How to Clean Your Coins with Electrolysis

Posted on by Marc McDermott
wheat-penny-electrolysis

When That Soft-Bristled Toothbrush Just Won’t Do the Trick

I thought I’d take a few moments today to write a post on how to clean your coins with electrolysis. Before I start, I would like to put forward a disclaimer that I do not recommend performing electrolysis unless you fully understand what you are doing.

Initial Disclaimer

I would also not recommend electrolysis on items of questionable value or those items that you cannot identify at first glance – you never want to jeopardize the value of your find by attempting to clean it in any capacity.

What is Electrolysis?

Disclaimers out of the way, electrolysis is quite simple and can be performed at home at little to no cost. It’s a scientific process that shoots electricity through your metal object to remove the dirt, rust and corrosion that has accumulated over the years from being buried in the ground.

What … Read the rest

Minelab CTX 3030 – The Most Advanced Detector on the Market

Posted on by Marc McDermott
Minelab CTX 3030

It’s here – the Minelab CTX 3030 metal detector…

The CTX 3030 is the latest detector in Minelab’s treasure series (a big brother to the beloved E-trac). At first glance, it appears this new detector is extremely similar to the E-trac – with some extra features thrown in of course.

The price of the CTX 3030 is still unknown but all I can say is that I’ll likely be picking one up for myself. Here are some of the more exciting features on the CTX 3030:

  • Waterproof design up to 10 feet – a feature that Garrett used on their AT Pro that won over the hearts of many hunters.
  • Integrated GPS so you can see the ground you’ve already covered and not have to waste time going over the same ground. You can also pinpoint certain areas and notable targets that you’ve found (then upload them to your

    • … Read the rest

The Wheatie That Almost Got Away

Posted on by Marc McDermott
1944-wheat-penny

Why it Pays to Pay Attention While Metal Detecting

I awoke this morning to the ever so lovely sounds of my neighbor’s teenage daughter verbally berating her mother over who should be the one to drive the family car ahead of their 6AM SATURDAY MORNING vacation departure!

Tried as I might, I simply could not go back to sleep with the sounds of 2 people screaming bloody murder at each other – the ensuing car horn was the icing on the cake.

After rattling off just about every profane word I could think of, I decided to grab my E-trac & venture off to one of the local school yards for some detecting!

After about an hour of detecting, all I had to show for myself was some clad coins & a nice wheatie with an unknown date – at least I thought I still had the wheatie!

Hurrying home … Read the rest

Saltwater Beach Detecting 101: Will One Detector Do It All?

Posted on by Terry Soloman
terry

The quest for the perfect metal detector to this point has been quixotic. Minelab, has come the closest to building a fully submersible beach machine that can discriminate out iron in wet sand and saltwater. The “Excalibur,” uses Broad Band Spectrum, or “BBS” technology, and retails for about $1,500.00.

According to Minelab, their BBS operating system, “simultaneously transmits, receives and analyses a broad band of multiple frequencies to deliver substantial detection depth, high sensitivity and accurate discrimination for a wide range of target types.” The key takeaway here is “multiple frequencies.” Unfortunately, radio waves regardless of their frequency still have to be filtered and balanced in heavily conductive wet-ocean sand and highly mineralized saltwater. That limits the systems depth capabilities.

Single frequency VLF machines (Very Low Frequency), have even more limitations in the harsh saltwater environment. Take for example the Tesoro Lobo Super Traq. This VLF … Read the rest

The Rewards of Gold Prospecting

Posted on by Robert Martensen
robert_martensen_tesoro

Gold prospecting is a very difficult hobby to have. There are many ways of getting the gold out of the ground. Whether your metal detecting, sluicing, high banking, dredging, dry washing or excavating, it requires a lot of hard work. If you are working hard, you expect to get paid for it.

My first time prospecting, I went out 6 hours a day at Rose Creek in Prescott Valley AZ, for 2 weeks straight. I was ready to sell my gold and I knew that I had made a few hundred dollars. As the guy was weighing my gold, I waited sweating bullets. He came back and told me it was $17.68. WHAT! I could not have been more disappointed.

I decided to make prospecting a hobby at this point. Only doing it on the weekends and learn as much as I can from any ZZ Top bearded guy I … Read the rest

Garrett AT Pro Sports Pack Spring Special

Posted on by Marc McDermott
at-pro

Beginning March 1st, Hollands Brook Metal Detectors will be offering a Garrett AT Pro Sports Pack Spring Special.

The sports pack will include the new 5×8″ DD coil, 2 coil covers, a Garrett AT Pro hat, Relic Quest by Steve Moore, and as always Garrett’s Deluxe headphones.

The biggest accessory in this package is obviously the 5×8″ search coil. First seen on the Garrett AT Gold which debuted last fall, Garrett began to offer this smaller coil as an accessory to the Garrett AT Pro.

The smaller coil allows for even better target separation, and is great when hunting in tight areas like tot lots. A smaller coil will also help slightly when hunting in highly mineralized areas including salt water beaches.

The price of the Garrett AT Pro Sports Pack Spring Special will be $705.45. Shipping is always free on detector purchases and only NJ residents pay sales … Read the rest

If This is You – Get Off The Couch, And Get Your Detector!

Posted on by Frank Pandozzi
frank

Many in the hobby of metal detecting, from across the US, email me saying that they have run out of places to metal detect, and that they feel that they have been squeezed out of parks, and beaches, by too many laws. Most are giving up the hobby, and tossing their detectors into the closet. Here is the problem with that kind of defeatist attitude.

If you quit the hobby, then the only one to lose is you. You lose because you then give the power to the beauracrats who write the laws that take away our freedom to enjoy the hobby. The power grabbers want you to give up. They love the fact that they have control over what you and I can do. Forget about the idea that the laws are written to protect something. No they are not. The only reason why any law is written is … Read the rest

Highly Mineralized Soil and Ground Balancing

Posted on by Marc McDermott

With so many features to learn and understand, choosing your first metal detector can be a daunting task. There are several things to consider with your first purchase such as budget, brand name, and coil type, just to name a few. One consideration that is commonly overlooked is the location where you plan to do most of your hunting.

Location, Location, Location

As the name implies, metal detectors are built to detect metals. But they also detect minerals, such as iron, in the ground which can produce sporadic false signalling. When there is a high enough concentration of those minerals, it can be too much for your detector to handle. Before you can even think about buying a new detector, you must understand whether the type of ground where you’ll be hunting is made up of high concentrations of minerals. Of course, metal detector manufacturers have recognized this as … Read the rest

Garrett AT Gold

Posted on by Marc McDermott
Garrett AT Gold

In a highly anticipated event, Garrett has announced the release of their newest metal detector; the Garrett AT Gold! The AT Gold is designed for the serious gold prospector for use in all terrains and environments. It is a TRUE All-Metal mode detector which allows for maximum depth and sensitivity.

Operating at a high 18 kHz frequency, it comes with a 5×8” DD coil that allows for optimal gold detection. The high frequency allows for extra sensitivity on gold which is a mid-conductive metal. The small coil size focuses more energy in a smaller detection field which allows you to find smaller targets such as gold flakes.

The AT Gold also comes equipped with Auto and Manual ground balancing as well as a new and exclusive Garrett feature called “Ground Balance Window.” Ground balance Window, “…allows you to spread the ground balance range – this can help minimize the … Read the rest

DD Coil vs Concentric Search Coils

Posted on by Marc McDermott
DD coil configuration

The DD coil seems to be the subject of many conversations lately among beginner and advanced metal detectorists alike. I thought I’d take a few minutes and talk about what a DD coil is and how it differs from other traditional coils.

Don’t Judge a Coil by Its Cover!

There are 5 types of coil configurations for metal detectors:

  • Concentric
  • DD
  • Mono
  • Imaging
  • 2-box

There’s a common misconception that the outward appearance of the coil indicates the type of configuration. What makes these coil configurations different from one another is the arrangement of the transmitter and receiver copper wiring housed within the coil itself. For example while the coil seen to the right appears to be DD, it very well could be a concentric configuration.

DD & Concentric Square Off

Concentric coils tend to dominate the market whereas mono, imaging and 2-box coils are typical found in specialty detectors.Concentric coils … Read the rest