The winter time in Florida is the best time for beach treasure hunting, I spend the majority of my metal detecting time searching for Spanish treasure coins and artifacts in the winter.
An all metal search mode and a large search coil are a perfect combination for getting down into deeper layers of sand where many treasure coins and artifacts are found.
You need the surf and wind to help remove sand from the beach, but when the beaches are eroded you are ready for action when you have an extra large search coil.
Many beach and water hunters shy away from large search coils, because they are not known for being very sensitive to small targets.
Two search coils I have been very impressed with are the Coiltek 14 inch "Wot" coil and the 17 X 13 inch smart coil on my CTX 3030.
Both search coils are capable of finding large targets at depth, and small shallow targets.
You do not have to sacrifice small targets like silver half reales when searching for large deep targets like silver eight reales.
A few years ago I found a single link of a 14K figaro gold chain, at quite a good depth using a Wot coil on my Sovereign GT.
I found small treasure coins and artifacts on Oak Island Nova Scotia at very impressive depths using the 17 X 13 inch coil on my CTX 3030, both inland and on the beach.
The iron spikes in this photo were found earlier in the year on the lower beach, opposite a Spanish galleon from the early 1600s here in Florida.
Digging knee deep holes for iron ship spikes is no fun on the lower beach, but you never what other valuable target may be resting close to iron in deeper layers of sand.
I talk a lot about discrimination and trying to find gold jewelry in amongst the trash on tourist beaches.
In my opinion, discrimination and smaller search coils are the way to go on trashy tourist beaches.
Searching for old treasure coins and artifacts on shipwreck beaches with little modern trash calls for pure depth, especially when you know the large search you are using is also sensitive to small targets at reasonable depths.
Nothing beats a good pulse induction metal detector for depth and sensitivity to a wide range of targets.
The VLF metal detector in all metal with an extra large search coil is a good alternative option for beach or water hunters looking for more than a little extra depth.
No matter what metal detector you use, an extra large search coil is a good investment if you search beaches with a little history.
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