To dig or not to dig zinc pennies

[Jiminsandiego]

After using a meter on my gt for awhile, now I am questioning the wisdom of digging the solid 177's. I (kinda) know it's gunna be a zinc but I've been digging them anyway (at the beach). Now I've got about ten pounds of these guys and today I just stopped digging them. The corroded ones tend to read much lower and I still dig these, but a solid 177 I'm gunna leave in the sand. I know that some big gold rings will read 177 .... but are the chances so far out that I would pass up a gold ring at 177 that my time would be better spent moving on looking for something other than 177? There's a lot of discussion about "notching" out pull tabs (which I dig every time) but what about notching out 177 or maybe even 175 and 176? Does anyone else leave the zincs?
Any input is, as always,much appreciated.
Jim

 

[Rick(ND)]

You will not be able to notch out the zinc pennies or disc them either as I think the highest you can go is around 165 or so.
Now for land hunting i know the early wheat's and the Indian Heads will read like a zinc penny, so any that sound deeper I will dig, those that I can tell are shallow I can walk over them if i want.
If you are beach hunting it can be different as the sand is changing and sometimes the zincs are deep and sometimes the old coins can be on top of the ground. A Friend of mine got a very nice mans gold ring at 177 with is Sovereign when he had it in a old school yard, so it can happen, but the odds may not be that great.

 

[goodmore]

I had a few deep silver rings come in around that number. But if the target is a strong hit I say pass them by. One of the advantages of a Sovereign over an Excalibur. Many beach hunters ignore the high tones all together. But one rule I go by no matter where I am hunting is if it is deep I dig it.

 

[erikk]

If it beeps, dig it

 

[JimmyCT]

This is exactly what happened to me this summer. Both IH and wheat cents registered a solid 177 on the meter. However, the difference is in what Rick mentions. All those deep sounding 177, non-blaring signals (to me anyways) are definitely getting dug. Those blaring ones, I still dig just in case I am still learning the GT and not taking chances. Even those blaring audio responses at 175, 176 I still dig em' but I am learning about these pesky zincs and their characteristics. However, you hunt beaches and since things are being "turned over" in the sand, personally, I would dig all. This summer, I was hunting a carnival lot and the construction company was bulldozing the whole place so everything was getting turned up. The large cent was lying about an 1" under the bulldozed landscape. The thing nearly blew my headphones off lol it sounded incredibly strong like a soda can and I really thought I was digging a piece of scrap metal...boy was I wrong and this taught me a very valuable lesson. Dig it up! I don't even want to tell you how tempted I was to just pass it over. But I ran my coil over it a couple more times and decided what the heck. The object was small in size so I dug. Sure enough - an 1841 large cent greeted me. I equate this with being at the beach - the dirt was constantly being turned over and those blaring annoying signals just might be a "goodie" on the surface that perhaps was relatively deep at one time. As far as the meter reading on the large cent - it hit 180 but was not steady it jumped a little in my meter reading 178,179, 180. probably because the coin was practically "kissing" the coil. In any case, I am so glad I dug that signal! Jim, all that I can tell you is that if you have one ounce of "I am not quite sure" on a particular target - to me, it is worth digging.

It all boils down in this hobby to dig or not to dig - what is it going to be? That is what I tell myself when I am in the field and when an 'inkling" of wonder enters into my grey matter, I end up digging.

Best of luck in your decision - Jim

Now for land hunting i know the early wheat's and the Indian Heads will read like a zinc penny, so any that sound deeper I will dig, those that I can tell are shallow I can walk over them if i want.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Jim, as I read your question, I figured for sure you'll get persons to say "dig all" and/or "don't take a chance", etc.... Sure enough, Erik is of that camp of folks, and I'm sure others would agree. The argument would be something like "once in a blue moon, a gold ring can read exactly the same" or "digging on the beach is easy, so why not just dig them?", etc....

But I would have to agree with goodmore on this subject, when he alludes to some guys who would even go so far as to pass all high conductors on the beach. Of course, I would only do this if targets are prolific and thick, and there's simply no way I'll cover the ground, and there's as many targets as I care to dig. Sometimes after storm erosion, for instance, a guy can dig 300+ signals, and simply never cover the beach, before the incoming tide chases him out. Why would you want to spend your time digging targets that are 99% of the time going to be a zinc penny (or a clad dime, or a quarter, etc....), when you could [in cases of prolific target amounts] dig signals that at least have the chance at being a gold ring?

Of course we're not talking corroded zincs (which read down to as low as nickel-ish), and we're not talking deeeep ones (where the TID can't lock on good enough to know).

For example: If you're in Las Vegas playing Black-jack, and you have 20 in your hand, do you take another hit, or do you "hold"? Of COURSE you hold. But wait!! How do you *know* the next card *might* not be a one card? Because the odds are, it's NOT going to be a one card, right? The same is true for the beach: with limited time, your odds are better spent getting your coil over targets that have a chance.

The detractors would say: "Well you simply dig them all". But it never works out like that. You simply run out of time, and never exhaust the amount of beach you could have covered, in some cases (in cases where target counts and real estate is not the issue).

The same logic could be said of land hunting: I once hunted with someone who insisted all the surface clad should be dug, because "once in awhile, an old coin might be on top, since a gopher might have brought it up", or "once in awhile, a monster gold ring reads like a surface zinc", etc... His rationale was that he would simply dig both shallow clad AND deep coins, at the same time, and "have the best of both worlds". But it never worked out like that. At the end of the day, he'd have an apron full of clad, and perhaps only a few wheats and a single silver dime. And I'd have 4 or 5 silver dimes, 2 dozen + wheats, and very little clad. He simply couldn't understand why he wasn't getting as many silvers, if he was digging the deep ones too, in his mind. But what was subconsciously happening, was he was spending all his time honing in on shallow clad, instead of selectively going for the deeper ones with potential for being the deeper silver coins. It's going to be the same for the beach (for the question of gold vs high conductors anyhow) when targets are prolific. You simply can't "have them all", and there DOES come a time when it pays to be a little selective and pass probable zincs.

 

[Jiminsandiego]

Thanks for all the input. The beach I've been hitting is loaded with targets (about every three feet) and like Tom says there's only so much time (and unlimited beach). If I get even a split second of a number over 177 I'll dig it. I don't mind finding clad (it does add up) and I really like to find silver. I liked the gambling analogy and I think if I were digging 177's and another hunter was not, he would probably get the best pile of treasure in a given time on a given beach. That being said, the habit of "dig everything" is a hard one to break and it kills me to leave a good sounding target in the sand, especially with all the stories of good targets that read 177. But the gt is a discriminating detector and I would like to use its potential to maximize my time on the beach. (When I used the word "notching" I really meant mentally notching out the 177)
Thanks again for all the input. Ultimately I guess I'll have to decide if digging 177's is a good bet or a foolish plan.
Cheers
Jim

 

[mudpuppy]

When I was a noob, I ran into a veteran detectorist who obviously took pity on me ( or something) and gave me some advice.."Dig 1000 pulltabs, and dig 1000 pennies"
I found 3 girls gold class rings in the pulltabs, (all returned) but not a damn thing but pennies in the penny department.
He also said to "get good with a screwdriver" the best advice of all! if a fellow can shorten retrieval time, a fellow can grab more targets and cover more ground in a shorter amount of time than somebody who didn't.
I leave a lot of zincs in the dirt, for the reasons mentioned, and am judicious about the depth and location of the signals. The beach is a differrent matter, that penny could be a big gold ring, so I grab them all. I swing the scoop like and axe, which is really fast, instead of digging with it like a shovel. I really try to concentrate on the signal, location, and speedy retrieval, and set my mind on finding gold on every venture. If I was at a beach loaded with targets, after the gold, I'd be keying on foil/nickles/pulltabs/and bastard signals! Good luck!
Mud

 

[Rob in (Ca)]

In The pass I have Found several heavy set (large) Gold/ platinum / diamond Rings which Metered in The 146 range. Anything that meters in The zinc range 177 would be a odd piece of Jewelry or a very large Silver Ring.

Think I would leave The shallow 177's for The PI guys.

 

[goodmore]

I think the PI guys on the forums try to get us to dig them.

 

[erikk]

Jim, as I read your question, I figured for sure you'll get persons to say "dig all" and/or "don't take a chance", etc.... Sure enough, Erik is of that camp of folks, and I'm sure others would agree. The argument would be something like "once in a blue moon, a gold ring can read exactly the same" or "digging on the beach is easy, so why not just dig them?", etc....

But I would have to agree with goodmore on this subject, when he alludes to some guys who would even go so far as to pass all high conductors on the beach. Of course, I would only do this if targets are prolific and thick, and there's simply no way I'll cover the ground, and there's as many targets as I care to dig. Sometimes after storm erosion, for instance, a guy can dig 300+ signals, and simply never cover the beach, before the incoming tide chases him out. Why would you want to spend your time digging targets that are 99% of the time going to be a zinc penny (or a clad dime, or a quarter, etc....), when you could [in cases of prolific target amounts] dig signals that at least have the chance at being a gold ring?

Of course we're not talking corroded zincs (which read down to as low as nickel-ish), and we're not talking deeeep ones (where the TID can't lock on good enough to know).

For example: If you're in Las Vegas playing Black-jack, and you have 20 in your hand, do you take another hit, or do you "hold"? Of COURSE you hold. But wait!! How do you *know* the next card *might* not be a one card? Because the odds are, it's NOT going to be a one card, right? The same is true for the beach: with limited time, your odds are better spent getting your coil over targets that have a chance.

The detractors would say: "Well you simply dig them all". But it never works out like that. You simply run out of time, and never exhaust the amount of beach you could have covered, in some cases (in cases where target counts and real estate is not the issue).

The same logic could be said of land hunting: I once hunted with someone who insisted all the surface clad should be dug, because "once in awhile, an old coin might be on top, since a gopher might have brought it up", or "once in awhile, a monster gold ring reads like a surface zinc", etc... His rationale was that he would simply dig both shallow clad AND deep coins, at the same time, and "have the best of both worlds". But it never worked out like that. At the end of the day, he'd have an apron full of clad, and perhaps only a few wheats and a single silver dime. And I'd have 4 or 5 silver dimes, 2 dozen + wheats, and very little clad. He simply couldn't understand why he wasn't getting as many silvers, if he was digging the deep ones too, in his mind. But what was subconsciously happening, was he was spending all his time honing in on shallow clad, instead of selectively going for the deeper ones with potential for being the deeper silver coins. It's going to be the same for the beach (for the question of gold vs high conductors anyhow) when targets are prolific. You simply can't "have them all", and there DOES come a time when it pays to be a little selective and pass probable zincs.

When I started detecting in the early 60's there were no meters or discrimination you dug all targets (there were also no pull tabs or zinc pennies) When I hunt the dirt with either an Explorer 2 or an F-75 I still dig them all because many IH will come up in the zinc range as well as some other good finds. On the beach in the water I pretty much use an excal exclusively and on occasion on a clean area use a Infinium or Sea Hunter and then dig all but the double beeps. I like to go slow and cover an area thoroughly rather than race around and try to cover the whole beach or field. Trust me, it will be there the next time you come Low and slow is the way to go

 

[dewcon4414]

I can attest to erikk's cleaning a beach. I hunted a local spot where i met him once with that WOT. I managed a nickel and 2 dimes and a couple pieces of melted aluminum. He dug it all lol. As a dirt digger i dug pennies..... no problem and at the end of the year i cashed um in and bought equipment. Our local detecting club had a year long clad competition and i won a shiny silver dollar. Ive found several tokens, copper items, and other country coins especially at depth where signals start changing. I get fooled occassionally on surface pennies that ring as dimes. A penny dug is a penny earned lol. On some of the local beaches here ..... man if you dont dig pennies you can swing for hours...... well i guess i could just put the Xcal in PP and dig trash.

Dew

 

[JimmyCT]

Hi Tom,

Thank you for your thoughts, perspective and Black Jack analogy. I enjoyed reading your post and certainly gave me "food for thought" - Jim

Jim, as I read your question, I figured for sure you'll get persons to say "dig all" and/or "don't take a chance", etc.... Sure enough, Erik is of that camp of folks, and I'm sure others would agree. The argument would be something like "once in a blue moon, a gold ring can read exactly the same" or "digging on the beach is easy, so why not just dig them?", etc....

But I would have to agree with goodmore on this subject, when he alludes to some guys who would even go so far as to pass all high conductors on the beach. Of course, I would only do this if targets are prolific and thick, and there's simply no way I'll cover the ground, and there's as many targets as I care to dig. Sometimes after storm erosion, for instance, a guy can dig 300+ signals, and simply never cover the beach, before the incoming tide chases him out. Why would you want to spend your time digging targets that are 99% of the time going to be a zinc penny (or a clad dime, or a quarter, etc....), when you could [in cases of prolific target amounts] dig signals that at least have the chance at being a gold ring?

Of course we're not talking corroded zincs (which read down to as low as nickel-ish), and we're not talking deeeep ones (where the TID can't lock on good enough to know).

For example: If you're in Las Vegas playing Black-jack, and you have 20 in your hand, do you take another hit, or do you "hold"? Of COURSE you hold. But wait!! How do you *know* the next card *might* not be a one card? Because the odds are, it's NOT going to be a one card, right? The same is true for the beach: with limited time, your odds are better spent getting your coil over targets that have a chance.

The detractors would say: "Well you simply dig them all". But it never works out like that. You simply run out of time, and never exhaust the amount of beach you could have covered, in some cases (in cases where target counts and real estate is not the issue).

The same logic could be said of land hunting: I once hunted with someone who insisted all the surface clad should be dug, because "once in awhile, an old coin might be on top, since a gopher might have brought it up", or "once in awhile, a monster gold ring reads like a surface zinc", etc... His rationale was that he would simply dig both shallow clad AND deep coins, at the same time, and "have the best of both worlds". But it never worked out like that. At the end of the day, he'd have an apron full of clad, and perhaps only a few wheats and a single silver dime. And I'd have 4 or 5 silver dimes, 2 dozen + wheats, and very little clad. He simply couldn't understand why he wasn't getting as many silvers, if he was digging the deep ones too, in his mind. But what was subconsciously happening, was he was spending all his time honing in on shallow clad, instead of selectively going for the deeper ones with potential for being the deeper silver coins. It's going to be the same for the beach (for the question of gold vs high conductors anyhow) when targets are prolific. You simply can't "have them all", and there DOES come a time when it pays to be a little selective and pass probable zincs.

 

[Finderskeeper]

Zincolns are like little batteries and eventually melt away through galvonic action. So in 20 years, all those Zincolns will be gone. I've dug some Zincolns that have been in the ground for just a few years and they look terrible. A few more years and they would be just a fog in the ground with all the zinc and thin copper coating gone.

Our coins have become like our paper money. Eventually worthless to the point of not even being there.

 

[Tin Fin]

I don't know a lot here, but the choice might have more to do with what experience you have - if learning still, dig; if you have a fair amount of experience, and digging zinc bugs you, and you are ready to start cherry picking, and you feel ok about passing up on a signal you are pretty sure is zinc, then go with that. How well you know your machine, how much time you have - including how soon the tide is going to chase you out - what your confidence level is, are all factors.

 

[Critterhunter]

If I'm beach hunting I'll always scoop up zinc penny signals. Less targets to worry about next time and you never know if it might be a large gold ring. If I'm hunting a pounded out old park I won't dig shallow zinc signals unless they are near trash, meaning that they could be an old coin that has been missed by others. I will always dig the deep ones though.