Some Recent QXT Pro Finds...

[Critterhunter]

I get more satisfaction by hunting virgin ground. Besides the research through old newspapers and other material, I also like to take scouting hikes in the woods looking for signs of human acitivity, such as carvings on trees, old bottles or pottery shards, foundations, and other signs of the past.

I've recently ran across a few ridges along a river deep in the woods that must have been old hunting camps, picnic areas, or church revival sites. At one of these a friend recently popped a 1913 barber quarter and three mercury dimes from the early 1900's out of the same hole.

What you see in the below picture is just some of the old coins I've dug up recently. They need cleaned up yet. The dime below the two silver quarters is an 1891 seated dime. This is my second oldest dime, the oldest being an 1835 barber. Below the seated are barber dimes. Below that are mercury dimes and then silver Rosies before 1965. Under that are V-nickles with buffalos below them. Last row are indian heads. The big coin near the upper right corner is an 1852 large cent. To the far right are some buttons, tokens, and at the bottom a Canadian dime.

 

[ohio fred]

Nice finds what kind of depth were the coins at?Always wondered about qxt pro seen a couple on ebay recently was tempted to bid on one . seems like you are happy with it performance.

 

[Hombre]

Nice find Critter!

That collection of coins would rival anything that I have seen posted on the Explorer form. That large copper in the top right hand side of the picture, is that a large cent? It looks like another coin was laying on it in the ground, must have been a pocket spill..........HH ...........Hombre

 

[Critterhunter]

The large cent was soaked in some vinegar for a few hours and will also be getting a long olive oil bath to shine it up, so the stain is from where it was sitting in the cup with other similar coins. I'm the guy who wrote the QXT Tips on JB's webpage years ago. I'll be throwing up a new tip sheet with more info and better instructions for the QXT soon. Out of all the machines I've owned, used, or went head to head with the only thing that could beat it depth wise on silver and copper was the Explorer in highly mineralized ground. In average moderate ground conditions I've seen no depth advantage of the Explorer on copper/silver, but of course the Explorer will hit harder on deeper targets composed of other metals. The relatively low frequency of the QXT combined with other unique features not even seen on the XLT makes it a very deep machine on silver/copper PROVIDED you set it up properly. It's audio harmonics are also just about the best I've seen, it has a much faster recovery speed in trash than just about any machine I've laid hands on, and of course it's much easier to hunt with than an Explorer. I find the Explorer fights me both mentaly and physically and, having to stay on top of it at all times to work it properly, it takes much of the fun out of my hunts. After owning about 3 Explorers over the years I went back to the QXT. The ID "float" of the Explorer is just one of the things that makes hunting more work than pleasure for me. Not that it's not killer in highly mineralized ground or on other metals, but for most of my hunting grounds I'm confident the QXT is getting as good depth on silver/copper, which is primarily my interest.

Now, recently a friend got a good 2" better depth on two silver undug dimes in the field with his E-Trac. That machine impresses me and has less problems than the Explorer in my opinion in certain respects. Let's remember that it's also got a 2" coil size advantage over the QXT, though, and that's why I'd like to make or buy a 12" or so coil for the QXT. So far as I know only the Hot Shot is available. I hear good things about this coil but the particular QXT Pro I had owned at the time would get unstable with it after about ten minutes. Tried two new coils and different sites with the same problem. Might have been my machine. Anybody else use this coil on a QXT with success?

I found another ridge in the woods that looks to be an old picnic site. So far I've pulled an indian, a bunch of wheats, a 1925 standing liberty quarter, a 1936 mercury dime, and a sterling silver religous medal with sterling chain.

A friend also pulled an indian penny. Then, he was hunting what looked to be an old wagon trail that sloped down the side of the ridge when he yelled for me to come over. In his hand he had two 1851 and 1852 large cents.

While he was admiring his finds he told me to go ahead and sweep over the area to see if anything else was dropped with the two large cents. I got a signal that was acting much like a 22 casing but decided I better dig it because it was so close to where the large cents were dropped. Out popped a very rare coin- an 1858 silver 3 cent piece.

These coins were not minted for that many years and a large portion of them were later melted down. Among the group of us who hunt together nobody has ever dug one. Under a magnifying glass it shows no wear that I can see.

The reason why these coins don't give a very good signal some times is they are very small and have less surface area to react with the coil's magnetic field. This is about as close as I can zoom in on them with my camera. The other picture is of a sterling button I found at an old house site. Still researching it's origins.

Correction: In the prior message I said the oldest dime I've ever dug was an 1835 barber. Meant to say bust dime, which was being made before the seated dimes.

 

[Hombre]

Nice post Critterhunter.............

And, welcome to the forum. I must say those type of finds will rival anything being posted on the forum. What this shows me is that you have found a dandy LOCATION which is more important than what machine you were using. A skilled detectorist with a good machine on a good location will find these types of finds...........if the place has'nt been hammered to death. Good luck at your future hunts at this place, it looks to hold the items we would all like to find..............Hombre

 

[Critterhunter]

Well, yea some of these coins are from a few "virgin ground" spots I found way back in the woods. But, I also hunt old parks and such that have been hit hard. The QXT has such a quick recovery time between targets that I've found that a smaller coil than the stock 9.5" offers almost no advantage at target seperation. I've often snipered out silver that was right next to other trash thanks to it's faster recovery and assigned high tone alerts to the target zones I'm interested in for that hunt.

This machine has a very forgiving sweep speed from ultra fast to ultra slow. However, when I hit something real deep I'll do quick and short sweeps over the target to try to pull a coin ID and high tone out of the target. It gets you that extra bit of depth to really reach down there.

 

[Critterhunter]

Been doing some more hunting in the woods. Popped out a 1954 Franklin half and a 1918 Merc. A friend and I also both found leg traps under debri next to trees. Very old but they both still work. Just glad they weren't set!

 

[moose]

Great finds critterhunter, Still waiting for that awesome hunt with big returns.HH

 

[Critterhunter]

Recently dug a 1906 barber quarter, 1920 merc, 1893 indian, two buffalos, and a really huge (covers half your finger!) woman's silver ring that looks to be very old. The detecting gods have been good to me this year for sure. I'll post some pictures soon of these and other finds.

 

[ohio fred]

n/t

 

[Critterhunter]

Here's some more recent finds...

1954 Franklin, 1906 barber, 1920 merc (this one had a nail laying with it and sounded like a scratchy/rusted bottle cap, 2 buffalos. Also have a huge silver woman's ring I need to throw a photo up of.

In the other photo I could use some help on IDing the buttons and such. From left to right...Old whistle, key, three buttons I'd like to ID, porcilin doll, round bullet, another button, cufflink (?), square shape button of some sort, insides of what I think (?) was a pocket watch, another button that needs ID, what I think was (?) a suspenders strap, and yet another button that of course needs cleaned and so is too hard to see. Do the best you can to ID whatever is visible enough if you can.

 

[Critterhunter]

Here's the ring. Depending on who made it by the hallmark it may be worth much more than it's weight in silver. Have to research it. Barber quarter and a dime next to it for comparison of size. The ring also has three cream colored stones. They are a little loose but there is no damage.

 

[dahut]

- - for researching your sites?
Where do you start?
What do you look for and what sort of attributes do you key on to find these places?
What sort of checks are made on your fact sheet that leads you to investigate these particular sites.

What works for you there, is liable to work for any of us where we are....

 

[Critterhunter]

I do some research of old books but my main method that I enjoy the most is just to take scouting hikes through the woods with my dog at my side. I look for spots that may have been desired for camping, hunting, picnics, or resting areas. Normaly these areas will be elevated...even just a foot or two...to avoid wet conditions. Is there a water source nearby like a stream, or that "swamp" may have been a deep pond 100 years ago. I also look for pottery shards, old bottles, carvings in trees (beach trees with smooth bark are a prefered place to carve names and dates), depressions (even small ones the side of a bathtub, dirt piles, bricks, differences in the trees (young versus old) that might indicate an old road was there, plants or trees that aren't comon in the area (like apple or pear trees), and so on. Another method I use is to just hunt the woods and listen for areas where there are many iron signals. This is also a good indicator that human activity took place there.

I'd have to say that scouting without a detector in my hand is almost as much fun. Looking for signs of the past and maybe even finding a good old bottle or two in the process gives me a sense of exploration and "time traveling" down long lost places of human existance. Do you have to drive far? No, I try to search within ten miles or so of my house. Don't fall into the "grass is always greener" syndrome and end up driving all over the place. Chances are a lot of history took place right where you live.

Another method I use is to just drive down side roads. Often dead end streets have woods at the end of them that weren't developed for one reason or another. Look for highways or state routes that cut off areas and caused no easy way out for the people who lived there. In areas where the highway and another barrier (such as a cliff or river) have isolated sections of land I'll search on foot for any signs of activity. These places were land locked by later developments such as that highway.

The possibilities are endless if you just use your imagination. I know people who spend a lot of time and energy complaining that there are no virgin sites left, or constantly keep buying the latest machine and coil in the hopes that they'll get the advantage that way. They should save their money and use the time complaining to go out and explore. Is it raining out and you can't detect? Perfect day to put on the rain coat and hike the woods! I might just do that today.

 

[Old Katz]

Do you go out with a buddy or are your by yourself.
How dense are the areas you have to go. I was just out
the other day walking up a creek bed, and tried to clime up on the
creek bank and it was near impossible due to all the heavy growth.
Do you carry any equipment to cut through this stuff? seems like
a lot of extra things to carry around.

Katz

 

[Critterhunter]

No, I try to hunt areas with older trees and thus there is no or little brush to fight under them. Remember too that open areas now might have been brushy 20 years or more ago when the trees were younger, so new spots open up all the time that have never been hunted. Most people don't hunt woods anyway. The only tool I use is bug spray and maybe a water bottle to keep me out longer. I hunt alone sometimes but with a friend others. Carry a cell phone in case you get hurt and can't get out, or at least leave a message as to where you are going to be and when to expect you back.

Water sources, even a tiny creek you can jump across, are good places to look around as water sources were a major survivial tool back then. There are so many signs to watch for...faint trails, younger trees in a patch of older ones that might indicate a road or home site, pottery shards, bricks, stones, trees with carvings, many iron signals in one area, of course older bottles, "look out" spots high on ridges (I find ridge tops to be good as they were often used as roads), higher spots that would keep you dry, spots on the downwind side of hills or cliffs to block the wind and snow, etc. But, even if no signs exist that doesn't mean that the spot isn't any good. Hunters, campers, etc...anybody could have passed through in years gone by and lost a few things.

What's interesting is that I'd say the most comon coin we find are barber dimes. I think this might be due to them being used to adjust the sites on guns as this is a comon practice today using a dime or a nickle. The main thing you need is persistence. You'll find days when you hardly get any signals, let alone coins, but then you'll come to a spot and there are targets everywhere. Although the coins signals are more scarce than say hunting a park when you do get one you can almost bet it'll be a keeper. Quality versus quantity.

 

[Critterhunter]

Besides several silver Rosies over the past few weeks, I've also dug a 1943 Walking Liberty Half. Will post a picture soon.

 

[Critterhunter]

Forgot to mention. The other day I got a good silver signal and dug a wheat. Re-checked the hole and dug a rosie. Re-checked again and I was getting something in between being a silver dime and silver quarter. Figured I'd wait until the next morning as my hunting friend would be hunting there with me. Told him on the phone that I've got silver waiting in the ground. How many people can say that? :') Had him check the hole and sure enough another rosie (merc?...can't remember) and a 52 Washington came out of the ground along with another wheat.

Yesterday I managed to dig 3 rosies and a merc. out of an area. 2 of the rosies, about 8 wheats, and a nickle came out of one hole. I knew that large coin signal sounded too good...not like a can top.

 

[Critterhunter]

Don't know if I mentioned the barber quarter I got a few weeks back? Since then I've also dug a barber dime, barber half (my third half this year), v-nickle, 3 or 4 indians including an 1864, four or five rosies, a few mercs, a sterling silver religous pendant with silver chain, and a copper pendant "luck" token that looks real old. Been having a good summer and fall, for sure.

 

[dirtymoney]

what was the average depth of you coins when you targeted them?????