Today I found (while detecting)...

Over the weekend found two nails, two sinkers and ....














A DOLLAR!!! (2005)

..digging up my nan's sandy yard on the south coast of NSW. Those sinkers have a very similar signal to money. Dammit.

 

I've had days like that. I personally don't stick around long and instead move on and mark the site to come back to later.

On the upside, so much traffic at a site is a positive sign there's finds to be had (especially modern stuff), but the downside is you need to choose your hunt times so that it doesn't clash with the park traffic. Those sorts of sites are best for the 'crack of dawn' hunt where the kids are either in bed or watching the morning cartoons rather than running around after you and asking questions.

I personally don't mind the odd yarn with interested people as they wander by, but there does come a time where you just wish to be left alone as well. Personally, if someone was sitting on a blanket in the park I wouldn't go up and ask 20 questions, but that's just me.

Amazing relic find and I'd actually keep something like that off the radar as much as possible. Depending where you found it, a find of historic significance like that can get you attention you don't want to deal with IMHO.

Probably the best desk relic you could possibly think of though. Find of a lifetime material right there if you're into the whole relic scene.


I'm personally on something of a hiatus concerning detecting at the moment.

Apart from the weather in Sydney which has been seriously all over the place (either too hot or too wet) I've been hit with the dreaded first quarter billing cycle which ate up all those goldies I was saving for a new machine.

In conjunction with that, my last 5 or so hunts yielded very little. I've had a very hit and miss experience with suburban sydney of late and whilst I've found parks that are perfect on paper (high traffic and plenty of age) I've been seriously let down when in the field and that too has had an impact on my motivation.

As Eureka stated before, Metal detecting is a very 'hit and miss' hobby and any experienced detectorist will relate stories about dry spells which have you wandering around thinking to yourself 'why am I even bothering?'. But then you find that one good find and you're 'back in the game' as it were.

If you don't mind hobbies like that, then it's definitely one to fill your time and get outdoors.

Just don't expect the goodies to fall in your lap is all I'm saying. It takes a lot of time and effort, ability and luck to be in the right place at the right time to make it count. Australia might not have a long history, but MANY suburban parks and beaches were hit pretty hard during the 70s and 80s by detectorists which is why a lot of these areas simply have nothing to offer any more unless they get more traffic.

That's why a lot of detectorists either go with the gold fields in areas not swung before, or the beach where new finds are a regular occurance.

People just need to be aware of these things and go in with eyes open and expectations in check. You may very well get really lucky, but more often than not, chances are you're going to put in a lot of effort for small reward.

That said, I'm enjoying the downtime at the moment and will undoubtedly be back in the mix shortly when the weather relaxes a bit and the 'urge' to swing comes upon me again.

I have to admit it's bloody hard restraining myself from not cashing in an ounce of gold to go buy a new machine though... I keep looking at that glossy Etrac and admit I'm sorely tempted!

 

I couldnt figure out the image upload , friggin retarted sorry!

 

WOW a gold plated echidna, can I have it

 

No worries, but its pick-up only.

 

Wouldn't be near Daylesford would it?
I went and checked out old toms gully recently, remember a mound just like that

Gotta take some pictures of the old mines, nearly fell to my death (or at least broken legs) 2 or 3 times :/
Almost tempted to go back and put up some home made signs.

 

Not to get off topic... but what metal detectors do u guys use? also what was the purchase price? (as ive read reviews that the low cost\quality detectors dont do crap all)
Ive always been interested in starting up prospecting over here in WA.

 

Gold or Coin/Relic?

I did fine with a cheapo 2nd hand model. Already made back all my outlay and then some in the first 3 months.

 

Try this thread...
http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-21863-detector-chatter.html

 

Sweet thnx! And preferably chasing gold, but just for a hobbie too!!

 

For gold I use a modded minelab 2200v2, I'd not bother with anything worse or anything a couple steps up from it. Best bang for buck detector in my opinion.

I have only noticed a good difference from the last 2-3 releases and they cost double-triple the money. Of course everyone has their favorites, these are just my opinions but I have tried pretty much every minelab detector at some point in time.

 

Anyone found anything lately? I miss this thread I was living my prospecting dreams vicariously through it.

 

A good mate of mine swears by his ML 2200 & his 250 odd ozs to go with it! BTW how many oz's can you legally hold as an individual?

 

Must know his stuff then

As much as you can get your hands on as far as I know.

 

There were two models of the SD2200 released. The SD2200d (green box) and the SD2200v2(blue box).

I owned the 2200d. It found gold, and at very good depth. However it was noisy to run when on highly mineralised ground and EMI was an issue at times.

All the Minelab PI's have found great amounts of gold, particularly the original SD series. I could detect for the next 25 years and struggle to find 250 oz with my 4500. Thats not because it's no better than older models, but because the majority of large nuggets have already been found. A new crop of nuggets doesnt pop up like a crop of spuds next year, they only get found once.

I talked to a bloke last week who used one of the first SD2000 models. He said that in one year in Vic. he found 750 ounces. He has successfully detected for more than 30 years. And he wasnt the only person doing similar things back in the earlier detecting days. Noisy buggers to operate, but they go deep so worth it if you decide to get one.

 

You can legally hold as many nuggets as you like, as long as they were obtained or found legally.

 

Found a nice run of old diggings and this amazing specimen! :multiple smileys:

The gold has been deposited in a thin layer on/between the quartz reef it came from.

 

Great score. I love this thread but it is so quite.
Show us what you found.