MX7 finds me some silver like a boss

[dfmike]

I posted this here since it used to be the Whites forum. I hope there are still some Whites users lurking about...

I have a love-hate relationship with this detector but when it's good, it's better than good. I'm coming to grips with the noise it makes and making more sense of it with time. This is the result of my 2 last hunts in -5 C or 23 F weather. There is a 2 inch crust of ice and snow on the ground but despite that, I get very good depth with the six shooter concentric coil and sensitivity at 8.

This is from a wooded area that I had never detected before. I had detected the immediate surroundings with very little success. It is littered with rusty bottle caps and tin bits ans cans of all kinds. It's as if there was one gigantic party many decades ago. I have been told many times over that there is nothing more to be found there and I was beginning to believe it until...

Photo 1-2 shows some of my good finds: An old toy gun from the Lone Star company (circa 1950's), a few bullets (my third 9mm bullet from the area and a slightly smaller bullet ?) One of the spoons has the inscription nickel-silver in the back and apparently it contains zero silver content. Could be bronze. The other one is made of thick iron and was very deep. Unfortunately it was broken in three pieces. I found the black rock at about 3 inches. Is it coal, a fragment of meteorite ? I have no idea but the detector likes it and so does the pin pointer. The badge could be police and is from 1919. I broke it while trying to fix the slight warp it had !!! I kicked myself for doing so. Please don't mess with your finds too much. The ointment container is from 1937-1940 and has the slightly scary word anthrax written on it. The Poulenc pharmaceutical company started in France in the early 1800's.

Photo 3-4 shows the three silver coins I found yesterday: A bluenose dime from 1940, 1952 and a beautiful 1925 mercury dime (kind of scarce in Canada). I found a few pennies from 1934, 1937, 1940 and 1944. The ladies makeup compact was found at about 10 inches with a rock on top, plenty of bottle caps around and bits of newspaper wrapped around it. I found a few bits of legible writing that could allow me to date the find approximately. There is mention about a German Zeppelin tour with a Dr. Hugo at the helm and in another section, there were a few classified adds with cars from 1927 and 1928 for sale.

This is why I love metal detection. It's not just about monetary value, it's about going back in time and honoring the memories of those who came before us. It makes for fascinating discoveries. HH

 

[Elton]

Interesting historical type finds....... Good job.

 

[dfmike]

Thanks Elton.

 

[ohio fred]

Those finds make me want to go out.

 

[ohio fred]

Can run with the big boys.Will get some good depth.Also pick up small targets.Big plus depth meter very accurate.

 

[dfmike]

And that pin pointing accuracy with the six shooter coil... nothing quite like it.

 

[dfmike]

I went back to the same place a week after and found a few interesting items. I was once again impressed with the MX7's ability to go deep despite the layer of snow on the ground. My first find was a 1942 nickel in great condition on both sides. A few feet away, I found the 1953 silver quarter. The 1918 large cent was found further away at 7-8 inches under the snow as were the pennies (a 1928, a 1936 and all others including 2 wheats from the 40's and 50's). I found my first 16 gauge shotgun shell. It has the words Kynoch Black no.16 on it. I also found a tube of Foille antiseptic liquid and the golden hollow object seen in the picture (I can make out what seems to be Durham, Warren and York on top but super faint). Any idea what this is ??? It's super light, just slightly thicker than tin.

 

[vito]

Hello.
Some great finds. Congratulation.
Sounds like you had some detecting-fun.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[cal]

Your knocking them dead, Mike! Congrats!

 

[dfmike]

Same place in the woods but just a tad nearer to the water's edge. I very rarely have a 1:2 ratio of silver to copper but I'll take it anytime. It's usually more like 1:10. I found the two silver 1942 and 1949 quarters right from the start and then came the wheat pennies from 1920, 1940 and 1941 and to close off a good day the 1965 silver dime came last. The Canadian mint changed the composition of the dimes starting that year from the original 92.5 silver composition to 80 percent. They switched to nickel during 1968. I also found yet another 9mm bullet casing.

Just a word on the six shooter 6" concentric coil: If you hunt or intend to hunt in woodland areas where you might encounter really cramped spaces that will not allow bigger coils to be effective, this is the coil to use. The 7" Detech might do good as well but the closed design of the small concentric gives it a much needed advantage in roots and heavy brush. I'm impressed with the depth I get with this small coil. The ID is pretty tight as well but past 6 or 7 inches, it can start moving around and be less reliable. For really deep targets, one has to go by sound more than ID.

The stock coil is really good on manicured lawns, the beach and parks but the small coil really shines in areas such as this. Some day I'm going to take a photo of what I mean by hunting in cramped spaces.

This was probably my last hunt until the spring. I can't get the shovel past the ice crust in a lot of places despite hitting the foot plates with all the force I can muster. At this point I'd fare better with an ice pick.

 

[UtahRich]

Excellent results Mike. Thanks for sharing

Rich

 

[nam1969]

Same place in the woods but just a tad nearer to the water's edge. I very rarely have a 1:2 ratio of silver to copper but I'll take it anytime. It's usually more like 1:10. I found the two silver 1942 and 1949 quarters right from the start and then came the wheat pennies from 1920, 1940 and 1941 and to close off a good day the 1965 silver dime came last. The Canadian mint changed the composition of the dimes starting that year from the original 92.5 silver composition to 80 percent. They switched to nickel during 1968. I also found yet another 9mm bullet casing.

Just a word on the six shooter 6" concentric coil: If you hunt or intend to hunt in woodland areas where you might encounter really cramped spaces that will not allow bigger coils to be effective, this is the coil to use. The 7" Detech might do good as well but the closed design of the small concentric gives it a much needed advantage in roots and heavy brush. I'm impressed with the depth I get with this small coil. The ID is pretty tight as well but past 6 or 7 inches, it can start moving around and be less reliable. For really deep targets, one has to go by sound more than ID.

The stock coil is really good on manicured lawns, the beach and parks but the small coil really shines in areas such as this. Some day I'm going to take a photo of what I mean by hunting in cramped spaces.

This was probably my last hunt until the spring. I can't get the shovel past the ice crust in a lot of places despite hitting the foot plates with all the force I can muster. At this point I'd fare better with an ice pick. I really enjoyed reading your post and viewing your treasure .

 

[Druid]

Hi Mike,
That looks suspiciously like some of the old lipstick tubes I have dug.
Nice finds, nice location!
What do you think of the MX7 as a first detector for an absolute noobie?
Where in Canada do you hang your hat?
Cheers,
Drew.

 

[El]

Hey Mike, now that you have gotten your feet pretty wet with the MX7 how does it compare with F19? Which do you prefer hunting with?

Thanks,

El

 

[dfmike]

Hey Mike, now that you have gotten your feet pretty wet with the MX7 how does it compare with F19? Which do you prefer hunting with?

Thanks,

El

I still have to gain more experience with the MX7 to say for sure but then again, I might never come to a definitive conclusion. The MX7 is harder to learn mainly because it's noisy, has more options, programs and the ID is not as stable especially at depth. In comparison, the F19 is super easy to just set and go and it seems impervious to ground conditions. The MX7 has the edge on depth. The MX7's pinpoint accuracy is without equal. It's surgical. One thing that I really like about the MX7 is the category name that appears on the screen along with the number. I know this might sound strange but letters mean more to me than numbers. The way it switches from one category to the other or not says a lot about what is in the ground. Kudos to Whites for including this. Some will say useless eye candy, I say otherwise.

I don't care for the tones on either machines. I use the MX7 in 2 tone mode. I've tried 4 tone and it reminds me too much of the X-Terra I've used before. At least the MX7 can be used in non VCO mode unlike the F19. I never use that mode with the MX7. The target is either there or not. I use the pin pointing button to judge depth and it does quite well. With the F19 you have to use really good sound deadening headphones to get those smaller targets. Past 5-6 inches, the sound gets weaker fast with the F19. I wish Fisher would put out another version with a non VCO option and boost.

For some reason that I haven't figured out yet, the MX7 has disappointed me at the beach (fresh water only). In the sand it seems to lose it's ability to identify targets with the same precision as in the dirt. I'll have to try it more often and play with the ground balance but so far I'm not sure what is happening. The F19 is still the beach king for me and it has found me all my gold targets. It ID's targets accurately in all types of surfaces I have used it so far. It is accurate to the edge of it's detecting depth. The MX7's ID will start moving around on deep targets but that has been the case with all detectors I have used except for the F19.

As it stands I like both for different reasons and I wouldn't want to part with either. I've used the MX7 almost exclusively this pas summer and fall and it has found me lots of firsts. I've found many silver coins in places I was told were hunted out. It made me smile every time I pulled out a silver coin. No clear winner so far !

 

[El]

Thanks for the for the honest evaluation of both units. Appreciate it.

El

 

[dfmike]

Hi Mike,
That looks suspiciously like some of the old lipstick tubes I have dug.
Nice finds, nice location!
What do you think of the MX7 as a first detector for an absolute noobie?
Where in Canada do you hang your hat?
Cheers,
Drew.

Lipstick tube ? That's what I thought initially but wasn't sure. It probably goes with the compact that I found nearby.

This is only my personal opinion but I think I would have sold the MX7 if I had bought it as my first detector. As I mentioned in another post, it's noisy and in junky spots it makes it hard to distinguish trash from good targets (it will single beep and hiccup a lot in those areas even with discrimination used and moderate gain). It forces one to slow down and investigate with more care. It makes it harder to learn the lingo for a newbie and not dig too much trash. There are a lot more options than other detectors I have used (F5 and F19, CoRe mainly) which is not necessarily good for a beginner just trying to learn to dig good targets and have fun doing so. I'm glad I gained some experience on other simpler machines before I got this one. Just my 2 cents.

I am in la belle province : Quebec

 

[Druid]

Thanks for the feedback Mike,
I have been hitting up a lot of the folks on the forums for opinions on newb. machines on behalf of my adult niece who is near you in Ontario, (well' a lot nearer than to me here in B.C.)
Oh well, the search goes on.
Cheers, & HH,
Drew.