjust anything. Set recovery to 4 or 6 depending on how iron heavy the site is. Use all metal and let the Manticore do its thing. I use the M9 coil almost everywhere. On really iron heavy site I use the M8. IMHO, the Manticore is excellent right out of the box. Oh, if the numbers turn red while pin pointing, the target is most likely iron related as long as you have the red numbers turned on.

Just my 2 cents...

BigWaveDave · Feb 17, 2026

Thanks Sibbley…. Every YouTube video guy has either their own takes, hacks and tips. And the British guys? I have a hard time watching those.
Buddy of mine in my MDC gave me his settings, the guy is a pro, but I got all wigged out by the 5 tones and iron chatter. I hope to get out again before Digstock, but I’m bring my other machines just in case.

guest · Feb 18, 2026

Sounds & looks like a lot of fun. Well done. 👍👏😎 WTG

oldmxrat · Feb 18, 2026

You got me beat with only one wheatie today. I like finding that old play money too. Congrats!

The Beep Goes On · Feb 18, 2026

I get red numbers on the Manticore while pinpointing quite a bit. The scenario is get a good signal with a tight dot with no ferrous indications, then pinpoint and the numbers can go red. If you look closely you will usually see some ferrous indicators on the 2D, or some arcing, a vertical pattern or a larger lumpy dot. Not once have I dug a ferrous target when the honing sweep lacks ferrous indicators - the sweep seems to be significantly more accurate concerning ferrous determination compared to the pinpoint. Pinpoint relies on the raw eddy current response, is all metal and is more sensitive which may explain why this happens, depending on ground, colocation, etc.

I do like the Manticore - it pops on what it thinks are good targets, is consistent and can be quieted down to whatever level you're comfortable with using sensitivity, discrimination and maybe the Stabilizer. EMI is easily defeated, usually. I bounce back and forth between AM and Disc all the time depending on target density and, honestly, aural fatigue (I don't think it is chatty, though, relative to other units I've run). Iffy targets can be checked with both, AM to see if there's neighboring iron, etc.

My only gripe with the unit is one volume setting for motion and pinpoint modes. I like the tones to be easily heard, but it can make pinpoint too loud.