A question for all you smart people

[JPancho]

I'm new to MDing and I had a weird find today. I live in Augusta, GA and was out in my back yard this morning with a use 5900 I just got a few days ago. I was running in GEB/DISC mode and had a strong signal in the nickel range at about 5". Now the soil is a thin topsoil then about 2" to 3" of sand then kinda reddish clay after that. Well I dug and found nothing so I checked out my pile of removed soil to see if my target was there. Here I found a "metallic" rock about 1.5" long, .75" wide and .5" thick. This rock was giving me a real strong signal and looked kinda like iron ore with crystalline flakes on it. I check to see if was iron by trying to stick it to a magnate, but it didn't. Any ideas what I have? Also, my 5900 seems to say things are deeper than they really are, and yes I am using preset settings. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

 

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[spotz]

Howdy JP. I am not smart, or I would be wealthy! I am however, fat & happy in our little world of MDing. I do not know for sure just what you found, but someone on this forum will figure it out. Welcome to the forum & good luck. Keep swinging! Spotz

 

[Darren in NC]

Hello JPancho. Can you post a picture? It might help.

 

[omnicognic]

maybe iron pyrite?

 

[warsawdaddy]

About the depth--how high above ground level is your coil?That depth reading includes any air space between bottom of coil and the ground surface.

 

[spotz]

I'm watching these replies & I still haven't gotten any smarter. Come on guys! Spotz

 

[JPancho]

my coil is touching the ground, I'm wondering if I need to send my MD in for a tune up. Being a used machine, but new to me, I don't have anything to compare it to. (as in "it used to work like this, and now it works like this")

 

[Darod]

JPancho,

You need to talk with a user named, "Lab rat". This guy is really very impressive in terms of science and what your post deals with. Do a search on user names and see if you can Private message him. Ask him to post his response here on this posting so we can all hear what he has to say. He'll probably be able to tell you exactly what you have there.

Welcome to the forum!

Rod

 

[Biggunshunter]

Jpancho, I live in North Augusta and will occasionally get some of those same rocks if I am hunting in certain areas. But I don't know what they are other than aggrevating. They give the same signals like the rocks at the beach. Also be on the lookout looks like there's about to be some good hunting about to open up on the river on the Carolina side.

 

[horseshoe]

Sounds like slag from a mine. Any in the area? They sometimes use it to pave rodes also. The first time I found one I thought it was a meteorite. I had hi hopes it was, they are worth money. I took it to the nearest colleges geography department they said it was slag but because of the way it looked it took them awhile and got a second opinion from their colleague. If it almost fooled them you can imagine how exited I was I live in Ohio and usually know slag when i see it. If in doubt try a local colleges geography department.

 

[spotz]

Ya see? I knew there were some smart detectorists out there! Spotz

 

[Monty]

I found a similar "nugget" only bigger and the latest guess I got was "spanish silver". JIM

 

[lab rat]

Thanks for the 'plug', Rod! Truth be known, spare time is elusive, and I tend to use mine swinging my detector rather than read all the posts-- they seem to get posted faster than I can read them! As for 'smart', I used to think that getting smarter would make me richer. (Well, it has, but not nearly to the extent I thought it would!)

As for the find that initiated this thread, a picture would help-- or at least some description of color. Is it gray? Yellow? Black? Silver? Also, how heavy is it? It almost sounds to me like a piece of lead, as a fishing sinker or bullet slug, but those wouldn't have crystals like you describe. Lead usually sounds off in the nickel range (of most machines, anyway-- I'm not familiar with yours specifically). Pyrite doesn't sound off at all, and the only iron ore I'm familiar with that would sound off would be magnetic. Slag is also a possibility, and is usually dark with a glassy, bubbly, or shiny surface. Slag usually has a weak iron signal, like a hot rock, but might have a stronger signal in the nickel range.

 

[Monty]

pancho, just for further clarification, my "object" is very heavy, much heavier than iron or steel yet is not attracted to a magnet. It is gray/black tarnished on the surface and bright shiney silver when the patina is removed. It appears to have a hint of gold sparkles on the shiney surface. It is much harder than lead but not as hard as iron or steel. It scratches somewhat with a sharp scribe and is easier to file than steel or iron. It also has no hint of rust. I said the last guess was spanish silver but I should have said, "Mexican Silver", or melted down Mexican silver coins. I have no interest in sellng it just want to keep it along with any of my future finds,. but I would like to find out for sure what it is.