Reprinted with permission from Western & Eastern Treasures Magazine June 2010 issue
With so many aftermarket coils available to the metal detectorists these days; one must make sure he or she spends their hard earned money on a coil that will provide some qualities worth the extra investment.
I have always heard great things about the Sunray X-12 coil but had never had the opportunity to put it through the paces at any of my pounded sites until now.
I wanted to do some thorough testing of this coil...including some side by side comparisons against other coils.
I decided to take it to a few of my sites that had given up some keepers in the past and see if it could sniff out another coin or 2 at each place. If so...I wanted to know why I had missed them with other coils and also what qualities the X-12 had that allowed it to find them.
In order to be able to give an honest opinion on the performance of this coil; I really put in some valuable hunt time before the ground froze on me. So much so in fact that I hunted one of the sites on a rainy Christmas eve and another site in some wet snow.
[attachment 169818 x12me.jpg]
Site #1 was an old one room country school house I have hunted on several occasions in the past. The owner was gracious enough to grant me permanent permission before; but I always ask each time anyway. It's a large site that has had hogs and cattle roaming around it for the past 30 years or so and has been used for the "resting" place for old worn out farm machinery. Because of this there are bits and chunks of rusted iron everywhere along with rotted pieces of wire.
Another challenge is the depth of the coins because the ground holds water...then gets trampled by the livestock which causes the coins to sink further down.
I had hunted here just a few months ago and was able to pull out 2 wheaties with a different coil but felt the iron caused some problems for me when trying to hear silver chirps..
I thought this would be the perfect starting spot to see if the X-12 was capable of the needed depth and also if it could handle the deep rusted iron which littered this place.
After 5 hours of working at a snails pace I was able to uncover 2 silver coins (1 barber and 1 mercury) and 1 wheatie from substantial depths.
I got very minimal falsing while also being able to run my sensitivity at manual 26 which I feel was the key to uncovering these 3 previously missed coins.
I'm a conductive sounds hunter with my SE and falsing can give me fits if the coil won't handle deep rusty iron. The X-12 not only handled it but it stayed very stable which allowed me to hit 3 coins in iron as deep as 10". I attribute this to the fact that I was able to better concentrate on deep coin chirps which can easily be lost amidst falsing.
The barber dime came from a measured 10" down and to this date is the deepest coin I've ever found at this site. After hunting this site for nearly 10 years...that speaks volumes about the performance of the X-12 here.
[attachment 169822 x12plug.jpg]
Site #2 was a place I only get to hunt once or twice a year. It is an old cabin site on private property and I have obtained written permission. It's a long hike back through the woods and is not mowed or kept up in any way. I always feel like I'm stepping back in time when I arrive.
This place has given up very few coins in the past and I have hunted here for 8 hours before and come away with nothing.
The few coins that have come out of here though are trophy coins such as half dimes, early seated dimes. 2 cent pieces, and even a bust dime.
The site is absolutely littered with iron and other rubbish...the coins are extremely deep... the grass is always very tall....and I have hit this place with every coil in my arsenal. This would be another very tough task for the X-12 and a great place to test the depth capability.
Well after nearly 6 hours with absolutely nothing in my pouch I finally got a deep chirp which got my attention. It was a higher tone and was coming right through an iron null.
After several short precise sweeps I really felt the X-12 was telling me it was a coin hiding in the iron and that it was deep. My depth meter on the SE was buried while the cursor was dancing along the top right of the smartfind screen but the X-12 was giving me a distinct coin signal in a very narrow window.
After cutting a 3 sided plug I began carefully removing dirt from the hole. At about the 9" level I removed a small chunk of iron and ran the sunray probe. It sang silver. About an inch deeper I caught the grayish glint of silver I was hoping for. From right at 10" down came a capped bust dime. My second one from this site in the last 3 years. My one and only coin from this all day hunt...but a trophy coin indeed.
[attachment 169824 x12coins2.jpg] [attachment 169825 x12dimeback.jpg] [attachment 169827 x12coins3.jpg]
I have been over this exact area many times before with other coils but the X-12 was able to "wraparound" and see the dime under the chunk of iron in a way the other coils did not do....and at a very impressive depth.
Site #3 was a large community picnic area in use from 1900 til the 50's which is now on private property. I contacted the land owner and explained to him that I was conducting a field test and that I wanted to do some coil comparisons. He said he used to do a little "treasure hunting" himself back in the 70's and that I was welcome to hunt the property even though it had been hunted heavily in the past.
I gridded a precise area and first hunted it with a coil which has been a workhorse for me.
After 2 hours I had located and flagged 3 targets in the 8" depth range which I felt were coins.
I then gridded the area in exactly the same way with a different coil.
After 2 hours I was able to flag 2 additional targets about 9" deep which I felt were coins; while also having no problems hitting the previously flagged targets.
It was then time to see if the Sunray X-12 could locate any possible targets that I had missed with the other two coils.
Again I gridded the area the exactly as before, locating not only all 5 targets found with the other coils, but also an additional target with the X-12 that I felt could be a coin.
I went back to the flagged target and tried to hit it with the first coil but was only able to get a slight chirp every other pass or so.
I repeated this process with the second coil but I got an intermittent signal at best. It was very weak and hit from only 1 angle and pass. I can honestly say it was a target I would not have dug and probably would not have stopped to investigate had I not known it was there.
I then went over it one last time with the X-12 and heard a loud and clear coin hit. It was distinct and hit from 2 of 4 four angles.
After cutting a nice plug I removed dirt down to 9" before the probe would sing. Finally off to the bottom side of the hole I located a barber quarter almost straight on edge.
I'm glad the X-12 told me to "stop and investigate"
The other 5 flagged targets turned out to be a mercury dime, indian head cent, and 3 wheatbacks.
[attachment 169829 x12coins.jpg]
After hunting 3 very heavily worked sites...I can honestly say I am very impressed with the added benefits the X-12 brought to the table.
1) It was well balanced on my SE.
2) The depth was very impressive.
3) It gave a nice signal from a coin on edge at a substantial depth.
4) The separation was excellent for a 12" coil.
5) The ground coverage was excellent.
6) It was able to "wrap around" a chunk of iron and see a silver coin underneath.
7) The signal strength was very impressive over deep coins. The hits were much more loud and crisp than some other coils I've used.
The stability was excellent for a large coil. I was able to hunt in manual sensitivity set a 26.
9) I got very little to no falsing in the cold temps and extremely wet ground.
10) The ease of swing was excellent and the coil did well in some taller grass spots.
11) It handled iron well.
[attachment 169820 x12coins4.jpg]
My final thoughts are pretty simple. This is a coil a lot of hunters swear by and I am now one of them. I had personally pounded 2 of the 3 sites for this test with almost every coil in my arsenal...and the X-12 brought some more oldies to the surface that I did not get with the other coils. The positive things you've heard about this coil are true. It's deep... It's stable...and I feel it's well worth the investment.
With so many aftermarket coils available to the metal detectorists these days; one must make sure he or she spends their hard earned money on a coil that will provide some qualities worth the extra investment.
I have always heard great things about the Sunray X-12 coil but had never had the opportunity to put it through the paces at any of my pounded sites until now.
I wanted to do some thorough testing of this coil...including some side by side comparisons against other coils.
I decided to take it to a few of my sites that had given up some keepers in the past and see if it could sniff out another coin or 2 at each place. If so...I wanted to know why I had missed them with other coils and also what qualities the X-12 had that allowed it to find them.
In order to be able to give an honest opinion on the performance of this coil; I really put in some valuable hunt time before the ground froze on me. So much so in fact that I hunted one of the sites on a rainy Christmas eve and another site in some wet snow.
[attachment 169818 x12me.jpg]
Site #1 was an old one room country school house I have hunted on several occasions in the past. The owner was gracious enough to grant me permanent permission before; but I always ask each time anyway. It's a large site that has had hogs and cattle roaming around it for the past 30 years or so and has been used for the "resting" place for old worn out farm machinery. Because of this there are bits and chunks of rusted iron everywhere along with rotted pieces of wire.
Another challenge is the depth of the coins because the ground holds water...then gets trampled by the livestock which causes the coins to sink further down.
I had hunted here just a few months ago and was able to pull out 2 wheaties with a different coil but felt the iron caused some problems for me when trying to hear silver chirps..
I thought this would be the perfect starting spot to see if the X-12 was capable of the needed depth and also if it could handle the deep rusted iron which littered this place.
After 5 hours of working at a snails pace I was able to uncover 2 silver coins (1 barber and 1 mercury) and 1 wheatie from substantial depths.
I got very minimal falsing while also being able to run my sensitivity at manual 26 which I feel was the key to uncovering these 3 previously missed coins.
I'm a conductive sounds hunter with my SE and falsing can give me fits if the coil won't handle deep rusty iron. The X-12 not only handled it but it stayed very stable which allowed me to hit 3 coins in iron as deep as 10". I attribute this to the fact that I was able to better concentrate on deep coin chirps which can easily be lost amidst falsing.
The barber dime came from a measured 10" down and to this date is the deepest coin I've ever found at this site. After hunting this site for nearly 10 years...that speaks volumes about the performance of the X-12 here.
[attachment 169822 x12plug.jpg]
Site #2 was a place I only get to hunt once or twice a year. It is an old cabin site on private property and I have obtained written permission. It's a long hike back through the woods and is not mowed or kept up in any way. I always feel like I'm stepping back in time when I arrive.
This place has given up very few coins in the past and I have hunted here for 8 hours before and come away with nothing.
The few coins that have come out of here though are trophy coins such as half dimes, early seated dimes. 2 cent pieces, and even a bust dime.
The site is absolutely littered with iron and other rubbish...the coins are extremely deep... the grass is always very tall....and I have hit this place with every coil in my arsenal. This would be another very tough task for the X-12 and a great place to test the depth capability.
Well after nearly 6 hours with absolutely nothing in my pouch I finally got a deep chirp which got my attention. It was a higher tone and was coming right through an iron null.
After several short precise sweeps I really felt the X-12 was telling me it was a coin hiding in the iron and that it was deep. My depth meter on the SE was buried while the cursor was dancing along the top right of the smartfind screen but the X-12 was giving me a distinct coin signal in a very narrow window.
After cutting a 3 sided plug I began carefully removing dirt from the hole. At about the 9" level I removed a small chunk of iron and ran the sunray probe. It sang silver. About an inch deeper I caught the grayish glint of silver I was hoping for. From right at 10" down came a capped bust dime. My second one from this site in the last 3 years. My one and only coin from this all day hunt...but a trophy coin indeed.
[attachment 169824 x12coins2.jpg] [attachment 169825 x12dimeback.jpg] [attachment 169827 x12coins3.jpg]
I have been over this exact area many times before with other coils but the X-12 was able to "wraparound" and see the dime under the chunk of iron in a way the other coils did not do....and at a very impressive depth.
Site #3 was a large community picnic area in use from 1900 til the 50's which is now on private property. I contacted the land owner and explained to him that I was conducting a field test and that I wanted to do some coil comparisons. He said he used to do a little "treasure hunting" himself back in the 70's and that I was welcome to hunt the property even though it had been hunted heavily in the past.
I gridded a precise area and first hunted it with a coil which has been a workhorse for me.
After 2 hours I had located and flagged 3 targets in the 8" depth range which I felt were coins.
I then gridded the area in exactly the same way with a different coil.
After 2 hours I was able to flag 2 additional targets about 9" deep which I felt were coins; while also having no problems hitting the previously flagged targets.
It was then time to see if the Sunray X-12 could locate any possible targets that I had missed with the other two coils.
Again I gridded the area the exactly as before, locating not only all 5 targets found with the other coils, but also an additional target with the X-12 that I felt could be a coin.
I went back to the flagged target and tried to hit it with the first coil but was only able to get a slight chirp every other pass or so.
I repeated this process with the second coil but I got an intermittent signal at best. It was very weak and hit from only 1 angle and pass. I can honestly say it was a target I would not have dug and probably would not have stopped to investigate had I not known it was there.
I then went over it one last time with the X-12 and heard a loud and clear coin hit. It was distinct and hit from 2 of 4 four angles.
After cutting a nice plug I removed dirt down to 9" before the probe would sing. Finally off to the bottom side of the hole I located a barber quarter almost straight on edge.
I'm glad the X-12 told me to "stop and investigate"
The other 5 flagged targets turned out to be a mercury dime, indian head cent, and 3 wheatbacks.
[attachment 169829 x12coins.jpg]
After hunting 3 very heavily worked sites...I can honestly say I am very impressed with the added benefits the X-12 brought to the table.
1) It was well balanced on my SE.
2) The depth was very impressive.
3) It gave a nice signal from a coin on edge at a substantial depth.
4) The separation was excellent for a 12" coil.
5) The ground coverage was excellent.
6) It was able to "wrap around" a chunk of iron and see a silver coin underneath.
7) The signal strength was very impressive over deep coins. The hits were much more loud and crisp than some other coils I've used.
The stability was excellent for a large coil. I was able to hunt in manual sensitivity set a 26.9) I got very little to no falsing in the cold temps and extremely wet ground.
10) The ease of swing was excellent and the coil did well in some taller grass spots.
11) It handled iron well.
[attachment 169820 x12coins4.jpg]
My final thoughts are pretty simple. This is a coil a lot of hunters swear by and I am now one of them. I had personally pounded 2 of the 3 sites for this test with almost every coil in my arsenal...and the X-12 brought some more oldies to the surface that I did not get with the other coils. The positive things you've heard about this coil are true. It's deep... It's stable...and I feel it's well worth the investment.
...and there was snow everywhere.