is a garrett ace 250 good for finding coins?
how far down does it "see" in inches? what is the max?
The Ace 250 does just fine on coins. So does every machine I've ever tried. I had one, gave it a good 100 hours, and hated it. The multiple tones drove me crazy when the object didn't fall into one of the dozen pretty categories and you'd have two or three different tones going off pretty much at the same time. At times it reminded me of a group of preschoolers all "playing" different instruments at the same time. It drove me to distraction at times. BUT the 250 has a tone of fans who love the multiple tones and everything else about the machine.
Another distraction about the machine is that the screen is small for all the info it contains. Something to consider if you are over 40 or any age if you have to wear glasses.
I also noticed that it has a fairly wide field around the coil, not just straight down.
As far as coin sized objects, depending on soil conditions, 6 to 9 inches.
**Coinmaster-Much larger and easier to read screen. Though it only has 8 divisions rather than the dozen the 250 has. Single tone that is not annoying (to me). Depth readings are highly accurate and it will go deep. If you scan over an object 10 times and it reads nickel, then one foil reading...it'll probably be can slaw. A zinc penny reading will either be a penny or a dime. One quarter reading I got was a rope style silver ring. I'm not complaining about that. I'm roughly 5'7/5'8" and the coil is about an inch or so off the ground at my preferred angle. So that's something I have to pay attention to. This is my back-up machine, so I use if every couple of weeks to keep up with how it works.
Personally though, if your budget allows it, if you are looking for a display machine, get a mid-range/priced detector. It will have more id divisions, which means less bouncing around of the id. It will have more features so you won't outgrow it as quickly.
My favorite machine is a Tesoro audio-only machine. (They do make a couple of coin machines with displays.) I don't find a no display to be a disadvantage. I want to find gold, so I pretty much dig everything nickel and above. Once I get fully employed again, I've got a Cibola in my sites. Anyway I can tell penny signals...they scream at me even several inches down. Dime signals are roughly the same when shallow, but produce a weaker signal past about 2 inches. Nickel signals tend to be smooth except when they are near the surface. Quarter signals, even up near the surface, are nearly always quieter than penny or dime signals. Doesn't make sense but that's how my machine reads them. Stainless steel, even at the surface, is a very scratchy, iffy signal...they don't want to be found. Iron tends to be broken, but if it's a large item with a good halo it can scream at me.
My Tesoro (uses 1 9V battery) sips battery power. A fresh alkaline will easily last a month to six weeks of nearly daily hunts. With the Ace 250 (takes 4 AA batteries) and Coinmaster (2 9V batteries) I get two to three weeks, maybe a bit less, with fresh batteries. My hunts will range in length from 30 minutes to 2 hours in most cases. In my experience display machines will go through batteries quicker as they put more demand on the batteries. So keep operating costs in mind.
Hope this helps.
