ACE250; if I discriminate pennies...?

Birddog1911

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2014
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413
Location
Peyton, CO
Okay, there is one area that I hit pretty frequently, and I'm getting sick of digging Zincolns. I mean, I've got probably a pound of them.

If I set a custom mode, and discriminate iron, pull tabs and pennies, will I be risking missing out on precious metal jewelry?
 
You could miss some goodies but consider that its very possible that you will only miss the pennies. But it all depends on how you feel about digging 1000 pennies or more in order to find some good stuff that may or may not be there. While you spend all that time digging the pennies there is some silver somewhere or larger denomination clad that you never make it to because you are digging all those pennies. What Ive started doing is skipping a percentage of them and nickels , cutting time spent digging them in half so that I still have a chance at what I could miss by not digging them , but I have more of an opportunity to find silver coins and other goodies that are more common because I am spending less time digging what is probably just pennies and nickels. Its not a perfect solution but I almost always leave at the end of the hunt with a lot more than a pocket full of junk and nearly worthless pennies and nickels. To me that has significant value itself. I am not bothered by the possibility that I missed something good because I know its even more possible that I didnt. Its a gamble either way
 
yup I feel the same way digging them along with shotgun shells. If you don't dig it you will miss something good for sure.



Not necessarily for sure. Most people have had plenty of hunts and searched whole areas and walked away in the end no better off than if they had just skipped those things. It happens a lot. Im not saying its better to skip them , only that this should be considered as well.
 
I think a lot of people go in with guns (trowels/shovels) blazing and after awhile resort to discrimination. It has to be fun and enjoyable,and if your enjoyment comes from digging a billion Zincolns then it’s all good. But if you’re looking for dimes,quarters and silver,then at some point most people will start discing stuff out. It depends on the site and your tolerance for digging what is PROBABLY not what you want.
You can also hunt by DEPTH if in an area with older coins being the deeper targets. It’s really a combination of factors which leads to success,all the while NOT digging every single thing.
 
Here is a zinc penny that I dug earlier this year. You be the judge of whether you want to dig them or not.
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If its a school thats fairly new discing out pennies can save your sanity.
I have never and I repeat NEVER found a gold ring registering as a penny.
I know they exist, just not here.
 
This is one of those cases where VDI numbers and not just icons can come in handy.
Regarding one specific target that comes in at zinc and you don't want to miss here are the 5 I have found so far in my career.

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All came in as zinc as a few have already stated but where they come in at zinc is the key to finding these in a sea of zincolns.
On my Fishers the zinc area goes from about 48-64 or so.
Actual zinc cent numbers not counting any funny stuff like masking trash are usually in the 61-63 area on the two Fisher units I have hunted with, an F2 and an F70.
These 10K Class rings vary wildly in weight from about 8 grams up to 18 but they all came in at a specific range on both detectors...from 48-52 on the VDI numbers.
To this day if I see that range of numbers on my F70 screen over a solid great sounding target I get real excited, most times it is not another gold class ring but you never know.
I can easily hunt in areas with tons of zinc cents and ignore them in favor of digging those lower zinc number hoping for lightning to hit one more time.
Of course the disadvantage is there is a lot of can slaw down there at the lower zinc area and there are plenty of good things that come in at the zinc cent range like Indian head cents and some civil war bullets.
Still, like with most things in life the more information you have at hand the easier some decisions you need to make can be...in this case digging decisions.

Now just to screw with your head here is a target that I dug years ago with an F2 that sure messed with mine and made me very glad I was digging all zincoln cent signals at the time.
This was a solid 61, if you wanted me to bet my car this was going to be a zinc cent I probably would have done just that.
What popped up instead shocked me and then thrilled me. ..a very thick and heavy man's silver bracelet.

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You see silver coins and other things usually come in high but silver chains...not so much.
I have found many way lower than this all the way down to foil and even into iron but this one was a honking heavy one that attempted to disguise itself as a common, lowly zincoln.
Because it did I am sure it was passed over by plenty of other hunters in this public park because they decided skipping this dead on zinc cent signal was a smart move.

The universe is a harsh mistress to us dirt diggers.
 
Not necessarily for sure. Most people have had plenty of hunts and searched whole areas and walked away in the end no better off than if they had just skipped those things. It happens a lot. Im not saying its better to skip them , only that this should be considered as well.

well yeah, even days I dig everything, once in a while you get skunked. BUT more times than I would care to pass up, I've pulled stuff like ihps that ring up like a zincoln, or buttons that sound like shotgun shells, or a tiny deep crotal bell that also rang up like a zincoln, or a deep half dime that rang up just a hair below a zincoln, and so on. Point is if you want more of the goodies, you gotta dig more holes and take those chances.
 
I dig pennies until I get tired and then pass on some. I know I should dig them all but sometimes I tire. Lately, if it's a place I intend to hunt again, I dig all the 20-24 signals. When they turn out to be pennies , at least I won't have to see that signal again. Stayed home today and took care of my lawn and other needed outdoor work. I also contacted Minelab service about my loose shaft issue. HH and good luck to all.
Bubbaron NOX 600, AT PRO, AT PRO CARROT PIN POINTER
 
It is a decision you have to make based on where you are hunting. Location can dictate if you want to dig those penny signals.
 
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