down by the lake

Metal Detecting Finds New Fans in Down Economy

2009-03-11T10:16:00.005-05:00

Metal Detecting Finds New Fans in Down Economy - by Carlos Correa

Good little news report on the 417 Relic Hunters in Missouri. Short video and report, well worth checking out.

and then we have the bad side:

Warning over Metal Detector Crime - from the BBC

Silver Ticket - .925

2009-02-21T22:20:00.003-06:00

Gold & Ice

2009-02-20T21:23:00.001-06:00

Dry few Months

2008-12-14T17:46:00.003-06:00

Boy, these past few months have been dry for good finds, I guess the theme should be "picking clad."

At least I can afford the batteries !!!

Been a while

2008-08-09T11:03:00.003-05:00

A couple of items I have picked over the past couple of weeks.

Been a while since I have been out

2008-05-23T18:21:00.004-05:00

Nothing to exciting, got out and about for a couple of hours today. Finds included a 1962-D Roosevelt and a 1940 something wheatie.

Donaters are back at the lake as I am finding fresh change laying on top of the ground !!!

Imitation Jewelry

2008-04-20T14:25:00.002-05:00

Thought we had a good one here, even though it is marked "Italy 14k" it was only gold plated at best.

Passing Time Picking Clad

2008-04-06T21:06:00.002-05:00

Pocket Dumps

2008-04-05T18:26:00.003-05:00

Couple of Pocket dumps today

Who needs a metal detector

2008-03-22T18:33:00.003-05:00

Amazing what one can find on top of the ground if they just take the time.

I found a prayer today

2008-03-16T21:39:00.002-05:00

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

Out with the Boys

2008-03-15T17:19:00.002-05:00

Uneventful Day

2008-03-02T21:47:00.004-06:00

Got out to swing the xt70 for a while this weekend, nothing exciting, just some clad for batteries. Enjoy the photos...........

Total clad: 8 pennies, 2 nickels, 9 dimes, 2 quarters $1.58

Treasure Hunting Website

2008-02-27T11:16:00.002-06:00

Not sure if I have mentioned this site in the past, but it is definitely worth reading, some well written articles / ideas for us enthusiast !!!

Treasure Hunting - A Metal Detector Enthusiast's Guide.

XT70 and a silver quarter

2008-02-09T19:14:00.000-06:00

Got out with the XT70 today, the more I use this machine the more impressed I become, the target separation is extremely good.

The quarter, a 1946-D, was found between to pull tabs, the bent penny, a wheat penny, was found next to an iron target.

xterra70 and a gold ring ?

2008-02-03T16:21:00.000-06:00

Out for 4 hours today, playing with the xterra70 I got from Chuck at Treasure Hut.

I am still on a huge learning curve. Today I was concentrating on solid repeatable signals and pinpointing.

Pull tabs were hitting a solid 18 on TID, however, this ring also hit a solid 18, the main difference between the two is the pull tabs had a bouncing TID in the pinpoint mode, the ring was varying very little.

The ring is unmarked and feels a bit light, so my guess is gold plated.

Xterra70

2008-01-26T19:43:00.000-06:00

Out with the xterra70 I purchased from Chuck at Treasure Hut.

No exciting finds, a few coins and lots of trash, still on a learning curve here, but at least the park is a cleaner place today.

So here are some photos of me and the dogs.

Minelab Xterra 70 from Chuck at Treasure Hut

2008-01-17T20:48:00.001-06:00

(click on the photos for a closer view of what was included by Chuck)

Sent my daughter to the Post Office for me and look what she found !!!

My xterra70 from Treasure Hut !!!!

But wait,

that is not all,

look closely at the photos as there were other finds in the box,

an Extended Service Plan from Minelab, I now have a 4 year factory warranty !!!

but wait,

that is not all,

a cool pen, a cover for the control panel, an Extended Service medal for my key chain ...........

but wait,

that is not all,

on top of the stock coil was a 6" SNIPER COIL !!! a 6" (and I really want to swear here) SNIPER COIL !!!

Chuck, you really didn't have to do this for me, you really shouldn't have done this...............

Thank you my friend, Thank you !!!!

925 SIlver with the Ace250

2008-01-05T18:34:00.000-06:00

Out and about at the lake park today. Truck thermometer was reading a steady 79.

Pretty uneventful day, I almost did not dig the ring as it was a broken signal, almost like I had found another aluminum screw top.

Large Cent and the Ace250

2007-12-31T18:37:00.000-06:00

Even a pig finds a truffle every now and then.

She was on her edge, pinpointing was a pain, then I nicked her on the backside digging the plug.

Picking Clad

2007-12-24T13:23:00.000-06:00

Out for a bit this morning picking clad, the flag is a pin, copper coated with something shiny. The flag rang up in the same range as a penny.

Total take today: 9 pennies, 1 dime, 3 quarters, flag pin

Pinpointing tone with the Ace250

2007-12-22T08:59:00.000-06:00

Something I have noticed lately with my Ace250, when pinpointing, the tone either drops off slowly or very abruptly when moving off the center of the target.

When the tone drops off abruptly, begin by looking right on top of the surface or just under the grass instead of digging a plug.

I have picked dozens of coins at the lake like that this year, scratch the surface and pick up the clad, saves on the digging time.

Aluminum screw tops also seem to produce this effect.

Record Temps with the Ace250

2007-12-09T13:00:00.001-06:00

Hit a ball park late Friday and my lake park Saturday morning, record highs, just a beautiful day.

The ballpark is new so all I expected was clad, the lake park however is driving me nuts. This area should be producing silver, all of my research shows this to be a poplar spot in the 40's and 50's. Photographs showing cars parked, people gathering, but I am not finding silver.

One thing I am finding is my Ace250 is very limited in this soil, 3" is the maximum depth for any coins, and the coins at that depth are all modern clad.

New Link

2007-12-07T15:29:00.000-06:00

I added a new link today called "By Invitation Only"

When you get a chance, check this site out !!! What you can expect to find are nicely done "hand made" custom invitations and cards.

Sunday at the lake with an Ace250

2007-12-02T13:10:00.001-06:00

They finally opened my favorite lake park. Got out for a couple of hours, nothing exciting.

The glasses and the earing were "I spy's" while wandering the shore.

The "HB" pendant was gold plated and appears to be bronze or brass underneath. It rang up on the Ace250 as a penny.

Rainy Day Blues the Ace250 awaits

2007-11-24T17:06:00.001-06:00

Raining all day, so no metal detecting. But I did come up with a tumbler to play with, so instead of metal detecting we are cleaning this years finds.

Deer Hunting in Wisconsin

2007-11-22T18:39:00.002-06:00

Been busy off in Wisconsin this past week deer hunting. No deer photographs to show, but I have a couple of photos taken by my wife while I was out and about in the woods. Enjoy, and hopefully it will be back to metal detecting this weekend.

Weekend with the Ace250

2007-11-11T17:42:00.000-06:00

Out picking clad this weekend, amazing how much change is just laying around on the ground. The money clip was a nice find, it was in some deep grass and as luck would have it, no cash in the clip ...............

Todays take: 16 pennies, 8 dimes, 7 quarters, an empty money clip and one old / new dog tag.

Out for a bit today with the Ace250

2007-11-10T21:09:00.001-06:00

Got out to the lake park for a bit today, amazing how many coins I am still picking off the top of the ground. I will post a photograph tomorrow of everything I found today.

New Link

2007-11-08T22:02:00.000-06:00

I have added a new link to my list.

It is called "Sweat Equity."

So if I am not out metal detecting, I am in the process of doing some home improvements. Lately I have been removing popcorn texture off of our ceilings.

You can check out my latest projects and see my progress over at the "Sweat Shack" !!!

Home Improvement with the Ace250

2007-10-28T21:22:00.000-05:00

Not much swing time this weekend, home improvements kind of dominated the theme.

We are in the process of removing the popcorn texture off the ceilings, getting rid of that 80's look ....................... as you can see from the photo's it isn't exactly a nice clean job. Not a hard job, but when the wife asks why there is dust all over the house, just tell her "its a construction zone, baby"
I did hit a ball park of a couple of hours tonight, quarters were the theme today.

Total take: 5 quarters, 3 dimes, 5 pennies

Ace250 and a Sniper Coil

2007-10-21T14:43:00.001-05:00

Back to the same park as was in yesterday. The only difference is today I had the sniper coil on the Ace250.

I worked a couple of high trash picnic table areas and the sniper coil performed flawlessly. I did not cover near the ground as yesterday, but I picked a bunch of clad I missed yesterday with the stock coil.

Sniper coils are nice, but one has to realize they need to work very slowly as these areas are still high in trash and you are covering a much smaller area.

Total take: 16 pennies, 2 dimes

Rare Occassion

2007-10-01T21:18:00.000-05:00

I won't do this often, in fact rarely will I show my older finds, but I made a trip to the safe deposit box today, so before I went I decided to make a photograph of some my silver / finds.

btw, the large cent and bar token came from a Wisconsin.

If you look close at the large cent there is a small nick on the bridge of the nose, the one buffalo didn't far as well. Chalk that up to lessons learned. The coins come out of the ground in Wisconsin in great shape, the sandy loam really preserves the coins well.

The quarter in the upper part of the photograph toned in a heart beat after coming out of the ground, I am not really sure why as it came out of the ground in beautiful shape. Maybe the soap I used, the pollution in the air around here or leaving it on the mantel.

The V-nickel I attempted to clean with a polishing cloth, another mistake, only the high spots shine up. Lessons learned, clean with soap and water and leave them alone.

Minutemen

2007-09-03T16:53:00.001-05:00

This is a picture of a monument dedicated to the Minutemen in Lexington, MA.

One can read all the history they want, but to actually go experience some of these places brings a whole new meaning to the words one has read.

It was a short weekend, but way too much fun running around Massachusetts !!!

Pinpointing with Garrett Ace250

2007-08-15T20:06:00.000-05:00

Amazing really, you can read reviews all over the internet and find all the information you want on how well the Ace250 works in the field, see the finds people are making, hear the old timers brag about how this machine is a coin magnet. You buy the Ace250, hit the field, hear those bell tones, pinpoint and start digging only to find nothing, re-pinpoint and end up digging a 6" hole and spend 15 minutes to find a penny. Frustrating ....................

Frustrating to the point of buying a pinpointer to help find that target.

The first thing you need to know about the Ace250 is that the SWEET SPOT on the stock coil for the Ace250 is probably NOT in the center of your coil.

How do you pinpoint with the Ace250 ?

1. Look at your stock coil. It has what appears to be a larger coil around a smaller "inner" coil.

2. The sweet spot on my coil is at the TOP of the inner coil, not in the center of the coil as I had assumed when I purchased the detector.

3. To pinpoint a target, hold your pinpoint button down and make an "X" pattern over your target and attempt to find the center. A quick note here about pinpointing: move your coil off the target and inch or two before hitting the pinpoint button.

4. Now while still holding the pinpoint button down and centered over your target, slowly begin to pull the coil across the ground and back towards you.

5. When your signal begins to fade, STOP, your target should be right at the top of the "inner" coil.

Give this technique a try with a coin on top of the ground and practice pinpointing before your next hunt. This pinpointing technique works very well for me.

One other thing I have found is if your target is below a couple of inches of dirt, your target may be under or just behind the top of the coil. If I don't locate a target within a minute or so of probing, I re-pinpoint and usually find I am off a bit left or right.

Something I Found

2007-04-23T22:48:00.000-05:00

Here is a couple of license plates I have know about for years, nailed on the inside of an old garage wall. Sure would have loved to known what make / model car sported these plates !!!

Are the plates still attached to this garage wall ??? No, but I know where / who has these plates..........*grin*

I finally convinced the owner to remove these items before they disappeared.

Silver Quarter

2007-04-09T22:17:00.000-05:00

A little close up of the quarter I picked yesterday. Talk about nice shape for being in the ground. Almost makes one wonder if this quarter wasn't lost in early 1963. Now I really need to get in and work this area much slower. Hopefully next weekend !!!

Silver Quarter

2007-04-08T16:38:00.000-05:00

Got to the lake today. Been a busy week with little time to swing a detector.

A beautiful day this Easter Sunday, although overcast all day, the wind has stopped and the temp reach almost 60 degrees. Been working a different park at the lake, lots of trash as always, but the nice thing about this park is nothing is very deep. In fact the quarter was found at just over an inch deep. 6 pennies, the nickel and all 3 dimes lay on top of the ground, a pocket dump from this past week I am guessing.

Needless to say I will return to this park !!

Btw, the quarter is a 1963 D and in beautiful shape...............

Total take: 9 pennies, 1 nickel, 3 dimes and a silver quarter !!

Artesian Well

2007-02-13T22:08:00.000-06:00

Just something about an artesian well and the chance to get someone wet that just brings the little kid out in me.

I think this was the last picture taken at the park as everyone was scrambling for cover when they saw the glint in my eye and a mischievous smile cross my face.

Relax and Enjoy an Effinger's Beer ?

2007-01-21T15:41:00.000-06:00

Well, the rain continued through out the week. Sunday brought a beautiful sun rise, temperatures finally climb back into the 50's, but oh the ground. One can't hardly take a step without sinking to their ankles in mud. So although I would have liked to swung the detector a bit, I decided that it would be best to get another 9 hours of CPE work in and to just relax a little bit.

Today, I thought you might like to see a picture of a tin beer sign I acquired back in the 1970's. The Effinger's Brewery closed its doors in the early 1960's. I am unsure of when this sign was made as I have never been able to find a Schlehen Brau Special Brew bottle to help date this sign.

Maybe we should all take a hint from this sign, grab a big old nickel beer glass full of your favorite brew, a good cigar and enjoy life !!!