2009 Year in Review (or Why the E-Trac is awesome)

[Nick A]

Well, I was out on Dec. 31 in the cold and snow looking for silver coin #300. I came home with a pocket of clad, that last one was just too elusive. Hopefully this is not a sign of what's to come in 2010! So, now I take stock and look back at a really fabulous year of detecting thanks to the Minelab E-Trac, which has definitely paid for iteslf in just 9 months (I started the detecting year mid-March with my Minelab Explorer SE).

$349.63 in clad coins
Over 4,700 total coins and tokens.
299 silver coins, 1244 wheat cent
Dozens of rings, most silver, two gold.

2009 was my 19th year of detecting, but by far this was truly the best year ever. In 2009, I found my first large cent and oldest coin, dated 1820. Then just a few weeks later, a second large cent, 1844. I found my oldest silver coin, a beautiful XF 1833 bust dime, which amazingly came from the most heavily detected park in the city.

Dog licenses dating back to 1924, a small tribe of Indian cents, two Civil War storecard tokens, nickels of every sort...

It's been great fun and a great challenge. I started the year aiming for 100 silver coins, thinking I would be quite lucky to get that many. Instead, with the E-Trac, I quickly surpassed my initial goal for the year. A friend and fellow E-Trac user, Dave and I have pulled over 550 silver coins from local parks and schools in 2009 and we both wonder what we will do in 2010, as many of our old haunts are not hunted out, but finds are few and far between. We muse about larger or smaller coils, what could possibly give us more of an edge to be able to do as well again in the coming year.

You can see in the first picture the silver coins I found using White's and Fisher detectors 1990-2007 (about 225), the silver coins found in 2008 with the Explorer SE (52) and the pile from 2009 with the E-Trac (and a little bit of the Explorer, 299). I'm still amazed when I look at these totals.

I still was not able to add a seated coin to my collection, so this will definitely be one of my goals for 2010. I may also have a goal of 2010 wheat cents, which should fill a half gallon mason jar. But as always, I am open to finding whatever ends up under the coil! Good luck to all in the coming year!

 

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[cntrydncr1]

totally awesome! I sure hope I am as lucky with mine!

 

[seger98]

Very impressive totals, I take it that those silvers from 2009 came from much of the same area that the previous silvers came from? Cuz that would be real impressive for the minelab.

 

[Nick A]

Very impressive totals, I take it that those silvers from 2009 came from much of the same area that the previous silvers came from? Cuz that would be real impressive for the minelab.

Correct. The silver coins from 2009 came from much of the same areas that the previous silvers came from. It is very impressive.

 

[LI Tom]

Very Impressive silver finds Nick!I bet finding that Bust dime just about knocked you on your rear.The Explorer-Etrac series are the premier Silver shooters out there.I started using an Explorer last Summer and in the last 4 months of'08 found 70 silver coins.In 2009 I found 243 silver coins,way more than White's and Fisher I used before.Again congrats and hopefully more sites will come your way in 2020.

 

[seger98]

Very impressive totals, I take it that those silvers from 2009 came from much of the same area that the previous silvers came from? Cuz that would be real impressive for the minelab.

Correct. The silver coins from 2009 came from much of the same areas that the previous silvers came from. It is very impressive.

I have a X-terra 70, I use to have a Soverign GT (also minelab) but when it nulls out it takes so long for it to recover I missed alot, I had my best year this year as well I think because of the X-terra becuase it recovers so much faster & a lot of my finds were in areas I covered many times before with the GT! Good luck..

 

[Tnmountains]

Well done Nic ! Very nice collection and display. Congrats on a great year.

 

[DeadLizard7]

Outstanding finds!!!

I'm curious to know how the Etrac differs from the EX SE?

Why/how does the Etrac "find" more silver than the SE?

Thanks and hope 2010 is as good as 2009 was for you!

 

[Iron Patch]

Outstanding finds!!!

I'm curious to know how the Etrac differs from the EX SE?

Why/how does the Etrac "find" more silver than the SE?

Thanks and hope 2010 is as good as 2009 was for you!

Great totals but the question I would have is if the E-trac finds so much more than why use the Explorer even a little?

PS... There is no high end detetor that will beat another 200-52 unless there is much different circumstances involved.

 

[Nick A]

I'm curious to know how the Etrac differs from the EX SE?
Why/how does the Etrac "find" more silver than the SE?

I firmly believe the Explorer Se and the E-Trac are fairly evenly matched. However, the interface (meter, settings, etc) are much more user friendly on the E-Trac. On the Explorer, I was using the Smartfind screen, and had to try to learn and remember where everything came in on the grid, and what were good bounces and bad bounces. With the E-Trac there is much less ambiguity and guesswork on my part. It's almost as if it says, "dig here!" This is just my personal preference as I know many like the Explorer better than the E-Trac.

Also my learning curve with the E-Trac was about zero, as the sounds are the same (to me) as the Explorer, so I did not have to retrain my ears.

 

[Nate in Ohio]

Quite a year Nick; congrats. Amazing bust dime. It's crazy how so much came from sites you've been working already.

 

[finderzzs]

Wow, made a believer out of me. You had a terrific year. Congrats and here's to an even better 2010.

 

[BandB1]

Looks like you had a very,very great year, Congrats!

Do you have an in-line probe?Been considering getting one for my Explorer SE. Started using

​

the EX SE on April the 15th of this year and scored a 111 silver coins w/ it.


Good luck,
HH.

 

[Nick A]

Do you have an in-line probe?Been considering getting one for my Explorer SE. Started using the EX SE on April the 15th of this year and scored a 111 silver coins w/ it.

Congrats on your 111 silver! That's awesome!

Yes, I have the Sun Ray probe. I first started using them on my Fisher CZ's and LOVE them. I vowed a a few years back never to buy another detector that did not have a Sun Ray probe for it. It makes recoveries so fast and easy. I like that it uses the detector electronics (so it's like a mini coil... it still has target ID and pinpoint function), uses no batteries, and stows ON the detector... nothing to lose or forget. Worth every penny. I have a Sun Ray probe on every detector I own.

 

[Goes4ever]

great year Nick! Sure would have been cool to get that #300 but hey you can't complain!

Is that pic of the indians everyone you got this year? It seems like thru-out the yr you found more than that, I am shocked you don't have a lot more injuns with all that silver. Think you will break 300 in 2010?

 

[Nick A]

great year Nick! Sure would have been cool to get that #300 but hey you can't complain!

Is that pic of the indians everyone you got this year? It seems like thru-out the yr you found more than that, I am shocked you don't have a lot more injuns with all that silver. Think you will break 300 in 2010?

You're right, I should have more Indian head cents. I think part of it is that for the driest parts of the summer I was being more selective about what I dug to keep the turf nice. Another factor is that most of my hunting grounds just aren't that old... so the majority of cents are wheats. I think 300 will be a real challenge for next year, as all my nearby sites have been hit pretty hard, so travel time may cut into detecting time. We'll see!

 

[Bartman]

Wow, if that isn't a advertisment for the e-trac then I don't know what is. Congrats on a great year. Do you clean your wheaties or did most of them come out of the ground like that? Mine usually look a lot more beat up.

 

[Nick A]

Do you clean your wheaties or did most of them come out of the ground like that?

Those are all cleaned... the older ones with nice green patina I just uses a toothbrush and soap on, the others all get tossed in the rock tumbler.

 

[Mirage]

Nick,
That is amazing. It's like what Nate and I found together times two!

A couple questions about the Etrac - Are you digging coins at deeper depths than with the SE? Have you found a lot of deep coins in those heavily hunted parks?

Nate and I hunt a "heavily hunted" park. The one field we usually only find new silver in the early spring when the ground is saturated.

That Bust Dime is sweet. I am surprised you didn't find a seated.

Good luck in 2010.

Bob

 

[Nick A]

A couple questions about the Etrac - Are you digging coins at deeper depths than with the SE? Have you found a lot of deep coins in those heavily hunted parks?

Not everything is deeper. Some is, but most is right where you would expect it to be. What I'm getting is really stuff that has been masked by other targets. The target separation is amazing. Even the 1833 dime was not all that deep. When I dug it, I was expecting a wheat cent. I have dug many good targets co-located with iron and other trash. The E-Trac is really hot on silver, so if it's there, you get a hit on it. It may not come up on the meter correctly, but the sound will be good and experience will teach you to dig it. I think the SE with the Pro coil is a pretty even match for the E-Trac, but the E-Trac interface makes it a lot more user friendly and adjustable on the fly (which is rarely needed). So, target separation and good ID (tones) make the difference. Now, I'm not saying the machine isn't deep, because it's that too. I've dug targets giving good signals much deeper than I have with any other detector.