tnt-hunter
Bronze Member
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2018
- Messages
- 1,919
- Reaction score
- 10,477
- Golden Thread
- 0
- Location
- Mountain Maryland
- 🏆 Honorable Mentions:
- 9
- Detector(s) used
- Fisher CZ-21, Minelab Equinix 800, ,Garret AT Pro,
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
We went camping with my daughter and her family at a state park about 100 miles from home. I checked to get permission to detect the beach and swimming area and was given permission. I was informed that the swimming area in this park is totally dry like the local park so no need to take the wet suit or the waders.
I normally find a few coins and some silver jewelry, not much gold, so I went with high hopes. I also was hoping family obligations would allow me a decent amount of time to hunt. I always take a spare detector (I own 2 ATPros) and equipment with me. My granddaughter (she is 16 now) has tagged along and pinpointed and helped scoop on some past camping trips so I asked if she wanted to give it a try on her own. She said yes and so we spent 3 hours in the afternoon detecting the dried up swimming area sand. This late after Labor Day I knew others had probably covered most of the area, but I did my usual grid search and my granddaughter was free to go anywhere she liked hoping she might find a goodie or two.
She had a good idea of what to expect, and she interpreted the signals well, digging only a few iron signals. But there is always a lot of foil and the actual pinpointing and recovery is a slow process when you are first learning. I gave her some help on a few targets and called her over for a few promising signals hoping to help her have a successful first go. She didn’t end up with a lot, but she had a good time and is looking forward to the next time we can go out. Too bad she lives 150 miles away.
Altogether she found 6 coins with a face value of $0.91, 5 pieces of cheapie jewelry, a small batch of aluminum foil and a few hair pins. Not a bad first hunt.
I had a total of 10 hours to detect. With 20 years of experience my recovery time is usually pretty short so I dig a lot of targets. That increases my chances of finding good stuff along with the junky stuff.
Altogether I found 38 coins with a face value of $3.36, 10 pieces of silver jewelry, 5 pieces of gold jewelry, 4 pieces of chain, 8 rings in all, a bunch of earrings, pendants, beads, assorted pieces of broken jewelry, pellet gun pellets, selfie stick retainers, sinkers, shoe grommets, earring backs and an unfortunately large batch of aluminum foil.
The first gold find was the 14k miraculous medal ring on Saturday before my granddaughter joined the hunt. It was a solid 50 on the atPro. It has a nice looking aquamarine in it. It is not a heavy one but nice anyway.
The rest of the gold was found on the second day in the other swimming area. Next came the 2 gold earrings and the screw on earring back. The 10k earring was a faint signal at about 7 inches. Out of the hole it was a solid 40 on the VDI. It has 10 little diamonds in it.
The next earring I was sure was gold but I couldn’t find a mark on it. I tested the stones and they were junk but I gave it another look with the magnifying glass and on the side of the hinged part with the hole was the 14k I was hoping for. The markings are getting harder and harder to find sometimes.
The screw in earring back is not like any other earring back I have found. It is small and was close to the surface and is marked 585 so that makes it 14k.
The last gold was a jumpy signal 35-45. I was pretty sure it was another piece of good old aluminum foil. It was being a pain to scoop and ended up being in the side of the hole. It is a nice little 18k signet ring without an initial. It is cracked at the bottom of the band and that’s probably why the signal was jumpy. I’m glad I scoop those foil and jumpy signals. Only a few of the jewelry goodies from this hunt was really good signals. Depth, position, the angle of the swing and the settings on your detector can influence the detector’s response. Most of the coins, except for the eaten up zincs, gave good strong and consistent signals.
Most of the silver is nothing special with the exception of the Minnie Mouse earring. It has the right shape and her hair bow. The special part is the red face which is made of 7 tiny spinels.
The silver chain was a bit of a surprise. I was sure it was junk. It gave a mixed signal and the moon pendant and ring are magnetic. I removed the pedant and the chain was not magnetic. Again I gave it a look with the glass and there was the 925. It has tarnished a little oddly so I wasn’t sure but is shines up nicely so it is the real deal.
2 good days of hunting. There were signs that others had detected, but obviously they didn’t scoop the small stuff and they missed a lot of coins so that works for me. I didn’t cover the whole area but I had an evening appointment so I couldn’t stay any longer Sunday and we didn’t get there early enough to detect Friday. It’s too far away to make a return trip worth while. So anything left will have to wait until next year or the next person to detect.
That makes 25 golds and 89 silvers since my year started May 1st. Not a bad 6 months. The clad total is not as high as usual, but I’d rather dig the jewelry anyway. Thanks for looking, stay safe, good luck and may your coil lead you to good things.
I normally find a few coins and some silver jewelry, not much gold, so I went with high hopes. I also was hoping family obligations would allow me a decent amount of time to hunt. I always take a spare detector (I own 2 ATPros) and equipment with me. My granddaughter (she is 16 now) has tagged along and pinpointed and helped scoop on some past camping trips so I asked if she wanted to give it a try on her own. She said yes and so we spent 3 hours in the afternoon detecting the dried up swimming area sand. This late after Labor Day I knew others had probably covered most of the area, but I did my usual grid search and my granddaughter was free to go anywhere she liked hoping she might find a goodie or two.
She had a good idea of what to expect, and she interpreted the signals well, digging only a few iron signals. But there is always a lot of foil and the actual pinpointing and recovery is a slow process when you are first learning. I gave her some help on a few targets and called her over for a few promising signals hoping to help her have a successful first go. She didn’t end up with a lot, but she had a good time and is looking forward to the next time we can go out. Too bad she lives 150 miles away.
Altogether she found 6 coins with a face value of $0.91, 5 pieces of cheapie jewelry, a small batch of aluminum foil and a few hair pins. Not a bad first hunt.
I had a total of 10 hours to detect. With 20 years of experience my recovery time is usually pretty short so I dig a lot of targets. That increases my chances of finding good stuff along with the junky stuff.
Altogether I found 38 coins with a face value of $3.36, 10 pieces of silver jewelry, 5 pieces of gold jewelry, 4 pieces of chain, 8 rings in all, a bunch of earrings, pendants, beads, assorted pieces of broken jewelry, pellet gun pellets, selfie stick retainers, sinkers, shoe grommets, earring backs and an unfortunately large batch of aluminum foil.
The first gold find was the 14k miraculous medal ring on Saturday before my granddaughter joined the hunt. It was a solid 50 on the atPro. It has a nice looking aquamarine in it. It is not a heavy one but nice anyway.
The rest of the gold was found on the second day in the other swimming area. Next came the 2 gold earrings and the screw on earring back. The 10k earring was a faint signal at about 7 inches. Out of the hole it was a solid 40 on the VDI. It has 10 little diamonds in it.
The next earring I was sure was gold but I couldn’t find a mark on it. I tested the stones and they were junk but I gave it another look with the magnifying glass and on the side of the hinged part with the hole was the 14k I was hoping for. The markings are getting harder and harder to find sometimes.
The screw in earring back is not like any other earring back I have found. It is small and was close to the surface and is marked 585 so that makes it 14k.
The last gold was a jumpy signal 35-45. I was pretty sure it was another piece of good old aluminum foil. It was being a pain to scoop and ended up being in the side of the hole. It is a nice little 18k signet ring without an initial. It is cracked at the bottom of the band and that’s probably why the signal was jumpy. I’m glad I scoop those foil and jumpy signals. Only a few of the jewelry goodies from this hunt was really good signals. Depth, position, the angle of the swing and the settings on your detector can influence the detector’s response. Most of the coins, except for the eaten up zincs, gave good strong and consistent signals.
Most of the silver is nothing special with the exception of the Minnie Mouse earring. It has the right shape and her hair bow. The special part is the red face which is made of 7 tiny spinels.
The silver chain was a bit of a surprise. I was sure it was junk. It gave a mixed signal and the moon pendant and ring are magnetic. I removed the pedant and the chain was not magnetic. Again I gave it a look with the glass and there was the 925. It has tarnished a little oddly so I wasn’t sure but is shines up nicely so it is the real deal.
2 good days of hunting. There were signs that others had detected, but obviously they didn’t scoop the small stuff and they missed a lot of coins so that works for me. I didn’t cover the whole area but I had an evening appointment so I couldn’t stay any longer Sunday and we didn’t get there early enough to detect Friday. It’s too far away to make a return trip worth while. So anything left will have to wait until next year or the next person to detect.
That makes 25 golds and 89 silvers since my year started May 1st. Not a bad 6 months. The clad total is not as high as usual, but I’d rather dig the jewelry anyway. Thanks for looking, stay safe, good luck and may your coil lead you to good things.
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