Are Nickels hard to find or is it me?

jtindover

Full Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
215
Location
Dover , DE
I started detecting at the end of August and have noticed a trend. I hardly ever find nickels? My ears must only be focused on the higher tones? Maybe its not me anyone else notice this:?:
 
Alot of times they read in the pulltab range. For some reason the F2 finds lots of nickels. I guess because i dig EVERYTHING! :yes: :lol:
 
Learning to dig nickels can be frustrating. Since I got the E-trac I often dig more nickels in a hunt than any other denomination. The target ID is DEAD on.
 
I think at first, nickels get ignored because they are a mid tone in most detectors. It took a while for me to start finding them but now I find them all the time.
 
I have an Ace 250 and a At pro which I found some nickels today but there arent that many as you have said. I really like it when I get an unwavering nickel signal and out pops a Gold ring!! But thats rare for me!:yes:
 
I have found 2-3 times more quarters and dimes and 5 times more pennies. I dig almost everything. I notch out iron sometimes (depending on area). When I do find a nickel it is usually in the tab to nickel range on the F2.
 
Last edited:
My ace 250 shows nickels anywhere from a pulltab to a penny, but usually when it is a penny signal type nickel it will bounce anywhere in between a pulltab to penny
 
VDI 52-53 that sounds real smooth and solid on the ATPro is almost a sure thing. But, it can bounce to 51 or 54 and it is almost surely a pulltab, grommet, modern jacket button, etc. I dug 4 identical grommets today that were slightly bouncy nickels lol.
 
In my first year of detecting my nickel total was actually higher than my quarter but since then nickel totals have always been lower than quarters and dimes and of course cents. Usually most of my nickels come from tot lots but once in a while I run across quite a few while plugging (found 13 on January 1st). Be prepared for can slaw and pull tabs if you target nickels. Of course the elusive gold ring could be out there waiting for you :yes:

BTW, on the ace, spent bullets also seem to be in the nickel range.

2006_2010_MD_Totals.jpg
 
Depending on the soil, a solid 33 should be a nickel, above that not so much, and I have dug them below that, too.

You will always find more pennies than other coins, but I tend to find less nickels than other types of coins.

Then there is the matter of frequency on your detector.
I believe the higher frequencies are a little more sensitive to nickels than some of the lower ones.

All detectors should find them, but I tend to find more with my Vaquero and Compadre than my F2, which is a lower frequency.

Maybe people just carry and drop less nickels than the other coins.

I did not do this with the clad finds from this year, but I am a dig it all kind of hunter too, and here is a picture of my clad finds in 2010 to give you an idea of each coin's volume.
 

Attachments

  • P1010269.jpg
    P1010269.jpg
    120.4 KB · Views: 899
I dig most signals so do find a lot of nickels. I start to slather at the mouth when I get a couple nickels at a site - knowing others have left the goodies for me :) Almost 900 nickels for 2011, Steve in so az
 
My ace 250 shows nickels anywhere from a pulltab to a penny, but usually when it is a penny signal type nickel it will bounce anywhere in between a pulltab to penny

My ace 350 acts similar, nickles bounce around but seem to give a more solid hit in the tone than a pull tab I just found my oldest nickle the other day and it rang up just one notch to the right of pull tab it was an 1898 V nickle.
 
I started detecting at the end of August and have noticed a trend. I hardly ever find nickels? My ears must only be focused on the higher tones? Maybe its not me anyone else notice this:?:

I noticed that also my first summer. Found four this summer, three rang up as pull tabs but turned out to be Jefferson nickels and the last and only one to ring up as a nickel was deep and was my first buffalo nickel. Maybe buffalos just register better than Jeffersons on mine. Regardless they are few and far between for me as well.
 
On my Etrac nickles and most pull tabs have the same target id and tone, thus if you don't want to dig a boatload of trash don't dig these signals. I only ever dig nickle signals 5+ inches deep and ignor the rest.
 
Initially I wasnt finding a single nickel with me Cibola. After a few adjustments, I find nickels pretty regular. Learn your machine I reckon is all.
 
Alot of times they read in the pulltab range. For some reason the F2 finds lots of nickels. I guess because i dig EVERYTHING! :yes: :lol:

Yes, nickels are in the pulltab range and as I try to avoid most of those I do not dig many nickels.
 
Back
Top Bottom