Pro's and Con's of disc pennies

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

I am always tight on time. Last night got out for 120 min, dug 60 targets. Almost half were pennies. I think I could reduce the penny finds by 75% if I disc the low penny slots. Some pennies (including wheats) will still be dug in the dime slot. I currently disc iron and the silver dollar slot (this is always deep iron with my detector).

Is this bad karma to leave pennies, but take the rest of the targets or would leaving pennies lead to more productive detecting. My typical goals are for silver coins, jewelry and hopefully something gold eventually. ..(thought I had my first gold/diamond ring last night when I removed the plug and saw a small gold ring, but it is definitely a kids cheapie ring)

 

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[Tommy G]

Congrats on some nice finds! I don't know what detector you use, but I use an AT Pro. I've found copper pennies in a wide range depending upon their orientation in the ground. Like you said, I've even found dimes that ring up like a penny under certain conditions (my sensitivity setting, ground condition etc.) As a result, I just dig it. If I don't, I would fret about what I've possibly left behind. Of course, I'm not a coin-shooter; I search for all sorts of relics and do not focus solely on the precious metals.

 

[Carolina Tom]

If you leave those pennies (cents), then you will CERTAINLY miss other good targets... IHCs, small silver ring, silver dime on edge... and who knows what else. My philosophy is to dig as many repeatable signals as I can... more holes, more possible chances at a score.

I hunted with a guy once, that left the cents, he said that there were several wheaties he left in the front yard, I went and dug them up... 12 coins... 10 wheaties, and 2 worn Mercs! The guys was really mad about it... but learned a valuable lesson!

Just my two cents worth! Ha.

 

[trapperart]

I've dug Spanish silver that rang up in the penny range. On the old sites you better dig all repeatable signals. Good luck. Art

 

[Illinirelics]

I've had two mercs I swore were pennies until I saw the shine! Now I have a monster pile of wheaties but I'm not leaving silver if I can help it.

 

[bill from lachine]

Depending on your machine lots of pennies and silver fall pretty much in the same range.....so I dig pennies likewise pulltabs those rings in my avatar could very well have been pulltabs....

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[The Urban Prospector]

I dig pennies but I leave Zincolns. I dig Zincoln signals (jumpy 76-78) in the water or in tot lots but I will not dig a plug for one on land. So far out of the thousands I have recovered from water and tot lots I have yet to see anything different than a Zincoln such as a gold ring etc. Now I have heard of people digging amazing gold rings in that exact range with that same signal......well, if I have left one on the dry it's ok. I make up for it by digging the other signals that I know produce. And besides, I can't be greedy and take it all

 

[Gridwalker306]

If it's a spot you can return to as much as you like, and if there should be older coins there, I would systematically remove every signal other than big iron. I have done this with several locations and it pays off. Some spots I have been hitting for seven years. I always remove as much as I can, and amazingly old coins continue to reveal themselves year after year the more I clear.

My theory is that it's like "Where's Waldo". Every signal is a face in the crowd, and over time you remove these "faces", making it much easier to find "Waldo".

 

[DetectingGodlikeOnOlympus]

I would rather die than leave behind penny signals.

I mean that literally.

 

[SD51]

On my E-TRAC the Zincolns read "12-37" and I know that's what it is before I dig it. There was a saying on this forum years ago that was, "Leave some for seed"! I also know that my gold ring reads "12-35" so I always dig al the "12-37's".

 

[A2coins]

I have dug wheat penny signals and it was a coin spill with other goodies I hope some day they come out with a new detecter that is more advanced, thanks for the post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Jason in Enid]

I depends on the specifics of the hunt.

On a beach, I will never pass a penny target (my gold wedding band reads as a penny!)
In a ghost town I will never pass a penny.
In a park or yard, I will pass a penny target ONLY if it's shallow. When it's deep I always dig them.

 

[Echoplex]

I dig all penny signals. On the MXT, you wouldn't want to leave any zincoln signals. I've dug too many nice earrings and pins to skip them.

 

[Randyg12]

In my pounded parks I would be digging zincs all day long so I pass up shallow zincs. if I'm detecting beaches, lots, or out in the boonies I dig anything that doesn't grunt iron

 

[Calabash Digger]

I've dug Spanish silver that rang up in the penny range. On the old sites you better dig all repeatable signals. Good luck. Art

I dug a half dime that rang in the penny range on my detector in 7 kh. I AGREE WITH TRAPPERART you cant pass those signals on old sites I mean even a park it could be something good. I got civil war buttons in that range too ,I guess it depends on where your hunting and what your after but I would be scared even if I was coinshooting. If you have ever dug an old indian head they read real low on my machine like 1861 -1863 something like that. The moral of this story is you never really know until you dig it .

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

Saturday I dug a gold and diamond ring that came up as a zincoln.