Question about how U.S. gold coins read on a metal detector

[Texas Jay]

My #1 detecting goal for 2019 is to find my first gold coin after detecting for 49.5 years so I have an important question for members who have found U.S. gold coins or who have tested them to find out how they register on the meter. I found a post, last year, by someone who said he has found a few U.S. gold coins and that all denominations register in the same range. I think he said they show on the penny range but I'm not sure and I haven't been able to relocate that post.
Late this week, I'm traveling to a Texas ghost town that has never been detected before and I think it offers me the best chance at hitting my goal that I've ever had.
Can any of you tell me which ID range U.S. gold coins fall into, according to denominations, on my detector? I'll be bringing my Garrett Ace 350 with a large coil and Ace 250 with a standard coil and also my trusty Garrett Scorpion Gold Stinger which doesn't have an ID meter. Do all denominations fall into the same range, example "penny/dime" range, or do they vary according to their denomination?
Thanks for your assistance.
~Texas Jay

 

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[xr7ator]

Great info, RelicsRings. I'm glad you posted and in my many years, although I have yet to find one, I believe what you say 110%.

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

I rarely post on forums, mostly just read them. But I thought I would offer some info on this thread since I've been lucky enough to find 6 gold coins in my life so far. All US 1-$5 1-$2 1/2 and 4-$1's, in all cases I was very surprised when I turned the dirt and was staring at a gold coin. These all came from sites that have been absolutely pounded by others for 40 plus years but for whatever reason were never dug.

I say I was lucky but I think there are factors to consider when going after gold coins that will improve your chances of finding one.

First-You have to hunt sites that have the potential to have gold coins present. Places like military camps and mining camps people were paid in gold coins so the potential of finding one goes way up. I read or heard one time that gold coins were used more in the Western US than in the Eastern US. Also, the wealthy were more apt to have and use gold coins vs the poor so hunt sites that wealthy people visited like beach resorts, mountain resorts, amusement parks, etc.

Second-You've got to dig everything. A $1 gold on my detectors falls in the foil range, and like I said I was surprised in every case when a gold coin turned up in my dirt pile. The key is that I was persistent in digging signals that others had chosen not to dig. i wonder how many countless people, including myself had passed those gold coins up because they didn't sound like a good signal?

Third-You have to have a positive mindset and believe you will find a gold coin. The first gold coin I found ($5) I was not expecting at all, I was like everyone else and thought I'll never find one. But I did and that changed everything. From that point forward I knew it was possible and I believed I would find more of them. I don't know why but I really wanted to find a $1 next, not a $20 but a $1, I guess I figured it would be to easy for someone to miss a $1 vs a $20 or $10. So in the back of my mind I believed I would find a $1 gold coin and one fall afternoon it happened. I had just purchased a new detector and took it out for the first time. I was digging junk trying to learn all the sounds and had just dug a piece of wire and got another signals right next to the hole I'd just dug. The signal sounded about the same and I thought it was going to be the rest of the wire. Boy was I surprised to see a $1 gold coin. Every time I go metal detecting I tell myself I'm going to find a gold coin today and since then I've dug 4 more gold coins.

I don't think it matters what metal detector you're using. I've heard of people finding gold coins with $100 Bounty Hunters all the way up to $4000 Minelab gold machines. The key is incorporating the 3 points I made above. Like the old saying says, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity"

Relic-Rings, loved this post of yours.

I would add that travel-stage-stop areas are amongst the best odds. Because, go figure: If you were traveling (especially state-to-state, or east coast to west coast) to make a permanent move, they would tend to carry their wealth with them, for a permanent move. In an era before paper money, and lack of wiring (western union, Wells Fargo, etc...) in obscure places, that would mean consolidating into gold coins. Eg.: If you were getting ready to emigrate to the west coast for a permanent move (like for the gold rush, etc...), and knowing that cargo space/weight is at a premium, then : What's lighter ? 500 large cents ? Or a single $5 gold ?

Thus I'd say that half of mine came from stage-stop type scenarios. And you made a good point about recreational spots where affluent were known to have gone. 1 of mine came from one-such resort of that description.

 

[ken135]

Haven't posted this for a while - so for the benefit of coin shooters: Here, on a scale of 0 to 99, are coins (and other common items) from my logbook and how they read.

View attachment 1676553

FYI . . . . The California fractional gold coins ( half and quarter dollar) fall in the 19-21 range on your scale.

 

[Texas Jay]

Well, I have bad news for those awaiting an update on the ghost town hunt. Three of us traveled to the area where we had permission from the landowner to detect but the ranch hand that was supposed to meet us a mile or so away and let us in the locked gates kept giving us excuses for his delay in arriving. We waited on him for a couple of hours before we had to give up. There is a silver lining however which is that when my friend called the owner and told him what happened, the owner was very upset with the ranch hand as he'd given him clear instructions that he was to meet us on time, let us in to detect the large area, and assist us in any way we needed. The end result was that the landowner profusely apologized to us and said he will make it right. He also fired the ranch hand. My friend, who's a retired cowboy and who had gotten us permission, met with the landowner last week. They got to talking and the landowner offered my friend the ranch hand job to replace the fired employee. My friend will start work there early next month and he's getting the keys to the place this weekend so we'll be able to detect it as soon as the weather warms up and the forecast rain stops. Hopefully, that will be sometime next week. Once my friend is on the job and moves into the ranch hand cabin on the place, the landowner said we will have access to detect anytime we want.
One other thing...my other friend that went with us decided to detect around a very old church, which was our planned meeting place where the former employee was supposed to meet us, near the ghost town. The old church is now public property. He detected for about 10 minutes before my other friend and I decided to watch him for awhile. As soon as we walked up to him, his Fisher F75 signaled a shallow target. He dug down only about 3 inches and out popped a very nice 1907 V nickel! That place has been detected a lot over the years, and the friend who found the V nickel and I had detected it ourselves, for about an hour, last year so one can only imagine all the great things we'll find when we finally get into the ghost town site nearby that has never been detected.
~Texas Jay
http://centraltexastreasureclub.webs.com

 

[uglymailman]

Make sure the fired ranch hand didn't have a meth lab hid out in back of the ranch. I worked survey's on about 10 sq. miles on the Colorado down close to you. There were places a man might not see more than once or twice a yr.. Be careful. Good luck.

 

[A2coins]

I m gonna need one here soon myself or a chest of em