sgoss66
Well-known member
This morning, my hunting partner Mike and I headed out for another hunt today. We were BOTH supposed to be swinging Equinox's, but when we arrived, I realized I did not have my Equinox headphones (and since then, it appears I may have lost them from the back of my truck at our prior hunt -- UGH!)
ANYWAY, since I had no Equinox headphones, I ended up swinging the CTX today. I was disappointed, because I wanted to "compare signals" with Mike while both of us were swinging the same machine, to hopefully help him get better acquainted with his new unit. Turns out, he didn't NEED my help; he did quite well, on his own -- LOL!
Anyway, we DID still get to compare a few signals. One, was interesting...
Mike had walked up to talk to me, as I was locating a target. It looked to be about a 6" deep coin, and my CTX was suggesting wheat penny. So, Mike and I talked for a bit, and before we split up again, I said "have a listen, I have one here that I think may be a wheatie." He listened, and liked what he heard. I asked him what numbers he was getting...and he said "upper 20s, with some low 30s even." HMMM. That's odd; that would be right around a quarter reading, on the Equinox; so, I re-checked the target with the CTX, and I was still getting 12-41, 12-42, 12-43 at about 6-7" deep; likely wheat cent numbers. I told Mike something was odd -- as our machines were giving quite a different "read" on the same target.
Mike said "I'm going to stay here while you dig this, I'm curious."
So, I cut the plug, and the CTX showed the target was in the plug. But NOW, my machine was reading 13-46 on the target in the plug. So, I said to Mike "NOW I am getting a quarter signal -- the Equinox did a better job on this one than the CTX." So I stuck in the pinpointer and found the target, and out popped...
A 1919 wheatie.
WHAT? Now I was REALLY confused. It was "on edge" at 7" deep, so we just kind of shrugged our shoulders. So, I put the plug back in and fixed my hole, BUT.....I did the ONE THING you should ALWAYS do, and this should drive the point home...RE-CHECK YOUR HOLE!!!!!
As Mike started to walk away, I haphazardly swung the coil over my now-repaired hole, and started to move forward, BUT -- I got another high-tone, and 12-43 reading on my machine. So, I called Mike back, and said -- "We're not done!"
When he got back over to me, I re-dug my plug back out, and popped it onto the ground. Here's what Mike saw...
[attachment 356382 3-22-18halfinplugrot-small.JPG]
He said "OH, BOY!" And I said "what?" As I hadn't seen it yet. He showed me a BIG silver rim, and for a short while we weren't sure if maybe I had just dug my first silver dollar! Then, Mike said -- "there's another coin stuck to it..." Sure enough, I took a closer look, and saw this:
[attachment 356383 3-22-18halfinplugwithwheatrot-zoomsmall.JPG]
So, I took it out of the dirt clod for a closer look...
[attachment 356384 3-22-18halfonplugwithwheatrot-small.JPG]
NOW we knew it was a half dollar; a rinse with some water revealed that it was a 1920 Walking Liberty half...
[attachment 356385 3-22-18WalkerHalfrot-small.JPG]
Incidentally, that wheatie that was stuck to the half was also a 1920.
SO -- a very interesting dig. ONE, because it's my second half in 48 hours! And TWO, because once all three coins were out of the plug, it became more obvious why our two machines were giving us a different "answer." In "ferrous-coin" mode, which I was hunting in, the CTX will air test a Walker at 12-44/12-45. Meanwhile, the Equinox will air-test a Walker at 33-34. SO -- with two wheats also in the hole, including one that was "stuck" to the half, it now makes some sense why we were both getting readings a bit lower from our respective machines than one would expect for a half. An interesting dig, for sure.
The best part is that Mike was there, and got to swing over, both of the half dollars (today's and Tuesday's) before they were dug. It's always fun to hunt with a partner, and "checking each other's signals" has always been one of my favorite things to do, all the way back to when Mike and I started hunting together 7 years ago, in the late winter/early spring of 2011.
One last interesting tidbit. Two halves in 48 hours is NOT the shortest time span between two half dollar digs, for me. Seven years ago, I dug two halves within about ONE hour -- in the same hunt! And ironically, those two halves were the first two silver coins I ever dug! I can vividly remember how hard I was working, trying to dig my first silver coin while watching Mike get one or two or three every hunt, for several months! I was convinced I might never dig a silver coin! But, when it finally happened for me, it happened in a "big silver" way!
And, for the last "ironic" twist, this morning Mike and I started out hunting in that very same park I dug those first two halves in, almost exactly 7 years ago! But, after an hour or so, Mike suggested we move to another park that we've been to a number of times in the past (and I'm glad we did)! So, while I didn't dig two halves IN this park, this time, it's still kind of quirkly that a hunt at this park was "sandwiched in between" two half dollar digs in two days!
You just never know what's going to happen next, in this crazy hobby!
Happy hunting everyone,
Steve
ANYWAY, since I had no Equinox headphones, I ended up swinging the CTX today. I was disappointed, because I wanted to "compare signals" with Mike while both of us were swinging the same machine, to hopefully help him get better acquainted with his new unit. Turns out, he didn't NEED my help; he did quite well, on his own -- LOL!
Anyway, we DID still get to compare a few signals. One, was interesting...
Mike had walked up to talk to me, as I was locating a target. It looked to be about a 6" deep coin, and my CTX was suggesting wheat penny. So, Mike and I talked for a bit, and before we split up again, I said "have a listen, I have one here that I think may be a wheatie." He listened, and liked what he heard. I asked him what numbers he was getting...and he said "upper 20s, with some low 30s even." HMMM. That's odd; that would be right around a quarter reading, on the Equinox; so, I re-checked the target with the CTX, and I was still getting 12-41, 12-42, 12-43 at about 6-7" deep; likely wheat cent numbers. I told Mike something was odd -- as our machines were giving quite a different "read" on the same target.
Mike said "I'm going to stay here while you dig this, I'm curious."
So, I cut the plug, and the CTX showed the target was in the plug. But NOW, my machine was reading 13-46 on the target in the plug. So, I said to Mike "NOW I am getting a quarter signal -- the Equinox did a better job on this one than the CTX." So I stuck in the pinpointer and found the target, and out popped...
A 1919 wheatie.
WHAT? Now I was REALLY confused. It was "on edge" at 7" deep, so we just kind of shrugged our shoulders. So, I put the plug back in and fixed my hole, BUT.....I did the ONE THING you should ALWAYS do, and this should drive the point home...RE-CHECK YOUR HOLE!!!!!
As Mike started to walk away, I haphazardly swung the coil over my now-repaired hole, and started to move forward, BUT -- I got another high-tone, and 12-43 reading on my machine. So, I called Mike back, and said -- "We're not done!"
When he got back over to me, I re-dug my plug back out, and popped it onto the ground. Here's what Mike saw...
[attachment 356382 3-22-18halfinplugrot-small.JPG]
He said "OH, BOY!" And I said "what?" As I hadn't seen it yet. He showed me a BIG silver rim, and for a short while we weren't sure if maybe I had just dug my first silver dollar! Then, Mike said -- "there's another coin stuck to it..." Sure enough, I took a closer look, and saw this:
[attachment 356383 3-22-18halfinplugwithwheatrot-zoomsmall.JPG]
So, I took it out of the dirt clod for a closer look...
[attachment 356384 3-22-18halfonplugwithwheatrot-small.JPG]
NOW we knew it was a half dollar; a rinse with some water revealed that it was a 1920 Walking Liberty half...
[attachment 356385 3-22-18WalkerHalfrot-small.JPG]
Incidentally, that wheatie that was stuck to the half was also a 1920.
SO -- a very interesting dig. ONE, because it's my second half in 48 hours! And TWO, because once all three coins were out of the plug, it became more obvious why our two machines were giving us a different "answer." In "ferrous-coin" mode, which I was hunting in, the CTX will air test a Walker at 12-44/12-45. Meanwhile, the Equinox will air-test a Walker at 33-34. SO -- with two wheats also in the hole, including one that was "stuck" to the half, it now makes some sense why we were both getting readings a bit lower from our respective machines than one would expect for a half. An interesting dig, for sure.
The best part is that Mike was there, and got to swing over, both of the half dollars (today's and Tuesday's) before they were dug. It's always fun to hunt with a partner, and "checking each other's signals" has always been one of my favorite things to do, all the way back to when Mike and I started hunting together 7 years ago, in the late winter/early spring of 2011.
One last interesting tidbit. Two halves in 48 hours is NOT the shortest time span between two half dollar digs, for me. Seven years ago, I dug two halves within about ONE hour -- in the same hunt! And ironically, those two halves were the first two silver coins I ever dug! I can vividly remember how hard I was working, trying to dig my first silver coin while watching Mike get one or two or three every hunt, for several months! I was convinced I might never dig a silver coin! But, when it finally happened for me, it happened in a "big silver" way!
And, for the last "ironic" twist, this morning Mike and I started out hunting in that very same park I dug those first two halves in, almost exactly 7 years ago! But, after an hour or so, Mike suggested we move to another park that we've been to a number of times in the past (and I'm glad we did)! So, while I didn't dig two halves IN this park, this time, it's still kind of quirkly that a hunt at this park was "sandwiched in between" two half dollar digs in two days!
You just never know what's going to happen next, in this crazy hobby!
Happy hunting everyone,
Steve
I believe the count was 2 Indians and 3 wheats and both machines were ctx's