Find's Treasure Forums
Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!
You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Click here to register!
Need Support Help?
Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you
SEF 15x12 First Hunt! She's A KEEPER!
- Thread starter Critterhunter
- Start date
Critterhunter
New member
Got out a few days ago with the 15x12 for my third silver hunt. I don't count the beach hunt the other day because I wasn't trying areas where I'd figure there would be older silver coins laying around. We headed out to another wooded area we haven't hunted yet.
Being my second wooded hunt with this coil I can say it's even less awkward to use in the woods now that I'm used to it. It is easier than the 10" in the respect that the spider framing of the coil helps it to slide over the odd branch or sticks/weeds laying on the ground and so is less prone to the debri finding it's way up into the coil and snagging it, where as the 10" tends to allow stuff to get up in there and grab it because of it's more open round design. I'd say after this second woods hunt that it's a very unusable coil for at least open woods with larger trees in that there isn't as much ground cover. I also really like it's extra coverage, allowing me to speed up my scouting until I find an area of activity. Also, it makes covering wide open areas more easy and more thorough. Really liking it for those reasons. I may still try zip tying some coruplast to the bottom to make the coil solid when hunting woods, allowing it to even rest on the ground completely and still slide easy over things I would suspect.
Anyway, I'm hunting around when I hit a "penny" signal of 176. It sounds smooth and perfectly IDs from any direction. I dig down 4 or 5" and I see the edge of a silver dime in the plug. Turned out it was a 1917D merc. I was curious why it read 4 digits lower than 180 so I stick my ProPointer in the hole and sure enough I get another signal. Out pops a Buffalo! It appears the low conductivity nickle drew the silver 180 signal down a bit. I've found in my mask testing of low conductivity targets such as iron, pull tabs, or nickles with a silver dime that I'll either get a perfect 180 signal or a slightly averaged signal around 176 like the above. It largely depends on how the two are laying in relation with each other.
About five feet away I get another "penny" signal and out pops an old pocket knife. This is good news, because I often find when I pop out a pocket knife there are coins around because it's obvious people have been fishing in their pockets and didn't even noticed a dropped knife let alone coins for whatever activities reaching into pockets caused in these areas.
Another five or so feet away I get yet another good signal, but his one is climbing to 180 and then dropping like a house of cards, only to begin steadily climbing to 180 again and then collapsing like a house of cards again. The signal sounded good and smooth despite the falling numbers over and over again as it reached it's peak at 180 and then fell. I think it was either dropping down to like 174 or maybe 10 or 20 digits below 180 (can't remember) but the audio stays high and smooth. I don't think the audio falls with the numbers. Also, the falling numbers are "in order" in that I don't think it drops, bounces up a little, drops some more, etc. In other words, it's not a random jumpy VDI like trash or say a screw cap that might go down/up two or three digits but not in a uniform steadily dropping and then steadily climbing progressive number pattern like this target was doing. Also, with trash or screw caps the audio is never quite there, meaning staying smooth and constant despite what the VDI says. Screw caps or other trash's audio, even if it stays high, will mix in a "warbly" sort'a sick sound that is very telling. Not this target, though...it sounded nice and smooth and good despite what the VDI was doing. Like I said, that I can remember it doesn't even drop in tone but stays at a "180" sound, though I could be wrong from memory.
Having read a lot of threads on older non-GT Sovereigns people say a real deep coin will act this way....climbing slowly as you do the Sovereign wiggle and either staying there or dropping down and then climbing back up again. This is the first time I've experienced this on the GT, as most say so long as the GT can hear the target even at the fringes of depth it will lock solidly onto the correct ID number. This target sounded deep and real soft but that also threw me off, because from my experience the GT will get softer as the target gets deeper up to about 6" or so and then will go into some kind of "amp" mode where targets get loud again past a certain depth. I can hear the amped "white noise" in the background when it does this as I do the wiggle. Since I wasn't hearing the white noise hiss and the target was somewhat soft I thought it was about six inches or so maybe.
Anyway, I go into pinpoint and find that I've got a double image, or at least two targets, because the pinpoint would sound off faintly to "two" targets 3 or 4" apart from each other. I pick one and dig down about 5" or so and pop the plug. At the bottom of the hole I see a silver dime laying about 75% on edge. Turned out it was a 1911 Barber! Second (third?) silver dime on edge I've dug with this coil over the last few weeks! Sure looks like it's hitting coins on edge that aren't even all that deep but other coils might be missing!
Then I realized two things. The double image was because the coin was on edge, as I've seen this effect on other machines too. The coin being on edge was the reason it sounded this soft (but still plenty loud enough) and also the reason why the 180 signal kept getting there and then collapsing. As I said, it does this in an orderly fashion and might be dropping into the 150's or 160's before climbing again but from memory it might have only been falling to like 176 or maybe the low 170's from any direction but would then always steadily climb to 180 before repeating the process. As I also said, the audio was smooth and I think keeping a "180" tone but in either respect it was still nice and sweet/smooth/soft, without the warbly or sick sound of screw caps or other trash, nor the jumpy uniform VDI that will bounce around as it hits 180 and doesn't seem to follow it's self steadily down or up the scale like this coin did. Keep that in mind when digging "iffy" coin signals. The VDI might rise and fall but the audio is very good, and the VDI pattern is distinctly different than jumpy trash. In my testing of coins or rings on edge I found most if not all gave perfect and proper audio and VDI numbers, but I suspect at 5 or 6" deep like this dime or deeper they might only do the above in certain specific situations.
Later in those same woods I get a perfect nickle signal (somewhere in the 143-146 range, can't remember). Knew this was a nickle for sure, and out pops an 1903 V! Wow, this coil is smoking the old coins for me thus far! Also dug 4 or 5 wheats in various spots in these woods.
So then yesterday I go on another silver hunt and hit a mowed grass field where we've gridded/pounded with numerous machines over the years. I was only there about an hour and decided to just cherry pick any perfect coin signals. As a result I only dug about 6 or 7 targets, and most of those I knew were trash because they weren't perfect in audio or VDI despite my intentions to be picky with targets. I was doing this because I figured the 15x12 could really prove it's doing better than other coils at either unmasking shallow coins or finding real deep ones that I knew both existed in this field. I dug a square aluminum token with some writing on it about something saying "1 Free Cake" with other writing I haven't cleaned up yet. Then I get a perfect nickle sound/vdi, which I think was either 145 or 146 with the number. I knew it was going to be a nickle, just was wondering if it was going to be a buffalo, V, or maybe my first ever shield nickle. At about 5 to 6" deep I figured it could be any of these or maybe even a clad because they sink fast here. Pop it out and it's very shinny. Knew right away what it was and sure enough- 1945 silver war nickle! Kept my silver streak alive with this coil. So far I think that makes four hunts hunting silver and these great coil has produced each time!
All my prior remarks still hold true about this coil. Was also once again able to run at max sensitivity. One thing I hadn't counted on with all the other bonuses of this coil is it's fantastic coverage. Every single positive thing I've read about this coil is true so far. The only thing I haven't done yet is dig a really deep coin with it, but to be fair yesterday's hunt was the only spot thus far where I knew there has to be real deep coins based on prior digs there and the nice rich deep black top soil present. Stay tuned for the first real deep one with this puppy, as I plan to hit some spots this week that offer this potential to reach down and find those!
Silver streak with this coil is still alive! So long as I'm hunting areas where silver coins should be present I'm counting those as keeping the streak going, but if I'm ring or clad hunting in places that I don't expect to find silver coins I'm not going to count that against my "streak".
Being my second wooded hunt with this coil I can say it's even less awkward to use in the woods now that I'm used to it. It is easier than the 10" in the respect that the spider framing of the coil helps it to slide over the odd branch or sticks/weeds laying on the ground and so is less prone to the debri finding it's way up into the coil and snagging it, where as the 10" tends to allow stuff to get up in there and grab it because of it's more open round design. I'd say after this second woods hunt that it's a very unusable coil for at least open woods with larger trees in that there isn't as much ground cover. I also really like it's extra coverage, allowing me to speed up my scouting until I find an area of activity. Also, it makes covering wide open areas more easy and more thorough. Really liking it for those reasons. I may still try zip tying some coruplast to the bottom to make the coil solid when hunting woods, allowing it to even rest on the ground completely and still slide easy over things I would suspect.
Anyway, I'm hunting around when I hit a "penny" signal of 176. It sounds smooth and perfectly IDs from any direction. I dig down 4 or 5" and I see the edge of a silver dime in the plug. Turned out it was a 1917D merc. I was curious why it read 4 digits lower than 180 so I stick my ProPointer in the hole and sure enough I get another signal. Out pops a Buffalo! It appears the low conductivity nickle drew the silver 180 signal down a bit. I've found in my mask testing of low conductivity targets such as iron, pull tabs, or nickles with a silver dime that I'll either get a perfect 180 signal or a slightly averaged signal around 176 like the above. It largely depends on how the two are laying in relation with each other.
About five feet away I get another "penny" signal and out pops an old pocket knife. This is good news, because I often find when I pop out a pocket knife there are coins around because it's obvious people have been fishing in their pockets and didn't even noticed a dropped knife let alone coins for whatever activities reaching into pockets caused in these areas.
Another five or so feet away I get yet another good signal, but his one is climbing to 180 and then dropping like a house of cards, only to begin steadily climbing to 180 again and then collapsing like a house of cards again. The signal sounded good and smooth despite the falling numbers over and over again as it reached it's peak at 180 and then fell. I think it was either dropping down to like 174 or maybe 10 or 20 digits below 180 (can't remember) but the audio stays high and smooth. I don't think the audio falls with the numbers. Also, the falling numbers are "in order" in that I don't think it drops, bounces up a little, drops some more, etc. In other words, it's not a random jumpy VDI like trash or say a screw cap that might go down/up two or three digits but not in a uniform steadily dropping and then steadily climbing progressive number pattern like this target was doing. Also, with trash or screw caps the audio is never quite there, meaning staying smooth and constant despite what the VDI says. Screw caps or other trash's audio, even if it stays high, will mix in a "warbly" sort'a sick sound that is very telling. Not this target, though...it sounded nice and smooth and good despite what the VDI was doing. Like I said, that I can remember it doesn't even drop in tone but stays at a "180" sound, though I could be wrong from memory.
Having read a lot of threads on older non-GT Sovereigns people say a real deep coin will act this way....climbing slowly as you do the Sovereign wiggle and either staying there or dropping down and then climbing back up again. This is the first time I've experienced this on the GT, as most say so long as the GT can hear the target even at the fringes of depth it will lock solidly onto the correct ID number. This target sounded deep and real soft but that also threw me off, because from my experience the GT will get softer as the target gets deeper up to about 6" or so and then will go into some kind of "amp" mode where targets get loud again past a certain depth. I can hear the amped "white noise" in the background when it does this as I do the wiggle. Since I wasn't hearing the white noise hiss and the target was somewhat soft I thought it was about six inches or so maybe.
Anyway, I go into pinpoint and find that I've got a double image, or at least two targets, because the pinpoint would sound off faintly to "two" targets 3 or 4" apart from each other. I pick one and dig down about 5" or so and pop the plug. At the bottom of the hole I see a silver dime laying about 75% on edge. Turned out it was a 1911 Barber! Second (third?) silver dime on edge I've dug with this coil over the last few weeks! Sure looks like it's hitting coins on edge that aren't even all that deep but other coils might be missing!
Then I realized two things. The double image was because the coin was on edge, as I've seen this effect on other machines too. The coin being on edge was the reason it sounded this soft (but still plenty loud enough) and also the reason why the 180 signal kept getting there and then collapsing. As I said, it does this in an orderly fashion and might be dropping into the 150's or 160's before climbing again but from memory it might have only been falling to like 176 or maybe the low 170's from any direction but would then always steadily climb to 180 before repeating the process. As I also said, the audio was smooth and I think keeping a "180" tone but in either respect it was still nice and sweet/smooth/soft, without the warbly or sick sound of screw caps or other trash, nor the jumpy uniform VDI that will bounce around as it hits 180 and doesn't seem to follow it's self steadily down or up the scale like this coin did. Keep that in mind when digging "iffy" coin signals. The VDI might rise and fall but the audio is very good, and the VDI pattern is distinctly different than jumpy trash. In my testing of coins or rings on edge I found most if not all gave perfect and proper audio and VDI numbers, but I suspect at 5 or 6" deep like this dime or deeper they might only do the above in certain specific situations.
Later in those same woods I get a perfect nickle signal (somewhere in the 143-146 range, can't remember). Knew this was a nickle for sure, and out pops an 1903 V! Wow, this coil is smoking the old coins for me thus far! Also dug 4 or 5 wheats in various spots in these woods.
So then yesterday I go on another silver hunt and hit a mowed grass field where we've gridded/pounded with numerous machines over the years. I was only there about an hour and decided to just cherry pick any perfect coin signals. As a result I only dug about 6 or 7 targets, and most of those I knew were trash because they weren't perfect in audio or VDI despite my intentions to be picky with targets. I was doing this because I figured the 15x12 could really prove it's doing better than other coils at either unmasking shallow coins or finding real deep ones that I knew both existed in this field. I dug a square aluminum token with some writing on it about something saying "1 Free Cake" with other writing I haven't cleaned up yet. Then I get a perfect nickle sound/vdi, which I think was either 145 or 146 with the number. I knew it was going to be a nickle, just was wondering if it was going to be a buffalo, V, or maybe my first ever shield nickle. At about 5 to 6" deep I figured it could be any of these or maybe even a clad because they sink fast here. Pop it out and it's very shinny. Knew right away what it was and sure enough- 1945 silver war nickle! Kept my silver streak alive with this coil. So far I think that makes four hunts hunting silver and these great coil has produced each time!
All my prior remarks still hold true about this coil. Was also once again able to run at max sensitivity. One thing I hadn't counted on with all the other bonuses of this coil is it's fantastic coverage. Every single positive thing I've read about this coil is true so far. The only thing I haven't done yet is dig a really deep coin with it, but to be fair yesterday's hunt was the only spot thus far where I knew there has to be real deep coins based on prior digs there and the nice rich deep black top soil present. Stay tuned for the first real deep one with this puppy, as I plan to hit some spots this week that offer this potential to reach down and find those!
Silver streak with this coil is still alive! So long as I'm hunting areas where silver coins should be present I'm counting those as keeping the streak going, but if I'm ring or clad hunting in places that I don't expect to find silver coins I'm not going to count that against my "streak".
Critterhunter
New member
For those keeping track (or not keeping track), in 4 old coin hunts so far I've dug- 1927 Merc, 1908D Barber, 1917D Merc (Missed it by one year!), 1911 Barber, 1945 Silver Jefferson, Unknown Date Buffalo, and a 1903 V nickle with the 15x12. Yea, I also dug a bunch of wheats but I don't get real excited about those. They are a good indicator that silver and other old coins should be present but really that's it for me in the "wow" factor. The first three hunts were 5 to 8 hours a piece but the last hunt was only an hour or so. Pretty impressive so far for about two to three weeks hunting with it so far. I'm not taking it off to put the 10" back on ever again probably, unless I decide to do some in field comparisons over undug targets...which I might do soon. Can't even force myself to take it off to put the S-5 through it's paces as I think I've only hunted with that little coil once so far and love it, but this SEF 15x12 is just awesome so far!
Kept this update short so you guys won't go to sleep before ordering one this time!
Kept this update short so you guys won't go to sleep before ordering one this time!
Critterhunter
New member
John(Tx) said:
Hmmmm....my quick little reply the other day is gone. Don't think I said anything wrong, so I'll try repeating it. Maybe the website just had a bug? All I said was any excuse to drink a six pack is a good one, so I'm glad you found my field report was at least of good use for that.
Thanks.Critterhunter
New member
Although I had planned on hunting in VA I never really got around to it due to my friend keeping me flying with our RC electric planes every day. So, I've been anxious to get out and do my next "serious" old coin hunt with the GT and 15x12 SEF. Saturday we hit the woods near a river and I ended up getting a good coin signal that I felt could be something good at roughly 3 to 5" deep (can't remember). Out popped a 1941 silver Washington. Called my friend over to re-sweep the hole since I wanted to have a victory smoke and we often let each other scan the immediate area the other guy hasn't pulled silver yet on a particular day. He swept the spot with his 6000 Pro XL and said "Think I've got a silver dime deeper in the same hole." He asked if I was sure I wanted him to dig it and I said go ahead. Out popped a 1941 Merc.
Then yesterday was my next "serious" hunt looking for old coins with the 15x12. We headed to a spot where the soil is that powdery black stuff that lets coins sink really deep and where we have pulled some really deep ones. Rosies and wheats tend to be 6" or deeper here. Mercs 7" or deeper, and this area has also produced barbers and seateds at even further depths. With my QXT Pro or my friend's 6000 Pro XL we pretty much max out at about 7 1/2" on a silver dime. A bit deeper for quarters or large cents. A friend who had an Etrac for a short while last summer popped a rosie and a merc at about 9", and also a seated dime at somewhere between 9 and 10" at this place. Needless to say I was anxious to give the GT a run at this spot, particularly with the 15x12.
I was able to hunt at max sensitivity which was good news because a nearby power source has caused some of our machines in the past to have to crank down the sensitivity a bit. Not a problem with the 15x12 and GT. This area is a very large mowed grass field so I figured I'd just wander around randomly and see if I could cherry pick some silver signals for the day to prove to myself that the 15x12 is getting deeper. Well, early on I must have hit 7 or 8 real solid "wheat penny" signals in the 7 to 8+" range judging by the sound. I know, those could easily be silver dimes under the right conditions that might cause them to read slightly lower in the penny range but that's for another day. I wanted this machine and coil to "carry" me to something easy and not iffy that I was pretty sure was going to be silver, meaning a 180 signal and perhaps one that hits 181 here and there as I've found with some other silver coins I've dug thus far with this machine. That also tend to have a slightly sweeter/smoother sound to them then pennies or clads.
Remember too that I'm "reaching" in depth here. Not having that much experience yet with how deep coins act on the GT let alone this coil I figured I'd dig any "iffy" 179 to 181 signals, so long as they were perhaps 75% "there" from any direction. Long story short I ended up chasing my tail on a lot of "phantom" signals that probably were iron spikes, digging down 9 to 11" only to have the signal go away on me. After digging about seven of those and finding nothing I figured I better check the next one in different ways. The next was like the others, in that it would get up to 180 for the most part one direction and might be harder to do from another but would hit up near there here and there. After I found this target I lowered the sensitivity about 1/8th of a turn and re-swept the target. Now it was even more telling that this target wasn't good. One way it was still decent but the other it was very degraded now. Just like on all other machines I've ever used maxing out sensitivity to a spot a bit higher than what would be considered stable by most people can cause a machine to get tricked by iron spikes, even if no solid iron target is present but rather just the remnants of some long ago nail or something's iron "ghost" is still floating around in the ground.
Now, don't for a second think that I feel the GT is prone to tricking you or this coil. Remember this signals were not very good at all. I was just digging them to investigate because I still have to learn what the real deep ones sound and act like with this machine. This were "coin" signals that sounded at least 9 to maybe 12" deep. Now that I know what those act and sound like with sensitivity maxed I'll be able to avoid most of those. If I knew this machine I would have never chased those targets, but you've got to dig to learn on a new machine. That was a very valuable lesson. Later I hit a few deep penny signals (copper memorials) that sounded and acted just like they should, so this confirmed to me that I can for the most part expect coins at depth to not be so wishy washy with their response, at least most of the time. As a result of my wasting time digging tunnels that led to nowhere I ended up getting nothing old in the less than two hours or so we hunted there, but next time I'll be covering more ground and not investigating targets that are trying to fool me. So long as they sound fairly loud (meaning in the 9" or more depth range, they should 95% of the time be good coin signals and not something that keeps changing on you.
My friend dug a Canadian bank token from 1840-something almost the size or the same as a large cent at 6 to 7". Knowing he out did me at this spot in the limited time we hunted it I was a little frustrated at myself for blowing all the time I had figuring out what I did above, so on the ride home I decided to hit a corner lot I did well with the Explorer at several years ago. This location has bad ground minerals, hot rocks, and some kind of nearby electrical interference making it impossible to hunt for ANY machine I've tried there in the past. Even the Explorer would not give perfect signals, but rather coin signals that were maybe only 75% "there". By digging those I was able to dig 3 large cents, a barber dime, a few mercs, and 3 or 4 indian heads. Knowing what I knew about the potential of this spot I figured it was time to give the SEF a run there and see what it could do. I had only hunted this spot one prior time with my GT I think, and didn't hunt for more than 30 minutes. In that time I recovered a copper compact case that give me a great signal yet somehow I missed with the Explorer. The GT seems to run much smoother at this location, and that was with the 10" stock coil.
So off I go with the 15x12 and begin my short hunt, as I was hungry and tired from the prior hunt earlier where I got skunked. After about 15 minutes of fooling around off and on with the manual sensitivity I wasn't sure if the iron in the ground was causing the threshold to blank here and there or if it was because I had the sensitivity too high with the nearby electrical noise. I'm not a big fan of auto sensitivity on any machine but I figured this would be a perfect time to see just what that function could do in smoothing out the threshold and to see just how deep it was going to hit on targets with the 15x12. In auto the machine was smooth as butter except for the occasional null from the tons of iron in the area. Not too long after that I get a smooth/sweet 180 signal from any direction that is also hitting 181 here and there. It was a solid lock and loud. Judging by the sound I was guessing 7" deep or so and knew it should be something good. Dug the plug and she's still deeper in the hole. Take out another inch or so of dirt and out pops a Standing Liberty Quarter! That's my third ever I think. Stuck the digger into the hole to measure the depth and she was resting at about 6 and 3/4" deep. Not bad considering all the above problems with this site. Not only that, but I've gridded this particular spot with the Explorer several times! It was NOT an iffy signal. Classic text book silver coin signal. Score another for the GT, and yet another for the SEF!
Oh, almost forgot...When I was at the first spot that day where I said the deep coins are I got a solid (but slightly jumpy in VDI) signal. Knowing that the round tabs at this spot only go about 6" deep I figured anything beyond that I'm digging in the hopes of a gold ring or some other good find. Anyway, this target was loud & "solid" but not perfect like a ring, in that it was jumping about and down the scale by say 3 or 4 digits here in there. Still, it sounded pretty deep so I was digging it. I removed about 9" with the plug I dug because I knew this target was at least this deep or deeper. Checked the plug with my ProPointer and it's not there. Check the hole and the target was there but still yet deeper my ProPointer was telling me. Somewhere in the 10" range or maybe deeper (can't remember the length of my handle on my digger but the blade is 7") I find the target, and it was a little tiny piece of foil about half the size of your pinkie finger nail! I thought "Can't be just that...Must be another target in there". I checked the hole with my GT and also my pinpointer some more and found nothing else. Now THAT'S DEEP for something smaller than a half dime with very low conductivity! Are you telling me that the GT and this coil aren't going to hit silver dimes and other coins MUCH deeper than that? Let's put it this way, I can't wait to get back to some of my deep coin spots and prove that the combination of this machine and that coil is (like I've said before) "probably getting deeper than anything on the planet"!
Then yesterday was my next "serious" hunt looking for old coins with the 15x12. We headed to a spot where the soil is that powdery black stuff that lets coins sink really deep and where we have pulled some really deep ones. Rosies and wheats tend to be 6" or deeper here. Mercs 7" or deeper, and this area has also produced barbers and seateds at even further depths. With my QXT Pro or my friend's 6000 Pro XL we pretty much max out at about 7 1/2" on a silver dime. A bit deeper for quarters or large cents. A friend who had an Etrac for a short while last summer popped a rosie and a merc at about 9", and also a seated dime at somewhere between 9 and 10" at this place. Needless to say I was anxious to give the GT a run at this spot, particularly with the 15x12.
I was able to hunt at max sensitivity which was good news because a nearby power source has caused some of our machines in the past to have to crank down the sensitivity a bit. Not a problem with the 15x12 and GT. This area is a very large mowed grass field so I figured I'd just wander around randomly and see if I could cherry pick some silver signals for the day to prove to myself that the 15x12 is getting deeper. Well, early on I must have hit 7 or 8 real solid "wheat penny" signals in the 7 to 8+" range judging by the sound. I know, those could easily be silver dimes under the right conditions that might cause them to read slightly lower in the penny range but that's for another day. I wanted this machine and coil to "carry" me to something easy and not iffy that I was pretty sure was going to be silver, meaning a 180 signal and perhaps one that hits 181 here and there as I've found with some other silver coins I've dug thus far with this machine. That also tend to have a slightly sweeter/smoother sound to them then pennies or clads.
Remember too that I'm "reaching" in depth here. Not having that much experience yet with how deep coins act on the GT let alone this coil I figured I'd dig any "iffy" 179 to 181 signals, so long as they were perhaps 75% "there" from any direction. Long story short I ended up chasing my tail on a lot of "phantom" signals that probably were iron spikes, digging down 9 to 11" only to have the signal go away on me. After digging about seven of those and finding nothing I figured I better check the next one in different ways. The next was like the others, in that it would get up to 180 for the most part one direction and might be harder to do from another but would hit up near there here and there. After I found this target I lowered the sensitivity about 1/8th of a turn and re-swept the target. Now it was even more telling that this target wasn't good. One way it was still decent but the other it was very degraded now. Just like on all other machines I've ever used maxing out sensitivity to a spot a bit higher than what would be considered stable by most people can cause a machine to get tricked by iron spikes, even if no solid iron target is present but rather just the remnants of some long ago nail or something's iron "ghost" is still floating around in the ground.
Now, don't for a second think that I feel the GT is prone to tricking you or this coil. Remember this signals were not very good at all. I was just digging them to investigate because I still have to learn what the real deep ones sound and act like with this machine. This were "coin" signals that sounded at least 9 to maybe 12" deep. Now that I know what those act and sound like with sensitivity maxed I'll be able to avoid most of those. If I knew this machine I would have never chased those targets, but you've got to dig to learn on a new machine. That was a very valuable lesson. Later I hit a few deep penny signals (copper memorials) that sounded and acted just like they should, so this confirmed to me that I can for the most part expect coins at depth to not be so wishy washy with their response, at least most of the time. As a result of my wasting time digging tunnels that led to nowhere I ended up getting nothing old in the less than two hours or so we hunted there, but next time I'll be covering more ground and not investigating targets that are trying to fool me. So long as they sound fairly loud (meaning in the 9" or more depth range, they should 95% of the time be good coin signals and not something that keeps changing on you.
My friend dug a Canadian bank token from 1840-something almost the size or the same as a large cent at 6 to 7". Knowing he out did me at this spot in the limited time we hunted it I was a little frustrated at myself for blowing all the time I had figuring out what I did above, so on the ride home I decided to hit a corner lot I did well with the Explorer at several years ago. This location has bad ground minerals, hot rocks, and some kind of nearby electrical interference making it impossible to hunt for ANY machine I've tried there in the past. Even the Explorer would not give perfect signals, but rather coin signals that were maybe only 75% "there". By digging those I was able to dig 3 large cents, a barber dime, a few mercs, and 3 or 4 indian heads. Knowing what I knew about the potential of this spot I figured it was time to give the SEF a run there and see what it could do. I had only hunted this spot one prior time with my GT I think, and didn't hunt for more than 30 minutes. In that time I recovered a copper compact case that give me a great signal yet somehow I missed with the Explorer. The GT seems to run much smoother at this location, and that was with the 10" stock coil.
So off I go with the 15x12 and begin my short hunt, as I was hungry and tired from the prior hunt earlier where I got skunked. After about 15 minutes of fooling around off and on with the manual sensitivity I wasn't sure if the iron in the ground was causing the threshold to blank here and there or if it was because I had the sensitivity too high with the nearby electrical noise. I'm not a big fan of auto sensitivity on any machine but I figured this would be a perfect time to see just what that function could do in smoothing out the threshold and to see just how deep it was going to hit on targets with the 15x12. In auto the machine was smooth as butter except for the occasional null from the tons of iron in the area. Not too long after that I get a smooth/sweet 180 signal from any direction that is also hitting 181 here and there. It was a solid lock and loud. Judging by the sound I was guessing 7" deep or so and knew it should be something good. Dug the plug and she's still deeper in the hole. Take out another inch or so of dirt and out pops a Standing Liberty Quarter! That's my third ever I think. Stuck the digger into the hole to measure the depth and she was resting at about 6 and 3/4" deep. Not bad considering all the above problems with this site. Not only that, but I've gridded this particular spot with the Explorer several times! It was NOT an iffy signal. Classic text book silver coin signal. Score another for the GT, and yet another for the SEF!
Oh, almost forgot...When I was at the first spot that day where I said the deep coins are I got a solid (but slightly jumpy in VDI) signal. Knowing that the round tabs at this spot only go about 6" deep I figured anything beyond that I'm digging in the hopes of a gold ring or some other good find. Anyway, this target was loud & "solid" but not perfect like a ring, in that it was jumping about and down the scale by say 3 or 4 digits here in there. Still, it sounded pretty deep so I was digging it. I removed about 9" with the plug I dug because I knew this target was at least this deep or deeper. Checked the plug with my ProPointer and it's not there. Check the hole and the target was there but still yet deeper my ProPointer was telling me. Somewhere in the 10" range or maybe deeper (can't remember the length of my handle on my digger but the blade is 7") I find the target, and it was a little tiny piece of foil about half the size of your pinkie finger nail! I thought "Can't be just that...Must be another target in there". I checked the hole with my GT and also my pinpointer some more and found nothing else. Now THAT'S DEEP for something smaller than a half dime with very low conductivity! Are you telling me that the GT and this coil aren't going to hit silver dimes and other coins MUCH deeper than that? Let's put it this way, I can't wait to get back to some of my deep coin spots and prove that the combination of this machine and that coil is (like I've said before) "probably getting deeper than anything on the planet"!
Critterhunter
New member
Thanks. I want to point out a few things that I forgot to highlight as important: First, I am VERY impressed that the GT and the SEF got me that standing liberty quarter at that one site. Reasons being that one I had gridded that spot several times over with the Explorer and didn't get that quarter. Second, even coins I did pop there with the Explorer were not perfect being only about 75% good due to the harsh conditions. Third, I was using the GT in auto and would have expected it to adjust down much further due to the negative hunting elements, yet it still hit loud, perfect, and clear on that quarter at almost 7" deep. Not very deep in respect to what the GT is able to do, but with the RF noise, iron, hot rocks, and heavy ground minerals I would have expected that coin to only be a whisper because I was in auto. I've hunted that area with the Explorer in both auto and manual several times over and it did not get that coin. Keep in mind also that I wasn't there for more than thirty minutes so I'd expect the GT to do it's thing with more coins in this spot. I want to play with manual sensitivity and auto on several targets to see what it's doing. Like I said before, I'm no big fan of auto on machines but some times you are too tired and the conditions are too harsh to want to play with manual to get things perfect when you don't have a lot of time to hunt.
This all confirms what I've already found out for myself by re-hunting spots I've gridded prior with the Explorers I've owned. The GT runs smoother in the harshest of ground conditions at higher sensitivity settings. Not only that, but even in good ground I've dug several coins thus far (two of which being a v-nickle and an indian head) deeper than I've ever dug ANY coin with my Explorers. They gave perfect signals as well and were not just some signal I took a long shot on that ended up being a coin. This was also at a spot I've gridded at least 3 or 4 times with my Explorers from several directions and with several different settings to try to clean the area out. I've read this from others as well...that the Sovereign seems to go deeper for some and run smoother at higher settings than the Explorers they've used or even the Etrac. I've heard this both on the beach and on land, and as said I've found this to be true for me as well.
This all confirms what I've already found out for myself by re-hunting spots I've gridded prior with the Explorers I've owned. The GT runs smoother in the harshest of ground conditions at higher sensitivity settings. Not only that, but even in good ground I've dug several coins thus far (two of which being a v-nickle and an indian head) deeper than I've ever dug ANY coin with my Explorers. They gave perfect signals as well and were not just some signal I took a long shot on that ended up being a coin. This was also at a spot I've gridded at least 3 or 4 times with my Explorers from several directions and with several different settings to try to clean the area out. I've read this from others as well...that the Sovereign seems to go deeper for some and run smoother at higher settings than the Explorers they've used or even the Etrac. I've heard this both on the beach and on land, and as said I've found this to be true for me as well.
Critterhunter
New member
Well, as I said about three (?) days or so ago I dug a standing liberty quarter, which was my third now that I've thought about it. Yesterday I completed the Trifecta Of Silver Quarters, and in a big way! First target I got was just under 7" deep and was giving a good coin signal and sound one way but was dropping down to about 176 in both ID and tone here and there swept from the other direction. Any other time I might have thought this was a screw cap (but it sounded less "sick and warbly" than those do. I dug the plug and couldn't located the target with my pinpointer. A friend was nearby so I asked him to scan it with his 6000 Pro XL. He said it was reading "Half" for him and pinpointed it for me.
Well, the reason why I was off with my pinpoint and also why the ID was dropping down one way a bit for me was because not only was an 1893 Barber quarter in the hole but also a buffalo and a wheat penny! I was running in auto sensitivity as well so that might have caused the machine to not hit as hard on the quarter as it tried to "smooth" out the signal with the very nearby other targets (buff and wheat).
Later on I get yet another similar signal, good one way but dropping a hair in both ID and tone to like 176 the other way here and there. I could get it to climb to 180 this way as well but it wasn't as effortless as the 180 the other. Now this time I was in manual but had the sensitivity way low. I almost never will hunt like that and like to max it out as high as it will remain stable but for some reason I had it set pretty darn low, like very near the lowest manual setting.
Anyway, I dig the target half expecting a screw cap but knew it sounded better like above and hadn't dug any of those yet at this site. Down about 6 and 1/2" with the plug and the ProPointer tells me the target is still in the hole. I cut another layer of dirt about half an inch or so deep and pop that new "bottom" plug out of the hole and instantly I see something silver the size of a quarter! There was dirt on it so I didn't know what it was yet and called my friend over to do the honors of wiping the dirt away.
He instantly says something like "NO WAY!" and I knew by his response it must be something even more special than your "average" silver Washington. In fact, he was even more excited than when he saw the Barber quarter, so my response was "Don't tell me it's SEATED!" YEP! My first Seated Quarter! In fact, that's only my second Seated coin having dug an 1891 (?) Seated dime last year that was very worn. My oldest silver coin thus far was an 1835 Bust dime I dug about four or five years ago along with a large cent in the same hole. Sure, I've got some large cents from the 1840's but this is still a milestone in many ways for me.
Upon closer inspection it got even better! Now only was it an 1855 but the thing is in mint condition I can find no trace of wear on this coin. But, to my horror, I noticed a little notch at the very edge of the coin! I start chewing myself out for scratching this baby when I realized it wasn't shiny in that spot like it would be with a fresh scratch. I flip it over and see another tiny notch almost in the same spot but offset from the other by just a little bit. I instantly knew what this was, as I've dug quite a few coins this way in the woods. Many hunters would (and still do to this day) use a coin to adjust the sites on their guns. Usually it's a dime that they use but just the same this quarter might have been used as a similar "screwdriver" for that or some other task out in the bush. Just the same, it's a small notch and smaller on the other side, and at least it's at the very edge and not in the middle. I'd rather have a coin in "uncirculated" condition with a small nick at the edge than one that is worn without any flaws at all.
So we look in the coin book and go by the grading guide and pictures and sure enough this old girl shows no signs of wear at all. Not only that, but she'd be a $1350 coin had it not been for that little nick. The next grade down is about $575, so I'm thinking this coin might at least be worth around that depending on the right buyer who can "appreciate" the history been on the two offset nicks on opposite sides of the coin. After all, every girl has a mole somewhere on her body but that doesn't make her any less pretty.
So if it was only about 7" deep then why the slightly lower or at least harder to get to "180" response from the other way? Remember I was in very low manual sensitivity and also this coin WAS on edge. The barber quarter's similar response was due to the other coins with it. I'm going to have to play with some screw caps and coins on edge or mixed with others to make sure my ear is right for hearing the difference, which I think I already know how to do.
Sorry about the pictures. My camera's close up focus stinks! In the pictures the coin might look worn due to the blurry photos but it's not in the least bit. Everything is sharp- feathers, knees, edges, etc. Remember too that these coins have a smooth edge between the ridging so don't let that fool you. Also, before somebody busts my chops about cleaning it I just *DONT* care. I'm one of those guys who doesn't like black stains on my coins, so save the lecture. I was gentle with it.
The others are what else I've dug with the SEF in like 7 or 8 (?) total "old coin" hunts thus far. Remember too that there should be a third merc in this picture that was in the hole with the Washington but I let a friend go for that one since he was getting skunked that day. Not bad at all considering some of those hunts were well less than an hour in time. Silver war nickle next to today's buffalo, and I've dug a few other "non-silver" coins with this coil to thus far. I'm loving it. Still nothing super deep with this coil yet but that will come I'm sure based on the depth of some tiny targets I've dug with it.
Well, the reason why I was off with my pinpoint and also why the ID was dropping down one way a bit for me was because not only was an 1893 Barber quarter in the hole but also a buffalo and a wheat penny! I was running in auto sensitivity as well so that might have caused the machine to not hit as hard on the quarter as it tried to "smooth" out the signal with the very nearby other targets (buff and wheat).
Later on I get yet another similar signal, good one way but dropping a hair in both ID and tone to like 176 the other way here and there. I could get it to climb to 180 this way as well but it wasn't as effortless as the 180 the other. Now this time I was in manual but had the sensitivity way low. I almost never will hunt like that and like to max it out as high as it will remain stable but for some reason I had it set pretty darn low, like very near the lowest manual setting.
Anyway, I dig the target half expecting a screw cap but knew it sounded better like above and hadn't dug any of those yet at this site. Down about 6 and 1/2" with the plug and the ProPointer tells me the target is still in the hole. I cut another layer of dirt about half an inch or so deep and pop that new "bottom" plug out of the hole and instantly I see something silver the size of a quarter! There was dirt on it so I didn't know what it was yet and called my friend over to do the honors of wiping the dirt away.
He instantly says something like "NO WAY!" and I knew by his response it must be something even more special than your "average" silver Washington. In fact, he was even more excited than when he saw the Barber quarter, so my response was "Don't tell me it's SEATED!" YEP! My first Seated Quarter! In fact, that's only my second Seated coin having dug an 1891 (?) Seated dime last year that was very worn. My oldest silver coin thus far was an 1835 Bust dime I dug about four or five years ago along with a large cent in the same hole. Sure, I've got some large cents from the 1840's but this is still a milestone in many ways for me.
Upon closer inspection it got even better! Now only was it an 1855 but the thing is in mint condition I can find no trace of wear on this coin. But, to my horror, I noticed a little notch at the very edge of the coin! I start chewing myself out for scratching this baby when I realized it wasn't shiny in that spot like it would be with a fresh scratch. I flip it over and see another tiny notch almost in the same spot but offset from the other by just a little bit. I instantly knew what this was, as I've dug quite a few coins this way in the woods. Many hunters would (and still do to this day) use a coin to adjust the sites on their guns. Usually it's a dime that they use but just the same this quarter might have been used as a similar "screwdriver" for that or some other task out in the bush. Just the same, it's a small notch and smaller on the other side, and at least it's at the very edge and not in the middle. I'd rather have a coin in "uncirculated" condition with a small nick at the edge than one that is worn without any flaws at all.
So we look in the coin book and go by the grading guide and pictures and sure enough this old girl shows no signs of wear at all. Not only that, but she'd be a $1350 coin had it not been for that little nick. The next grade down is about $575, so I'm thinking this coin might at least be worth around that depending on the right buyer who can "appreciate" the history been on the two offset nicks on opposite sides of the coin. After all, every girl has a mole somewhere on her body but that doesn't make her any less pretty.
So if it was only about 7" deep then why the slightly lower or at least harder to get to "180" response from the other way? Remember I was in very low manual sensitivity and also this coin WAS on edge. The barber quarter's similar response was due to the other coins with it. I'm going to have to play with some screw caps and coins on edge or mixed with others to make sure my ear is right for hearing the difference, which I think I already know how to do.
Sorry about the pictures. My camera's close up focus stinks! In the pictures the coin might look worn due to the blurry photos but it's not in the least bit. Everything is sharp- feathers, knees, edges, etc. Remember too that these coins have a smooth edge between the ridging so don't let that fool you. Also, before somebody busts my chops about cleaning it I just *DONT* care. I'm one of those guys who doesn't like black stains on my coins, so save the lecture. I was gentle with it.
The others are what else I've dug with the SEF in like 7 or 8 (?) total "old coin" hunts thus far. Remember too that there should be a third merc in this picture that was in the hole with the Washington but I let a friend go for that one since he was getting skunked that day. Not bad at all considering some of those hunts were well less than an hour in time. Silver war nickle next to today's buffalo, and I've dug a few other "non-silver" coins with this coil to thus far. I'm loving it. Still nothing super deep with this coil yet but that will come I'm sure based on the depth of some tiny targets I've dug with it.
Critterhunter
New member
Thanks. I'm going to try to get some clear up close pictures of this coin for everybody to see. It's really a nice coin. Digging any seated would be a thrill but the condition it's in made that even more exciting.
I was out with the 15x12 yesterday hunting a spot I've pounded with the Explorer years prior. This is the same spot I dug the standing liberty quarter at the other day. Once again I figured I'd run it in auto because of the iron, hot rocks, mineralization, and electrical noise in the area. While I didn't find any silver in this hunt which lasted less than an hour, I did dig three copper memorial pennies (not together, in separate locations) that were each about 5" deep.
What was impressive was that each had large amounts of iron (and even some very big iron) within an inch or so of them. The pennies gave me 179 signals only from one direction, while any other sweeping around the targets from different angles would not produce anything but an iron null. Still, I *KNEW* these were pennies based on the perfect audio and VDI from the one single direction. They gave no reason to doubt them, unlike iron that might give a faint/ghostly coin signal from one direction but it sounds very weak and washed out or "thin" in it's audio response.
This is just one criteria people can use to tell the difference between a coin spike from a piece of iron versus a real coin laying next to iron. Another trick is to go into pinpoint or all metal and see if there are two targets there, or to see if the coin spot changes it's location from where it is in discriminate. If it moves on you then there's a good chance it's not a coin, but be careful that you simply are now just picking up other iron or trash while the coin isn't locking on due to it being smaller or deeper.
Also, I once again dug a few targets that PP could not hear at all, further at least thus far proving to me that it's not as deep as discrimination on the GT for me.
I was out with the 15x12 yesterday hunting a spot I've pounded with the Explorer years prior. This is the same spot I dug the standing liberty quarter at the other day. Once again I figured I'd run it in auto because of the iron, hot rocks, mineralization, and electrical noise in the area. While I didn't find any silver in this hunt which lasted less than an hour, I did dig three copper memorial pennies (not together, in separate locations) that were each about 5" deep.
What was impressive was that each had large amounts of iron (and even some very big iron) within an inch or so of them. The pennies gave me 179 signals only from one direction, while any other sweeping around the targets from different angles would not produce anything but an iron null. Still, I *KNEW* these were pennies based on the perfect audio and VDI from the one single direction. They gave no reason to doubt them, unlike iron that might give a faint/ghostly coin signal from one direction but it sounds very weak and washed out or "thin" in it's audio response.
This is just one criteria people can use to tell the difference between a coin spike from a piece of iron versus a real coin laying next to iron. Another trick is to go into pinpoint or all metal and see if there are two targets there, or to see if the coin spot changes it's location from where it is in discriminate. If it moves on you then there's a good chance it's not a coin, but be careful that you simply are now just picking up other iron or trash while the coin isn't locking on due to it being smaller or deeper.
Also, I once again dug a few targets that PP could not hear at all, further at least thus far proving to me that it's not as deep as discrimination on the GT for me.
Critterhunter
New member
I got out yesterday for another old coin hunt along an old dirt footpath which borders a river. There is a steep ridge on the other side of this path so the huntable area width wise varies from about 10 to 20 yards, even down to maybe 5 yards in certain spots where the ridge/river squeeze the path here and there.
The area is loaded with trash in spots, broken glass, old bricks, and so on. In fact, we found a few old cork bottles so that told me the area had plenty of activity going back to the 1800's. It was obvious after digging only pennies and the occasional clad that somebody had picked over this area pretty hard. It looked like they cherry picked the silver signals and any penny signals that were deep enough to be wheats or indians, because the penny signals we ran across were 3" deep or less. Still, with the power of the GT at both depth and unmasking ability combined with the added enhancements to those features that the 15x12 gives me, I'm always confident in working areas that others have hit hard. In fact, even if I was just using the GT with the 10" stock coil I'd have this confidence, but the SEF makes that feeling even stronger.
The area varied from deep black soil to clay, shale, and hot rocks in various spots. Still, I was able to run the GT at max sensitivity with no falsing, other than the occasional hit on iron, which was thick in some areas. This coil and the GT ran smooth as silk for the most part for me with no need to compromise on sensitivity.
About an hour or so into working this trail and the small wooded edges on either side of it between the ridge and the river I hit a deep 180 "coin" signal that sounded smooth and gave the proper ID from any direction. The audio was still loud but I could tell by it's level of loudness that this target was probably 9" or deeper based on my experience with prior dug targets at other sites.
Pinpoint could not hear the target at all. After more experience with pinpoint I'm convinced more than ever that it doesn't go anywhere near as deep as discrimination. PP seems to no longer be able to see a coin sized target once it get's passed about 8". For sure it doesn't go any deeper than 9", but I can pinpoint targets at about 7.5 to 7.75" deep, so I'm guessing it can't see targets deeper than somewhere in the 8" range or so. This makes for a good depth tool for those who have trouble determining depth by sound some times. If PP isn't picking it up you can figure the target is at least 8" deep or deeper. All this is based on this SEF 15x12 coil, of course, so you're results may vairy with other coils.
Anyway, since I had a feeling this was going to be a coin and was at least positive that it was not some kind of ghost signal or iron spike because it locked on solid and just sounded too good, I decided to play with my settings a bit to see how they reacted with this deep signal. I was pretty sure this was going to be the deepest target I've dug yet with my GT and any coil, or with any detector for that matter. Thus far the deepest coins I've ever dug on any machine were probably an indian and a v-nickle that were roughly 9 1/2" deep or so with the 10" coil on the GT. For all those reasons I wanted to play with this target and see what certain things did.
First thing I tried was flipping over to Silent Search and the GT had no problem still hitting hard and perfect on the target. It sounded just as good and exactly the same as it did in threshold mode, just without the constant background hum of the threshold. Next thing I did was to throw the GT into auto sensitivity and it could no longer hear the target let alone even null over it. Based on this and other tests I've done I'm guessing that automatic sensitivity maxes out at about 7 to 8" on the GT, maybe a little deeper if it isn't adjusting down too far due to RF noise or minerilzation/iron. Even at the spot the other day where I dug the standing liberty quarter it hit hard at like 7" or so, and that site had iron/minerals/and RF noise all working against it, so that was pretty impressive.
I then put the sensitivity back into manual and dropped it to 12 o'clock, or the halfway point. The GT could just hear the target and sound off but it wasn't hitting it hard or giving the proper ID. It mostly ranged in the 150's or so but never locked onto a specific number. That was very informative on what to expect from deep "coin" signals that are just out of range. I then moved it to halfway between that and max sensitivity, or in other words about the 9 o'clock position. The target was perfect again with loud audio and a 180 VDI. Even more impressive, because that's telling me that if the GT can hit this signal at that setting with no problem then I bet max sensitivity is pushing MUCH deeper than this target appeared to be.
Now I was anxious to see if this was a coin and more importantly how deep it was. After digging down probably 9+ inches I'm still not hearing the target with my ProPointer. Dug another inch or two down and now the propointer is picking it up, AND it looks like it's a coin sized target! Dug down another inch or so and still wasn't seeing it. Now I'm being real careful as I dig at the bottom of the hole because I know it's very close. I also wanted to see how this target was sitting in the ground.
Well, I wish I could say it was some old coin or other good find but as anti-climatic as this is going to be the target turned out to be a fishing sinker. But, I was still happy with the find only because of the good 5 to 8 minutes I spent playing with the GT to see where various things stand with it and the SEF coil. The sinker is only a little bigger around than a crayon and about one inch long. Not only that but it was standing straight up, presenting a very small image for the SEF coil to see. I know it was because I was careful thinking this could be a good coin and was slowly removing the dirt with my fingers. So, despite it not being a "keeper" it did show me a lot about the potential of the GT, this coil, and the various settings. As most of you know a lot of sinkers will give rather good/smooth coin signals. For that reason, it's depth, and the good ID/sound I got out of it I'm more convinced this coil is going to hammer some real deep coins even though I haven't dug any yet (but still haven't really hunted known deep coin sites with it yet either, not for any length of time anyway).
Oh, I forgot to tell you the depth...My digger is 11" long from tip to tail and that's how deep this sinker was! Yes, I've heard of the 10" coil and even the 8" Coinsearch hitting coins this deep and even at 12" or a bit deeper, but like I said I'm just happy this coild is at least getting that depth. Judging by how hard it hit and perfectly ID'd it, along with the same happening even at 3/4 sensitivity, I've got the added confidence that this coil and max sensitivity might be getting another 3 to 5" deeper on coins when conditions are right. This jives with what I've read about others using it, getting coins well into the "teens" as far as depth goes.
Oh, one more thing. I did dig a 1947 rosie. Not more than 3" deep, but laying in an area that had a lot of trash. Gave a good 181 signal both ways. Don't know how the prior guys who must have worked this site missed that. Well, I do know how...They weren't using an SEF! This spot was only about ten feet by 5 feet and right along the dirt path's edge so I know people would have worked it. Also, it had some large old oak trees nearby and a great view that would have drawn them to hunt it like a magnet. Not sure if it was on edge or not, but if anything I bet the trash kept it hidden from "lessor" coils and detectors.
The area is loaded with trash in spots, broken glass, old bricks, and so on. In fact, we found a few old cork bottles so that told me the area had plenty of activity going back to the 1800's. It was obvious after digging only pennies and the occasional clad that somebody had picked over this area pretty hard. It looked like they cherry picked the silver signals and any penny signals that were deep enough to be wheats or indians, because the penny signals we ran across were 3" deep or less. Still, with the power of the GT at both depth and unmasking ability combined with the added enhancements to those features that the 15x12 gives me, I'm always confident in working areas that others have hit hard. In fact, even if I was just using the GT with the 10" stock coil I'd have this confidence, but the SEF makes that feeling even stronger.
The area varied from deep black soil to clay, shale, and hot rocks in various spots. Still, I was able to run the GT at max sensitivity with no falsing, other than the occasional hit on iron, which was thick in some areas. This coil and the GT ran smooth as silk for the most part for me with no need to compromise on sensitivity.
About an hour or so into working this trail and the small wooded edges on either side of it between the ridge and the river I hit a deep 180 "coin" signal that sounded smooth and gave the proper ID from any direction. The audio was still loud but I could tell by it's level of loudness that this target was probably 9" or deeper based on my experience with prior dug targets at other sites.
Pinpoint could not hear the target at all. After more experience with pinpoint I'm convinced more than ever that it doesn't go anywhere near as deep as discrimination. PP seems to no longer be able to see a coin sized target once it get's passed about 8". For sure it doesn't go any deeper than 9", but I can pinpoint targets at about 7.5 to 7.75" deep, so I'm guessing it can't see targets deeper than somewhere in the 8" range or so. This makes for a good depth tool for those who have trouble determining depth by sound some times. If PP isn't picking it up you can figure the target is at least 8" deep or deeper. All this is based on this SEF 15x12 coil, of course, so you're results may vairy with other coils.
Anyway, since I had a feeling this was going to be a coin and was at least positive that it was not some kind of ghost signal or iron spike because it locked on solid and just sounded too good, I decided to play with my settings a bit to see how they reacted with this deep signal. I was pretty sure this was going to be the deepest target I've dug yet with my GT and any coil, or with any detector for that matter. Thus far the deepest coins I've ever dug on any machine were probably an indian and a v-nickle that were roughly 9 1/2" deep or so with the 10" coil on the GT. For all those reasons I wanted to play with this target and see what certain things did.
First thing I tried was flipping over to Silent Search and the GT had no problem still hitting hard and perfect on the target. It sounded just as good and exactly the same as it did in threshold mode, just without the constant background hum of the threshold. Next thing I did was to throw the GT into auto sensitivity and it could no longer hear the target let alone even null over it. Based on this and other tests I've done I'm guessing that automatic sensitivity maxes out at about 7 to 8" on the GT, maybe a little deeper if it isn't adjusting down too far due to RF noise or minerilzation/iron. Even at the spot the other day where I dug the standing liberty quarter it hit hard at like 7" or so, and that site had iron/minerals/and RF noise all working against it, so that was pretty impressive.
I then put the sensitivity back into manual and dropped it to 12 o'clock, or the halfway point. The GT could just hear the target and sound off but it wasn't hitting it hard or giving the proper ID. It mostly ranged in the 150's or so but never locked onto a specific number. That was very informative on what to expect from deep "coin" signals that are just out of range. I then moved it to halfway between that and max sensitivity, or in other words about the 9 o'clock position. The target was perfect again with loud audio and a 180 VDI. Even more impressive, because that's telling me that if the GT can hit this signal at that setting with no problem then I bet max sensitivity is pushing MUCH deeper than this target appeared to be.
Now I was anxious to see if this was a coin and more importantly how deep it was. After digging down probably 9+ inches I'm still not hearing the target with my ProPointer. Dug another inch or two down and now the propointer is picking it up, AND it looks like it's a coin sized target! Dug down another inch or so and still wasn't seeing it. Now I'm being real careful as I dig at the bottom of the hole because I know it's very close. I also wanted to see how this target was sitting in the ground.
Well, I wish I could say it was some old coin or other good find but as anti-climatic as this is going to be the target turned out to be a fishing sinker. But, I was still happy with the find only because of the good 5 to 8 minutes I spent playing with the GT to see where various things stand with it and the SEF coil. The sinker is only a little bigger around than a crayon and about one inch long. Not only that but it was standing straight up, presenting a very small image for the SEF coil to see. I know it was because I was careful thinking this could be a good coin and was slowly removing the dirt with my fingers. So, despite it not being a "keeper" it did show me a lot about the potential of the GT, this coil, and the various settings. As most of you know a lot of sinkers will give rather good/smooth coin signals. For that reason, it's depth, and the good ID/sound I got out of it I'm more convinced this coil is going to hammer some real deep coins even though I haven't dug any yet (but still haven't really hunted known deep coin sites with it yet either, not for any length of time anyway).
Oh, I forgot to tell you the depth...My digger is 11" long from tip to tail and that's how deep this sinker was! Yes, I've heard of the 10" coil and even the 8" Coinsearch hitting coins this deep and even at 12" or a bit deeper, but like I said I'm just happy this coild is at least getting that depth. Judging by how hard it hit and perfectly ID'd it, along with the same happening even at 3/4 sensitivity, I've got the added confidence that this coil and max sensitivity might be getting another 3 to 5" deeper on coins when conditions are right. This jives with what I've read about others using it, getting coins well into the "teens" as far as depth goes.
Oh, one more thing. I did dig a 1947 rosie. Not more than 3" deep, but laying in an area that had a lot of trash. Gave a good 181 signal both ways. Don't know how the prior guys who must have worked this site missed that. Well, I do know how...They weren't using an SEF! This spot was only about ten feet by 5 feet and right along the dirt path's edge so I know people would have worked it. Also, it had some large old oak trees nearby and a great view that would have drawn them to hunt it like a magnet. Not sure if it was on edge or not, but if anything I bet the trash kept it hidden from "lessor" coils and detectors.
Critterhunter
New member
Well, I wouldn't say the GT isn't a good relic machine. When it comes to iron targets you can always hunt in All Metal and thus far it shows very respectable depth in that mode, just not as deep (I think, but still more tests to do) as discrimination. Another way to hunt for iron relics would be to simple listen for the threshold to null in discrimination, and then flip over to All Metal to hear and check the "target".
Nope, my GT doesn't have the Dixie Mods. I may look into that down the road but need somebody with a GT to confirm that it's giving them a little more depth. I know many say it does for older Sovereign models.
I posted a little incorrect info on the depth of pinpoint. I'm pretty sure it can reach to about 9 to 9 and 3/4th inches in depth on coin sized targets, at least some times. I know for sure it's at least about 8" deep or so, but I think I've pinpointed some coin sized stuff up to about 9 and 3/4" with it and could still hear it. Anything past that depth that is coin sized in general I can't even hear in PP. Remember, this is on the 15x12. Results may be different with other coils.
Also, what I find curious is that auto sensitivity in discrimination is roughly about the same depth as PP is even if I go to PP with the sensitivity maxed. Meaning, if I'm hunting in auto discrimination seems to max out somewhere in the 8 to 9" range or so under ideal conditions (again, on this coil). Maybe a little deeper. When I'm hunting with full manual sensitivity and then switch over to PP it's about only around that deep. For those reasons I wonder if PP switches over to an auto sensitivity mode to compensate for it's lack of ground balance (manual says ground balance is disabled in the all metal PP mode). That might explain why it's roughly about the same depth as discrimination in auto, if you know what I'm trying to say here.
I still need some practice with pinpointing in discrimination when PP can't hear the target. Normally in PP mode with the SEF coil I just walk the coil backwards with short wiggles until the target no longer makes any sound. I'll then do the same process from a 90 degree angle and then the target will be right at the base of the "V" at the very top of the coil. When the target is too deep for PP I've been just using the center of the coil and trying to mark the target with short sweeps one way, then moving 90 degrees and doing the same there. So far my accuracy doing it that way in discrimination leaves much to be desired. Now I'm wondering if I should be doing the same "base of the V" method I use in PP to find the target in discrimination? It looks like this coil is just as deep from tip to toe so I would figure that would work. However, if the concentric hybrid part of this coil makes it slightly deeper in the center then that method might not work and I'd have to use the center of the coil on really deep stuff at the fringes. I don't think so, though. If anybody has any input on this let me know, otherwise I'll just have to test it out in the field to figure things out for pinpointing in discrimination.
Nope, my GT doesn't have the Dixie Mods. I may look into that down the road but need somebody with a GT to confirm that it's giving them a little more depth. I know many say it does for older Sovereign models.
I posted a little incorrect info on the depth of pinpoint. I'm pretty sure it can reach to about 9 to 9 and 3/4th inches in depth on coin sized targets, at least some times. I know for sure it's at least about 8" deep or so, but I think I've pinpointed some coin sized stuff up to about 9 and 3/4" with it and could still hear it. Anything past that depth that is coin sized in general I can't even hear in PP. Remember, this is on the 15x12. Results may be different with other coils.
Also, what I find curious is that auto sensitivity in discrimination is roughly about the same depth as PP is even if I go to PP with the sensitivity maxed. Meaning, if I'm hunting in auto discrimination seems to max out somewhere in the 8 to 9" range or so under ideal conditions (again, on this coil). Maybe a little deeper. When I'm hunting with full manual sensitivity and then switch over to PP it's about only around that deep. For those reasons I wonder if PP switches over to an auto sensitivity mode to compensate for it's lack of ground balance (manual says ground balance is disabled in the all metal PP mode). That might explain why it's roughly about the same depth as discrimination in auto, if you know what I'm trying to say here.
I still need some practice with pinpointing in discrimination when PP can't hear the target. Normally in PP mode with the SEF coil I just walk the coil backwards with short wiggles until the target no longer makes any sound. I'll then do the same process from a 90 degree angle and then the target will be right at the base of the "V" at the very top of the coil. When the target is too deep for PP I've been just using the center of the coil and trying to mark the target with short sweeps one way, then moving 90 degrees and doing the same there. So far my accuracy doing it that way in discrimination leaves much to be desired. Now I'm wondering if I should be doing the same "base of the V" method I use in PP to find the target in discrimination? It looks like this coil is just as deep from tip to toe so I would figure that would work. However, if the concentric hybrid part of this coil makes it slightly deeper in the center then that method might not work and I'd have to use the center of the coil on really deep stuff at the fringes. I don't think so, though. If anybody has any input on this let me know, otherwise I'll just have to test it out in the field to figure things out for pinpointing in discrimination.
Critterhunter
New member
By the way, if you look at the date on my first hunt (and silver) with this coil that was March 8th, so it's only been roughly 6 weeks any maybe somewhere south of 12 or 13 total "old coin" hunts with this coil I think, some of which were only an hour or so long. Yet, I'm at 10 silver coins already with it, not to mention some Vs and Buffalos and a slew of Wheats. I'd say that's not too bad considering that roughly averages out to at least one silver per hunt or so. I may end up selling me 10" because this is now my every day coil. The only reason I'll probably keep the 10" is just for re-sale value should somebody not want a GT with anything but the stock coil.
Tony
Member
I too thought that my DISC mode was deeper but after extensive testing, my PP mode is definitely deeper.
To achieve this, I need to engage Tracking (pump the coil several times), flick down to Fix and then flick down to PP.
The slightly wavering PP threshold signals the deep targets deeper, whereas the solid DISC threshold won't break to let me know there is something there.
Also, in DISC, many of my edge/limit of detection coins (and one very nice gold ring) will generally null until I scrape away a few inches of sand and then the tone is a consistent "good"....enough for me to investigate further !
I only need a hint of a good tone amongst general nulls to make the decision to scrape a bit to see if a good tone is revealed further...if the good tones disappear completely then I move on.
I hate to think of the number of "nulls" that I have walked away from.....I no longer make this serious mistake at the beach.
Tony.
To achieve this, I need to engage Tracking (pump the coil several times), flick down to Fix and then flick down to PP.
The slightly wavering PP threshold signals the deep targets deeper, whereas the solid DISC threshold won't break to let me know there is something there.
Also, in DISC, many of my edge/limit of detection coins (and one very nice gold ring) will generally null until I scrape away a few inches of sand and then the tone is a consistent "good"....enough for me to investigate further !
I only need a hint of a good tone amongst general nulls to make the decision to scrape a bit to see if a good tone is revealed further...if the good tones disappear completely then I move on.
I hate to think of the number of "nulls" that I have walked away from.....I no longer make this serious mistake at the beach.
Tony.
Tony
Member
I probably wasn't clear....
1. If and when I hunt in DISC, I will investigate all nulls by scraping a few inches of sand to try and reveal a good tone.
2. If and when I hunt in PP (which is now most of the time), I need to ensure that I Track then Fix before flipping onto PP.
......I don't hunt between PP and DISC settings. If there's loads of bottlecaps then I will hunt in DISC otherwise it's PP all the time.
I hope this makes sense.
Tony.
1. If and when I hunt in DISC, I will investigate all nulls by scraping a few inches of sand to try and reveal a good tone.
2. If and when I hunt in PP (which is now most of the time), I need to ensure that I Track then Fix before flipping onto PP.
......I don't hunt between PP and DISC settings. If there's loads of bottlecaps then I will hunt in DISC otherwise it's PP all the time.
I hope this makes sense.
Tony.
Critterhunter
New member
Tony, I've tried setting the ground tracking for AM mode in the same way you do (pumping coil, then throwing it in fixed) just in case PP would use the ground setting in some rough way (though the manual says ground balance is disabled in PP), but still that seems to make no difference. Even setting the ground balance a bit hot and then throwing it into Fixed seems to have no effect on PP's depth. However, I will still play with doing that to confirm all this. I need to anyway because I'm still testing AM Fixed (set on the hot side) to see if it can match or beat discrimination. So far no dice, though.
I've been following your posts on this coil and your enthusiasm for the coil is infectious. I've never been a fan of big coils but.......I wish I could find a post with this much detail on the 10X12 as I probably would be more willing to buy that one and endure the wrath of my wife Chris better know as Hilda The Pain Mistress in our household.