Silver Dimes Ringing in Like Pennies (11/43)

[gordonquixote]

I love the CTX and have 5 silver for the year. So far all silver has been in fresh and salt water. Silver quarter in fresh water was a 10/44 and another a 12/44 in salt water. Silver dime in fresh water was 12/44.

Fast forward to this weekend at a nice park without much trash. I hit a few early 60's memorials and a few wheats...all were solid 11/43s. Getting tired of pennies but I like wheats so I keep digging. Found two silver dimes (40 feet apart)...one was 4" deep and the other was 6-7" deep and were solid 11/43s as well. Perfect tone and solid fe/co numbers.

I usually hunt in 'low trash' mode with all the features turned off...auto +3. Very stable threshold and I always ground balance. I sometimes use 'high trash' or 'ferrous coin' but to me I like 'low trash'...I feel like it chirps easier on conductive targets, even in trash.

Where are my 12/44 and 12/46 numbers? I get tired of digging pennies but don't want to miss silver!

 

[searchinsd]

i just got my ctx 3030 so im not an expert by any means but i know on my etrac i always dug the wheats because some of them turned out to be mercs, especially as summer went on and the ground dried out.

 

[Buried Crap NJ]

I am by no means an expert with the 3030 but have 9 months using the machine. Your TID numbers will change with the different settings you are using. I can make one adjustment and go from 11-46 to 12-46 and have the same coin. I have also seen 13-35 be a merc dime and 12-40 be the same dime. When the FE drops low with the same CO number expect the same coin. I have some gold in my pouch in the same period and the 8 and 9's FE's will surprize you! Also I think your confusing the results with soils, water sand conditions will change when dirt hunting, even at the same settings, Most of my pennies come in at 12-38 Zink 12- 42 copper. but all have that digital wobble indiacting penny.
I have also found each detector has its very own mind.This has been proven time and time again with testing in the field. Same target two identical machines two diferent readings same target undug! each machine has its own unique signature. This is why learning your machine is so important, as opposed to learning what others are doing with there machines!
Hope this helps.
BCNJ

 

[Larry (IL)]

BCNJ pretty much summed it up on VDI's, a lot of factors, including mode setting, will alter what numbers you get.

 

[Atlas]

I dig a lot of coins in Ground Coin that give 13-XX numbers so like BCNJ said it depends on your mode.

 

[gordonquixote]

Yeah...thx for the input. I love the CTX but I gotta say...my old MXT Pro was 100% spot on with coin ID whether it was a penny, dime, or quarter. The CTX...not so much.,

I really don't see much difference in the four settings, althought I like 'low trash' the most. It's a little chirpy but I feel like it is rejects less targets. I do use high-trash on lakes sometimes as well as ferrous-coin but only in old junky areas just to try it out when I'm getting frequent nulls. I've only had it for two months but I have been swinging a lot so I feel that I'm past the honeymoon phase and I feel confident like I did with the MXT.

I do get 11/42-11/43 fatigue and get tired of digging pennies...I was kinda bummed that both dimes rang up solid like pennies and wanted to see what results you guys were getting. Maybe they were vertical or something?

 

["Dr.Tones"]

Yup, any pennies that were made before 1982 will sound a lot higher no matter what machine. I use depth to decide if I will chase it or not.

 

[Dr.Deus]

I just dig it all because ive been suprised quite a few times digging the zinc and copper penny range, But to each their own.A penny saved is a penny earned.

 

[Rick(ND)]

I too find this to be true as it is hard to tell the difference between a Cooper penny or a dime with any real accuracy on most detector. I did find one that could not tell the difference much in penny or dime, but could tell if the dime was silver or not as the meter would read higher on a silver dime, the detector was the Teknetics Mark 1.

Rick

 

[Reeseb]

If it's past 6 inches or deeper and sounds good, I always dig it.

 

[jimzilla]

Ground coin will produce a more accurate target id compared to ferrous coin. Ferrous coin will cause some silver dimes to read as low as 12-40 @>6". The soil also has a lot to do with it. Just dig everything and you wont miss anything.

 

[Dr.Deus]

Ground coin will produce a more accurate target id compared to ferrous coin. Ferrous coin will cause some silver dimes to read as low as 12-40 @>6". The soil also has a lot to do with it. Just dig everything and you wont miss anything.

 

[sube]

If you dig one with a pulltab it will read 12.35 so whatever is with it will change the #s in clean ground the signal will be higher than dirty iron ground. sube

 

[sparkster]

All of this discussion just leads me to really believe that we as newby's to the Minelab FBS machines need to dig every repeatable good signal. I have dug so many 11-43 penny's and dimes it is scarey. My CTX loves dimes. I was out at a sports field yesterday and dug 14 dimes in about 30 minutes. Most VDI'ed 12-42 and 12-43' but a couple of them were 11-40 and 12-40.

 

[itsjames2011]

All of this discussion just leads me to really believe that we as newby's to the Minelab FBS machines need to dig every repeatable good signal. I have dug so many 11-43 penny's and dimes it is scarey. My CTX loves dimes. I was out at a sports field yesterday and dug 14 dimes in about 30 minutes. Most VDI'ed 12-42 and 12-43' but a couple of them were 11-40 and 12-40.

So I'm not the only one experiencing this phenomenon. I was hunting an 1800s homesite today and aside from my Indian and Merc, I found 21 clad dimes

 

[electricmetal21]

When a metal detector detects a good target, it doesn't just detect the signal of the target you're looking for. Instead, it detects a combination of signals from: the good target and, the ground minerals, and pieces of metal trash buried above, below, and next to the good target.

After the detection is made, your detector combines these signals, makes a calculation on what the numbers should be and gives you the numbers you see on your screen.

That said, your signals and numbers are going to vary somewhat depending on what's in the ground. And, it's unrealistic to expect to see spot on, 100% accurate numbers with every target you detect.

Any of the FE/CO number combinations mentioned above could be a copper penny or a silver dime.

The best way to find the good stuff is to dig everything.

What you think is a copper penny might actually be a silver dime.

 

[foreign object]

Unfortunately it is the nature of the beast but I do understand your frustration. You spend the kind of money that the CTX cost and find yourself digging pennies. Some guys say that to not miss anything that they just dig it all. I understand the reasoning behind that and at some sites it is the best thing to do. I also think that if you are going to be a dig it all type hunter you really spent to much money buying the CTX.There are cheaper machines that will work for that.
I see a lot of CTX up for sale and cant help but think that part of the reason is the buyer bought the machine and found out that like all the others it is not perfect so they sell them and go back to a cheaper and lighter machine. I really like my CTX and think it is a great machine with many options but at the same time easy to set up and use.
FO

 

[Dwayne2010]

Foriegn Object. I agree with what you say for what it is worth. I have owned the CTX 3030 now for 1.5 months and I have days where I get very discouraged. But, like anything and any detector, practise practise practise. So, I think like Sabu, you just use it a lot and get to know it. It will evetually get easier to use as you become familair with it. I have started digging pennies for the very reason that they ring in at the silver range. The god part is, in Canada atleast, we will run out of penny signals because they stopped making them. One day, we will be digging just silver!

 

[kanaka2]

Yes - I've been using the CTX since Christmas of last year. I used a Garrett AT-PRO for a very short time before purchasing the CTX. I did use the AT-PRO long enough to understand the differences between the two machines. I am very happy with the CTX but didn't sell the AT-PRO, but also haven't used it sinces the CTX moved in.

The bottom line for me is that I dig less trash with the CTX. I usually know, as far as coin vs trash, that I'm digging a coin. The CTX may be off as far as a 12:40 through 12:43 being either a penny or silver dime but Im ok with that. Most of those signals are at lease wheaties. I used to dig hords of bottle caps with the AT-PRO. Talk about discurangeing and the AT-PRO makes bottle caps sound like silver quarters. So I noticed a huge difference and new sense of enjoyment with the CTX.

Just recently I started digging 12:40s. I used to pass them by as aluminum. I've now dug nice wheaties and an occasional silver time digging 12:40s so my parks have now re-opened up to detecting as I'm not digging these once Not dug numbers...and I'm finding good targets underneath.

I dig almost exclusively silver dimes. I have to think that all the silver quarters with their big signals have been cherry picked since the 70s. I dig silver dimes often - lots of Mercs, slightly less Rosies, and I've round two recent Barber dimes last week. I get excited when my CTX rings up a nice clean 12:45+ repeating from two directions. But I have been surprized to dig a silver dime with much lower numbers, again witin the mix of a 12:40+, As someone mentioned - the CTX is reporting a mix of signals. Can't only dig a pefect 12:46/13:46 all the time.

I run my CTX mosly in auto sensitivity +3. I run combined mode with Ferrious-Coin. I use the factory coin program and hunt in the wide open setting of the factoy coin program unless it's really trashy and the signs start to become overwhelming. I then switch between the open setting and descrimination setting as desired. I've pretty much settled in on this setup. I find trying different settings just throw off my game in the field. You really, I think, are better off to find a good setting and then get familiar with the same sounds and numbers... You'll really then get a sense of what the detector is saying to you the long your keep the settings the same. This has worked best for me.

 

[kanaka2]

Come to think of it, I don't get any 11:xx - just 12:xx on any good targets.