Sunday hunt yields interesting mix

[mojotrout]

Took the Silver uMax for an eight hour hunt in the city today. Weather was cool, low 60's, and rain off and on all day. I hit a 1911 elementary school that yielded a toy musket and a circa 1886 U.M.C. New Club shotgun brass. I then hit some old areas in town and found a 1940 silver dime, 2 wheaties (1940, 1919), a 1974 5 yen, a restroom token, a Mazuma gum company Buffalo Bill 10 cent token, and a BIG-ass bullet. Looks like a 50 caliber that definitely has been fired. Found it in the middle of the city of Boise. All in all, a great hunt that resulted in some silver and a bunch of cool stuff. I didnt know anything about the yen, the shotgun shell or the token, so I had fun researching them as well.

Silver uMax with Sens cranked and Disc either at nickel or just before Zn.

[attachment 266788 misc_finds.JPG]
[attachment 266789 relics.JPG]
[attachment 266790 coins_052613.JPG]
[attachment 266791 5yen_tokens.JPG]

 

[SpiritRelic]

That little toy gun is awesome,and a cool token.I cut my finger so i am out of commission for a while.I could really be tearing the beach up.Thanks for sharing.

 

[Rainyday101]

How you had your Silver set with disc just short of zinc and the sensitivity maxed. I seem to get a max of about 6" in our soil which is where I find clad from the 60's with no problem. I think the older silver is deeper and just out of range of the Silver in my area.

 

[Hombre]

Mojo,

I really like the unusual finds, the toy gun is my fave..........WTG

 

[mojotrout]

How you had your Silver set with disc just short of zinc and the sensitivity maxed. I seem to get a max of about 6" in our soil which is where I find clad from the 60's with no problem. I think the older silver is deeper and just out of range of the Silver in my area.

Rainy, the deepest keeper find yesterday was one of the wheat pennies at 5 inches. Everything else was 2-4 inches. Ive dug trash at 8-9 inches so I know it'll "see" down that far. In my two month old coin garden, the Silver hit nicely (but quietly) on a six inch silver dime. I am assuming a coin in the ground for half a century could be detected even deeper as long as it wasnt masked by other items. So I have confidence that the Silver will go 7 inches or more in the right conditions. I am blessed with very mild soil so that has something to do with it Im sure.

Im also really happy that I dont lose much depth at all by setting the Disc at Zn. This allows the detector do give a strong but shortened response to a Zn penny. If its really shallow I can ignore it, but if its deep I can retrieve it in case its an Indian head (Ive bee told there is enough Zn in the I.H. pennies that Disc-ing Zn out will cause the detector to miss them). Wheaties and more modern coppers sound out just fine.

I have read on these forums repeatedly that most old coins are found 5-6 inches down. I dont know if thats because that is the maximum range of the bulk of detectors out there or if that is where the bulk of old coins reside. Either way, you should be hitting them from time to time if youre getting down that far. What area do you live in? Is there anyone else here in the hobby/on these forums that can compare their experiences with yours? I would be interested to see how other detectors/ users fare in your area.

 

[mojotrout]

Hombre/Spirit, I like that little gun too. Im not much of a relic hunter but every now and then I find something like that to add to my keeper shelf.

 

[BarryL]

Those tokens are cool great finds

 

[GunnarMN]

Tell you pwhat, I would not wont to be hit with that 50 cal . thats a great silver dime , I marvle as i never find silver around hear , one thing about the umax detectors is they ignor lots of small junk and home in on the good stuff, WTG

 

[Rainyday101]

Mojotrout, I live in north of Green Bay in Wisconsin and my soil here is really mild. It might be that I just haven't passed over silver yet. When I find coins in the 4-6" range that date from the 60's though, it would seem to make sense that the older coins are deeper yet? How old is your test garden? I have also had trash to 10", larger iron objects and aluminum cans, it hits those loud and clear.

 

[mojotrout]

Mojotrout, I live in north of Green Bay in Wisconsin and my soil here is really mild. It might be that I just haven't passed over silver yet. When I find coins in the 4-6" range that date from the 60's though, it would seem to make sense that the older coins are deeper yet? How old is your test garden? I have also had trash to 10", larger iron objects and aluminum cans, it hits those loud and clear.

My coin garden is only a few months old. At this point it is only good as an indication of minimum depth the machines will go in this soil. Today I added a nail and a pulltab to the surface of each buried target and about 4 inches to the side. Neither the Silver or the Outlaw could pick up the target once I disced out the nail/pulltab. That was with the 8 inch coil. The skies opened up before I could try the 5.75.

To be honest, Ive hunted a whole lot since the end of February when I started this hobby and my best coin finds are three silver dimes, a silver quarter, a 1906 indian head penny, and an 1895 Canadian copper penny. None of those was more than 4 inches deep. None were in trashy areas. So maybe the problem in your neck of the woods is finding silver where there isnt so much trash hiding it? After dozens of fruitless hours hunting in trashy, hunted-to-death parks and school yards Ive decided that its either buy a $2K detector (Ha!) and dig 10 inch deep holes or figure out better places to hunt. Iv been opting for the latter......

.... At least until I aquire the skills to get between trash, understand the language the detector speaks, and read the signs that tell the experts where in the pulltab graveyard the Walker is hiding...