Why do pennies come up in the silver range...

[njnydigger]

This one is stumping me people. On my Safari, it seems like I constantly have pennies showing up in the silver range. Quite often in the VDI range of 37 or 38. It even sounds like silver

Now, I do understand the the way a coin is positioned in the ground will have something to do with the VDI, but, this much? Must've happened a good 10 or 15 times today. It would even give that sweet, high pitched silver tone.

Coming from a White's, this never happened. So, it is quite perplexing. Doesn't bother me one bit, but, just trying to make sense of it.

Only thing I can think of is this...

White's machines have a broader VDI scale to play with - up to 90. Minelab's obviously VDI to 40. So, could the shorter VDI range of the Minelab's be causing the pennies to get "lumped in" to the silver range more often than on other brands??

Explanations appreciated

 

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[mainer]

I cant help you with the VDI numbers (dont look at them). But when I first got my Explorer II I couldnt distinguish the difference between clad and silver, they sounded the same to me. After using it a while I can now tell the diference between the two. I switched from a whites XLT, it just takes time is all.

 

[jeff of pa]

Copper is very close to silver
The Clad/zinc pennies should come up lower.
so will early wheats
& Indians

Rule of thumb on my Sovereign is
Early wheats & Late indians 5 to 10 points lower then copper
Early Indians & most Zincs 10 to 20 Lower then Copper
Flying eages, Very old deep Indians & Rotted Zinks
20 to 30 Lower then Copper.

these are Averages, Nothing is written in stone.
Ground & Possably weather, Depth & Position of coin
in the ground also effect Numbers.

I Look at them but Rarely Remember what number
came up. Most of what I Remember is due to
repeated digs over many years.

Trust Me. Don't trust #'s

 

[excal/pirate]

i know its not the same machine i have excal2 some penneys sound like silver on them to thats why i will dig pennies when i am in the water ive found alot of silver rings this way

 

[Goes4ever]

not sure on the safari, but on the etrac it is very easy to tell between wheats, indians, memorials, and silver for sure!

 

[Detectorfreak74]

if they are new zink penny's they will be 34 to 36 the reason your getting high tone and numbers cause copper is similar to silver in conductivity if you put a silver dime down on clean ground listen to the flute of the high tone then put the wheat penny and then try a penny from 1988 and up u will hear the change

 

[p2c]

if they are new zink penny's they will be 34 to 36 the reason your getting high tone and numbers cause copper is similar to silver in conductivity if you put a silver dime down on clean ground listen to the flute of the high tone then put the wheat penny and then try a penny from 1988 and up u will hear the change

Generally true, but the old seated liberty dimes I have dug for some reason sound exactly like wheat pennies and are not flutie in sound. Of course I've only dug a few seateds. A couple of the many barber dimes I've dug sounded like wheats also. Mercury and Rosies don't exhibit this. I don't know if it is something endemic to the soil type I have and what happens to a silver coin that's been in it for a long time ... Generally modern copper (pre-1982) memorial cents sound a lot louder on my e trac than silver dimes. The loudness is a dead giveaway.

 

[ivan salis]

OLDER PRE 83 CENTS AND "CLAD" DIMES ARE SIMILAR IN SIZE AND COPPER CONTENT -- often notching out zinc / cent type zones or icons will still allow these older cents to ring up under the "clad"/ silver dime zone --many machines lump silver and clad dimes in the same basic zone -- these 1959 /1982 cents slip in that zone as they "look" like a clad dime metal content wize to the machine .