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General Discussion: There's a big difference between hunting for coins, and finding rings, vs. hunting for rings and finding coins...

Skippy SH13

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I've now hunted with several other detectorists, and swapped enough stories on the sidelines to have a better idea of what is going on with people who are out detecting, but not finding rings and jewelry.

It comes down to this... If you're listening for or "targeting" coin signals, you're discriminating out anything that doesn't sound like coins. Which means you're going to incidentally "catch" rings that sound like coins, and miss most everything that doesn't (or that sounds like a penny or nickel, which you might be intentionally skipping).

I've come to conclude that because I'm not out to find coins, I'm digging different targets. Coins naturally fit into the "possibly a ring" category, but coins are BY-CATCH for me. Most days, I couldn't even tell you how much I'm finding (it's usually about $1.80 an hour). I'm looking for rings, targeting rings, and digging any signal I think "might" be a ring. This includes 100% of coin targets, btw, as they all "could be" a ring the way they sound. A case point here is that all of the "honker" gold rings I've found (7 of them greater than 10 grams), ring up in the penny range from 69 to 81 on the AT Pro/Max. I know people have skipped them (my son in particular), because he thought they were pennies.

Bottom line is, if you want to hunt rings, TARGET THEM. Don't simply expect to pick them up at the rate a ring hunter does, simply because you're coin hunting. I can come right behind people and pick up rings in their swing path (I've done this), because they presume the signal is trash or corroded pennies, or whatever.

I've met many detectorists nearby who tell me they've been detecting for 3, 5, or even 20 years and have found 1 maybe 2 gold rings in the time they've been looking. I just politely listen and say "yeah, that'd be awesome to find one" knowing that it's rare that it's been more than 3 weeks since my last find...

I've now found 48 gold rings in the last 3 years and 5 months, and 4 other gold pieces (52 golds total!). I'm a land hunter. Only two of those items were found on a beach (both in dry sand... one ring [returned] and one gold bangle). Thats' 47 land-hunted rings, in places I KNOW were hit by other detectorists, because I've cleaned up their plugs, and then pulled gold out of the same pathways...

Coin hunting pays... don't get me wrong. But a single gold ring at $200 is 800 quarters. I find about one gold ring per month (about every 40-50 hours of hunting), and a few really nice pieces every year that bring in lots more. And I make about $1000 in change, too. That being said, I DO put in time... Most hunts I only bring back about $1.50 an hour, but it's RARE that I have a hunt I don't find at least one junk ring.

I know not everyone is interested in this... but if you happen to be someone who really wonders why you're not finding rings... try targeting them, and simply looking at the rest of it as by-catch. You'll discover a whole new world of fun.

For more information on how/where I find my rings (650+ over the last 3 years), see this thread:
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=245454&highlight=Ring

Cheers,

Skippy
 
I tend to hunt anything that don’t sound awful, I find lots of clad (I’m fine with digging pennies) but this summer I’ve dug 1 junk ring (my daughter loves) 1 silver ring and a platinum ring.

My outlook is why look for anything specific, when there’s so many different treasures 🤩


Bounty hunter - treasure hunter - cabelas special edition.
Best find to date - 15g platinum ring
Total clad 2018 - 45$
 
I tend to hunt anything that don’t sound awful, I find lots of clad (I’m fine with digging pennies) but this summer I’ve dug 1 junk ring (my daughter loves) 1 silver ring and a platinum ring.

My outlook is why look for anything specific, when there’s so many different treasures 🤩


Bounty hunter - treasure hunter - cabelas special edition.
Best find to date - 15g platinum ring
Total clad 2018 - 45$

15g platinum ring! that's AWESOME! that's like finding 18K gold. What a huge find. Amazing. :)

Platinum is hard to come across, too. Well done!
 
15g platinum ring! that's AWESOME! that's like finding 18K gold. What a huge find. Amazing. :)



Platinum is hard to come across, too. Well done!



It was dug in an unused area of a park, engraved 2001... my guess was a bad breakup


Bounty hunter - treasure hunter - cabelas special edition.
Best find to date - 15g platinum ring
Total clad 2018 - 45$
 
I've now hunted with several other detectorists, and swapped enough stories on the sidelines to have a better idea of what is going on with people who are out detecting, but not finding rings and jewelry.

It comes down to this... If you're listening for or "targeting" coin signals, you're discriminating out anything that doesn't sound like coins. Which means you're going to incidentally "catch" rings that sound like coins, and miss most everything that doesn't (or that sounds like a penny or nickel, which you might be intentionally skipping).

I've come to conclude that because I'm not out to find coins, I'm digging different targets. Coins naturally fit into the "possibly a ring" category, but coins are BY-CATCH for me. Most days, I couldn't even tell you how much I'm finding (it's usually about $1.80 an hour). I'm looking for rings, targeting rings, and digging any signal I think "might" be a ring. This includes 100% of coin targets, btw, as they all "could be" a ring the way they sound. A case point here is that all of the "honker" gold rings I've found (7 of them greater than 10 grams), ring up in the penny range from 69 to 81 on the AT Pro/Max. I know people have skipped them (my son in particular), because he thought they were pennies.

Bottom line is, if you want to hunt rings, TARGET THEM. Don't simply expect to pick them up at the rate a ring hunter does, simply because you're coin hunting. I can come right behind people and pick up rings in their swing path (I've done this), because they presume the signal is trash or corroded pennies, or whatever.

I've met many detectorists nearby who tell me they've been detecting for 3, 5, or even 20 years and have found 1 maybe 2 gold rings in the time they've been looking. I just politely listen and say "yeah, that'd be awesome to find one" knowing that it's rare that it's been more than 3 weeks since my last find...

I've now found 48 gold rings in the last 3 years and 5 months, and 4 other gold pieces (52 golds total!). I'm a land hunter. Only two of those items were found on a beach (both in dry sand... one ring [returned] and one gold bangle). Thats' 47 land-hunted rings, in places I KNOW were hit by other detectorists, because I've cleaned up their plugs, and then pulled gold out of the same pathways...

Coin hunting pays... don't get me wrong. But a single gold ring at $200 is 800 quarters. I find about one gold ring per month (about every 40-50 hours of hunting), and a few really nice pieces every year that bring in lots more. And I make about $1000 in change, too. That being said, I DO put in time... Most hunts I only bring back about $1.50 an hour, but it's RARE that I have a hunt I don't find at least one junk ring.

I know not everyone is interested in this... but if you happen to be someone who really wonders why you're not finding rings... try targeting them, and simply looking at the rest of it as by-catch. You'll discover a whole new world of fun.

For more information on how/where I find my rings (650+ over the last 3 years), see this thread:
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=245454&highlight=Ring

Cheers,

Skippy

I also dig most the 69-81 signals. I find tons of crusty zincs, and a fair amount of junk rings. Still looking for the big gold honker that hits the penny range though. My question would be.... how much time do you spend digging the 40-68 signals? In my limited experience, those are the ones that are "always" foil or pulltabs/poptops. Are there more rings out there in the 40-68 vs the 69-81 range?
 

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Couldn't agree more, if you dig every repeatable signal, your ring finds should increase (whether you're on land on in the water). But I think I'm more of the opposite (in parks that is). Over here in Australia we have $1 and $2 coins so it's definitely worth it to just dug coin numbers. Earlier this year I hunted a lawn in front of a beachfront cafe. I found $48 in half an hour before I got moved on my by lady who claimed she was the owner of a nearby caravan park, and that the lawn belonged to her. Most of the gold rings I've found ring up as coins numbers, but then again, some Australian coins naturally ring up quite low (and in the typical gold range).
 
Skippy, thanks for the write-up. Read your other linked post, too. Has given me a few ideas to keep in mind while hunting (even though my machine doesn't have a VDI).
 
My question would be.... how much time do you spend digging the 40-68 signals?

Probably half my time. With the AT Max, I can actually weed out a LOT of regular trash. I don't spend my time digging lots of trash (in fact, my bag usually isn't terribly full). If it sounds like it could be a ring, I'm digging it. Lots of stuff, though, is just too small, or skips too much to be anything more than folded foil. I skip those. Can slaw... I dig a lot of that, though. :) I once pulled a diamond ring out of the middle of a 3 foot circle of can slaw... sounded just like the aluminum. I never skip that stuff. Get pleasantly surprised often enough, that it's worth it!


In my limited experience, those are the ones that are "always" foil or pulltabs/poptops. Are there more rings out there in the 40-68 vs the 69-81 range?

GOBS MORE. Oh my goodness yes. Probably 75% of all rings I find are less than 68. Small silver rings ring up low, too, as do silver bracelets (chain style).

I do find a fair amount of silver rings above 68, but I've only found 7 gold rings above that number out of the 48 I've found. Lots and lots of rings below 68. Most tungsten, all stainless, and most gold is. Cobalt and platinum, too!

Cheers!
 
Skippy, Here's what I would add to your post : When someone (like a newbie) reads your post, it will immediately ring true. Because, after all, who doesn't love gold rings ? Why angle for clad ? Etc....

As if it's just simply a matter of lowering the discrimination, and presto, go for gold rings. Not silly clad. But there is another BIG factor in this equation and proposition : It's not just "lower your disc. and dig junk till your arms fall off, lest you miss a gold ring". A much BIGGER part of this story is: Location location location. If gold rings are someone's agenda, then they need to choose their hunt locations carefully.

Going to junky blighted parks (esp. around BBQ pits and picnic tables) is a recipe for insanity. If gold rings are someone's agenda, then swimming beaches have much better ratios of jewelry vs junk. And ..... sand is easier to dig in :roll:

If someone doesn't have swim beaches (lake or ocean) near them, then even various land site-type can make all the difference in your proposition. Eg.: sand wrestle pits, mud wrestle pits, sand volley ball courts, and if you must do turf: Turf that is expressly frolicking athletics (soccer, football, etc...) with zero eating/drinking/picnicking . Also ski-lift lines at summer thaw (tugging motion of ski-gloves), etc....

That , to me, is the "rest of the story" on your post :)
 
I try to dig most everything. Every pull tab or penny I dig COULD be a gold ring...so far, no luck....but one day it WILL be
 
Skippy, Here's what I would add to your post : When someone (like a newbie) reads your post, it will immediately ring true. Because, after all, who doesn't love gold rings ? Why angle for clad ? Etc....

As if it's just simply a matter of lowering the discrimination, and presto, go for gold rings. Not silly clad. But there is another BIG factor in this equation and proposition : It's not just "lower your disc. and dig junk till your arms fall off, lest you miss a gold ring". A much BIGGER part of this story is: Location location location. If gold rings are someone's agenda, then they need to choose their hunt locations carefully.

Going to junky blighted parks (esp. around BBQ pits and picnic tables) is a recipe for insanity. If gold rings are someone's agenda, then swimming beaches have much better ratios of jewelry vs junk. And ..... sand is easier to dig in :roll:

If someone doesn't have swim beaches (lake or ocean) near them, then even various land site-type can make all the difference in your proposition. Eg.: sand wrestle pits, mud wrestle pits, sand volley ball courts, and if you must do turf: Turf that is expressly frolicking athletics (soccer, football, etc...) with zero eating/drinking/picnicking . Also ski-lift lines at summer thaw (tugging motion of ski-gloves), etc....

That , to me, is the "rest of the story" on your post :)

I agree. I have found 5 rings this year in parks. Plus I found a nice heavy 24" silver necklace. Even within a park, there are areas where I dig signals that I skip in other areas of the park. When around pavilions where the trash is thick, I skip thru cherry picking the better signals. But when around basketball courts, baseball fields, football practice fields, sidewalks, ect.., I will dig most every repeatable signal.

It also depends on the overall quality of the park. If the park is fairly clean, I will chase more signals and if it is trashy, I will be more selective on what I dig.

Learning a detector really helps too. Instead if buying and selling detectors, one should actually keep a detector long enough to get to know it. It takes time behind a detector to gain the knowledge so that you can start telling the differences between difficult targets.
 
I agree with what Tom said. It really comes down to location. I have dug several rings over the years but only one gold. In that time I have dug thousands of pull tabs and pop tops with a few hundred nickels but only one gold. Location is a big part of it.


Ray
 
This is a VERY important topic and in field conversational experiences that anybody wanting to 'up their game' should take careful note of and try to pattern in their specific AO...

We are not out so much going out to find rings, we are out to find GOLD rings..We are not so much going out to find gold rings, as we are out to find GOLD....

Let the dirt speak to you and pay attention to what the finds are saying about the area etc. and key in accordingly...!

Being a mega clad hammer has some unique advantages and skills developed, a guy is learning about the specific area very quickly for the possibility of finding GOLD....rings, chains, pendants, out of these three, rings are by far the easiest signal to identify and isolate, but do not discount the chains to your peril!...one great big chain can make a guys year or several years depending...

So considering this, what can a guy do? Well, hunt in full tones wide open and hammer clad as very fast as possible, concentrated on developing a fast target retrieval method, a guy can pull a super amount of targets in a short amount of time...running 90+ CPH rate in good dirt and clad heavy conditions.

This skill comes in very handy for a fellow to deploy in what appears to be gold "Paydirt" based upon what the other finds are saying to a person and how well he understands Human travel patterns, habits, time frame of the drops, location, and how his rig was designed to ID targets, and its intrisic limitations.....Proportional audio is a very helpful feature to have......

So a guy hammers along, in full tones, hunting audibly, not worrying about the TIDS, more about the target profile signature, with nothing disced...big old stacks of multidenom clad start showing up that send off a bad scrap signal..big old stinky piles of clad as a guy is harvesting to make pay, all the while THINKING about gold...time can be manipulated and condensed, effort maximized, a guy can pull 5hrs worth of targets in 1...really get to know a places potential for holding gold rapidly....Might be hunting the edge of a parking lot, where the snow piles are pushed, ..just saying..not glam like finding old silver coins on an 1700's cotton plantation ...

Clad keeps a guy alive, profitable and very sharp to the everchanging travel patterns of Humans. Hunting rings in and of themselves is a time/profit wasting effort, seeings how most are junk now a days, but the location you find them in does tell a story, that should be noticed and processed...

All junk finds in any area should be noticed and processed....A guy wants the GOLD! This is a Big Planet, these coils are so small, and time is short for all of us...so it seems logical for a fellow to get real fast, pay attention to what the dirt is saying, and manipulate time if you can...You go into autopilot, just pull the numbers in the most logical paydirt as fast as possible:?: Dont think too much about nothing, especially about the tids, get into the zone and just ping and pop! .."Pull harder Lemuel!" :laughing: (Outlaw Josey Wales reference)

Knowing this, "Gold is no respector of effort or intelligence" "A blind Nut can find a squirrel"...Come up with some sort of mantra or tune you hum in your head as you just grind it out popping and pocketing pings...

I prefer Mr Rogers 'Its a beautiful day', 'Wont you be my neighbor?' jingles, or Mackelmores 'Thrift Shop', (which has naughty lyrics, but a steady baseline beat and message about treasure hunting)...

Then, out of the clear blue sky, you are running the numbers, and Heavy GOLD shows up in a perfect zinc penny or pulltab signal! .:laughing:
 
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Skippy, Here's what I would add to your post : When someone (like a newbie) reads your post, it will immediately ring true. Because, after all, who doesn't love gold rings ? Why angle for clad ? Etc....

As if it's just simply a matter of lowering the discrimination, and presto, go for gold rings. Not silly clad. But there is another BIG factor in this equation and proposition : It's not just "lower your disc. and dig junk till your arms fall off, lest you miss a gold ring". A much BIGGER part of this story is: Location location location. If gold rings are someone's agenda, then they need to choose their hunt locations carefully.

Going to junky blighted parks (esp. around BBQ pits and picnic tables) is a recipe for insanity. If gold rings are someone's agenda, then swimming beaches have much better ratios of jewelry vs junk. And ..... sand is easier to dig in :roll:

If someone doesn't have swim beaches (lake or ocean) near them, then even various land site-type can make all the difference in your proposition. Eg.: sand wrestle pits, mud wrestle pits, sand volley ball courts, and if you must do turf: Turf that is expressly frolicking athletics (soccer, football, etc...) with zero eating/drinking/picnicking . Also ski-lift lines at summer thaw (tugging motion of ski-gloves), etc....

That , to me, is the "rest of the story" on your post :)

Agreed, it's why I put the link into where I find rings, and what the strategy is to find the right location. When I got into this hobby 3 years ago... YOU were the one who put me into the framework of mind to think "location location location." I recall having a conversation with you (other forum), where you noted I should be thinking about where people sit and drop stuff, not just digging up pop-tabs... I'd been thinking about that very thing, and had a spot in mind for it. I went to that spot that very week (at a skate park, under the largest tree at the entrance to the bowl), and dug every pop-tab signal in the bunch. I was using the ACE350 at the time. I pulled 35-37 pop tabs, and TWO gold rings out. It was my first double, and 100% due to your conversation explaining just that... Location, location, location.

That being said, I've had moderate success with gridding parks, too. I have a limited number of spots, and so all summer, I hit the "hot spots" of the parks, where drops are most frequent... then all winter I grid each park, to the best of my ability, and still manage to pull about the same number of finds. The difference is, the hot spots will produce coins and rings every week all summer (and they're hit by detectorists about as frequently), but the gridding area takes all year just to "collect" a moderate amount of objects. It's slower, but still rewarding.

Cheers!
 
Its probably best to just stick to busting totter finds...a committed to success guy can pull good pay simply running a steady totter route and kicking chips for clad..no doubt will eventually find gold, silver, junk rings, paper money, jackets, food, dope pipes and skateboards...all sorts of stuff, knives, guns, old silver dollar coins that little Jimmy stole from old G'pas coin collection!...All sorts of stuff in the totters! Introductory rig and a cotton nail apron and off you go!...:laughing:

With an elcheapo introductory rig, a guy could merely hit the totters! No kneepads, no pinpointer, no shovel even, just a swipe of the foot to reveal the target, work a steady route, modify accordingly as the seasons evolve and the herds change, no need to get all scientific and over think this...a guy would do better at the end of the year than most...

This is a great Sport! Biggest factor to success is to simply get out of the house and hunt!...'You gonna talk or you gonna fish?':laughing:
 
Thanks for posting this. Learned a bunch about ring hunting locations from your postings before. I often go clad or old coin hunting, thinking: :what would Skippy do?" 5 or 6 ring finds this year, and a few last year were attributed to you in this manner. They are all junkers this year, and maybe 50/50 junkers to silver ratio in the past. No gold yet. This bring "location" into another perspective: general region. In small Midwestern towns, the average value and amount of jewelry worn, I believe, is substantially lower than in larger cities, coastal areas, and other tourist attraction areas.

...but I know there's gold here too. The times I have started out with ring hunting intentions, with coins as bycatch, always seem to wear me down. Digging can slaw, tabs, and zincs until my arms fall off, gets me thinking of the old saying: "there's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore looking like an idiot"

So Skippy and Mud, I've been attending your diverse schools of thought, plus the "old coins" school of thought, as well as taking in a vast array of tips, tricks, facts, and thoughts from many others here. I don't inspire to become a master of these things, but am certainly becoming a better, more productive, general purpose "fisherman". And I like that.
Thank you.
 
I do agree with most everything said in this post. My problem here is that I do not have great sites for finding gold so I take what I can get. I do dig all good repeatable signals always. I guarantee you will not find many gold rings here where I hunt. I find tons of clad quarters but little gold. Can't find what's not here to find !! I just keep on plugging.
Bubbaron
 
I really appreciate this post. Today I went on a hour or so hunt targeting rings. I dug any good sounding 40 and above signal on my AT Max. On this hunt, I targeted a large, recently built (within the last 10 years) soccer field/park. I concentrated on the sidelines and where I thought the coaches and players may have placed their stuff while playing. Here are my results. I did dig much more zincs and can slaw than I usually dig. I was surprised that many of the lower tone signals were nickels rather than garbage.

15 canslaw/foil
2 bottle caps
3 poptops
2 keys
2 quarters
2 dimes
18 zinc Penny's
5 nickels
1 sweet silver ring

This was the first hunt that I dug more nickels than quarters and dimes combined.

Skippy, is this a pretty typical ring targeting hunt?
 

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