Geologyhound
Well-known member
I decided to try a couple new places, so I picked up a permit for some local parks. I thought I would try to see if I could find some structures shown on a late 1800s topo. So, I loaded up Cal Topo and headed out.
I turned on my D2 just to see if I could find any nail beds on the way out. I picked up a copper penny in the field before I hit the trail. On the way down the hill, I got a 78 signal in the middle of the trail with a double beep. Figuring a pull tab for my second find of the day, I knelt down and did not even have to use the pin pointer. I could see almost half a ring arc visible sticking out of the dirt. But when I popped it out and got a good look at it I couldn’t believe it was gold! I have had my D2 for almost 2 years now, and this is the first gold item I have found. It is also probably the most valuable thing I have found with this detector!
There is no karat stamp, but at 97.1 grains (6.29 grams), it does have a little heft. I will have to take it by a jeweler and see what they say for purity. There is an inscription inside, but no name or initials. It doesn’t match any of the lost advertisements I can find.
For the rest of the day, I kept hoping another of the 78s would be another ring. I have never had a two gold day. Of course I came up with a lot of ring pulls. The frustrating thing was the bottle caps were ringing up great. They kept hitting 88 to 91 with a good tone. I even bumped the bottle cap setting to five and it did not help. I didn’t find the old structures, but I suspect they are in some of the overgrown areas which are currently off-limits for detecting. Still, with a gold ring I can’t complain…
At one point, I did realize I had an onlooker. A doe was peering at me unafraid. I talked to her for a while and then moved down the path away from her and she followed me. This happened about three times until I reached the main trail and sat down on a bench. Then she continued nibbling around her before moving off into the trees.
I turned on my D2 just to see if I could find any nail beds on the way out. I picked up a copper penny in the field before I hit the trail. On the way down the hill, I got a 78 signal in the middle of the trail with a double beep. Figuring a pull tab for my second find of the day, I knelt down and did not even have to use the pin pointer. I could see almost half a ring arc visible sticking out of the dirt. But when I popped it out and got a good look at it I couldn’t believe it was gold! I have had my D2 for almost 2 years now, and this is the first gold item I have found. It is also probably the most valuable thing I have found with this detector!
There is no karat stamp, but at 97.1 grains (6.29 grams), it does have a little heft. I will have to take it by a jeweler and see what they say for purity. There is an inscription inside, but no name or initials. It doesn’t match any of the lost advertisements I can find.
For the rest of the day, I kept hoping another of the 78s would be another ring. I have never had a two gold day. Of course I came up with a lot of ring pulls. The frustrating thing was the bottle caps were ringing up great. They kept hitting 88 to 91 with a good tone. I even bumped the bottle cap setting to five and it did not help. I didn’t find the old structures, but I suspect they are in some of the overgrown areas which are currently off-limits for detecting. Still, with a gold ring I can’t complain…
At one point, I did realize I had an onlooker. A doe was peering at me unafraid. I talked to her for a while and then moved down the path away from her and she followed me. This happened about three times until I reached the main trail and sat down on a bench. Then she continued nibbling around her before moving off into the trees.
