Do you have a digital number readout on your screen? If you do, then take some change out of your pocket and wave a quarter in front of the coil and see what number it reads, then do the same with a dime, a '83 or later penny (zinc), then a '81 or older penny (copper). That way you will have some idea of what coin (or even if it's a coin at all), before you dig. When I started out at the parks I dug the quarter signals only. The reason why is they are bigger and easier to find for a beginner, and every four quarters adds up to a dollar (which is a lot easier than digging up a hundred pennies to get that same dollar). Get some jars or coffee cans, put quarters in one, dimes in another, etc. and don't touch any of it for at least a year or two. By then you will know if you want to stay with the hobby, and you will have read the forum and talked to others detecting enough to know what you want to upgrade to, and you can use the money you found towards your next detector. I started with a Garrett Ace 250, which is about the same price as the detector you have, and after 3 1/2 years I had more than enough to buy an $800 detector. By the time I sold the Ace 250 I had found over $1260, just in change, with it.