Metal Detecting FAQ
Answers to Your Questions

Below are some emails we received asking about metal detecting. Personal information has been removed.

Hi, my name is Jordan im 14 and live in Plainville, Ma. I have
been to your wedsite and its by far the most informative Metal decting site
i have seen yet.I was wondering if you knew any good detectors for a
begginer. Any other information or tips would be great

Thank You, Jordan B. : )

------------------------------------------------------

Just a note to let you know how much I enjoyed your site. I am trying to
decide what type of detector to buy and have found some useful info here. I
don't have much to spend on a unit right now due to the purchase and remodel
of a home here on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, but if I can find
something that will beep while on the beach, I will be happy. Happy hunting
and I will be back to visit your site soon...Ron S

-------------------------------------------------------

thanks, I am on the outer banks and will only be hunting sand and salt for a while. I had seen black sand on the gold fever show, but it really doesn't show up here in the concentrated amounts like it was on the Alaska beaches. I have found 6.83 so far so I only need about 650.00 more for that water detector..thanks for the reply and have a happy fourth.......ron sears

Hi Ron, if the wet sand you're talking about is "salt water" sand then you will get a lot of false readings. Also it will pick up what we call "hot rocks."

A lot of people complain of this but there isn't much you can do. Your detector is a "dry" sand and "ground" detector. That's what it's preset for and that's what you'll need to detect. Until you can get your water detector, that is.

"Black" sand is sand that is loaded with little particles of iron. If you was to drop a magnet in it and pick it up, the magnet would be covered with it.

If you encounter black sand, there's no way you can determine what is under the black sand unless you have a "pulse" detector which totally ignores "black" sand.

I hate to say it, but the lady doesn't know what she's talking about. To distinquish between the two is easy, one is black the other is not.

Your best bet is to detect the high tide line. Stay out of the wet sand as much as possible.

I rarely find stuff in the wet sand anyway, my finds are all normally at the high tide line or the low tide line. The high tide line because people like to stand and sit at the edge of the water, and the low tide line because they rarely go in any deeper than their waist. HH

----------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the reply. I have tried to get as much info off the net that I can. Thanks to great sites like yours and others I have picked up on some of the do's and don't s of the hobby. I wish I had the extra money for the water detector I wanted, but with the remodel of the house and the last daughter in college, it will have to wait a while longer. I do have one question that I am sure you can answer since you hunt the beach so much. I have the little White series II detector. When I hunt the wet sand is this model prone to give lots of false readings? I talked to a lady hunter this morning and she has the series III and she said that she can distinguish between black sand and dry. Does that sound right or am I just not digging deep enough. Any input will be appreciated. Happy 4th, ron sears

-----------------------------------------------------------

Hi Ron, sounds like your having a great time with your detector and enjoying the "hunt." I's very important that you pick up the trash you dig up. We have found it helps to have a bag of trash just in case someone comes over to you and questions what you're are doing, then you can show them all the trash(and broken glass) you have cleaned up. Always fill your holes too.
We dig every "beep" that comes along, that's ave we have found such great stuff. And most of the time we don't trust what the detector is telling us. So we dig it all!Have a great summer and 4th!

-----------------------------------------------------------

Hi it's me again. Thank You for the advise. I do think I will just stick to my Bounty Hunter like you said. I think I'll try and learn it inside and out. In all reality it is not a bad machine at all.
On your FAQs page feel free to use my questions. I am more than happy to help out. Like I said your web site is excellent!
I just wanted to let you know that I live in New Mexico so if you ever need some info about the SouthWest feel free to ask. I am always at my local library now doing research. One thing that suprised me was that when I became a Detectorist/Treasure Hunter is that I became a Coin Collector too overnight. Strange don't you think? Its almost like the two hobbies go hand in hand. Well I'll talk to you again later. Take care and happy hunting.

Thank You,
Jerry

Hi Jerry, thanks for the kind words. We worked as hard on our website as we do metal detecting. It is an exciting hobby! You just never know what you're going to find. When we started the hobby we started with the best detector on the market, which was the XLT.
After 5 years the technology has advanced and so has the detectors.

We didn't start finding Spanish Reales in our first years, even though we had a top of the line machine. Your detector is only a tool and learning how to use that tool takes time. Most important however is locating those areas where the Reales can be found. It's hard to teach that, it comes with experience. Studying local history definitely helps. So the bottom line is, you can stick with the Bounty Hunter and put your time into learning it, and you will find the same things you can find with an XLT.
But an XLT would make the hobby more enjoyable.

However, if you have some spare money, go for the Whites DFX it goes deeper. Hope this helps. We're planning on making an FAQ page on our website, may we post your question there?

If you want to learn the hobby faster, see if you can find a local club.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello, Just a note to let you know that I got my detector and went out last night
and this morning for a hour and I am now $1.35 richer than I was when I
started. I also found a 8 oz fishing weight and a game token. I lost count
on the been cans, just can't pass up a beep at this point. My wife and I
really enjoyed the time out on the beach and can't wait till we find that
first ring or gold coin.....thanks for the site and for the
encouragement..ron s. OBX N.C.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi, and thanks for the reply. Well we bought the White Series 2. I know it is not as fancy as the xlt, but it will get us started when we are trying to conserve money. Like you said, did up every beep and see what happens. We will let you know of our first find and thanks again for the advice. Never know, that first find may finance a new XLT...Ron S.

Hi Ron, thanks for the kind words. We work as hard on our website as we do metal detecting. It is an exciting hobby! You just never know what you're going to find. When we started the hobby we started with the best detector on the market, which was the XLT. After 5 years the technology has advanced and so has the detectors.

We didn't start finding Spanish Reales in our first years, even though we had a top of the line machine. Your detector is only a tool and learning how to use that tool takes time. Starting at a beach is the best place. Just dig everything that beeps!

Most important however is locating those areas where the Reales and old coins can be found. It's hard to teach that, it comes with experience. Studying local history definitely helps.

So the bottom line is, you can get a cheaper one and put your time into learning it, and you will find the same things you can find with an XLT. But an XLT would make the hobby more enjoyable.

If you want to learn the hobby faster, see if you can find a local club.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Greetings Fellow Detectorists!

Have a question from reading your web site that I continue to have problems with. I also have a White’s Spectrum XLT and I continue to have great difficulty pinpointing. I have no problem programming or anything else, but I can not accurately pinpoint with it in any setting or mode. I have other detectors and dig a three inch plug and 95% of the time I am right on. With my XLT most the time it is a 6 inch circle or better to recover the target. Yes, I have the loudest audio signal with the alignment bars aligned, but always off an inch or two and even more on occasion. This is driving me nuts because everything else works wonderful. I have a Garrett’s GTI 2500 also that pinpoints exactly. Have you had this problem in pinpointing the target? The Garrett GTI 2500 is a wonderful machine, but try swinging it for a couple of hours before you are weed whipping with a sore arm. If you could give me an idea of my problem, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Dennis L A. Cahokia, IL

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi,

i enjoyed your site and wanted to drop a line.... you have some nice finds
there. I have been metal detecting and scuba diving for over 20 years. It
is a great hobby.

Im not sure if you do any selling or trading of items? That is somthing
i've been doing to help fill my collections... especially coins, or buttons,
etc. And your right, ebay is a good way to get rid of stuff as well.
Although, lately prices are down from what they used to be for artifacts
like colonial buttons, etc.

Let me know if you are interested in this type of thing, i have some good
duplicate silver, etc.

Mike

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I have a few cokes bottles of various sizes. I see that you have some as well, I was wondering if you could help me with the value of the bottles.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

hi !! i was searching for information on a ring my mother recently gave me . it is an avon spoon ring in exactly the same desighn you found! i am wearing it right now. its in mint condition. if you run by any information about this ring would you let me know im trying to find an age on it and possibly a value. thanks!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Getting Kids Involved

I'm working on a site to get young people
interested in metal detecting and form a older
club base around it. I really can use some input
on about everything.

Is there any grade schools that have metal
detecting clubs, that train in archeological and
treasure recovery?

Something on the line of 4H or young farmers.

Howard M.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: metal detector

I bought my daughter a metal detector from a tag sale the other day. It works great but the only problem is it didn't come with instructions. Do you know where i might get some. It is a D tex coin king.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: old coke bottles

Hello,
I am a scuba diver and have recently recovered old coke bottles from the
bottom of candlewood lake , new milford ct.
I am interested in finding out what year and how old they are. Do you know
how to determine that information?
Thanks
Jeff

-----------------------------------------------------------

Hello,
Thanks for writing and we apologize for the delay in answering.

The choice of buying a detector is hard, you have to
do research. Our opinion is this. "If you buy a cheapy, you
get cheapy results and eventually will wind up upgrading or disliking the hobby.

We started "top of the line" with the Spectrum XLT. If you buy top of the line, you can always sell it later and get most of your money back.

You are probably better off going to Ebay.com and checking out the metal detectors for sale. Get a good used one... at half price.

There are lots of detecting websites. Visit them and see what others are finding with the detector they are using.

It also depends on where you live, and what you plan on detecting, land, beach, or water. There are also some great forums that you can read what others are saying about a certain detector. Here's links to the most popular detecting forums.

Consider also, the fact that most places are overhunted and cleaned out, so you need a "deep seeker" to find anything.

You may even consider joining a club. But to answer your question we would prefer a Tesoro to a Garrett
Hope this helps.

------------------------------------------------------

Subj: Whites DFX question..

Hello,

Loved your web page. I am especially interested in beach/salt water metal
detecting. I recently purchased a Whites DFX metal detector. I noticed
that you found a lot of gold rings at the beach with a Whites XLT detector.
Are these detectors capable of going into salt water?

Thanks, Charlie C.

-----------------------------------------------

Subj: Re: whatup ?????

Hey! i see you had fun at least question why would you guys give up looking in the woods for that meeting area ? I would done ever inch of the wood area around small trees and brushy areas to was it too thick or a pain in the ass ? I did a place last week that was a old fire tower from the 1880 and found a barber quarter 1908 and two indian heads date 1895 and 1896 in mint conditon it took four hour to find them . The area had thick brush and trees too. I had fun this year i have found a good amount of large cents this year dating from 1798 through 1826 and a mint condition hard time token date 1837

---------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: Trying to get info on what type of metal detector to buy

Hi All,

My name is Nadine and I am from Halifax, MA and I am in the market to purchase a new metal detector for my father-in-law as a Christmas gift. I stumbled upon your names and email addresses from your clubs website while I was searching for reviews on metal detectors.

If any of you have a chance, could you let me know a good metal detector to buy. My father-in-law is just starting out so I really don't want to spend a fortune. The price range I was looking to spend was around $200 to $300. Can you even get a good detector for that amount? Any suggestions or info you have would be very much appreciated as I have no idea where to even start. What types of stores even sell metal detectors? Thank you in advance for your help.

Thanks Again, Nadine

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: Hi I have a Question about Detecting

Dear Sir/ or Ma'am,

I just started metal detecting as a hobby about a week ago. I have a good detecter (not the best). It's from Radio-Shack. I was wondering how to tune it and other stuff. Please Reply and I'll give u the other facts.

Sincerely,
Matt K.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: Re: thrill of finding something

You folks are the best!!!!!
Thanks, John

------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: thrill of finding something

Hi John, thanks for writing and congrads on your first silver ring find! They say beginners always have the best luck! You have lots of great places to hunt up there, so get out and have some fun.

The more you do research, the better your finds wil be. It's always so interesting, we love finding the old stuff. Be sure to visit our forum and let us know what you find.

-------------------------------------------------

Subj: New to Metal Detecting

HI,

I found your web site last year and first want to say that it is by far the nicest one on the web. I've spent a lot of time viewing everything and I'm amazed at your finds. You are a very tenacious couple, that is for sure. I did write you an e mail back then, but never got a response. I know your busy!

I bought two detectors last year - unfortunately, you do not use either of them so I cannot ask you questions regarding their use. I've taken my husband out with me on a couple (just two) occasions, and this is definitely NOT a hobby for him. He has absolutely no patience for it! I took him to Crystal Lake in Ellington to detect with me. After a half hour I found him in the shade, under a tree sleeping.

I've never been fortunate so far to find anything of value. Just some clad.

I would love to detect some time with someone who has a lot of experience who would be willing to share some lessons with me (just to get me started and on my way). I can get very frustrated and discouraged when either: I can't pinpoint my target (I have the Minelab XL) which can be difficult with pinpointing. I also have the Garrett 2500 which is great when it comes to pinpointing, but tricky with getting a signal on a SECOND pass. I'm not sure if this means that the target is a Non-desirable or not.?? I don't bother digging it, and am now wondering what I have bypassed.

My husband and I are owners at Sun Valley Camp Ground in Stafford Springs, Ct. There is a large man made lake there for swimming. There have been detectorists there in the past(in the shallow water) but there is one spot no one has ever attempted. There is a spot that I know has to be loaded with jewelry. It is located off of the diving boards in the lake. There are three diving boards all located together. Two low dives and one high dive. Unfortunatlely, the lake water is dark (but clean) and the finds are at the bottom in dark water (with lots of leaves at the bottom) 9-11 feet down. I personally lost a gold earring there last summer jumping off of the high dive (not very expensive - but gold). I was having a conversation with the owner of Sun Valley yesterday, and he agreed with me that there must be tons of stuff at the bottom. He said the only way that it could be recovered would be to drain the lake and let the leaves, muck, etc at the bottom dry out. I personally don't ever see the lake being drained.

If you know anyone who wants to take the challenge, just let me know. They can come in as my guest, get permission from the owners and see what they can find.

Well, I've rattled enough. If you ever invite anyone to join you in detecting, please let me know. I'd love to spend a few hours with you. I saw that you belong to the Rhode Island Treasure Club, but that is a bit too far for me to travel, as I live in Tolland County. Thanks! Lisa H.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: Great site

I came across your site and love it. I have been detecting for only a few
months here in CT, and am loving it. You mentioned there was a local dealer
near you, can you tell me where that is? I got mine in NYC and the place was
not so great. It was a hardware store that also sold White's detectors.

Again a great site.
John H.

----------------------------------------------------------

Subj: NYS Permits

I have had a detector for about 6 weeks now and have read several references about needing a permit in NYS, however I can find no one that knows anything about this. Two dealers I have spoken to have no knowledge of this law. You do need a permit to detect state parks but they are easily attainable and free from the regional headquarters of the area you want to hunt at. Can you point me in the right direction to find out about the state permit thing?

Subj: Re: Permit for NY detecting

Thank you for your response. I did some further checking and you must contact the regional headquarters for any park that you want to detect at Most parks do not issue permits.

Subject: Re: Permit for NY detecting

The following is a list of locations where you may send to receive a Free Yearly Metal Detecting Permit.

1. Palisades Interstate Park Commission

Permit Section

Bear Mountain, NY 10911-0427

For: Harriman State Park

Lakes: Sebago, Tiorati & Welch

2. Long Island State Park Region Beaches

Permit Office

PO Box 247

Babylon, NY 11702

3. City of New York Parks & Recreation

The Arsenal

Central Park

New York, NY 10021

4. Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation

Taconic Region

Staatsburg, NY 12580

For: Lake Taghkanic, Rudd Pond & Canopus Beach

Even though some places are not strict about this, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Permits are not needed in CT .....yet

-----------------------------------------------------

Subj: Metal Detecting Question

Hello, I live in Boston, which is a city with tons of history. What are
your suggestions of detecting at the Boston Common, which is a park in the
heart of Boston. It is always crowded around there, and I am not sure on
how people would feel about digging up the grass there. Any suggestion??

Thanks
Luke

--------------------------------------------------------

Subj: should my first detector be from walmart ?

dear sirs
should my first detector be from walmart ?
they have one for one hundred dollars
made by people who make bounty hunter.
it will be used for beach coin hunting
thank you for any reply or advise

----------------------------------------------------------

Hello,

good to hear back from you... i have never done much salt water hunting... i started to do some fresh water hunting about 5 years ago and i like it, because its nice to take off an afternoon on a hot day and wade. i also started to do scuba and metal detecting as well. I think its more efficient since all you have to do is fan and the target becomes visible (as soon as the dust clears). I did see some stuff from salt water, and i was not impressed. The gold is nice, no mater where its from.

Here is all i could find for a quick list on my computer ( dimes): 1875 Poor, 1876 F, 1877 VF toned, 1899 Fine porous, 1904 AG/G, 1909 F, 1912 G, 1900 G, 1903, 1906 G porous, 1914D G. I have a bunch of common mercs, rosys, wash quarters, some standing libs as well. I know i have found more since. Let me know what you find.

I have a bunch of scrap silver i can trade you as well.

Mike

Well that's cool Mike, you live in CT? Awesome. We don't real have collection going for our silver coins. We just throw them into a box. If they are badly corroded, which is usually what we find in the salt water, then we melt them to make silver rings.
I could go through ours if you like, to help your collection this weekend.
If we have something you like then we could swap for some of your excess or for some corroded coins that we can melt. We also have a club and we are looking for silver for our hunts and for prizes and such.

I'll make a list of the coins we have. not a big deal. Email me your list if you already have one. I'm real crazy about tokens myself, all the hubby cares about is gold.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: RE: th'ing

I feel the same way... but i do sell or trade duplicates, unless its associated with a virgin site. I have a good amount of buttons, silver coins, etc. that i can trade. I even have a Washington Inaugural Button for sale or trade. I think i could pull up a duplicate of list coins if interested. I am also a diver and buy, sell, trade bottles as well. I am in CT also.

Mike
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: th'ing

Hi Mike, thanks for writing and the offer. We're always open to trading and the such. Is there something on our website you are interested in?

Mostly things that are our "first finds" we hang onto, or things unique or interesting, for our own collection.
Most things we have are valuable to us only because we found them and have the pleasure of holding them in our hand. But we will consider any offer.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: RE: First hunt

Subject: Re: First hunt

------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: metal detecting

Hi there ,
I wondered if you could help, I would like to set up a website for all people interested in Metal Detecting, containing a chat room where we could all meet and chat about our hobby.
If you could send me any help with setting it up I would be grateful
Thanking you
Richard B

------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi,
I am interested in metal detecting and joining the club. I have been
researching detectors. I would like to purchase one that can be used in the
water, salt or fresh, as well as on the land. Has anyone personally tried a
Fisher 1280x Aquanaut? The literature makes it sound good.
Barbara

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: Site

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: metal detector reviews

Hi there. I was checking out your web site for metal detector reviews.I think it is a very good idea the only problem being that the web site lets people just rate a detector without any commentary or sideline. It would probably be better to make people give an actual posted review in order to rate it.It seems that a lot of persons just rate a number but you are still wondering the actual merits or problems of any specific detector and the experiences they have had.If people who want to rate a detector, first post a written review it would make for a more complete website and meatier content.Just a thought. Keep up the good work.
later
Gil

--------------------------------------------------------

Most important however is locating those areas where the Reales and old coins can be found. It's hard to teach that, it comes with experience. Studying local history definitely helps.

So the bottom line is, you can get a cheaper one and put your time into learning it, and you will find the same things you can find with an XLT.
But an XLT would make the hobby more enjoyable.

If you want to learn the hobby faster, see if you can find a local club.

------------------------------------------

Subj: Could you tell me anything about this

Hi my name is Ginger I get storage bin at auction and take the stuff to auction but keep the coins here are a few of mine can you help me find out anything about them
half dollars= 2 1953 with the I bell and small eagle and E pluribus Unum on the back and one 1942 with a lady and sun and eagle on the back
one quarter with the lady on one side and a eagle on the back I can see a me and a 5 on the bottom but cant see a date
2 buff. nickles 1929,1926
lots of wheat pennies 2 1943 zinc
one dime that has a eagle on a shield dated 1908 and a lady on the other side and I cant find out anything about it
and a dollar bill that looks a lot different from others series 1957
and I have money from all over the country I no nothing about if you could help me out I sure would like it
Thank You Ginger S.

------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: Re: Advice on a P.I.

I saw your post on the treasuredepot firum and was hoping you can help me. I just bought an Impulse and I am not sure if it is defective or not. Upon proper tuning (1-2 bars and faint noise) the audio is not a "steady stream". Instead it sounds like a unstable surging buzzing. Is this normal? Thanks for any assist! - Harry

----------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: metal detectors

Sir,
After much research, I'm leaning towards a Shadow x5 for the best all purpose detector. This will be my first. What do you think? Thanks for your opinion and advice.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: permit to metal detect in ny?!

Hi,

I came across a post of yours on the metal detecting forum and you mention
needing to "buy a permit to metal detect anywhere in new york state". I
was just wondering if you could tell me how you know about this, as I can't
find any reference to metal detecting on any new york state web site.

please let me know more details about this necessary permit if you know
anything.

Thanks...i'm interested in getting into this hobby and am curious about the
related regulations.

-Brian
----------------------------------------------------------

Subj: White surf pi machines and a Fisher Impulse

I have three White surf pi machines and a Fisher Impulse w/ 8 inch coil. I have had a Garret Seahunter, a Tesoro PIranha, a Fisher 1280, a JW Fisher 8X. I need to ask you if I would gain from owning a Barracuda. I think I'm getting great depth from my Surf Pi's. I live in western Washington and dive in the lakes, mostly Lake Washington. An honest opinion of the Barracuda would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Bill R.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Hi guys from another of the Surf and Sand posters. Glad to see some new members of the forum finding stuff!

Reason I'm emailing you directly is that I'm gonna be in the Groton, CT area Tuesday for a meeting. With the anticipated nor-easter coming thru this weekend (and with the monthly tides just right) I can't beleive that I'll be missing out on my Atlantic City beaches that day. Any chance you live in that area and would be wanting a hunting partner Tues afternoon or Weds am?

Let me know. I'm an Excal user and will have all my water gear with me as usual.

Thanks - Dan in SJ

------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: 1943 steel penny

Hi, My name is Nick and I had a question about the 1943 steel penny. Are you looking for a 1943 steel penny? I started collecting pennies about 2 months ago and I only have 1 steel penny. the peeny that I have is a 1943 steel penny though. Do you know if it is worth very much? I think that old coins are really cool. Looking for them is a great hobby. I enjoyed reading this site. Have a nice day.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: Dimes

I was just wondering if the silver dimes that I have were worth any money. They range from the years of 1923 thru 1926.

Thank you

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: Tumble Tumble

Greetings!

My name is John and I live in Marlborough CT. I have really enjoyed your website and learned a lot from it over the last couple of years. I though that you may have stopped detecting as there have been no updates to it in a long time. I am an armature detectorist and spent my first 15 years with a Radio Shack Micronta VLF machine. Max depth of about 6" but it sure found me a lot of coins! Last year I decided to get "serious" and bought a Fisher CZ-70 with all available coils. I was wondering if you ever have group hunts or could recommend a good treasure hunting club. I sent 2 e-mails to the Yankee Territory Coinshooters and my e-mails got returned. I have lots to learn about this hobby and could really use some instruction on how to do things properly. I bought a 5 "x 9 1/2" Duck Bill water scoop from Treasure Coast Scoops, a Lesche tool, and I am raring to go when the weather finally breaks. Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. Though the CZ can water hunt I have heard it is not good in salt and I lack the Dry Suit and PI machine required for true water hunting so I will have to learn that aspect when the weather is warmer and my pockets are heavier. Thank you and Happy Hunting.

John

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: pulse detectors

Where might I go to find people who have used the pulsestar or pulse penetrator?

Mike

--------------------------------------------------------------

Subj: Whites Detector

Greetings Fellow Detectorists!

Thanks,

Dennis L A. Cahokia, IL

_____________________________________________

Metal Detecting FAQAnswers to Your Questions

Metal Detecting FAQ
Answers to Your Questions