question bout diggin old coins ?

[ivy_walls]

question 'bout diggin' old coins ?

i have seen lately a lot of discussion about why people like me don't find old coins. I have a garrett ace 250 and have been hunting for about 3 months now and have found about $10.00 in change (i am not retired and have a wife and 2 little kids that prevent me from being out as much as i wish i could be). now from what i understand i should be hunting in the all metal mode because coins that have been in the ground for a hundred years work their way down to where the signal may be misinterpreted by the machine. if this is the case what signals would you trust. what i mean is should i dig what comes up as foil or beer tabs?? i have been digging beer tabs a lot more lately just in case it may be something else like a ring or nickle. i have read that if the discriminator jumps more than one or two indicators then its trash. PLEASE help me understand my ACE !!

 

[Mighty AP]

Re: question 'bout diggin' old coins ?

Hi Ivy, welcome to TN! I dont know much about the Ace250 (had one & hated it........traded it fer a 6000diPro!) but I think you should be diggin every signal for a little while, until you learn your machine. Pulltab signals can be silver rings, Ive heard that you will dig around 250 tabs for every ring you find. Foil signals can be gold rings so dig those signals too. I dont know that you should hunt in All Metal Mode, Id discriminate Iron but try to turn up your sensetivity a little, that'll give you more depth. Ive read where people are diggin quarters at 9-10 inches with the 250 so I think if your swingin over old deep coins your machine will tell you they are there! Bottom line........you gain a bit of experience & learn your machine a bit more with every target you successfuly retrieve, the old coins will come to you if you are hunting in spots where they are buried. Also, do you use a handheld pinpointer? What part of the country are you hunting? HH

 

[Rusted_Iron]

Re: question 'bout diggin' old coins ?

My understanding of the Ace 250 is that it gets about an extra one to two inches of depth on coins when set to all metal (as opposed to disc mode.) Of course then you're going to be digging junk a bit more than usual.

Another way to add depth is get the next bigger coil (the rhino 9x12), which may give you another inch or so of depth.

It is true that deeper coins on the edge of a detector's depth limits can give junk-like signals that can discriminate out. I have found coins that actually gave a broken signal in disc mode, then when 3 or 4 inches of soil was removed with the plug, the signal became smooth and didn't disc out. This is probably from small pieces of rotted nails in the plug.

I also recently found an Indian head cent that gave no indication it was in the ground. It was completely masked by two very rusty nails that were above it in the ground. When I dug the nails out of the way and the hole was still open, I then started getting a very smooth, mellow tone near the edge of the hole. It was an IH about 6 inches deep, not a super deep signal but completely invisible to 3 different top-brand metal detectors (including an Explorer) until the nails were dug out of the way.

The only sure way to get all the coins out of an area is to grid it off and just start digging everything. A lot of hunters don't like the idea of spending 4 hours and coming home with no coins, but just look at it this way, you will be cleaning the area out for next time. Once you get all the shallow nails and junk out of the way, listen for the fainter signals. Just use all metal mode if you want maximum depth.

One other thing about the Ace250... you may not actually get "faint" signals, because the machine is made so that all signals are amplified up as if they were shallow. That unit will give a loud signal all the way to the edge of its detection depth, at least in disc mode. Not sure about all metal, though.

HH,
Rusted

 

[ivy_walls]

Re: question 'bout diggin' old coins ?

in answer to your question i dont have a handheld pinpointer but am currently selling my collection of ..... ummm ...... uh ....... partridge family stuff on eBay to get the extra funds. i have my i on a whites bullseye. as for the part of the country, i am in north central indiana, up by notre dame .... actually in Mishawaka.
why did you ask about the pinpointer ??

 

[Mighty AP]

Re: question 'bout diggin' old coins ?

why did you ask about the pinpointer ??

Cause you need one! Your clad count will explode after you've made the investment. I wont hunt without mine! Partridge family, eh? I wont tell a soul, your secret is safe with me! LOL

 

[Mighty AP]

Re: question 'bout diggin' old coins ?

Just a suggestion Ivy, forget about that Bullseye pinpointer (you'll be sending it back for button repairs in two months) & look on Ebay for the Technetics pinpointer. Save yourself a bunch of money & get a superior piece of equipment! I bought mine for around $60 & LOVE it, I went through two Bullseyes in 3 months before I finaly got this baby. Ive used it hard for over 3 months & not a single problem with it yet.

 

[Mona Lisa]

Re: question 'bout diggin' old coins ?

I agree with AP about the Bullseye. I wore my first one out in about 2 weeks. The second one is acting goofy.....but I don't use it much.

I would dig everything above the iron signal, Ivy. There's so much iron junk in the ground that it would take you months to dig all the iron.

Good luck!! From what I heard the Ace 250 is a great machine.

 

[ivy_walls]

Re: question 'bout diggin' old coins ?

thanks for the info on the bullseye - i would have not have been happy with a cheap pinpointer. hopefully after a couple more eBay auctions i will be able to get the brand you guys suggested. i saw it at eBay for about $56.00.
thanks again!

 

[bomber]

Re: question 'bout diggin' old coins ?

hey mona how do ware out a pinpointer?

 

[stefen]

Re: question 'bout diggin' old coins ?

Silly question

 

[Digginman]

Re: question 'bout diggin' old coins ?

I have an Ace250, almost always hunt in the "All-Metal Mode". I use the ID Graph and the tones to decide whether to dig or not. In junky areas, I'll discriminate out the first notch. I've dug coins at 7 inches. I relic hunt alot, this mode works great in the woods.

Good Luck, it's a great little detector.

DM

 

[Gribnitz]

Re: question 'bout diggin' old coins ?

The biggest factor is research. If your hunting old parks, they have probably been hunted since detectors first came out. People used to cherry pick out the silver to avoid all the trash. There will be stuff still in there, but they usually don't produce well. Some have gotten lucky and hit an area in the park that seems to have been missed, but thats not the norm.

Check the local historical society and find out where the fairs and picnics used to be held. That is less well known and may produce better.