Recovered this object at a measured depth of 22" today

[AVXVA]

Recovered this iron object today at a carefully measured depth of 22". The E-Trac gave me a short, but solid tone, with a consistent lower right-hand corner ID.

I'm running my E-Trac with a stock coil, set to very minimal discrimination (1-5 CO is black), single tone, ferrous, +3 Auto. (The +3 usually sets the machine at 27 or 28.)

How much more depth do I have / can I get from the E-Trac??

By the way: What is this thing? It is warped / distorted, had / has heavy wood screws in each lobe, and looks like it was designed to rotate on a shaft or axle.

Bronc

 

[mcb613]

Looks like a pipe flange. Are there holes in the feet? Looks like there is.

 

[AVXVA]

Yes--and the remains of 3 heavy wood screws remain in each of the feet / lobes. Also, the object appears warped from torque.

Bronc

 

[AVXVA]

The depth gauge on the E-Trac is a big [size=large]?[/size] for me. Prior to digging 22" to recover this object, the gauge was reading 8".

Bronc

 

[Diggler]

The depth gauge is calibrated for coin size objects. A tiny object may say 8" and be 1", and as you see, a big object may say 8" and be 22".

 

[sugar]

may i ask if you normally dig things that are showing in the lower right hand corner this is not something i would ever do does anybody else?????????????????????

 

[Steve O]

Relic hunters do.

 

[Bilko]

any interesting iron relics?

 

[AVXVA]

Mid-19th century money transfer boxes (for the transportation of gold coins) were of a standard size: 15.5" x 10.5" x 6.75" and were made out of 3/32" thick forged straps that were riveted together. When fully loaded, each box would hold $25,000 in gold coins and weigh 92 pounds. Now, in a hypothetical scenario where some intrepid fellow was looking for six of those boxes, his E-Trac would not read the gold inside each box, it's gonna read the "trash target" iron that surrounds it. Other complications: the boxes have been rusting in the ground for well over 100 years, and they could be four (4) feet deep. A large rusted object at such a depth might have a weak return, a blip return, or very difficult to analyze return....and there is always the chance it might sound exactly like a rusted flange sitting at 22". So that's why a fellow might dig up something like that stupid rusted thing.

Bronc

 

[AVXVA]

Correction--the above sentence should read: When fully loaded, each box would hold $25,000 in gold coins and weigh 92 pounds, not counting the box. Together, the box and coins would go an even 100 pounds.

 

[sugar]

your information seems rather pointing towards obsessive as the mention of 92 pounds seems rather an exact figure surely it depends on the nomination of the gold coins if you are so interested in treasure may i suggest that you invest in a two box fisher gemini which will give you a much lower depth and is made for real treasure hunting i do notice on your posts you do quote lots of figures on various topics so i know you are doing lots of reading but i do hope you are enjoying your detecting and that one day you do find that hoard that does seem to mean so much to you happy hunting

 

[sugar]

sorry i mean denomination of the gold coins

 

[george decker]

Not sure but i think it's a bracket to hold a flag. Not value, sorry

 

[NebTrac]

Bronc,

If the ground isn't too hard where your diggin'. You might try a long probe to save time. Now on the object you found, it would be hard to hit it with a probe. A strongbox would likely be a lot easier to find with a 4 or 5 foot probe. I'm on the cemetery board and we use a probe to find exact locations of caskets. For some reason the ground above a casket, even one that has been there for a century, will allow a probe a lot easier than "non-touched" soil.

NebTrac

 

[Steve O]

Sugar....Some iron relics could be axe and hatchet heads, old tools, cast iron toys, horse shoes, old guns and gun parts, branding irons,sword scabbords, iron arrowheads, bayonetts, spurs, just to name a few. Coin hunters will pass on digging iron signals.

 

[AVXVA]

your information seems rather pointing towards obsessive as the mention of 92 pounds seems rather an exact figure surely it depends on the denomination of the gold coins if you are so interested in

Hey Sugar:

Here are some calculations I did for another post:

[size=medium]"The closest American gold coin to a penny (in diameter) is the $2.5 Quarter Eagle at 18mm. The mass of 1 [pristine] $2.5 gold piece = 4.18 grams. 1100 x 4.18 = 4.598 kilograms = 10.136 pounds and I suspect that 1100 of them would be the size of a very large orange.

$100,000 in $20 gold coins equals 167.18 kilograms = 368.56 pounds. (5,000 x 33.436 grams per coin = 167.18 kilograms = 368.56 pounds)

$100,000 in $10 gold coins also equals 167.18 kilograms = 368.56 pounds. (10,000 x 16.718 grams per coin = 167.18 kilograms = 368.56 pounds)

ALL middle 19th century American gold coins break down along these lines. $1,000 in gold coins OF ANY DENOMINATION weighs 1.6718 kilograms = 3.685 pounds

A nickel at 21.2 mm is the closest current coin (in size) to the $5.00 gold piece at 22.5 mm. $10 of nickels = 200 nickels which has the volume of a very large orange. 200 x $5 = $1000. So again, 200 x 8.359 grams = 1.6718 kilograms = 3.685 pounds.

When the numismatic value of each individual coin is factored in, there can be one hell of a lot of money in a very small--but kinda heavy--package.

Bronc"[/size]

Bronc

 

[AVXVA]

Bronc,

If the ground isn't too hard where your diggin'. You might try a long probe to save time. Now on the object you found, it would be hard to hit it with a probe. A strongbox would likely be a lot easier to find with a 4 or 5 foot probe.
NebTrac

Thank you once again NebTrac. As usual your suggestions are incredibly helpful.

Bronc

 

[Jason in Enid]

Bronc,

If the ground isn't too hard where your diggin'. You might try a long probe to save time. Now on the object you found, it would be hard to hit it with a probe. A strongbox would likely be a lot easier to find with a 4 or 5 foot probe. I'm on the cemetery board and we use a probe to find exact locations of caskets. For some reason the ground above a casket, even one that has been there for a century, will allow a probe a lot easier than "non-touched" soil.

NebTrac

This is why they say "you can never hide a hole". Once you disturb the natural ground matrix, it stays disturbed. Archeologists can actually see the out lines of a forner "hole" when doing an excavation.

As someone said earlier, a two-box detector could help you search for caches. If you have good evidence a cache was buried, you should search the erea multiple times. If you dont find it with the regular detector, hunt again with the two-box.

 

[sugar]

when i dig up things like spearheads i find they arent in the iron target completely they do give off a higher sound in ferrous then the usual iron sound so i dig also in uk the horse shoes do this i am on a site with bronze age and iron age so i do have to listen carefully to make sure i am not missing anything thats how i found a hoard of george 111 coins in a tin but it was covered by lead it is quite tricky sometimes but you have to keep an open mind

 

[AVXVA]

Thanks Sugar and Jason in Enid for the suggestion of adding a two box detector to my quiver. I did some quick research and came up with the TF-900. (Apparently, the White's TM 808 is a close copy of the TF-900, and at one time, the Discovery company actually made the White's TM-800.)

I know absolutely nothing about using one and hopefully the learning curve will be an easy one.

Any more suggestions? I readily take advice and I would really appreciate any hints, ideas, or tips that anyone has.

Bronc