Myers Depot Metal Detectors

My problem with Nickles

Darktower007

Darktower007

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Joined
Mar 4, 2017
Messages
713
Location
Chattanooga Tennessee
I rarely ever dig nickels. Not that I don’t want to it’s just when I do all I ever dig is junk.

I’m, at my core, a silver hunter. With an obsession I chase them every chance I get!

Last hunt out I took the Etrac and while focusing on high tones I also dug all probably nickle signals. My result was can slaw, pull tabs and other junk.

Anyone else in this same boat? Or is it just part of the game?


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I usually dig every other one but like you say, most of it turns out to be junk.:frustrated:
Just part of the game my friend, but I like it!!!:detector:
 
I love finding nickels. I don't know if it's the dirt, but on both the AT pro and F75, when they're deeper than 5 or so inches they ring up higher on the vdi and give a higher tone. But for the shallow to almost surface nickel tones, I'm in the same boat. Few nickels and lots of junk.
 
Take a day and force yourself to dig everything nonferrous. It might surprise you...
 
I love digging nickels and do not like to use a machine that does not ID them well. Sometimes it is just a learning curve with an individual machine but some just do better than others. The CZ5 was one of the best nickel finders that I have used. The Troy Shadow X3 was another good one. The Etrac was not the best on nickels but excelled in deep high conductive coin ID. Since you love silver coins you are on the right path. Gold luck with your nickel quest and I hope you get it figured out.!!
 
I too enjoy finding nickels. I think different machines with its higher frequency has a factor on finding more of those coins. For instance, yesterday, I had found 16 or 18 nickels in a school yard that been hunted to death, and cherry picked of all the easy nickels, just like most of the yards are. At least for my machine, nickels will give a nicer clean, round, tighter sound vs. a pull tabs. And yes, I get fooled many times too, but I will still dig the questionable ones as for these I have found that the nickels will mask nearby other coins that others have left behind.. And usually the nickels are about 4"-7"+ down and most of these have that nice old red patina. But unfortunately, nickels are many times where the gold rings are too. Sometimes tones or sounds of your detector will give a lot of information that is many times is overlooked.
 
I find quite a bit of nickels. I think you just have to really know how your machine reacts. I have the AT pro and every jerfferson I have dug was a 53 that didn’t jump at all. I dug a buffalo that was a tight 51-52 but that has been my only exception. I’ve noticed if the signal jumps at all outside those numbers, it’s definitely not a nickel. Not to say it couldn’t ever be one on edge or be something else good like gold, but it’s slmost never gonna be a nickel. My advice would be to ALWAYS dig those mid tones. You have to dig the trash to get the nice gold ring.
 
My Vaquero and Compadre are nickel magnets! Thumbing the disc on them and listening to the tone is pretty darn accurate when it comes to ID'ing a nickel versus junk.

I've dug a fair amount of nickels with the Etrac as well. Some have even been War nickels. The audio and the ID are usually pretty solid from all directions when it comes to nickels. If the ID changes a lot when turning 90 degrees and/or the audio wavers, it's usually junk.
 
Been digging mid-tones with the Explorer and Etrac for years. Nickel tones are pretty solid, but I've been digging thousands of foil and tab tones for years on end on lakefronts, ballfields and yards, and have yet to score gold. Going on ten years now.
 
I’m gonna agree with volksbeetle28 I feel like the nickel king I have the AT Max and the F75 and I got over 20 V nickels 17 Buffalos and 18 War nickels in 2017 in old parks. The silver has been hunted out so that is a challenge but the nickel mid tones keep on coming with these 2 machines.


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I dig fewer nickels with the deus. If you hunt in full tones nickels sound pretty poor. This is one thing I will give the AT Pro, they slam nickels. Any experienced pro user could call a nickel before digging with 90% accuracy!
 
remmy said:
I dig fewer nickels with the deus. If you hunt in full tones nickels sound pretty poor. This is one thing I will give the AT Pro, they slam nickels. Any experienced pro user could call a nickel before digging with 90% accuracy!
Click to expand...

100% agree with you there solid 53 or 54 is a nickel nearly everytime. War nickels will come in alot higher, dug a few of them but don't recall the numbers on them off the top of my head.
 
Darktower....you said it to begin with...you’re a silver hunter at heart and that’s what you target. Unless you’re in a stupidly old place and you’re hoping for a buffalo or older...why would you dig nickels?
MOST places I hunt are littered with nickels. It’s mentioned they will generally give a more “round” sound and don’t waver like the junk does. Very true. If I wanted to just concentrate on nickels,since most people pass on them,(I said most) I’m sure the nickels would come.
They are worth only 5 cents,war nickels aren’t that common overall and they compete with a lot of junk. Why dig them? It’s just not a good ROI unless you just plain old want nickels for some reason.
Also very true,digging low-mid conductors might get you gold. But that has to be implemented with very strict guidelines as what to dig or not dig(pre-qualifying with tone,stable ID,etc.) Digging anything in turf that makes ANY sound that’s non-ferrous is NOT going to make you,or anyone else,very happy. That’s more of a beach thing...
 
All I can add to help improve your nickel to trash ratio is to use your VDI.
Like mentiond above from two directions a solid 12-13 13-13 is going to be a nickel 9 out of ten times . No jumpyness .
When you only have time for a short hunt or when you do not want to dig many targets in say a ball field that is well groomed .
I hunt with my tone variability almost maxed so developing an ear for that lower tone does get me to glance at my VDI when I hear it .
Primarily I hunt by sound and only glance at the VDI for a quick confirmation of solid Numbers . Deep nickels can be all over the place.
Stay in the 13-13 12-13 window and you will miss some but you will most likely have what you think you have . , Dew
 
Darktower007 said:
I rarely ever dig nickels. Not that I don’t want to it’s just when I do all I ever dig is junk.

I’m, at my core, a silver hunter. ....
Click to expand...

darktower007, I agree with you. If I'm in a junky urban park, I also "kiss nickels goodbye". The reasons are: a) lots of junk falls in that range of TID, and b) nickels are always pathetic brownish orange corroded and not redeemable @ numismatics (versus silver which comes out nice). c) very few nickels have good/collectable dates/mints

And as for the potential of "missing gold rings": If gold rings are someone's agenda: They why oh why are they torturing themselves at blighted inner city parks ? :?: If I'm in the mood to hunt for jewelry, I merely go to the beach. Not junky parks.

If I'm in a relicky location (ghost towns, cellar holes, demolition sites, etc...), then I "dig all". But in park turf hunting: I go into silver/copper mindset.
 
Tell you what though DT, once a guy has all the close by and familiar areas High graded, its a whole lot of fun to do a "Nickle Quest"...sort of gets a guy to refocus his ears and brain on the mid tone/curious signals...especially in the nearby parks/schools you have hunted many times...

You already know the place, you know where the pay dirt is, you can relax and just see how many nickels are in there...It helps put another skill in your head, plus it livens up a generally boring place you have swept countless times.....

After a week or so, you will notice how your ears are HEARING Nickels vs tab/foil signals and your brain is able to distinguish them based upon the depth/target profile, mass etc...You will amaze yourself with some nice multidenom mid tone stacks you missed before on account of you were just shooting crisp tones for silver...

You really lock in on the tabs, you get to know them, you can call a squaretab from a beavertail, you can call a ball of foil from a nickel if you commit and focus and get out hunting for Nickels...

Its a major feat to pull a Nickel Quest 500...There should be a medal or a sew on badge for a Nickle Quest Member! :laughing:

I run the F70 in Delta Pitch for optimum audio feedback...you will also find silver chains on account of their curious midtone signals that you know is not a tab,foil or a nickle...but its something else you havnt heard before..and gold of course..theres always gold hiding in those mid tones...

Nickles tell you a lot about a place, either in their abundance or absence...they add valuable information you need to know regarding how to effectively hunt this location....Heres some F70 tids that may help...

You can practice in the house during the Winter even, like some sort of Training Program! ..Lay out familiar targets and sweep them!..try diff settings, see how high you can raise coil and get/lose the signal...experiment...It beats sitting around watching Chicken Noodle News all day..
 

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