Bad day turns good! (Some assistance needed)

[cwilk]

I went out planning to do a local park where I first started practicing and never went back. Now as you might remember I started a thread about being asked to leave the high school a while back. I got to the park and found where they had moved the practice football field while they are doing major construction on the school. I just can't win. I poked around the edges of the park and found about 5 clad coins and a hundred pieces of junk. Also the tire balance weight (pictured) Decided to hit the local beach one last time. Never much luck there either. Second pass I found the white earring. It's stamped 925 c but it rings up in the gold range on my Ace 250. Covered the whole beach, found about 6 zinc pennies and a few clads, the sinker, the car the old shotgun shell marked winchester repeater, old, what was it doing there? Moved to the playground and was tired so I wasn't doing a good job of it. Said to myself one more coin that is not a penny and home for some beer. Walked around the jungle gym got the nickel signal and out popped 14K gold "Madre" ring with small red stone. 4-5 grams. Nice! It wasn't a coin so I kept hunting. Found the two shiny quarters and left.

What's the deal with the earring? Marked 925 c and target on Ace 250 is in the gold range?

Also pictured is a bracelet from this weekend. On the little heart dangling from the clasp it is stamped 98 or possibly 86. It rings up as gold. I took it to the local jeweler, a nice guy, and he said it's silver. I told him what my detector says and he says he doesn't care it's silver. He gave it to his wife who scraped it across a stone and did a very fast acid test and said it's silver? It took her less than 30 seconds, I don't know how thorough she was. I have a few other pieces like this. Opinions? Please?

I had to crop the bracelet photo to get the size down. Length is about 5.5-6 inches. Probably for a small child.

Chris

 

[khouse]

Very nice stuff! Keep it up!!
To be honest the meter is just an indicator of what targets MIGHT be. Silver and gold can be all over the scale. You have just witnessed how your digger is the only 100% way to positively ID a target. Diggers never lie! If you have the time especially in the bark chips and sand run in the relic mode. Dig or sift everything. If the beach you speak of is fresh water then wade out to your knees. Don't get the control box wet though.

 

[BigCatDaddy]

First, nice loot!! Was the clasp on the earring open?? If so, that's why. Or maybe just because it's such a light piece of silver.

 

[cwilk]

So is the earring silver? It is registering one step above nickel. I haven't gotten into the water yet. How do you recover objects in the water? I think I'd need a special scoop or something. It is a freshwater beach and the water is warm enough to wade in for a while anyway. Is that good territory?

I have done a lot of bark chip areas. I have found a lot of coins and buttons. A piece of a toe ring, metal not yet identified. Rings up as gold but it is a very small chunk of metal. Some junk kids jewelry. What is the benefit to using relic mode in bark chips? Do the chips change the signals? I do find in sand I have to lower the sensitivity to 4 or 5. In grassy areas I usually run around 6-8.

What is your take on the 98 or 86 stamp on the bracelet?

Thanks for the thoughtful response!

Chris

 

[cwilk]

Okay why would the clasp being open do anything? It is stamped 925 c on the clasp and yes it was open. The things you guys are teaching me!

What is your take on the bracelet? It weighs about 7 grams but I'm only using my postal scale until my jewelry scale arrives in the post.

I am on a real jewelry streak. A piece of silver or gold 8 of the last 9 days out. I finaly ran out of steam Saturday and returned home ringless. The silver lining there was a real big pile of clad coins.

Turning hot and muggy Saturday here but I need a few days off anyway. Then rain which will soften up some ground I've had my eye on.

I also recently received permission to do an old stone foundation which I've never tried yet. Any tips?

Thanks!
Chris

 

[BigCatDaddy]

If the clasp was open, it breaks the circle and lowers the target surface and therfore the conductivity of the target. Gold earrings are even worse as their conductivity is already low. Same thing on the bracelet. Your detector is only picking up each individual charm and the surface area is so small that it just gives you the best answer it can on such a small thing. You can't depend on your detector to be 100% right, it is only reporting it's best guess given the conditions. I dug a small silver 925 pendant this past weekend, about 1/3rd the size of a dime, that read in the area between pulltab and zinc penny, but it was strong and repeatable, so I dug it.

 

[BigCatDaddy]

You will need a scoop to recover targets in the water, but frankly, I wouldn't take my land machine near the water as I'm prone to be a little klutzy and one stumble and your machine is wet and FRIED!!! Get a water machine or build yourself an Otter Ace or one of the other variations. There's gold in that water, you just need to be correctly equipped to get it!!

 

[cwilk]

Dang. I hear gold and I get all hot and sweaty. Maybe a little dip would cool me off. Tons of great information BigCat. I really appreciate it!

Chris

 

[Uncle Willy]

One thing you'll have to learn - detector ID is not 100% accurate on any detector made. It is a probable ID based on target conductivity.

Bill

 

[khouse]

Tie a cord to your detector if you think you'll drop it. Look at some of the sponsors for a long handled sand scoop. I could easily get in to the water between my knees and waist when I was first water detecting. Extend your rod out as long as it goes. Then in the deeper water hold the detector more vertical. You may down the road want to water proof the 250 but for now I would just get in the shallow water.