While showing a friend a nice diamond ring recently I was reminded how coin and jewelry hunting at the beach is a game of inches.
Several years ago I was searching a local tourist beach when a distraught young lady asked me if I could find a really nice diamond ring she had the misfortune to lose in the same area the previous day.
The lady was laying in the wet sand when an incoming wave washed the ring off her finger, after quickly stepping on the ring to stop it from being dragged down into the water another wave washed over the area and the ring was lost.
After taking the time of day and the previous tide times into consideration I performed a methodical search of the slope on the lower beach, but to my surprise I could not detect the $5000.00 diamond engagement ring.
The lady thanked me for trying to recover the ring on the lower beach, an approximately one hour tight pattern search of the wet sand and the shallow water opposite the area.
I was told no worries as the ring was bought the previous day on a credit card and her fiancé had already filed an insurance claim before returning to Europe later that day.
I was given a detailed description of the ring and I was gutted they had to fly back to Europe without their engagement ring, but at least they were going to get their money back.
The only explanations I could think of for not being able to recover the ring was perhaps another beach hunter had detected the ring or really high surf from the previous high tide has washed the ring into deeper water.
Three weeks later after getting a sweet signal I pulled the diamond engagement ring out of the sand in the exact spot where I had first tried to detect the bobby dazzler.
I now believe the lady pushed the ring deeper into the wet sand when the ring was stepped on to prevent the next wave from washing it away, more sand was probably pushed over the area with the rough surf from the following high tide.
Add foot traffic from the many tourists walking along the wet sand at this popular beach and it is easy to understand how quickly a lost ring can disappear.
You may have to wait several tide cycles like I did for lost jewelry to come into detection range.
I have had similar experiences at shipwreck beaches searching for Spanish treasure coins and artifacts, nothing one day but the next day in the very same area I recover treasure.
All it takes is one or two inches of sand to be washed away from an area for the beach bank to be open for business.
Get in the habit of using permanent objects at the beach as sand level markers, especially objects on the lower beach such as pilings or large rocks.
You can gauge how much sand is on the lower beach and how much has to be taken away to improve your chances of recovering coins, jewelry or artifacts lost in the area.
The first thing I look for when checking out a beach I haven't searched in a while is my sand level markers because they tell me how far away my search coil is from deeper and firmer layers of sand more likely to trap valuable targets in place.
Sand higher up on beach markers normally only contain lost items washed into the area, more sand than good materials.
If you are a beach hunter, when its your time to find something good it is almost always when you are sweeping your search coil over less sand.
Monday, January 21, 2019
Saturday, January 12, 2019
Hitting the beach or the keyboard
Its that time of the year when beach hunters looks back at finds from the previous year and set goals or expectations for the new year.
Beach hunters who post finds on metal detecting forums and blogs usually show year end totals and first finds of the new year, Im not into metal detecting forums but I will browse this time of the year to see what people in areas I search have recovered.
This is a perfect lead into one of todays basic beach hunting principles, the less time you spend taking and downloading photos/videos and posting on metal detecting forums and social media sites the more chance you have of going to the beach and actually finding something good using your metal detector.
You may have noticed I posted fewer blogs last year, the reason was because I spent so much time using my metal detector instead of a keyboard.
I also cut back on making and posting youtube videos as it was too time consuming for me, I found myself spending a lot of time editing, posting and replying to comments.
I could have been at the beach finding gold in the time I spent going over the previous hunt, also it was really tough editing out shots of the background that gave away some of my favorite beach and water hunting sites.
Post finds on metal detecting forums, reply to comments and you will see how easy it is to miss the big beach hunting picture that you only find stuff when you are at the beach.
Every type of metal detector, search coil and target ID numbers question takes time to respond to if you like posting your metal detecting finds online.
The same applies to cranky old bloggers and forum members posting smack about me, I love it as every sentence wasted on me at the keyboard is time they could have spent metal detecting and finding stuff at the beach.
Talking about wasted time and beach hunting opportunities, don't get caught out waiting for second hand beach reports a round about way of waiting for good beach hunting conditions.
Good beach hunting window of opportunities are often only open one or two tide cycles, reading about them probably means you already missed the opportunity.
Surf projections and tide tables will almost inevitably cause you to miss valuable finds, in my opinion it is what it is when you get to the beach to search with your metal detector.
Wait for low tide or higher surf to erode beaches and someone like me who does not follow outdated beach hunting forum or blogger advice will have beaten you to what you hope to find.
In my opinion the best use of a keyboard for a beach or water hunter is to research new areas to search because the next best thing to metal detecting is finding new places to metal detect.
Beach hunters who post finds on metal detecting forums and blogs usually show year end totals and first finds of the new year, Im not into metal detecting forums but I will browse this time of the year to see what people in areas I search have recovered.
This is a perfect lead into one of todays basic beach hunting principles, the less time you spend taking and downloading photos/videos and posting on metal detecting forums and social media sites the more chance you have of going to the beach and actually finding something good using your metal detector.
You may have noticed I posted fewer blogs last year, the reason was because I spent so much time using my metal detector instead of a keyboard.
I also cut back on making and posting youtube videos as it was too time consuming for me, I found myself spending a lot of time editing, posting and replying to comments.
I could have been at the beach finding gold in the time I spent going over the previous hunt, also it was really tough editing out shots of the background that gave away some of my favorite beach and water hunting sites.
Post finds on metal detecting forums, reply to comments and you will see how easy it is to miss the big beach hunting picture that you only find stuff when you are at the beach.
Every type of metal detector, search coil and target ID numbers question takes time to respond to if you like posting your metal detecting finds online.
The same applies to cranky old bloggers and forum members posting smack about me, I love it as every sentence wasted on me at the keyboard is time they could have spent metal detecting and finding stuff at the beach.
Talking about wasted time and beach hunting opportunities, don't get caught out waiting for second hand beach reports a round about way of waiting for good beach hunting conditions.
Good beach hunting window of opportunities are often only open one or two tide cycles, reading about them probably means you already missed the opportunity.
Surf projections and tide tables will almost inevitably cause you to miss valuable finds, in my opinion it is what it is when you get to the beach to search with your metal detector.
Wait for low tide or higher surf to erode beaches and someone like me who does not follow outdated beach hunting forum or blogger advice will have beaten you to what you hope to find.
In my opinion the best use of a keyboard for a beach or water hunter is to research new areas to search because the next best thing to metal detecting is finding new places to metal detect.
Sunday, December 30, 2018
New years metal detecting resolutions
In probably my last blog of the year I have to say 2018 was a fantastic year for metal detecting, I rarely had a chance to blog because I was so busy metal detecting.
I was lucky enough to spend a large chunk of 2018 in some pretty amazing locations searching for lost treasures and you will see what I recovered over the next few months if you are a fan of History channel treasure hunting shows.
Im heading into 2019 on fumes but it was an incredible year and a heck of a ride, I wouldn't change a thing.
Every year you spend metal detecting you learn something new that can be put to good use down the road, unless you do the same things at the same places all the time.
This year I learned not to jump to conclusions by ignoring sites within a site because experience told me I should.
Eight or nine times out of ten I can read a site within minutes of walking onto and searching the site, so it is tempting to rely on previous experiences and just hit sexy looking search areas.
After this years experiences I will make a point of not letting my ego get in the way and start hitting the other ten to twenty percent of ugly sites within a site that experience tells me to ignore.
Another new years resolution I know I can keep because of the success I've had this year is to dig more iron on trashy sites.
Some of my best finds this year have come from iron infested areas I only got lucky at because I took out more iron than I normally would have.
In 2018 I was reminded of the value of using smaller size search coils in areas known to be productive, it is so tempting to believe there must be something deeper but more often that is not the case.
The value of using a small size search coil on a productive site is being able to winkle out another good shallow target, by either searching the area from a different direction or simply using less discrimination.
Harder to detect targets are not always deeper targets, they can be shallow targets.
It was not at all smooth sailing this year but I intend to learn from the miscalculations I made in 2018, hey even I get distracted ooh look its a monkey!
Another lesson learned this year is the value of using reliable metal detecting equipment, when the going got tough my metal detector and pin-pointer took a beating.
I took metal detecting equipment into locations that are really tough sites to search, lesson learned travel with reliable equipment you are familiar with.
My advise for the new year is to learn from the soon to be old year, use and adapt what worked for you and avoid the things that did not work out so well for you.
Look forward to a good treasure hunting year, a year you will surely learn something from.
Experiment, experience, have fun and a happy lucky new year!
I was lucky enough to spend a large chunk of 2018 in some pretty amazing locations searching for lost treasures and you will see what I recovered over the next few months if you are a fan of History channel treasure hunting shows.
Im heading into 2019 on fumes but it was an incredible year and a heck of a ride, I wouldn't change a thing.
Every year you spend metal detecting you learn something new that can be put to good use down the road, unless you do the same things at the same places all the time.
This year I learned not to jump to conclusions by ignoring sites within a site because experience told me I should.
Eight or nine times out of ten I can read a site within minutes of walking onto and searching the site, so it is tempting to rely on previous experiences and just hit sexy looking search areas.
After this years experiences I will make a point of not letting my ego get in the way and start hitting the other ten to twenty percent of ugly sites within a site that experience tells me to ignore.
Another new years resolution I know I can keep because of the success I've had this year is to dig more iron on trashy sites.
Some of my best finds this year have come from iron infested areas I only got lucky at because I took out more iron than I normally would have.
In 2018 I was reminded of the value of using smaller size search coils in areas known to be productive, it is so tempting to believe there must be something deeper but more often that is not the case.
The value of using a small size search coil on a productive site is being able to winkle out another good shallow target, by either searching the area from a different direction or simply using less discrimination.
Harder to detect targets are not always deeper targets, they can be shallow targets.
It was not at all smooth sailing this year but I intend to learn from the miscalculations I made in 2018, hey even I get distracted ooh look its a monkey!
Another lesson learned this year is the value of using reliable metal detecting equipment, when the going got tough my metal detector and pin-pointer took a beating.
I took metal detecting equipment into locations that are really tough sites to search, lesson learned travel with reliable equipment you are familiar with.
My advise for the new year is to learn from the soon to be old year, use and adapt what worked for you and avoid the things that did not work out so well for you.
Look forward to a good treasure hunting year, a year you will surely learn something from.
Experiment, experience, have fun and a happy lucky new year!
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Parachuting diamond rings at tourist beaches
Anyone using a metal detector can find gold wedding bands, silver chains or coins at a tourist beaches but not everyone can find diamond rings, especially solitaire diamond rings.
Id even go as far as to say it takes skill to find diamond rings with a metal detector, even at the most crowded tourist beaches around the world.
Solitaire diamond rings or rings with diamonds complimenting large rocks are often not that big of a target to detect using a metal detector.
Expensive platinum or gold rings are usually constructed in the style of a thin band with prongs holding the center piece diamond in place, because of this design diamond rings tend to "Parachute" when lost in sand.
The shape of large diamonds often result in the band of the ring settling vertically under the diamond or diamonds, a thing I first noticed when beach hunting at night using a head lamp.
I often saw the flash of the diamond before detecting diamond rings and pulled several really nice diamond rings trapped vertically in the wet sand and my parachuting diamond ring theory was born.
My slow methodical beach hunting style always gives me a chance of detecting big ticket diamond rings instead of walking over them, this $10.000.00 platinum Tiffany ring with a 1.5 carat diamond is proof of that.
Diamond rings are just like coins on edge, they are difficult targets to detect without using a slow and low search coil sweeping technique.
If you have been beach hunting for any length of time and you struggle to detect diamond rings and gold chains, you don't need a different metal detector you need a change of search technique.
In my opinion you have to go small in order to find big, covering smaller areas using a smaller search coil will change your fortunes when it comes to finding diamond rings.
You can't rely on luck when trying to winkle out small targets in the sand, you have to rely on the way you cover the ground and the way you sweep your search coil over the ground.
Metal detecting at the beach is popular now and every beach hunter wants to cover prime jewelry hunting areas before the competition at tourist beaches, leaving difficult to detect but expensive targets behind for savvy methodical jewelry hunters looking for platinum and gold parachutes.
Get yourself to the beach and see what others are missing!
Id even go as far as to say it takes skill to find diamond rings with a metal detector, even at the most crowded tourist beaches around the world.
Solitaire diamond rings or rings with diamonds complimenting large rocks are often not that big of a target to detect using a metal detector.
Expensive platinum or gold rings are usually constructed in the style of a thin band with prongs holding the center piece diamond in place, because of this design diamond rings tend to "Parachute" when lost in sand.
The shape of large diamonds often result in the band of the ring settling vertically under the diamond or diamonds, a thing I first noticed when beach hunting at night using a head lamp.
I often saw the flash of the diamond before detecting diamond rings and pulled several really nice diamond rings trapped vertically in the wet sand and my parachuting diamond ring theory was born.
My slow methodical beach hunting style always gives me a chance of detecting big ticket diamond rings instead of walking over them, this $10.000.00 platinum Tiffany ring with a 1.5 carat diamond is proof of that.
Diamond rings are just like coins on edge, they are difficult targets to detect without using a slow and low search coil sweeping technique.
If you have been beach hunting for any length of time and you struggle to detect diamond rings and gold chains, you don't need a different metal detector you need a change of search technique.
In my opinion you have to go small in order to find big, covering smaller areas using a smaller search coil will change your fortunes when it comes to finding diamond rings.
You can't rely on luck when trying to winkle out small targets in the sand, you have to rely on the way you cover the ground and the way you sweep your search coil over the ground.
Metal detecting at the beach is popular now and every beach hunter wants to cover prime jewelry hunting areas before the competition at tourist beaches, leaving difficult to detect but expensive targets behind for savvy methodical jewelry hunters looking for platinum and gold parachutes.
Get yourself to the beach and see what others are missing!
Friday, December 7, 2018
Tools of the trade
The first time I thought about buying a metal detector was many moons ago after picking up coins while searching tidal river banks in England, but I changed my mind because I figured Im finding coins why bother right?
I kind of looked at metal detectors and metal detecting in general as cheating and figured it took more skill to eye ball coins instead of using a machine to detect them.
Coins were easy to spot as I searched for old bottles and clay pipes along river banks, using my "Twin optical scanners" first to read the river banks looking for the right layer holding goodies and secondly to spot the things I was searching for.
Fast forward to today and I still rely on my eyes first search strategy to put me position to use a metal detector, my metal detector is just the tool I use to winkle out coins, jewelry or artifacts from an area I believe may be productive.
My long handled beach scoop and pin-pointer are target recovery tools I use now I can detect metal objects not visible on the surface.
I still look at my metal detector, scoop and pin-pointer as tools of the trade and like any trade it is the craftsmanship and work ethic that makes the difference between doing a good job or a poor job.
The point of todays blog is to look at your metal detecting equipment as tools that help you to recover what you expect or hope your site reading skills have put you in position to detect.
If you buy a certain metal detector because you believe the reason you are not finding coins, jewelry or artifacts is you are using the wrong metal detector, you need to work on your site reading skills.
Don't get me wrong, the type of metal detector you use can make a big difference in any kind of metal detecting, but only when you know why it can make a significant difference.
Site reading skills come with experience and they are the ultimate learning on the job experience for anyone swinging a metal detector.
Im lucky I found a 1790 gold coin digging for bottles in England, or Id possibly still be walking around with a rake and a plastic bag instead of a metal detector, scoop and finds pouch.
Research your local area, learn what conditions have to be present to find stuff and use the tools of the trade to detect what you are hoping to recover, preferably in that order!
Its not how many hours you spend pounding the beach, its where you spend your time that makes a difference.
In my opinion, site reading and observational skills are the building blocks of this great hobby.
If you need help reading the beach I have a book on my website called "How to read the beach & water" that will show you what to look for.
I kind of looked at metal detectors and metal detecting in general as cheating and figured it took more skill to eye ball coins instead of using a machine to detect them.
Coins were easy to spot as I searched for old bottles and clay pipes along river banks, using my "Twin optical scanners" first to read the river banks looking for the right layer holding goodies and secondly to spot the things I was searching for.
Fast forward to today and I still rely on my eyes first search strategy to put me position to use a metal detector, my metal detector is just the tool I use to winkle out coins, jewelry or artifacts from an area I believe may be productive.
My long handled beach scoop and pin-pointer are target recovery tools I use now I can detect metal objects not visible on the surface.
I still look at my metal detector, scoop and pin-pointer as tools of the trade and like any trade it is the craftsmanship and work ethic that makes the difference between doing a good job or a poor job.
The point of todays blog is to look at your metal detecting equipment as tools that help you to recover what you expect or hope your site reading skills have put you in position to detect.
If you buy a certain metal detector because you believe the reason you are not finding coins, jewelry or artifacts is you are using the wrong metal detector, you need to work on your site reading skills.
Don't get me wrong, the type of metal detector you use can make a big difference in any kind of metal detecting, but only when you know why it can make a significant difference.
Site reading skills come with experience and they are the ultimate learning on the job experience for anyone swinging a metal detector.
Im lucky I found a 1790 gold coin digging for bottles in England, or Id possibly still be walking around with a rake and a plastic bag instead of a metal detector, scoop and finds pouch.
Research your local area, learn what conditions have to be present to find stuff and use the tools of the trade to detect what you are hoping to recover, preferably in that order!
Its not how many hours you spend pounding the beach, its where you spend your time that makes a difference.
In my opinion, site reading and observational skills are the building blocks of this great hobby.
If you need help reading the beach I have a book on my website called "How to read the beach & water" that will show you what to look for.
Saturday, November 10, 2018
I love firm bottoms !
Now I have your attention, if you are a beach or water hunter it is important to understand the relationship between a firm bottom and success with your metal detector.
I’m always looking for a firm or hard bottom when I hit the beach because I know the harder the sand I am walking over is the more chance I have of finding something good.
When coins or jewelry are lost at the beach, they eventually sink deeper until they hit a deep layer they cannot penetrate.
Coins, jewelry and artifacts always find a base layer where they remain until some lucky beach or water hunter comes along with a metal detector to rescue them.
Many tourist beaches are heavily hunted now, but more people swinging metal detectors does not always decrease your chances of being successful if you can read a beach and know where the best potential sites are within a site.
Firm sand or packed shell under foot is a good sign, so too is coral or coquina exposed on the lower beach or inside the water.
Ripple troughs and other areas on the beach carved out by unusual onshore wave action are often firmer under foot than surrounding areas.
Rocky areas on lower beaches or shallow water hunting sites are always the dogs danglies when it comes to detecting coins, jewelry or artifacts, they are impenetrable collection areas.
You need a certain set of target recovery skills to recover targets from these type of areas also a variety of target recovery tools.
If you carry a flat head screwdriver, needle nose pliers and a mask and snorkel, you probably already know what I mean about searching for hard bottoms.
Some of my best beach and water hunts occured because I found a firm or hard bottom stacked with targets that could not sink any further.
If an area of the beach is tough digging it’s worth digging, if it’s almost impossible to detect and recover targets in it’s worth detecting and recovering target in!
Do you go to the beach to cover as much ground as possible or find the best ground to cover?
Searching for a firm or hard bottom will help you detect and recover the most targets.
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Interested in metal detecting ?
If the title of today’s blog is exactly what you are interesting in doing I have a few words of advise for you before jumping into the proverbial deep end.
Metal detecting is a fantastic hobby but it is not as easy as it looks, it’s not about going out and buying an expensive metal detector and location location location.
It’s more about researching areas potentially hiding what you intend searching for, learning to use a metal detector correctly, site reading and site selection skills.
I always tell people to read the best metal detecting book in the world, unfortunately I didn’t write it as that book is the instructional manual that comes with the metal detector you choose to use.
Read it, read it again and read it until you know how to set your metal detector to suit the search site, when you fully understand the manual you will know how to make incremental control settings that make a difference.
Local research is easy, head to that building called the local library, they have books full of old photos and you can look at the old photos and go follow up those leads with your metal detector and find lots of good stuff lol
Site reading and observational skills come in time, they lead to site selection skills and an increase in good metal detecting finds.
You can now hit the ground running although I always recommend walking slowly as you metal detect.
Metal detecting has been very good to me, heck it’s my profession now but I guess it’s better than working for a living lol
Build on good foundations and I can tell you that you will find what you are searching for, it’s not about covering ground everyone else covers and swinging a detector for hours hoping to get lucky.
Remember research, metal detector knowledge and basic techniques lead to success at metal detecting. Success breeds familiarity with site conditions needed to have success locating stuff and before you know it the metal detector and digging equipment are tools
You are the key to success at metal detecting, the more you learn the less you have to rely on your metal detector.
I hope you are even more interested in metal detecting now, get yourself a metal detector read the all important book and find places to use your research to the max.
Metal detecting is a fantastic hobby but it is not as easy as it looks, it’s not about going out and buying an expensive metal detector and location location location.
It’s more about researching areas potentially hiding what you intend searching for, learning to use a metal detector correctly, site reading and site selection skills.
I always tell people to read the best metal detecting book in the world, unfortunately I didn’t write it as that book is the instructional manual that comes with the metal detector you choose to use.
Read it, read it again and read it until you know how to set your metal detector to suit the search site, when you fully understand the manual you will know how to make incremental control settings that make a difference.
Local research is easy, head to that building called the local library, they have books full of old photos and you can look at the old photos and go follow up those leads with your metal detector and find lots of good stuff lol
Site reading and observational skills come in time, they lead to site selection skills and an increase in good metal detecting finds.
You can now hit the ground running although I always recommend walking slowly as you metal detect.
Metal detecting has been very good to me, heck it’s my profession now but I guess it’s better than working for a living lol
Build on good foundations and I can tell you that you will find what you are searching for, it’s not about covering ground everyone else covers and swinging a detector for hours hoping to get lucky.
Remember research, metal detector knowledge and basic techniques lead to success at metal detecting. Success breeds familiarity with site conditions needed to have success locating stuff and before you know it the metal detector and digging equipment are tools
You are the key to success at metal detecting, the more you learn the less you have to rely on your metal detector.
I hope you are even more interested in metal detecting now, get yourself a metal detector read the all important book and find places to use your research to the max.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)