Question?

Not an easy thing to advise on, it's something which comes with experience, and practice.
A coin on edge can be tricky, and yes it can read a good signal in one direction, and not in another.
If you have a garden bury a couple of coins on edge at different depths, and you'll see.

If you are in any doubt, dig it out !

I still dig rubbish after five years detecting.

I agree with alan on this one. Experience with your detector really helps. If I ever get a strange signal that I've not really experienced before, I'll usually dig it. I was getting a penny reading once at 2" or so, but it just didn't sound like a penny. I decided to dig it. Ends up it was a quarter (clad) with a rusty nail right underneath it. I've dug wheat pennies on end that kept coming up as half dollars. That's one of the strangest ones I've had so far.

If you want to find those deep and faint signals, you must first learn your detector and the various signals it gives. Then, after you have dug quite a few targets with it, you will realize where most coins read and the various strengths that they emit while in the ground.

Last week, I found a 1901 Barber dime at 7 inches deep by listening to the slight variation in the detector's threshold. If I wasn't using a threshold or wearing headphones, I would never have heard the "reading." I came to the conclusion that this Barber dime was positioned on its edge a little, considering that it gave a really weak sound. I know for a fact that my other buddies passed right by the target on many occasions, but I was more patient and persistent during my search and it paid off at the end of the day.

Lastly, never fully rely on your detector's target ID meter, as it is not 100% accurate. I have found several coins -- a 1900 Liberty Head nickel and a 1900 Indian Head cent -- that read down in the "iron" range. I later found out that there was a small piece of junk next to the coin, resulting in a lower reading than usual. Even though the ID meter read near "iron," my detector was telling me that whatever is in the ground is worth further investigation.

I hope this helps out!

Coins on their side!

I agree with everything that everyone has said, learn those tones! And whenever you are unsure, dig!

Here is an example: Last year I was detecting on the shores of the Mystic River in Boston near the first naval military hospital in the U.S., it's called "Admirals Hill". I was using a Whites Spectrum XL and decided to check the seawall at low tide. I found nearly 60 coins my first day, it was apparent that no one had ever been there.

I was ready to go home and decided to swing a few times on my way back when I got a blip sound that would not stop, at first I thought it was just a nail, but decided to dig anyway. Glad I did, it was an 1885 V Nickel, the rarest of the V Nickel's, a key date!

Can't wait til' winters over here in the Upstate NY!

Thanks for all the replies! i know the more you learn your machine, the more you dig the better you will be with it, and I probably didn't state clear enough, lets say you get a good silver reading with your nomal swing when you x it, you get a unstable reading, like iron then zinc then Iron again. With my Deleon, if it reads silver 95, then x and it reads silver 95 and a depth of 3 inches, you will find a new penny or clad or silver, if you dig your 3-5 inches and don't find anything, but re check your hole and it gives the same reading, it will be a soda or beer can down deeper. I am just telling this to you so that you guys will understand my machine, thanks for the advice and keep it coming.
Happy Hunting
Greg

You can have the best equipment in the world but if you dont dig that hole youll never know what you missed

I can't add a darn thing to these previous posts. You guys know what you are doing........................Blitz

gcollins said:

With my Deleon, if it reads silver 95, then x and it reads silver 95 and a depth of 3 inches, you will find a new penny or clad or silver, if you dig your 3-5 inches and don't find anything, but re check your hole and it gives the same reading, it will be a soda or beer can down deeper. Greg

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Usually, in all metal mode, a crushed pop can will give you a reading nearly a foot above the ground, a coin won't. That may save you some useless digging of cans.

Old brass stuff reads low too. Things like tokens and tags even buttons. Some of those are worth more than coins. A copper-nickle indian head cent reads in the pull tab range also. I once got a shield nickle that read in the foil range due to being on edge, it was a shallow target to boot. Trashy ground causes miss readings also. Another find was a 1850's seated dime that read low due to depth. Dig it all if you got the time. Seems target size, depth and what it is made of determines the readout, as well as objects near the target.