OK, seriously...just between us.......

[Phillip_in_NM]

I keep seeing people post about that SWEEEET sound of silver. Maybe (OK - certainly) my hearing isn't what it once was, but I can't say with certainty that the 12-47 under my coil is a silver dime because I get that same reading for a clad dime. Same for quarters. I like the high tone the dimes and quarters give. But I would never suggest that I could know before digging them that they are or are not absolutely silver or absolutely clad. Is there really a difference? Because if there is, I'm clearly missing it, and due to my hearing I may never get it. So be honest, how many KNOW with certainty, based on the display or the sound that the coin under the coil is silver???

 

[GotSilver?]

Great question! I am a few months into my Etrac and am wondering the same thing. Very interested in everyone's input....

 

[NebTrac]

I've seen, and heard, too much variety to say for certain if a coin under my coil is silver or not. In my opinion there is a better sound with deeper silver and is usually where the "warble" gets sweet. I've gotten to where I can usually "suspect" clad, but still dig the signals. Memorials are a little tricky, but I find there is too much variety in sound the more you swing over them. Silver usually locks on hard with one sound and doesn't let go.

One thing is for sure. Seated and Barbers will tend to sound more in the wheat penny range (here in central Nebraska). I don't know if the silver content or silver type was different (I suspect its due more to wear), but they'll scratch easier than a Merc.

Good question.

NebTrac

 

[pilot]

The depth of the target gives me the clue it may be silver. Sound and numbers can change with depth and adjacent targets. JMO
Kim

 

[terrywl]

I'm wrong for 90% of my guesses, unless I guess clad, then my average goes way up!

 

[Bell-Two]

Yes I too have some hearing loss and to be honest with rare exceptions I cannot tell difference between a silver or clad dime by sound alone. I have predicted silver and have been right when I have dug them, it is a combo of sound, numbers and location. In my last video we filmed a live dig where I felt it had a good chance of being silver....but clad quarter. I left it in the video just to show we who film don't always find goodies on every dig! For me a 13-44 to 13-45 is almost always a clad dime.

 

[Jeff in Pa]

The sound for me is the same, But a Merc will hit a 44 while a clad dime will go to the 45 a good bit. What I don't get is my machine will show a clad quarter at 12-45 or 46 and Don says he hits them at 12-47. I wonder if others here see different numbers from one Etrac to another. We use the exact same set-up so why is there a difference. My coil is only 2 months old and I do pop the cover off regularly to clean it.

 

[ronfin]

That "sweet silver sound" is just the high tone, that's all. A 12-47/48 could be a clad quarter, but it could be a silver Washington. The reason people say that is because the silver "sound" is always the high tone. It's just an expression. I wouldn't try to addd a science to it.

 

[Bell-Two]

The sound for me is the same, But a Merc will hit a 44 while a clad dime will go to the 45 a good bit. What I don't get is my machine will show a clad quarter at 12-45 or 46 and Don says he hits them at 12-47. I wonder if others here see different numbers from one Etrac to another. We use the exact same set-up so why is there a difference. My coil is only 2 months old and I do pop the cover off regularly to clean it.

My hunting partner Doug, my wife Diane and I all have E-Tracs and at times we will get slightly different numbers on the same target, running exactly the same mode..I think like anything there are small differences in machines. Now I think different brands and or sizes of coils can make a difference I just dug today at 5" a target reading 12-48 12-49 with an occasional 12-50. I was using Doug's X-5 small coil in a junk area it turned out to be a clad quarter...1965 drat!

 

[moonshine]

I think that when youre in an older area without a lot of new stuff that when you get a nice repeatable 12-45 (or higher), that would be a "sweet" sound. in one area of mine a repeatable 12-45 is silver, period. (dime). I have had a silver dime read 12-40 and wheats read as low as 12-33! so i think there is a broad range of numbers that you could get. seems to me that the more worn down a coin is, the lower the CO number will be.

as far as being able to tell the difference between silver and clad, i dont think i can tell the difference.

 

[Seatedhalf]

Shallow pennies(0-3 inches in my area of the midwest soil) can be great sounding also. Typically most of my CO-45 are silver dimes depending on the moisture in the soil. I have had two of my silver halfs occasionally give 47-48 readings but most of the time they were 49's. Like Moonshine I have dug dimes that read as low as 38 but were not super worn.(on edge for some and some well worn)

I try not to get caught up in the numbers too much and dig by tones a great deal of the time. They don't have to be long high tones either. If I am in an area that has a lot of iron you should dig the shorter high tones also. I have many silver coins that have rust all over them from iron close by or right on them.
When the good stuff stops coming go back and swing very slow and make sure you dig the "iffy" ones.

 

[Jeff in Pa]

Thanks for the comments, I have never dug targets that came in that high on the C side.

 

[pescadore]

I have noticed the difference in numbers even from location to location that I hunt. I agree that the Barbers that I have dug with my limited experience on the E-trac have come in at 12-43 or 44 where the clad dime usually falls for me however the silver Rosie or Merc will give a good 12-45 reading most of the time. I have never found a seated coin yet but in air tests with the one's my friend found they can come in as low as a zinc. If I am hunting in an old location, I have started diggin zincolns consistently now where as before I would pass on them. I have air tested half-dimes and some dimes that come in that low so to avoid missing my chance at finding a seated, then I dig the zincolns. Some wheat pennies will come in at 12-40, 12-41, and others at 12-44 where copper memorials usually hit. I love the E-trac but I haven't seen where you could call silver and be right with great consistency because of tone or numbers. Clad dimes and silver dimes generally sound the same as well as quarters. Sometimes, the numbers will be a little different but not with a lot of consistency.

 

[Prep1957]

I always know after I dig the target up,how is that for honesty

 

[DukeOBass]

My brother-in-laws machine hits lower than mine. I don't know why that is. It could a slight calibration thing.

 

[Phillip_in_NM]

Thanks to all for their candid and honest answers. I suspected it was just the high signal, but I thought there might be a chance that the Etrac might have a feature that my hearing would never let me utilize!

I'm wrong for 90% of my guesses, unless I guess clad, then my average goes way up!

 

[DukeOBass]

Here's a link to Target ID chart. My E-trac seems to follow most of this.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?63,820520