Advice on finding nickels

[Murray8144]

I hunt in northern NJ, and all the sites I hit are very trashy, and have been hit hard over the years. But i'm thinking it's much more likely for folks to have pulled high tones, leaving the nickels. Problem is that i've about pulled a million pull tabs, a few clad nickels, no silver.

Is there a trick to differentiating between tabs and nickels?

 

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[slink]

I dont use at pro but on the machines I use a solid tone and stable tid likely mean nickle.A bouncy tid and varied tone likely tab.

 

[TheHunterGT]

If you want nickels (and gold rings) you will be saying hello to pull tabs. Had the privilege of watching a Vaquero and a XP Deus both dig pull tabs when the owners were "100% confident" they were going to be nickels. The dudes were almost arrogant about how confident they could tell nickels from tabs. I had quite a chuckle and told myself that would be the last MD gathering I ever attended....it was a terrible experience with all the overconfidence and "my machine does this best". But back to topic....

I know that with my BH machines that if it says nickel constantly from each angle....it is a nickel 75-80% of the time. However there is that type of tab that just rings nickel no matter what 25% of the time...and that is why I rarely dig them and just hunt clad/silver in park settings.

I gold prospect as well....so that is my gold fix and gold rings are just not what interest my hunts. So with that attitude I usually just say goodbye to the nickels and focus the clad/silver range. Sometimes I notch them back in...but not on a regular basis if it is a trashy park.

 

[airscapes]

put a nickle under on the ground and see what the VDI is.. Every make of machine is a little different.. Only dig solid hits of that VID and see how it goes.

 

[redcobra8u]

It's impossible to tell them apart. The register the same.

 

[Murray8144]

Many thanks for the replies

 

[OldJerseyGirl]

I use the AT Pro, and a nickel is always 51,52. That is not 100 percent. It is all according to where you are. I hunted an old ball field and found so many nickels there. Not a lot of junk though. Have also hunted trashy places and was sure the signal was a nickel when it was not. I would never not dig them. I like gold very well. Not that I ever have found much! LOL

 

[toasted]

Is there a trick to differentiating between tabs and nickels?

Only after you've dug them. You've gotta dig the trash to find nickels gold and masked high tones

 

[Murray8144]

Only after you've dug them

lol

 

[patiodadio]

Nickels are always 53 on my ATPro. In the park a couple of days ago I got a steady 53 and just knew it was a nickel. When I dug it, it was a older type pull tab, just the ring, not the beaver tail. I'm still learning my ATPro but I have found I am gonna be digging a lot of trash to get the good stuff. In the same park that day I got a bouncy signal, 53, 80, 82, 90, 58 etc. I started not to dig but did anyway. It was a 925 silver spoon ring with a pull tab close to it.

 

[toasted]

Your also gonna miss a lot of Indian heads if you dont dig those lower tones. Indians seem to come in different at different sites on my at pro. Sometimes there a solid copper penny/dime signal. Mostly though they bounce around from nickel-dime

 

[Terry Soloman]

Nickels?

 

[flyadive]

If the areas are trashy , buy yourself the smallest coil for that machine. Use that in those areas . Change the coil back to the biggest coil if not trashy.

 

[s.c.shooter]

Pulltabs on my A T are usually 53 but sometimes are 51 to 55. Nickels are almost always a steady 52 .

 

[toasted]

Pulltabs on my A T are usually 53 but sometimes are 51 to 55. Nickels are almost always a steady 52 .

Maybe for shallow Jefferson nickels not amongst trash but I can guarantee a buffalo v or shield nickel wont be a constant 52

 

[daemon1971]

Maybe for shallow Jefferson nickels not amongst trash but I can guarantee a buffalo v or shield nickel wont be a constant 52

Why do you feel a buffalo or shield nickel would ring up differently than a Jefferson?

 

[tcornel]

Pulltabs on my A T are usually 53 but sometimes are 51 to 55. Nickels are almost always a steady 52 .

Yep......gold rings in the same range. I once cleared an old park area of maybe 75 to 85 beaver tail pull tabs and then there was a gold ring. Same tone. If you want gold dig those pull tabs and nickels.

 

[toasted]

Older nickels tend to have more corrosion on them so the numbers will bounce around a little. No really deep coin is gonna ring up a constant number. On the at pro it can bounce around a little. On the cheaper machines the numbers will bounce a lot

 

[lurk]

I'm pretty new and didn't dig a nickle for quite a few outings. I finally got one in my front yard that I had hunted twice and pulled 12 clad coins out of and it ended up being a war nickle and my first silver(ish) coin. Most of all if you swing your coil at different angles and get more than a number or two difference in your vdi its probably a pull tab. When swinging over seas of pull tabs the nickles seem to come in as "thicker" signals. I'm still really green and trying to learn my machine as best I can but another thing I've picked up on is switching over to pro coin (I usually run in pro zero with 0 iron discrim) and then manipulating the coil in a foolish manner, higher lower, different angles, faster slower and usually it wont lie to you if you get any kind of a scratch tone from the discrim its probably not a nickle unless theres trash by it. All in all youre still going to dig trash sometimes and alot of times its out of curiosity. Just listen for the nice abrupt even tones and then consult your vdi and vet the target with different swings and dig it. I think wearing my headphones seems to help too, not so much with the tones but cutting out the background noises. I've had my ATP for about a month now but havnt been able to get out much lately but I have found atleast a nickle on every hunt since I found the war nickle. Goodluck

 

[RobRieman]

If you want to find nickels go to an elementary school. I pull 20-30 nickels out on every trip. I think they are breeding.