Waiting on that new detector! 

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Well, after polling everybody I could think of, I finally made the decision to try the new Minelab Explorer SE. It was actually a tossup between the SE and the new Fisher F75. The last detectorist I talked to liked the F75 better than the SE, but I wanted to try a multi-frequency machine; the [...]

Which new metal detector to try? 

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I’ve gotta have a new detector. The ones I have work fine, but I’ve gotta have a new one. I’m investigating the Minelab Explorer SE, the White’s DFX, and the Fisher F75. I need depth - for deep coins around old house sites I’ve hunted, and for artillery shells that are too deep for my [...]

Treasures on the beach 

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I had the opportunity to visit the Ocean Springs/Gulfport/Biloxi area this past weekend, and of course I took along my metal detector. I was struck by the absence of new construction along the coast line in Ocean Springs - see the attached photo. The houses several hundred yards from the beaches are almost back to [...]

Keep that metal detector humming II 

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A friend of mine recently bought 15 acres just behind Confederate lines in north Vicksburg, and was nice enough to invite me along to hunt with him. As of yesterday we have made three sojourns into this exceedingly hilly and vine-ridden jungle with only a few minie balls to show for our efforts. I knew [...]

Old House sites - a metal detector’s best friends 

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Unable to hunt a site where I just know I’m going to dig some big artillery shells, I instead cruised one of the older streets in Vicksburg, looking for a vacant lot that might offer up a coin or two. I was lucky. The City of Vicksburg has been condemning and razing old houses in [...]

Extinct towns offer some fine metal detecting 

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A while back I was hunting a creek that runs through the old extinct town of Warrenton, Mississippi. So much garbage has been dumped upstream by modern dwellers and driven downstream by the currents, however, that I couldn’t hunt for all the “trash” signals. So I settled for an area near the stream that I [...]

Civil War relics: Better than stocks and bonds? 

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I recall that years ago when I was digging several artillery shells every day or every week, that when I dug a simple round ball, say an 8″ shell, or a 12 pounder Borman fused shell, I would be disappointed to the point I would want to throw the thing back in the hole from whence [...]

Metal detector super-tuning 

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I have heard some detectorists say that they can “super-tune” their detectors by fine tuning them, then (I think) running the null or threshhold signal to maximum. I’d like to hear from anyone who has experience with such, or who has other tricks for “super-tuning” their detector.

The eBay Effect 

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I began selling books and other treasures on eBay several years ago after buying several large collections from local estates. I found that although I was able to sell books both at auction and from my eBay store, the prices I was able to get were generally below those quoted in the many online bookstores. I [...]

Every treasure hunter can shoot coins 

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I don’t know why they’re called coin shooters, those hardy souls who search playgrounds and beaches for silver, diamonds, gold, and, if nothing else, clads. But the moniker appeared, and it stuck. Metal detectors have evolved to the point that their tiny LED screens can indicate not only depth, but the type of coin you’ve found. [...]