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Buying gold to test detectors

needler420

Elite Member
Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
1,016
Location
Florida
I am trying to learn the different sounds and signals my metal detectors give. I have all my base metals but only silver as a precious metal. I need gold, platinum and palladium..

Is it worth taking out gold bars from a Assay card to test it? I have 3 different metal detectors between my family and no one owns anything that is gold to test. Plenty of silver but no gold or any other precious metal. I am debating picking up about a gram of gold for my tests and novelty purposes. Not really as a investment even though it is.:laughing: All the gold I see comes in Assay cards and capsules etc. I plan on taking it out and burying it in dirt and doing the same with some platinum and palladium. I been checking the costume jewelry at flea markets and thrift stores but no luck.
 
Just bury some pull tabs. :laughing:

I already found plenty of those for testing purposes. I'm covered in all my base metals. I've collected a specimen I could find of each at the highest purity. I just need to listen to hear if it sounds like a Toucan or a Kookaburra now.
 
:?:Buy an American 1/10 oz. gold eagle for the cheapest ($135). 10% copper. Who loses .999 (24 kt) fine gold? Otherwise do what kingman says. Pull tabs.
 
Buy an American 1/10 oz. gold eagle for the cheapest ($135). Otherwise do what kingman says. Pull tabs.

Really no need to own any gold then for performing tests with metal detectors.
I forget pull tabs will signal like gold. What about platinum and palladium?

I'd rather not buy what I don't need. I'm not really trying to invest just test. I am wanting to upgrade my pin pointer first as a higher priority.
 
Really no need to own any gold then for performing tests with metal detectors.
I forget pull tabs will signal like gold. What about platinum and palladium?
Not sure. Who else loses platinum and palladium unless they’re chopping up cat converters?
 
IF you use gold in assy cards then leave it in the card then into a good zip-lock bag. Bury the whole thing. Should be much easier to find when digging up.

Another source to to buy Natural Gold nuggets.
This is what I did in 1, 2, 4, 6, 10 gram sizes.

I bought them from Natural Gold Traded in Idaho, USA. Great guy and nice nuggets. He has Australian and North American nuggets. Do check what the gold content is (Gold nuggets from different places can vary from 70% to 98%) and this also affects a detector's response.

This is assuming you want to test your detector for finding nuggets.

If only going to look for gold rings then pull-tab rings work fine.
There is a huge response difference between small natural nugget and rings.
 
You will get different tones and vdi numbers from every different alloy that you test. 10k sounds different from 14K etc. Even with different pieces of 10k you will get different tones and vdi numbers. I have pieces that sound like foil, some that sound very close to nickels and some that you would swear was a pull tab.
 
Not sure. Who else loses platinum and palladium unless they’re chopping up cat converters?

Platinum is very common in Jewelry. Palladium is used in jewelry but not as often as platinum. Someone actually just posted a palladium ring they found recently.
 
You will get different tones and vdi numbers from every different alloy that you test. 10k sounds different from 14K etc. Even with different pieces of 10k you will get different tones and vdi numbers. I have pieces that sound like foil, some that sound very close to nickels and some that you would swear was a pull tab.


Well yeah I understand this part. That's why all my testing specimens are the highest purity I can find as to they won't be contaminated with other metals.


I don't get it, If I'm not suppose to use the discrimination on my metal detector along with process of elimination to my own tests and using budget detectors sub $100 dollars, do you guys just dig anything that goes beep or do you try a process of elimination to avoid digging junk metal?
 
Platinum is very common in Jewelry. Palladium is used in jewelry but not as often as platinum. Someone actually just posted a palladium ring they found recently.

I have found one platinum ring and one palladium ring at a salt water beach. Yes people lose platinum and palladium rings.
 
what kind of gold are you trying to find that is going to be absolutely pure? You appear to be in Florida where there are No gold deposits that I have ever heard about
 
what kind of gold are you trying to find that is going to be absolutely pure? You appear to be in Florida where there are No gold deposits that I have ever heard about

Yes I realize for a gold test the likely hood of finding .999 gold in FL is far less but still possible. Even old gold coins I believe had other alloys in them.

So a higher priority for me now is getting pure platinum and palladium for tests.
 
Well yeah I understand this part. That's why all my testing specimens are the highest purity I can find as to they won't be contaminated with other metals.


I don't get it, If I'm not suppose to use the discrimination on my metal detector along with process of elimination to my own tests and using budget detectors sub $100 dollars, do you guys just dig anything that goes beep or do you try a process of elimination to avoid digging junk metal?





Yes. When ring hunting on the beach I dig all beeps. Rings can hit anywhere. I e never hunted gold nuggets before.
 
A Buddy of mine buys bags of dirt from Alaska and pans the dirt at home . He pays a pretty penny for it too ! He's gotten nuggets and flakes but he's nowhere near making a profit . He says he enjoys it enough to do it .
 
Yes I realize for a gold test the likely hood of finding .999 gold in FL is far less but still possible. Even old gold coins I believe had other alloys in them.

So a higher priority for me now is getting pure platinum and palladium for tests.

STOP! you're over-thinking the game.

Step 1 - go to the beach
Step 2 - ignore the dry sand and walk into the water
Step 3 - dig EVERY target that isnt rejected as iron
Step 4 - If you are digging tabs, go home and come back later.
Step 5 - If you digging coins, lead, jewelry etc, stay as long as possible, repeat step 3
 
I don't think I've ever seen someone post a palladium find. And Platinum is kinda rare as far as rings go. Theres something to a ring of any metal that just "sounds solid" or something. Learning what that sounds like will tell you to dig long before worrying about how Pt and Pd comes in on your machine.

Save your money or go to a pawn shop and ask about what you want to test. Say you need to verify it by sweeping your detector over it to be sure its real.

And I agree 100% with Jason in post #17. You wont go wrong following that advice.


.
 
Does platinum or palladium have any distinctive tones I need to pay attention too when discriminating against other base metals?

Would having a specimen sample of either one for testing be beneficial in allowing me to discriminate any other base metal. I am trying to have a sense of what I dig before I dig it. Do I just have to dig everything that goes beep with a cheap detector to find any precious metals.? Why does my detectors have discrimination modes. Does it only discriminate against other base metals allowing to identify other base metals easier and not and precious metals?
 
Does platinum or palladium have any distinctive tones I need to pay attention too when discriminating against other base metals?

Would having a specimen sample of either one for testing be beneficial in allowing me to discriminate any other base metal. I am trying to have a sense of what I dig before I dig it. Do I just have to dig everything that goes beep with a cheap detector to find any precious metals.? Why does my detectors have discrimination modes. Does it only discriminate against other base metals allowing to identify other base metals easier and not and precious metals?

What you are asking really requires an entire book to explain. The nickel-edition of it is that your detector has ZERO clue what is under it and is only giving responses to pre-programmed expectations. The size of the target, the shape of the target, the thickness of the target, the depth of the target, the minerals between the detector and the target, other targets close to the target, EMI interference all play roles in the repsonse you get.

IF YOU WANT GOLD (or any jewelry really), DIG EVERYTHING THAT ISNT IRON.
 
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