SE lands a couple more keepers...

[detectorbase]

The SE lands a couple more keepers. I went out for a short hunt today.. only two spots.. and for a total of an hour. The SE is still treating me right on the nickels..

1903 Indian Head
1906 V-Nickel

[attachment 56639 IMG_1520.jpg]

The IH was pressed up against an old curb.. so it got beat up over the years. The V came out in nice shape.. I think it's the best condition V I've found this year.

Thanks!
DB

 

[crow-duck]

DB,You are going to give me lessons on finding nickels I think I might have found 2 or 3 nickels.Great finds.
crowduck

 

[KCK]

n/t

 

[detectorbase]

[quote crow-duck]DB,You are going to give me lessons on finding nickels I think I might have found 2 or 3 nickels.Great finds.
crowduck[/quote]

I put together this article last month...
http://www.detectorbase.com/index.php/ID/4a7a8495/article/Technique_for_finding_deep_nickels/fuseaction/articles.detail.htm

It's really a factor of a few things. I look for 'nickel' factors. Basically...

1. Tone of the target (it can be 'fluty' and solid, or can bounce around to thud/squeak, but fall in the nickel tone range overall
2. SmartFind cursor position needs to be bottom-centerish. I only deal with SmartFind now. I think with the numbers varying, I overthink in Digital. I'm more visual.
3. Depth needs to be greater than 4" (depends in your area.. 4" in my state is 1920s)

and most importantly..

4. The sound of the pinpoint signal strength. If it cuts sharply vs smooth gradual fade, it's trash. The gradual fade (in my opinion) is the weight and size of the coin being bigger than a beavertail, etc. Also, the corrosion halo might give it a larger foot print.

Today, I found two more Buffalos, and both gave the classic 'round' fade that I like to hear. Also, as an experiment, I dug all nickel 'factor' targets, but still dug with the sharp pinpoint cut. All targets dug with the sharp cut were trash, and the only targets with the fade were the nickels.

On the tone.. things that sound like good nickels to me..

1. folded beaver tail pull tabs (no pull rings attached to the beaver tail.. and folded.. not straight)
2. wadded foil (again, at least 4" deep). These will usually sound consistent (not fluty) and sound 'flat'.
4. pencil erasers .. man I hate these.

I wanted to let you know what fools me, so you can understand what tone catches my ear.

My settings.. I hunt All Metal, Ferrous Tones, Sens: 16-20, 8" or 5" SunRay coil.

This year (started using the SE in the end of Feb/beginning March), I've found 11 Buffalos, 9 V-Nickels, 1 Shield and 4 Jefferson War Nickels. I found a few pre-1964 Jeffersons.. but for some reason, don't like to count them. All I know is that my nickel tally is insanely higher than my years previously. Also, since nickels are hard and often ignored.. you get to pluck them out of hunted out parks, etc.

Let me know if this helps. I'm still learning this machine, so there is a ton left to understand... but I'm trying every day.

Thanks!
DB

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

nickels come out looking pretty worn and crappy. Yours looks pretty decent!
Care to share more information with us like how much trash there was if any around them and how deep they were and how they sounded i.e. iffy or real good?

 

[crow-duck]

Thanks for the info,That is a nice artical.Ill have to get out and try it out,that is how I hunt but dont dig nickels targets I will start now. Thanks again.
crowduck

 

[detectorbase]

[quote Tony N (Michigan)]nickels come out looking pretty worn and crappy. Yours looks pretty decent!
Care to share more information with us like how much trash there was if any around them and how deep they were and how they sounded i.e. iffy or real good?[/quote]

The area where I found this nickel had 'medium' trash. The depth was right around 5" or so, and the sound was not the best. It had a choppy high tone and bounced to the bottom far right on the smartfind, but liked to settle back to bottom middle on the return swing. I've seen the 'bounce' on nickels like this.. but usually don't get the high squeak tone for bottom right.. which I don't like. Glad I dug it though.

I think the nickel held up niclely over the years, since the area I found it was slightly neglected and had heavy shade from large trees. There wasn't too much grass, water, etc. I tend to find the worst coins in the nicest lawns or parks and vice versa. Normally, the nickels I find are in rough shape. I wish they'd hold up better.

DB