Finally got another detector on Monday..went out today and..

Do you need to spend $850. or can you get by with one for less money? Is it the more you spend, the deeper it goes?

 

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Jim C, those are great finds, and its good to see you are out hunting again. I wish I had the time to do that!

 

Not necessarily. You can get good detectors for less. As with almost anything you do tend to get better quality/features etc. as you go up in price though. You can certainly get by with something much cheaper as a beginner. You might even never feel the need to upgrade. Most serious users will have something in that price range give or take a few $100 though.

 

Nice finds !

I'm going to go out this week.

 

I have wanting to go out for about a year now, but it's been way too HOT out lately, over 100 for a while! I even got the city's permission to detect on ceratin historistal sites, but just havn't been able yet! I am from southern california, but it seems in my city, the oldest established things are about 1880 or so. mostly early 1900s. anyway, any ideas for good places?

 

mpaulson
I am from Long Island, NY. Everyone around here hits the beaches, so (contrary as I am) I hit the schools, parks, where ever no one else goes.

As a result, I have (over the years) dug Indian cents, seated dimes and half dimes, two cent pieces.
The other guys around here don't understand how I do it, so I tell them to get off of the sand.
You'll never dig old coins there-- or rarely do so.

 

It was my understanding that a beginner could pick up a detector for around $250, but be prepared to dig up bottle caps, pop tops and whatnot along with the gold debloons and rare silver reals.

 

I have managed to dig up a few bottle caps and some aluminum scraps! I really haven't had my detector out much. It gets so humid in the summer I can't keep the sweat out of my eyes.
I hope to get out this fall and do some searching.
Congrays on your finds jim:thumb: , I hope I can find something like that, it would make it all worth it.

 

Viper:
You have to get out there more.

This weekend I dug 50+ coins and the gold bracelet.
And nearly melted in the heat & humidity.

But you don't feel the heat when you can find silver or gold.
I have been to this one school ground four times.
1) Junk clad coins + silver ring
2) junk coins + silver Roosie
3) junk clad + silver St Christopher's medal.
4) junk clad + gold bracelet (described above).

even though I only get one piece of gold or silver per trip it is well worth the work.

That is the above plus an average of ten+ pounds of trash each day.

The only way to get the gold is to dig the trash.

Better luck and better days will come.

But, remember, I have gone (seems like) forever without any silver or gold.
Lately the above is above average.

 

The Garrett Ace 250 is a nice one that can be found for just over $200.

 

There have been some great reviews on this one!

 

Its all about what you are after. I love old coins. So I put myself in areas where people gathered back in the day. Parks that have been around a long time, old one room school sites, old church sites, old home sites are my favorite because those are some of the last virgin sites around. The other mentioned sites such as parks, schools, and church lots have more than likely been detected by others but no one finds em all. As I have learned how to listen to what the detector is telling me over the years I have gone back to these sites again and again and still find one or two goodies. Especially if the spots are large like a fairground spot or park.
One example is a park that saw lots of people at the turn of the century. When I first bought a detector back in 1998 I went to this park for 3 years before I started finding older coins. I had a mid range detector then. A whites QXT. After I upgraded to a better detector and with my previous experience detecting the old coins started to pop up at least one or two every trip.
The main thing to successful detecting is location plus knowing what the detector is telling you. Its such a fun hobby. You need patience though. Also, most old coins are in the 5 inch and deeper range. If your detector will not go that deep than you won't find em. Jim

 

Is this depth a parmater stated on the detectors packaging, or is it found by looking for thorough reviews?

Thanks

 

That is what I bought and it seems to function REALLY well.
In coin mode, it has been very accurate in telling me the actual depth and denomination.

 

I live in the nations longest continuously occupied European settlement (who can tell me where I live?), I bet there's good stuff everywhere.

 

St. Pete

 

i am curious did you ever got hasseled by a park ranger or anything?

 

even if you dig up junk clad, you can get money for it! when i dig up trash, instead of being mad, just think of it as cleaning up the park.:hammer:

 

I always do, and cleaning up a field is how you'll be able to find those gold rings, bracelets, etc.

One school yard, I dug a pull tab signal, and out popped a 14kt religious medal.
The next signal was a pull tab, and I often wondered what would have happened if I had dug them in reverse order-- would I have dug the gold medal? Or would I have just assumed that it was another pull tab? The signals were less than a foot apart.

On an average day I may dig 40 to 50 pull tabs, and it can get very frustrating.
But-- we go on just to find that all too elusive gold.