DirtFlipper
New member
Howdy,
I only had a shorter window to try my luck today for my weekly outing, so I opted not to drive too far. I have a 12x15 SEF coil I wanted to try, so I picked a spot that I thought might have some deeper targets lurking.
But, before I tried the 12x15, I already had the 8x6 SEF attached and we had a recent good rain, so I thought I'd first go play in the iron for awhile. I've been over this spot before a few times, so just to mix it up, I set for Ferrous sounds, and went to a wide open Smart Screen with only crown caps rejected (so nearly all metal). I wanted to try and sniff out anything that chirped and had depth.
My first decent target turned out to be a shot gun shell, but it was deep and sounded good, so I was encouraged. I kept going and finally got another good sounding target with some depth. Not a high mark on the conductive scale, but good enough. This turned out to be a '36 Buffalo nickel (has full horn too, lots of detail, but the nickel affliction unfortunately).
[attachment 168437 2010July25008.jpg]
[attachment 168438 2010July25007.jpg]
Finding this also encouraging, I ambled on. Picked up a neat button with a steam train on it. Got a small child's ring. Couldn't seem to locate any other coins.
[attachment 168439 2010July25006.jpg]
Then finally got another good sounding signal, which I thought could be another nickel. It was deep, but had a great tone to it. Down around seven inches, I caught a glimpse of a ring, and as I pulled it up I could see that it was a gold wedding band. Wow. I also caught a glimpse of some script engraving, and given the site, I knew this was likely an old one.
[attachment 168440 2010July25002.jpg]
I quickly packed it away before I got too distracted by it, so I could continue hunting. As it turns out, this is hard to do! But I tried anyway (I really did want to find some silver, as has been a weekly tradition). I finally got another sweet sounding signal, this time with high conductivity, but it turned out to be a three-coin Wheatie pocket spill (all 40's). Still, enough for some hope.
[attachment 168441 2010July25003.jpg]
I was running out of time, so I figured I'd better try the 12x15 SEF before leaving, which I did. It was heavy, but managable. It did help sniff out one small button that was down deep (pictured above), but that was all I managed on the short trial run with it. (I really wanted to be hunting more with the 8x6, so wasn't really into it this time).
Got home and cleaned up the ring. It has a hallmark of XXX and a sideways W. Looks like FooserPaul found one of these on another forum and did the research, which seems to be that it's an 18K. It does have two sets of initials engraved in it, which I'll try to research a bit over the winter. Since it's old, and only initials, I don't have much hope of a positive ID though. Sure was a fun find!
[attachment 168442 2010July25009.jpg]
[attachment 168443 2010July25014.jpg]
I was reminded today that the 8x6 SEF with Ferrous sounds and all metal is an effective combo in the right place. This site has very little modern trash, lots of iron in areas, and depth is a reasonable indicator of age. Oh yeah, and that I need to go back and hammer it some more! And try the combo at some other sites...
HH,
DirtFlipper
I only had a shorter window to try my luck today for my weekly outing, so I opted not to drive too far. I have a 12x15 SEF coil I wanted to try, so I picked a spot that I thought might have some deeper targets lurking.
But, before I tried the 12x15, I already had the 8x6 SEF attached and we had a recent good rain, so I thought I'd first go play in the iron for awhile. I've been over this spot before a few times, so just to mix it up, I set for Ferrous sounds, and went to a wide open Smart Screen with only crown caps rejected (so nearly all metal). I wanted to try and sniff out anything that chirped and had depth.
My first decent target turned out to be a shot gun shell, but it was deep and sounded good, so I was encouraged. I kept going and finally got another good sounding target with some depth. Not a high mark on the conductive scale, but good enough. This turned out to be a '36 Buffalo nickel (has full horn too, lots of detail, but the nickel affliction unfortunately).
[attachment 168437 2010July25008.jpg]
[attachment 168438 2010July25007.jpg]
Finding this also encouraging, I ambled on. Picked up a neat button with a steam train on it. Got a small child's ring. Couldn't seem to locate any other coins.
[attachment 168439 2010July25006.jpg]
Then finally got another good sounding signal, which I thought could be another nickel. It was deep, but had a great tone to it. Down around seven inches, I caught a glimpse of a ring, and as I pulled it up I could see that it was a gold wedding band. Wow. I also caught a glimpse of some script engraving, and given the site, I knew this was likely an old one.
[attachment 168440 2010July25002.jpg]
I quickly packed it away before I got too distracted by it, so I could continue hunting. As it turns out, this is hard to do! But I tried anyway (I really did want to find some silver, as has been a weekly tradition). I finally got another sweet sounding signal, this time with high conductivity, but it turned out to be a three-coin Wheatie pocket spill (all 40's). Still, enough for some hope.
[attachment 168441 2010July25003.jpg]
I was running out of time, so I figured I'd better try the 12x15 SEF before leaving, which I did. It was heavy, but managable. It did help sniff out one small button that was down deep (pictured above), but that was all I managed on the short trial run with it. (I really wanted to be hunting more with the 8x6, so wasn't really into it this time).
Got home and cleaned up the ring. It has a hallmark of XXX and a sideways W. Looks like FooserPaul found one of these on another forum and did the research, which seems to be that it's an 18K. It does have two sets of initials engraved in it, which I'll try to research a bit over the winter. Since it's old, and only initials, I don't have much hope of a positive ID though. Sure was a fun find!
[attachment 168442 2010July25009.jpg]
[attachment 168443 2010July25014.jpg]
I was reminded today that the 8x6 SEF with Ferrous sounds and all metal is an effective combo in the right place. This site has very little modern trash, lots of iron in areas, and depth is a reasonable indicator of age. Oh yeah, and that I need to go back and hammer it some more! And try the combo at some other sites...
HH,
DirtFlipper
).