A Coinstrike ID question...

[Dan-Pa.]

Had a Coinstrike when they first came out and found it to be a fine unit but had an ID problem with rusted bottle caps that registered as penny-dime so I sold.. Thinking about another, has anyone found a way to tell the blasted round rusted cap from a coin..Bill jump in if you wish...as I know you do well with this unit...
Certainly a learning period which I mastered and certainly would match up with my CZ70 well...

 

[Bill Ladd]

Hi Dan, Thanks for the post...
First I have to say I'm no expert when it comes to dealing with these as I hunt mostly Colonial sites where round artifacts are welcomed. But, I can understand where they could be a bug-a-boo in a park setting for example. First I would reccomend finding John's "Coinstrike Homepage" for several tips including caps. Here's a portion:

>>>>Regarding digging up bottle caps and tin can lids with the Coinstrike. The simple answer is you can back off the settings on most any detector and notch out the bottle caps. On the CS you might be able to in some cases. Reduce the Sensitivity and Threshold to test. The majority of the time nothing will keep a crown type bottle cap from reading as a "coin" signal. The CS likes round things including harness rings. And as Chuck VT says bottle caps aren't iron or even pure steel so they will not behave as a piece of cast iron or cut nail as far as reject goes. They are basically low carbon mild steel sheet with coatings. And there is a lot of variation. I also find a big difference depending on if they are flattened. You can see in this text that there are 2 types of crown caps: tinplate and tin free steel (TFS). I personally want more finds than less so I want to dig all the bottle caps. Tin can lids are no different. They could be an Eagle breastplate>>>>>>>>.

There are some other tips out there some guys have advocated. One is something that should be done on most targets anyways, that is to check it from a few different sweeps. Often a coin will "lock" & stay at that number from all angles say +24 for example. Rusty caps seem to shoot down up to 10 digits less at times (or into the teens). Guys have said raising the coil can make rusty caps rocket down quite a bit, but not being iron they will never totally go negative. But, a depth check can be helpful too as a tilted or deep coin can go down into the teens as well. Just takes practice & experimentation to see how rusty caps react compared to a coin. I would maybe see what happens with threshold scaled way back to say -35 (just an idea). But it's sorta a double edged sword because you probably want top depth too. So to get deep coins, you may have to endure a few caps. After many, many hours I now find a coin just sounds more crisp as well. Sometimes I don't mind digging 'em out as I feel I'm cleaning out the site & perhaps opening up an opportunity to get something being masked.
Maybe a few others can jump in with their tips too?.....
HH,
Bill

 

[Dan-Pa.]

Bill I am referring to those beer bottle caps that have rusted over the years and are basically flat round disc's that seem to litter our parks( our area over the years ) has been know for beer drinking going back to the coal miners from early 1900's...I do understand you hunt colonial areas and actually would love to live and hunt alongside of you as you are in a prime area..
Gosh forgot about the homepage you mentioned and will have to do some research and thanks for your assistance.
Have to admit it got me some nice silver first time around and actually as the weight and ergonomics compared to a CZ70 pro are close and could switch back and forth using the same arm muscles for comfort as if you use several units of different cosmetic designs you end up using a variety of muscles...
Sorry bottle caps was probably not the best definition as we all know
crown caps and the like being whole, flattened, bent etc. will register coin on any unit with an ID meter...
Well back to some more research and if any wishes to add would appreciate it can make a CZ talk since using once since 92 but will take a while to be as proficient with a Coinstrike...

 

[Mirage]

These are a problem for a lot of detectors. With my Coinstrike sometimes I can kinda tell but then I don't want to risk missing a good coin so I dig. The sites that have a lot of these also have lot's of beaver tails(Pull tabs) and other trash and I just hunt these only if I am desparate.

Mirage

 

[Dan-Pa.]

Read Joe Patricks Lost Treasure field test...Only heavily rusted bottle caps(steel) and washers caused discrimination problems..He stated they produced a mushy sound rather than solid sound while pinpointing...might be worth a try for Coinstrike users...

 

[Mark in NC]

a low tone iron "grunt" on edges of the coin signal when it's a bottle cap. It seems to depend a lot on the moisture content of the ground...