Where are the nickels?

[mpmccann]

Nickels are by far the coin I dig the least of. I know it's because I get tired of digging tabs and slaw. Every time I dig one, I can't help but think hummm what do you know they do exist.

 

[Florida Tabdigger]

Nickels on the M6 are 18...I have dug alot of gold in tot-lots in the neg. 5-10 numbers. Those thin chains read as foil and iron.

 

[Florida Tabdigger]

Now, out in the field is a different story.

 

[Florida Tabdigger]

Leave that gold for us...just dig those high numbers. If it's above 15...it's just junk.

 

[Martin_V3i]

Nice to see a thread dedicated to nickels! I am lucky that I have gotten to hunt numerous times with markinswpa and I can attest to his nickel prowess. I love my 600 but hunting with Mark has certainly shown me where the 800 has an advantage over the 600 in its settings. Being able to create a tone bank specifically for nickels really makes a difference especially when you are hunting old parks in areas laden with low to mid conductor trash. There is no doubt I am missing some of them. I know passing up nickels for some is probably not a huge concern, but if you are looking for every possible advantage that will help you pull more good targets from the ground I think this is certainly one option to consider. If I had to replace the 600 tomorrow I'd buy an 800 in a minute just for this very reason. Just my personal experience.

What does tone breaks do for a nickel Vdi signal of the basic 12 or 13 signal on the Nox? I own the 600 an 800, both for years but I have never tinkered with tone breaks on the 800.

I've found many nickels though.

Thanks.

 

[metaladdict]

Nickle's are gone, by people seeking gold!

Correct o Mundo!

 

[Martin_V3i]

Correct o Mundo!

 

[markinswpa]

What does tone breaks do for a nickel Vdi signal of the basic 12 or 13 signal on the Nox? I own the 600 an 800, both for years but I have never tinkered with tone breaks on the 800.

I've found many nickels though.

Thanks.

Martin let step in here, I have found that Park 2 and Field 2 hit the mid-conductors a little harder than other modes. I like Field 2. I hunt in all metal Bin 1 -09 to 10, vol at 2. Its low enough that its not irritating but loud enough I can hear the least little pop of a target through the ground grunt. Bin 2 is 11thru13 with vol. at 25 tone vol 6. This gives a very distinct sound and most times a nickel will hit it hard. I do get fooled and of course nothing is carved in stone. The church I have been hunting has gave up a ton of modern nickels, the majority were 12-13 including a war nickel. The last trip there nickels were dropping to 11 and some climbing to15. For me when the # drops to 11 its either a beavertail or a Buff. If it climbs 14-15 a full pull tab. One tell tail if it is a pull tab you will get a quick high tone at the end of your sweep. The other day at a city park I dug a 6in. 1916 D Buff on a solid 12-13. With this setting I can usually tell if its a nickel. The tone is unmistakeable. Hope this helps a little. Mark

 

[Martin_V3i]

Martin let step in here, I have found that Park 2 and Field 2 hit the mid-conductors a little harder than other modes. I like Field 2. I hunt in all metal Bin 1 -09 to 10, vol at 2. Its low enough that its not irritating but loud enough I can hear the least little pop of a target through the ground grunt. Bin 2 is 11thru13 with vol. at 25 tone vol 6. This gives a very distinct sound and most times a nickel will hit it hard. I do get fooled and of course nothing is carved in stone. The church I have been hunting has gave up a ton of modern nickels, the majority were 12-13 including a war nickel. The last trip there nickels were dropping to 11 and some climbing to15. For me when the # drops to 11 its either a beavertail or a Buff. If it climbs 14-15 a full pull tab. One tell tail if it is a pull tab you will get a quick high tone at the end of your sweep. The other day at a city park I dug a 6in. 1916 D Buff on a solid 12-13. With this setting I can usually tell if its a nickel. The tone is unmistakeable. Hope this helps a little. Mark

Good information. Question though about the buffalo at a solid 12-13. Did the tone break make any difference to dig it? Since the nickel didn't flicker to any 14 numbers, then what magic would a tone break have made? Just trying to decide if I need to add a routine to the 800. Thanks again.

Seriously. If the numbers are a bouncy 12-13, or a good 13, but there are no 14s, where can a tone break decide anything on digging a nickel?

 

[Diabolik]

What does tone breaks do for a nickel Vdi signal of the basic 12 or 13 signal on the Nox? I own the 600 an 800, both for years but I have never tinkered with tone breaks on the 800.

I've found many nickels though.

Thanks.

Mark explained it better than I could of. The problem I find with the 600 is that when you are in a dense field of mid conductors it gets very hard to pick those nickels out because they sound like everything else and there is really no way on the 600 to change that. I am far from an expert. When I find a nickel I can tell a lot of times that it is a nickel with pretty good certainty, I just feel like there is no way I am gonna see or hear it unless I am in area with far fewer targets. Hope that makes sense.

 

[markinswpa]

The tone and volume help to alert me that there is a target in that range. In the case of the Buffalo I knew right away I had a nickel from the way it hit. In most instances it leaves no doubt. I suppose you could leave it in a factory mode and dig the 12-13s but that adds to the guessing game as the tone and volume are the same in a good deal of that range. I guess I enjoy the edge it gives me. So we jacked enough of the OPs thread. I'll pm you my settings, Try it or not up to you. Good luck, Mark

 

[hddeuce03]

I seem to dig more nickels than any other coin! On my nox, when I get that solid 12-13 it's pretty much going to be a nickel. I use Park 1 exclusively on land and beach 2 when in the water...still a solid 12-13.

 

[ToySoldier]

Martin let step in here, I have found that Park 2 and Field 2 hit the mid-conductors a little harder than other modes. I like Field 2. I hunt in all metal Bin 1 -09 to 10, vol at 2. Its low enough that its not irritating but loud enough I can hear the least little pop of a target through the ground grunt. Bin 2 is 11thru13 with vol. at 25 tone vol 6. This gives a very distinct sound and most times a nickel will hit it hard. I do get fooled and of course nothing is carved in stone. The church I have been hunting has gave up a ton of modern nickels, the majority were 12-13 including a war nickel. The last trip there nickels were dropping to 11 and some climbing to15. For me when the # drops to 11 its either a beavertail or a Buff. If it climbs 14-15 a full pull tab. One tell tail if it is a pull tab you will get a quick high tone at the end of your sweep. The other day at a city park I dug a 6in. 1916 D Buff on a solid 12-13. With this setting I can usually tell if its a nickel. The tone is unmistakeable. Hope this helps a little. Mark

Good post. With the 800 you can make the 12-13 (and I include the 11) stand out and then make the 14/15 a little lower in volume and/or tone. In a trashy area I never have to look at the screen to find the center of a signal that's repeating 12-13 range, and determine if that's the primary reading. It's all by ear. I can identify a signal that's primarily hitting 14/15 but dropping into 12-13 (not great if you're coin shooting) versus a promising 12-13 that's just throwing a sketchy 14/15 at the perimeter of the signal due to unusual conditions or nearby trash.

Nobody ever goes wrong cherry picking hard hitting 12-13. But, as Mark wrote, old nickels get missed if an 11 or 14/15 is enough to keep swinging. There are some worth digging more than others, and the 800 can help do that faster.

 

[ToySoldier]

........Seriously. If the numbers are a bouncy 12-13, or a good 13, but there are no 14s, where can a tone break decide anything on digging a nickel?

Because adjusting the tone break (on the 800 and not the 600) can allow you to hear the difference between a 12/13 versus a 14 with your ears. No need to look at the screen.

Not so important if there's not much trash hitting across the mid-tones, or even many signals at all, so there's plenty of time to look at the screen. Not so important for a permission where you're going to dig anything solid because the dirt is full of potential for good relics. Not so important if you just want to notch out everything around 12/13 and just cherry pick the nickels that hit hard.

But, try to coin shoot on dirt where there are 3 or 4 separate signals in every swing hitting across the teens, and the ability to tease out nickels by ear from small, repeatable 12/13 signals is not only faster, it's just more achievable.

 

[markinswpa]

Good post. With the 800 you can make the 12-13 (and I include the 11) stand out and then make the 14/15 a little lower in volume and/or tone. In a trashy area I never have to look at the screen to find the center of a signal that's repeating 12-13 range, and determine if that's the primary reading. It's all by ear. I can identify a signal that's primarily hitting 14/15 but dropping into 12-13 (not great if you're coin shooting) versus a promising 12-13 that's just throwing a sketchy 14/15 at the perimeter of the signal due to unusual conditions or nearby trash.

Nobody ever goes wrong cherry picking hard hitting 12-13. But, as Mark wrote, old nickels get missed if an 11 or 14/15 is enough to keep swinging. There are some worth digging more than others, and the 800 can help do that faster.

ToySoldier, I gotta a good one for ya. Today I met up with fellow forum member Diabolik at an old city park. First target, next to the side walk was a 12-13. 5in. down out came a really nice 36 Buff. Anyway we had put the 6 in. coils on as the plan was to hit some woods that were way too green earlier this year. So now I'm headed for the woods. Crossing a wide field and swinging, my swing was commensurate with my gate which was not too fast but definitely not hunting speed either. Suddenly I get a 12 that screams at me and stop me dead in my tracks. Scan again, dig and 5 in. down a nickel pops out. I couldn't believe it, with the small coil and moving as fast as I was it was still able to hit that target. We use the expression, coins just jumping out of the ground. Well today I think I came as close as I ever will to seeing that happen. My bin 2 is set for 11-12-13 with Vol. at 25 and tone vol 6 and when I hit a mid conductor it just abouts smack you up side the head and says dig me. I will admit beavertails and pulltabs won out today. Including the Buff I only dug 4 nickels today, a 41, a 69 and 84. But that park is still 4 nickels lighter with my efforts. Top that with a 1910 wheat and a 36 silver GW, I'm happy with that. Happy Holidays to you and your family. Mark

 

[MAD Mitch]

According to a Simplex VDI chart I found online these are the numbers for nickels:

Buffalo--23/24
V-Nickel--23/24
Jefferson--25
War Nickel--56/57

I haven't seen these numbers in my yard so far. The back yard is really trashy with mostly sub 20's. Every now and then I can isolate higher signals but a smaller coil would be much better for doing this.

I got a undated Buffalo the other day but it was given to me by my sister who felt bad that I hadn't found one, lol.

EDIT:BTW it has four legs, darn it!

 

[Doubloony]

Well, for me at least, this past year seems to have been the year of buffalo nickels. I was finding them in creeks in the woods, and in fields, you name it. At this point, I'd be happy with just one Indian penny which I had no luck on, but I'm sure I'll be flooded with buffalo's again next year. Sure seems like there would be more pennies laying around than nickels, but I guess nobody used pennies here.

 

[Martin_V3i]

Well, for me at least, this past year seems to have been the year of buffalo nickels. I was finding them in creeks in the woods, and in fields, you name it. At this point, I'd be happy with just one Indian penny which I had no luck on, but I'm sure I'll be flooded with buffalo's again next year. Sure seems like there would be more pennies laying around than nickels, but I guess nobody used pennies here.

Where do you live to find Buffs and get bored?

 

[Doubloony]

Where do you live to find Buffs and get bored?

I'm in East Texas, next to Toledo Bend. I'm gonna break this buffalo trend in the New Year, I just know it Need some mercs at least. I only hunt woods and pastures, so I don't know why there is such lack of variety here. Pennies are scarce, and so are mercs it seems.

 

[Martin_V3i]

I'm in East Texas, next to Toledo Bend. I'm gonna break this buffalo trend in the New Year, I just know it Need some mercs at least. I only hunt woods and pastures, so I don't know why there is such lack of variety here. Pennies are scarce, and so are mercs it seems.

You're definitely in East Texas! I'd likely never hunted woods there when I lived there, but I never metal detected back then. It is odd bout the buff in abundance.