Beginners Guide to Metal detecting and Treasure Hunting by Capt. Daniel Berg

The complete guide to buying the right metal detector and basics of successful Metal detecting.

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Metal Detecting and treasure hunting Tips for the Beginner
This guide will provide the Background on metal detectors, Important features and functions of metal detectors, and the basics how to successfully use a metal detector to find treasure, coins and gold. This guide will also help you determine which is the best metal detector for you. If you've ever dreamed of searching for buried treasure, or are just looking for a great hobby, it might be time to buy a metal detector. Metal detectors are range in price from around $400 to over $1500. Metal detecting can provide countless hours of outdoor entertainment and exercise. Best of all you will always find an assortment of coins or other treasure that can actually pay back the original investment! If you have never used a metal detector before you might want to consider joining a local metal detecting club. Many find it a lot easier to learn proper technique from those that have already mastered the sport. Don’t get me wrong, metal detecting is easy and fun but with a few tricks of the trade you can start out finding the good stuff and prevent wasting a lot of time. Please review the suggestions I have listed below then head out and start finding treasure.

Buying the Right Metal Detector
There are basically three deferent types of metal detectors. Motion detectors, pulse detectors and the new Multi Frequency Machines. Motion detectors are best for land and fresh water use, pulse are best in slat water and Multi frequency are more expensive but offer the best of both worlds. Other considerations are weather to get a land machine or a water proof machine. Some of the land machines have very sophisticated electronics which tell the user what they have found before they dig the target. These advanced metal detectors provide displays that tell not only the type of metal it has detected but how deep the target is located. Water machines do not have this feature but allow the user to walk into shallow water or even take the entire machine underwater. In the old days a serious hunter would own two or three machines now a good waterproof multi frequency machine can do it all. The choice comes from how much you want to spend compared to how much time you are going to spend hunting. For example if you buy a cheep metal detector which does not penetrate that deep into the ground you may find nothing but junk. More than likely you will not stay in the sport if all you find is trash. On the other hand if you spend a bit more for a top of the line machine that allows you to find a gold ring on your first trip out you will be hooked of life and that machine will pay for itself in no time. Metal Detector Manufacturers

Metal Detectors can detect objects down to approximately 12 inches below the surface. The exact depth each machine can penetrate actually depends on: the type of metal you're looking for, the size of the target object, the composition of the soil. Dirt which contains high mineral content increases interference and reduces depth penetration, interference from other buried metal and the type and quality of the metal detector. When trying to decide on which machine is right for you start by considering what environment you will be using your metal detector. If you live near the desert or If you only plan on relic hunting you will have no need for a water machine. Also consider what you will be looking for. Some machines are much hotter on silver coins for example then gold.

Coin shooting - this is specialty. Most times we are not talking about looking for new coins after a ball game but searching for old silver and gold coins.

General Prospecting - searching for valuable metals such as gold nuggets

Relic hunting - searching for historic items such as Civil War era buttons, metals and munitions.

Treasure hunting - researching and trying to locate gold, silver. Treasure Shipwrecks of New York and New Jersey's (Wreck Valley)
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Beach Hunting-walking the dry sand in search of lost coins and jewelry.

Water hunting- Wading into the shallow water, usually at low tide. Usually more jewelry and less junk is found in the water!

Scuba Detecting-Using scuba diving equipment to allow you to search in deeper water than most water hunters. Scuba divers also have the advantage of using metal detectors on shipwrecks and other historical underwater sites.
Identifying and defining your intended use is the first consideration when evaluating which metal detector to purchase. Do not be alarmed if you find yourself wanting a machine that can do it all. Most manufacturers make machines that can function in several environments, Once you have identified your most likely search environments and desired targets, it's time to consider and compare some of the other key features of most metal detectors:

Depth- although the actual detectable depth will depend on many factors including soil composition, size and material of target, some metal detectors are designed to work deeper underground than others.

Target Alert- metal detectors use one or more of audio, visual, or tactile alerts to let you know when the metal detector has picked up a target signal. inexpensive metal detectors will have the same beep tone regardless of the metal detected. Other more sophisticated metal detectors will have distinctive beep tones based on the type of metal detected. One example of these is the Fisher 1280x. The Fisher gives a single beep in both directions as the coil is waved back and forth for a good target like a coin. On junk the same machine will beep three times. The most expensive and arguably the best metal detectors will give you a different tone for each type of target. for example The Minelab Excalibur has a low mellow tone for gold and a high pitch tone for coins.

Ground Balance- many metal detectors have settings that allow you to cancel, or adjust for, the minerals in the ground so that the metal detector will not alert you in error. With some machines you can manually adjust the ground balance; the higher-end metal detectors utilize microprocessors to automatically adjust and cancel false signals from ground minerals.

Detection Mode- many metal detectors allow you to change the settings based on the type of object you're looking for. The four most common detection modes are coin, coin/jewelry, relic (buttons, buckles, bullets, etc.) and prospecting (gold). Some metal detectors specialize in just one or two modes, and others let you search in just one mode or in all modes simultaneously. Being able to set a mode for a specific situation helps eliminate false signals

Sensitivity- most metal detectors allow you to adjust the units sensitivity so it is either more or less sensitive to ground minerals, and other objects. This can be very helpful because you can eliminate trash and only dig good targets. This feature is however and advanced feature. Beginners should dig all targets because tin foil sounds just like gold. If you eliminate foil you also greatly reduce your odds of finding a gold ring. Most only use this feature in heavy trash areas to cut down the false signals and save time.

Display- the display of any given metal detector is related to its features and functions More sophisticated metal detectors will display the most information like type of target, target depth etc.

Battery Life- Many metal detectors use 'AA' batteries. Others are rechargeable. Burn times run from only a couple hours to over 30 hours of operation. Consider purchasing an extra rechargeable battery that can be changed in the field. it the worst feeling in the world to detect all morning and just start to dig jewelry only to have your detectors battery run out.

Size and weight- metal detectors usually weigh just a few pounds, but some are heavier than others. If you are going to be swinging the coil for hours at a time you will want a light weight machine or the ability to mount the box on a waste belt and only swing the coil on a arm.

Other Metal Detector features
- Portable shaft that breaks down or collapses for easy transport
- Waterproof and water resistant units. For shallow water or scuba
- Salt and freshwater versatility
- Enhanced sensitivity to coins, gold or silver
- Iron discrimination- some machines have the ability to null out over iron
- Detachable control box with belt or chest mount

Budget- After looking through the type of treasure hunting and variety of machine options available sometimes the biggest consideration is your budget.
Once you have a good idea of what specific features and functions you want from your metal detector, you will just need to find the metal detectors that match your needs and begin comparing them by price. Try to find the metal detector that provides the most value. If budget is a major concern, consider purchasing a used metal detector.

Basic Metal Detecting Technique
With most detectors you should walk slowly and wave the detectors coil, always keeping it level to the ground, in front of you as you walk. The slower you wave the coil the deeper targets it will pick up. Most coils have a search patter that is cone shaped. So you might be searching with a 8 inch diameter at the surface but 10 inches down you are really only searching with a 2 inch search diameter. This is one of the main reasons its so hard to clean out any productive area. Some machines like the Minelab Excalibur utilize a D shaped search pattern that covers a much larger area at depth. In either case, did all the trash in your search area. Then go back through the area. You will now find the targets that were masked by the trash. Its not uncommon to dig a hundred coins in a very small area of the beach before finding a gold ring in the same area.

Cover Your Holes
This basic rule to metal detecting prevents non treasure hunters from complaining about the sport. It also prevents others from seeing where you have been and what area you have already covered. This may sound a little mean but several times i have gone to the beach to find another hunter there before me. By looking at is pattern of holes it was easy for me to determine at what level mother nature deposited all the coins. I just adjusted and narrowed my search to mimic the level of his holes. I knew where he had been so moved down the beach in front of my competition and very quickly found two gold rings.

After the Rain
Many sites, even those which may have seemed worked out, will produce coins and treasure after a rain storm. This is true for a couple reasons. On the beach any rain usually causes some small wash out with lowers the sand level and allows the metal detector to hit on targets previously buried to deep. The other reason is that most metal detectors actually work better when the ground is wet.

Discrimination
A new user is often tempted to discriminate so that they only find and dig the good targets. The only problem is that some trash will always sound like treasure and therefore by discriminating you will actually reduce your chance of finding gold. For example a aluminum foil gum wrapper sounds just like a gold ring. At the beginning dig all targets. Remove all the trash you find so you do not have to dig it again and then recover the same area with a grid pattern to find any targets previously masked by the trash. This simple technique requires a lot of digging but will produce treasure. As you become more experienced you will find a need to use the machines discrimination.

Researching New Areas to Metal Detect
You will learn that most treasure is found through research rather than just walking randomly around. For example try a visit to your local library or historical society and look of old hotel sites, old swim beaches, or old fair grounds. The internet is another place where historical information can be found. Just go to Google or any other search engine and search for the history of you state, and or town. These areas may not resemble the old photos but any of these are sure to produce old coins, relics and gold.

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