I may have figured this one out, but it cant hurt to check with the experts!
Several targets today showed up on my Prism II as a penny one way and a nickel the other direction.I carefully cut the flap and scanned. Still in the hole. Dug out 3 inches of soil, put it on my bandana, signal now on the bandana. search through the dirt....nothing. scan now shows no target!
Is it possible that the coin, (likely a zinc cent) has completely destroyed by the acidic soil, and all I picked up was the "halo"?
pulltab,
If you were hunting in disc mode then it may have been a deep piece of iron. A target such as this sometimes has a corrosion halo and gives a wandering meter reading. In the process of removing dirt from the hole to recover it you destroy the halo, thus the target disappears in disc. mode. If you checked the hole in all-metal mode and still don't pick up a target then who knows, but I've never seen a penny completely corroded away to nothing.
Iron has done that to me way too many times, including a few times this past weekend. Not sure on the penny, though.
One thing that I would invest in is a handheld pinpointer. I noticed everyone at the club hunt using one this weekend, and it's great practice to use, especially if you are searching a nicely manicured lawn.
They range in sizes, shapes, and prices and each Detectorists will tell you he likes a certain brand. It's more of a personal choice as to what you like and how it 'feels'. Regardless, I'll bet you can ask any detectorist if they'd would 'choose' to go searching without it and the answer would probably be no. It's hard to pry it away once you've tried it.
I agree with them that most likely it was an iron target and all you picked up on was the halo or what was left. My Whites XLT lies worst then my X-wife. It tells me its a silver coin and I dig down and it's an iron nail. I dig it because - what if? it was really a silver coin.
White's bullseye two is my pick for a pinpointer. Look on Ebay for the best deal.
The same there, I also know that some times you can pick up a signal that is iron that has almost corroded with only a small part remaining. I have at times would use my finger to search through the dirt or my digging tool only to have the target stick to the tool or my finger due to the oil in my skin.
I have found my target a few times on my digging tool, just something to think about. _________________ Metal detecting/Treasure Hunting
A Hobby for those with an Adventurous Heart and a Inquisitive Mind[/i]
went to our club hunt today, using my Garrett 2500 and it seemed that many a time my target was disappearing, even my pin-pointer would not pick it up. Don't know what happened to it unless it ws iron and had rusted away and left only the halo effect.
Henry _________________ Metal detecting/Treasure Hunting
A Hobby for those with an Adventurous Heart and a Inquisitive Mind[/i]
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:52 pm Post subject: Same
Henry, That was happening to me but I did not see any rust at all. I would get a soild target dig the plug and bingo it was totally gone, not even a whisper...go figure.
_________________ Make yourselves sheep, and the wolves will eat you. - Benjamin Franklin
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