No, the trick is to listen for the smooth tones. Zinc pennies ID in the mid to upper 70's but have a harsher sound than copper, nickel or silver coins. Bottle caps sometimes sound smooth depending on how crushed flat that they are and almost always ID in the 80's. If the tone is smooth and the ID is 95 then you will be digging copper pennies, silver and quarters. Dimes will sound smooth and the ID will jump a bit but always flash a 95. Nickels act the same but the 95 is less frequent. Loonies sound a bit harsh but hit a solid 95. If they are close to the surface they can easily be overlooked as can slaw. It's worth flipping to AM when you suspect can slaw to size up the target. I dug 10 of these on Sunday! Toonies are tough. They sound like trash depending on how they are orientated. If they are flat the center insert will drive a 95 on some swings. You learn after a while to suspect a toonie and to dig. Silver jewellery rings a solid 95. Pulltabs hit in the 50's and 60's. Crushed foil will sound smooth but ID anywhere from the 20's up. I won't kid anyone, there was a fair bit of trash dug too in the hopes of finding gold.
Our modern crappy steel coins seldom sound smooth or ID much above iron. The ID is all the way up and down the scale but mostly low. I usually suspect it's modern clad, sometimes I dig them, sometimes I don't. I'm not interested in finding 5 year old rusty junk coins so I'm fine with leaving them in the ground for someone else to find.
IMHO, the Deleon is the best of both worlds. Awesome Tesoro audio, lightening fast response time, impressive depth AND a visual target ID. My only complaint would be that the rods are starting to develop some play and wobble a bit when sweeping fast to pinpoint. It's barely noticeable now, but I suspect it will get worse. Nothing a little electrical tape wrapped around the rod won't fix.
Dan
