49r Relics
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- Jan 11, 2008
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- All Treasure Hunting
Interesting E-Trac Observation - Wheatbacks & Indians
Was doing some bench testing with a handful of Wheaties, most show up for me as 12-44, however for some reason I get variations of 12-36 to 12-44 sometimes as well. I used to think it was just the coin on it's side but after the benchtests I found a full range between 12-36 & 12-44 along with a very obvious difference in tones. I had a 1921 that was about Fine condition it was way down around 12-37, then a really nice 1949 in AU and it read 12-44, was trying to see if condition was the factor as some of the copper being worn away makes the worn ones a bit lighter = less mass. However after checking both types of Indians and lot's of Wheaties, I have come to the conclusion that wear/condition and patina has nothing to do with the differences, it's more about the metallic composition. So it is my opinion that the mints used slightly different copper throughout the years and different mints.
So, instead of ignoring all zinc pennies, I will start digging more because there were several indians that came up exactly where the zinc did. Same thing with the wheaties. Bottomline is, if you are in a old area with potential for both zincs and indians, you just need to figure out at what depth will you walk by what you think is likely a zinc penny? Another observation was, Choice BU (Uncirculated) Nickels show up at 12-14 and worn, pocket change nickels at 12-13.
And lastly in my test garden I have 2 silver quarters at 8" lying right next to each other. So when you cross the coil over the 2 coins across with the coins in the top bottom alignment, you get a typical quick tone and normal reading, but when you turn 90 degrees and cross them side by side, you get a prolonged tone but besides it being prolonged, it is otherwise normal in every way. So if you ever encounter this type of response (prolonged), turn 90 degrees and try it again, if it is all of the sudden short, you likely have a spill.
Anyone have anything else to add to this or a different conclusion?
Cheers, Mark
Was doing some bench testing with a handful of Wheaties, most show up for me as 12-44, however for some reason I get variations of 12-36 to 12-44 sometimes as well. I used to think it was just the coin on it's side but after the benchtests I found a full range between 12-36 & 12-44 along with a very obvious difference in tones. I had a 1921 that was about Fine condition it was way down around 12-37, then a really nice 1949 in AU and it read 12-44, was trying to see if condition was the factor as some of the copper being worn away makes the worn ones a bit lighter = less mass. However after checking both types of Indians and lot's of Wheaties, I have come to the conclusion that wear/condition and patina has nothing to do with the differences, it's more about the metallic composition. So it is my opinion that the mints used slightly different copper throughout the years and different mints.
So, instead of ignoring all zinc pennies, I will start digging more because there were several indians that came up exactly where the zinc did. Same thing with the wheaties. Bottomline is, if you are in a old area with potential for both zincs and indians, you just need to figure out at what depth will you walk by what you think is likely a zinc penny? Another observation was, Choice BU (Uncirculated) Nickels show up at 12-14 and worn, pocket change nickels at 12-13.
And lastly in my test garden I have 2 silver quarters at 8" lying right next to each other. So when you cross the coil over the 2 coins across with the coins in the top bottom alignment, you get a typical quick tone and normal reading, but when you turn 90 degrees and cross them side by side, you get a prolonged tone but besides it being prolonged, it is otherwise normal in every way. So if you ever encounter this type of response (prolonged), turn 90 degrees and try it again, if it is all of the sudden short, you likely have a spill.
Anyone have anything else to add to this or a different conclusion?
Cheers, Mark
