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[country]

hi guys.

does anyone know what the VDI #,s are and what incon,s show
when you find a gold coin?
ive had a friend that has a coin shop to let me put a gold coin on
the ground and go acrossed it with my DFX-300 and it showed
65/66/67 on the VDI and showed a penny bottle cap on the icons
but the gold coin wasnt a u.s. coin so id like to know what a $2.50/
$5.00/$10.00 and a $20.00 gold coin shows on the DFX-300,s
VDI #,s and icons, any help will be great guys. thanks.
country.

[BadBone]

Country,

Welcome to the forum, here is a cut and paste from another forum:

-95 to - 20 Antique iron relics, Iron nails, rusty iron junk, hot rocks
-20 to 0 Small gold nuggets, gold earrings, gold chains, small bits of iron, gum wrappers, small bits of foil
0 to 15 Platinum rings, smallest gold rings, gold earrings, gold nuggets, sterling chains, larger foil pieces, gum wrappers, bits of chopped aluminum cans
15 to 30 Most gold rings, Gold nuggets, Gold $1, Nickels, oval pull tabs, bent tabs, bits of chopped aluminum cans, zipper tabs
30 to 45 Largest gold rings, larger gold nuggets, Gold $2.50, Copper Nickel cents (1856 to 1864), Silver War Nickels, most square pull tabs, iron bottle caps, small aluminum screw caps, Costume jewelry
45 to 60 Gold $5, Corroded zinc cents, 3 cent silver, zinc pot metal junk, costume jewelry, brass keys, small aluminum screw caps
60 to 70 Indian Head Cents, small sterling earrings, zinc cents, hot wheels cars, larger aluminum screw caps
70 to 78 Gold $10, modern copper cents, half cents, two cent pieces, small sterling rings and sterling jewelry, hot wheels cars
79 to 81 Gold $20, sterling silver rings, clad or silver dimes
82 to 88 Clad or silver quarters, heavy sterling silver rings, Sacajewea "golden" dollars, SB Anthony dollars, buried brass sprinkler heads
89 to 92 Clad or silver halves, large cents, buried brass sprinkler heads
93 to 94 Clad Eisenhower or silver dollars, large copper pipes

Here is the link if you want to read all of the replies:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/whites/index.php?topic=11913.0
_________________
White's V3 & DFX, DX1, Ultimate Gray Ghost headphones, using the D2 coil with the 1400DD, 6x10DD, shooter DD, and 950 as backups.

[ricko]

Dig it all, that way you miss nothing. RickO
_________________
V3, DFX, Dual Surf PI, PI PRO, TDI, GMT, DX-1, Coiltek, Garret wall detector, Pistol Probe, HotShot, DD1400, 4x6, Spider coil and others.

[country]

thanks guys i think i will just start digging all signals then ill have
a better chance of finding the gold coins and silver coins im wanting
to find and thanks for the chart to it really helped.

country.

[tr snyper]

Country - Without talking down any one's offerings on VDI's you MUST take the environmental conditions in with this. These are far different then a bench test sweep. I can offer some actual readings (VDI's) from coins I have seen with my own two eyes come out of the ground.

You have to keep in mind that the size and weight has changed on American gold coinage from the 1820's-1830's so a standard per-say can not exist. And the diameter I think has more to do with it then the weight change does

A few coins "for me" goes back before the detector was computerized and actually gave a specific number. It was an old machine with a dial. And the discrimination was "somewhat close?" So I have to take an (uneducated guess ) An early $2.50 kind of deep for the machines then came in UNDER the NICKLE mark and a $5.00 coin was over the nickle right at where I would expect a chunk of aluminum would hit. 28-32 maybe?

On the DFX's VDI scale I have witnessed gold coins (4) $10.00 Eagles. They all were 1847 and about a foot apart and they read a solid upper 60's when separated and in the 70's when it was swept over two together. But in the same field an early Eagle pre 1839 screamed between 78 and 80 on average??? The weight between the two is only around 3/4 of a gram BUT the diameter is just over 6mm or a 1/4" larger. Size really matters here!!! And in this same field a Double Eagles VDI was the same as the early Eagle???

Now in a separate clean farm field a $5.00 Half Eagle shot a consistent VDI of 55??? And the $2.50 was if I am remembering right either a high 20's or mid-low 30's. I was pulling old bullets and buttons consistently so I didn't think much of remembering what it read.

But what I am trying to suggest is that the ground condition plays a huge role in it's VDI. Being gold doesn't oxidize much if any at all the surrounding metals still do. And it's these interfering signals that can create the vast VDI difference. And it's depth. I haven't seen one come up shallow which I'm sure would give a better VDI like all other coins do.

If you want to guarantee you don't miss a $1.00 or $2.50 gold then be sure to dig everything positive. One heavily rusted square nail may have you thinking that little chirp that reads + 10 is a piece of shredded aluminum can and not a coin you would love to have in your collection. Hold a small piece of gold and a large cut nail and bench test what it reads. It will make you re-think about a lot of targets you walked away from in the past.

Sites like those three I described are few and far between so it would be a disaster to actually hit one and leave it there. And even though 95+% of the time it's not a gold coin more then half of the time it is still a relic or a small silver coin chirping through the disc channel. On the site that the rare Eagle came up it was heavy with very old iron everywhere so broken signals were everywhere. After we hit it pretty good I used the pulse induction to test how bad the iron was masking the good targets. I filled a 5 gallon bucket with iron trash with in a week (not surprised) but what did surprise me was the silver coins and old rings from the Victorian era that came up with it. Plus some of the iron targets were cool relics. Jacks from the old kids game "ball and jacks", pocket knifes, Colonial tableware and possible spear/arrowhead points. Since I am not 100% sure on those I can't/won't say that's what they were since Jerseys Historical Laws can supersede private property in some cases and take over with an Archaeological Dig when Migratory Coastal Indians were involved. I don't want to create havoc for someone good enough to let me terrorize these long lost artifacts. I mean old things . It's yet to be proven any actual artifacts have surfaced. I am just some dummy with the dream of hitting it big some day

These are just a couple of examples of what iron does so in parts of the country where trash from the 1700's doesn't exhist I could see where the VDI's can raise significantly. So this post may or may not be of use. But I would think that newer iron 1850's+ could cause somewhat the same headache! My advice is if it wants to chirp on every sweep. DIG IT UP!!!
_________________
better to search and fail then never search at all

[ricko]

Once again.. dig it all... that way you miss nothing. RickO
_________________
V3, DFX, Dual Surf PI, PI PRO, TDI, GMT, DX-1, Coiltek, Garret wall detector, Pistol Probe, HotShot, DD1400, 4x6, Spider coil and others.

[That'll_Do]

"buried brass sprinkler heads." LOL.
Somebody musta been cussing when they gathered those statistics.


TR,
Great posts always from you, thx.!

That'll_Do
_________________
Remember: No matter where you go, there you are.

[tr snyper]

Ricko - Ditto! Yesterday I was playing with the DFX without even a shovel on hand. I was trying to show someone how reliable the VDI is on finding coins as this person is interested in hunting CLAD Anyway I swept over a path near a creek 3 blocks from my house. I got a signal in the teens. I called it aluminum and kicked the pine needles and sure enough a wad of foil flipped up. Then 5 feet away I got another VDI in the low teens. I kicked the needles and lost the target??? I said it's the same crap and walked on. The third hit read in the 50's and pinpointed at 2" so I kicked it saying it could be a corroded zinc penny or even a ring. When I re swept it it read 33 and saw it was a twist cap. We weren't really hunting that's why I had no digging tool. But walking back I was determined not to seem stupid by not finding the second target I lost. What happened was it flew about 5 feet. I swept and hit it again in the teens. This piece of aluminum wound up being a sterling bracelet that lost the lobster claw. I don't know if I was more embarrassed that I called it wrong or the fact I kicked a bracelet and walked away from it and almost didn't bother looking the second time. He asked why it was so low and I tried to explain the bracelet effect. So I wadded it up and said watch the number increase. But all it would reach was 18??? I think the little tarnish didn't allow it to conduct well. Plus most bracelets I find are in water so the water bridges the links and hits harder. After feeling pretty dumb the first thing I thought of was this post on VDI's. I always dig everything that hits positive and half of what hits negative in Mixed Mode. The VDI is pretty good at giving a general idea but if you go by the book you would lose at least 50% of your finds. Bad ground and nails subtract from the VDI. I am convinced of that. I have seen gold read negative. Figure that one out?
_________________
better to search and fail then never search at all

[ricko]

Digging is exercise, so even if the find is junk, you profited by exercising. And you know you did not miss that 'treasure'.... RickO
_________________
V3, DFX, Dual Surf PI, PI PRO, TDI, GMT, DX-1, Coiltek, Garret wall detector, Pistol Probe, HotShot, DD1400, 4x6, Spider coil and others.

[tr snyper]

Ricko - I almost said the same thing about the excercize but truthfully my body isn't what it was since my accident/injuries. In fact I have to dig with a trenching shovel that I custom ground down to pull a perfect plug. I pull a plug at least 8"-10' in diameter and about a foot deep on the first shot. I believe it was Benjiman Franklin who once said "neccessity is the mother of all inventions". Or something like that. But in my case not only is this so true it has actually made digging much more effiecient and much quicker. Most of the time the target comes up on the first shot. It greatly reduced the chance of hitting and scarring the target and the plug still covers up cleanly. I don't have the headache of trowel digging a plug, then have to dig deeper risking damage and I don't have the problem of when I would dig a plug and then have to dig more to the side which then cuts the grass up to where it doesn't patch back together nicely. You know what I'm talking about? You have the first ROUND plug then you wind up with CRESENT shaped extra plugs . Sometimes even 2 or 3. I think we can all relate to that one. I tested the effieciency and speed of my large plugs against a friend with an expensive Lesche digger. And I am in no way knocking the Lesche* tool . In a park that has few targets left and what remains are deep I dug 3 targets to his 1. To make sure it was a reliable test we found and marked the targets first so the test wasn't flawed by one of us just not hitting targets. And when I pull my plug I let it sit next to the hole so as I go through it the dirt falls back in the hole . The several small plugs he had to pull left more dirt in the side grass and didn't patch as nice as my large plugs did. And as if I need any more reasons my custom shovel slices roots up to at least an inch with ease as I sharpen it when needed. So in rooted areas it's as if they don't exist to me . Plus it's better to use the shovel to prop myself back up then stressing the detectors shaft and coil since I need a little aid in standing back up .

Now on the other hand it has some slight drawbacks other then having to drag it around which really isn't a big deal.

(1) It's not as easy to carry when I'm hiking through trails or on bike although I usually tie it up to my backpack.
(2) When people don't abide by NJ's building codes and bury the wires to their outside lights 18" as required and the DFX hits it. It has no mercy on these wires.
(3) Same as above but on PVC or copper sprinkler lines
(4) I cut 2 headphone cords hunting at night
(5) Sometimes I don't pay attention and it interferes with the coil. Especially when using the 12" coil
(6) In areas where there are nice non metal finds like old bottles it has scratched and broken quite a few keepers

I try not to have to dig a plug if the target is with in 2". So I first probe around with a screw driver and bullseye and most of the time I can take it out. If not I'll dig. Big targets 6" can read 2" so I try to avoid trowel digging as much as possible.

My brother is coming to visit from Florida soon and he will teach me all I need to know about this damn computer. And recover pictures I have in another computer. I can post some pictures on my own finally so if anyone wants to see some of the things I've custom made for detecting (most of which is for water recovery) I'll be more then glad to post them. Although I was saving them for a book I am writing. Ah who cares. I've been writing this thing for 3 years anyway so who knows when I'll wrap it up. It's hard when I keep learning more each year. There could always be a part two if the first draws enough demand. Not a bad idea

I gotta go there is a beach with a low tide calling me right now! I can save the babbling for another time

Good Luck everyone and Stay Healthy
Steve
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better to search and fail then never search at all

[ricko]

Hey TR... would love to see a picture of that custom trenching tool... almost sounds like a 'bulb planter' except more heavy duty and with a handle. Hope to see a picture soon... RickO
_________________
V3, DFX, Dual Surf PI, PI PRO, TDI, GMT, DX-1, Coiltek, Garret wall detector, Pistol Probe, HotShot, DD1400, 4x6, Spider coil and others.

[tr snyper]

Ricko - I grow vegetable and Herb gardens and although I dig bulbs in with a hand shovel I actually do dig holes with it to transplant potted plants I start inside. All it really is is a trenching shovel used for digging down sprinkler lines. But what I did was grind off the rounded spade tip and ground it to an angled point so when stepped down it slices like a guliteen instead of rolling off the side when hitting roots. The handle is about three feet long with a handle grip on the top. Not a round wood stick like a conventional shovel. The metal blade started out about 28" long so you could dig a 24" trench but it's down to maybe??? 22" from all of the times I've sharpened it on a bench grinder. Sometimes I get it so sharp it would cut vines like a machete. That's how I keep cutting my headphones And once when I was canoeing it kept me out of a bad situation when I was miles from nowhere in my canoe and three drunken non-American a**holes canoed by and decided to stop and say that what I had found was theirs. But as most a**holes are they were drunk and my mind is extremely sharp and defensive. And as I was trained "if someone comes looking for trouble, GIVE IT TO THEM!"

That's another topic I would really love to talk about but it's the wrong post. I really dispise violence but enjoy giving it to someone who comes looking for it. Especially only needing the hands and a sharp angry mind to do it
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better to search and fail then never search at all

[ricko]

TR... I get the picture.... I have a short shovel much like that. I purchased it from Predator Tools. (Spinoff from Lesche). Yes, although not a fan of violence, I believe in preparedness (and hours and hours of training) for all situations. Well done. RickO
_________________
V3, DFX, Dual Surf PI, PI PRO, TDI, GMT, DX-1, Coiltek, Garret wall detector, Pistol Probe, HotShot, DD1400, 4x6, Spider coil and others.

[ernie46]

Ricko, I've got that same predator shovel and it is really strong and chops through roots like butter. Hardest thing is getting it away from the wife's gardening when I want to go hunting.