Coin & Relic Stories

28^th July 2010 

Being a dedicated Minelab owner/user for the last 5 years and knowing how good they are myself and my mate Alan decided to go out on some land we knew had been "hammered to death" here in Scotland. 

I had been ill for over a year and got diagnosed with a thing called Celiac disease and wasn't really fit to work or detect for a while. My mate Alan kept calling me up too see how I was doing and to see if I would be up for some detecting. After a while I started feeling better so we arranged a small trip. 

Alan took his camper van and travelled down from the Orkney Islands to just outside my hometown in Stirling, Central Scotland, where we based ourselves for a week solid metal detecting. 

We armed ourselves with an E-TRAC, Explorer SE and a GPX-4500, got in my small 4x4 and headed off to the first location where we spent the first few hours having a bit of a competition as too who was finding the most lead. It really was a lead fest then a bit later and pow! Alan pulls out a half cut Henry III hammered coin not much else was coming up except lead and lots of it which considering the site was supposed to be done to death was unusual. 

7^th July 2010 

Being my first metal detector I did a lot of research and decided to go with X-TERRA 70. I was off and running the first night finding lost coins and nails and small pieces of alum in my back yard. I thought I found my gold ring the first night, it turned out to be a Harry Potter ring my son lost years ago! It was silver plated but boy did my heart start pumping. Then went to a local field were they played soccer and that was where I found my first gold ring. I cannot begin to tell you how happy I was. 

Mike Crocket – New York, USA

30^th June 2010

Last week I had the opportunity to hunt on a family member's property for the first time. Their property is adjacent to the first house built in their community which dates back to sometime in the 1700’s. I started out by finding two wheats along with a few other pennies from the early 70’s. I eventually pulled up my first Mercury dime, a 1941. I couldn't have been more excited because I've only been detecting for just over a month and this was the oldest silver that I had found. About 10 minutes later I got a fairly weak signal but strong enough that I felt I should dig it. As I was going through the plug I saw what I first thought was another dime but then realized that it was smaller than a dime. Not wanting to scratch it up, I put it in with my other coins and decided I would wash it off when I got home.

30^th June 2010 

I was on a beach in Southern England detecting when a man came up to me and asked how good was my machine. I replied it’s the best (E-TRAC), he then told me he had lost his wedding ring after falling off a jet ski he was in about 6ft of water and unable to swim and in the panic it had slipped off his finger he then said he was only married two months ago he took me to the area he thought he had lost and the tide was slowly going out I followed the tide out and after about an hours detecting I got a really good signal and dug down into the soft sand and found the ring the look on his face was worth the effort he was unable to speak and was very emotional and it’s a great feeling when you can return lost items, thanks Minelab for a fantastic detector! 

Terry ‘Topcat’ Compton – Hampshire, UK

28^th June 2010

I woke to the sound of the early morning dawn chorus, so distinct that you could pick out each individual sound. This was Wednesday and our mid week rally with the club would take place, as it did every week. 

I parted the curtains to look out on the sun creeping up and covering the meadows behind the house. The sky was a complete blue canvas. It was time to get my gear together. 

We always meet twice a week, but I prefer this mid week rally, as there are not so many who come owing to work commitments. How I remember going to work on a lovely day like this, thinking that it would have been much nicer going detecting; every field seemed to beckon, and they all looked so promising. 

25^th June 2010

I have attached a photo of a 1959 class ring from Girard College in Philadelphia. I found the ring in an old yard in mid February and was able to locate the owner within two days. He lives in the Seattle area. The house was part of the old Navy base in Sanford, Florida. Don, the owner, lost the ring in 1962 while stationed at the base. After 48 years in the ground, the ring was still beautiful. I returned the ring to Don in March. I'm sure this is now a big conversation piece with his family.

Chuck Hosbein – FL, USA

25^th June 2010 - Winner of SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH

I was sitting in my living room and it suddenly dawned on me what an amazing machine the E-TRAC really is. I have owned it for about two months now and as I learn more about the machine the more respect I have for the technology that has been engineered into it.

7^th June 2010

All rings are gold or platinum found at the beach this winter using my Excalibur II or Sovereign GT. Both detectors have been gold magnets for me.

P. Walla – CA, USA

28^th May 2010

I have owned the detector for just over a year and have found many coins, including nearly 100 pre-decimal coins the oldest being a 1887 penny found at the old Tooperang tennis courts.

Last weekend my mate and I were going to Victoria to do some gold detecting but for unforeseen reasons we were unable to go. I went down to the beach instead, and to my surprise found a Rolex watch, silver bracelet and ring -all in the same hole! My mate was so impressed he bought an   
X-TERRA 505! I don't know if the watch is real or an imitation, but I don’t care - it’s a ROLEX! 

Phill – South Australia

26^th May 2010

First off, let me say that I have tried about every high end TID machine out there in the last two years. Now, let me give my honest review of the X-TERRA 70/705. First off for relic hunting, make sure that you get the 10.5” 7.5 kHz coil for open field hunting, the stock 9" concentric coil just does not cut it. The next choice would be the 6" Double-D 18.75 kHz coil for the real trashy spots around homesteads and in yards. The X-TERRA is a really simple platform to set up and use. Just noise cancel whenever you get to a new site. I always use all metal, two tones, sensitivity as high as you can and auto tracking. The new X-TERRA 705 has an auto track offset that lets you set the ground balance either + or - but I have rarely used this feature. 

26^th May 2010 

I got my E-TRAC about a month ago. Been going to this old home site and this place had a lot of trash (iron crown tops etc). So I thought I would swing close to the front entrance, about ten feet from the porch I got a high tone and dug. Out popped a 1954 half dollar, my first silver ever. I was so excited I turned the E-TRAC off and left lol. Went back two days later and found a 1963 dime, it was great. I also took it to the beach and let me tell ya, in the sand the E-TRAC is solid as a rock, if it says it a dime it’s a dime. Same for pull tabs this thing rocks on the beach. Thanx Minelab, I love my E-TRAC! 

Tony Gifford – NC, USA

12^th May 2010 - Winner of SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH

2^nd May 2010

Dear Minelab,

I am writing you this note to show you one of my latest finds with my Minelab X-TERRA 70. Last weekend I went on a metal detecting trip with a bunch of friends to a part of Maine with a lot of history. I was using my X-TERRA in a field with my favorite coil, the 7.5kHz 10.5-inch Double-D. I got a signal that caught my attention, it was giving a sweet dime-quarter signal but it was broken up by an iron signal. I could get just enough separation to convince me to dig. I am glad I did, up came this beautiful 1797 British two pence from about 6-7 inches lying right next to a piece of iron. To say I was excited would be an understatement. Thanks for putting out such a great product; I would recommend a Minelab to anyone.

Marty – ME, USA

27^th April 2010

Just a short detail of the extreme depth I get with my Explorer. Yesterday whilst detecting, I got a very good response signal which appeared to be very deep. I started to dig until I was about 9-10 inches down with the object still in the hole. My mate came over and started to check with his pin point probe which showed the artifact to be at the bottom. Out came some more soil, (by now it was very sticky pug clay that sticks like tar) check again, still in the hole. Eventually I removed a small piece of the clay, when Mark checked it the object was included. I then decided to see how deep the hole was by putting my spade in, it was an incredible 14 inches, which on a large object might be considered normal, but the piece I had removed is 5mm x 5mm x 5mm and triangular. How do I know it to be 14 inches; I have filed a small groove in the steel part of the spade starting just above the blade, which is 9 inches, at 10 inches, 12 inches 14 inches 16 inches and 18 inches and the final part that houses the wooden handle measures 20 inches, so I can check quickly the depth. I have attached a photo of the object which is not rusty but does have the appearance of being silver. It is fairly heavy too. I bought my Explorer in January 2000 and it still serves me well. I'm also using Technika cordless headphones with the T-Bone transmitter which gives me superb responses to all metals. 

Tony Stokes - S.Glocs, UK

26^th April 2010

I had the opportunity to have five days holiday at Lake Bonney, Barmera (SA). The lake level has been down in recent times due to restricted water flows and droughts. Lake Bonney is a natural lake on the Murray River and has been home to European settlement since the days of the Overlanders during the 1850’s. The prospects for some good finds along its beaches were good, especially with the water low, giving a beach width from the "full" level to the current level of around 15-20 metres. 

Up early each morning, I tested various sections along the beaches in the town and eventually found a productive "wash line". In this zone I detected the majority of my finds. My final haul included around 70 decimal coins, 3 pennies, 3 half-pennies, a 1907 threepence, a 1926 threepence, a 1941 shilling, a black onyx pendant, several necklaces, 3 silver rings, 1 silver and 9ct gold ring and a nice 7.5gram 18ct gold ring. And if I was a fisherman, I’d never have to buy a sinker again! Literally, I detected over a hundred in five days. If only I had more time! The Darling River is flowing down as we speak and the lake is expected to fill again soon. 

The X-TERRA 70 ran beautifully, sensitivity high around 24, the sand being fairly quiet, beach mode OFF, auto tracking on, using the 9" concentric coil. For those who can get there, the targets are reasonably deep (up to 30cm), decimal coins are badly tarnished however silver and gold items come out nice and clean. Be patient and thorough as targets are patchy. Best areas to try are near the kiosk, the ski beach near the caravan park and between the jetty and the yacht club. I'm sure there is plenty to find as I covered only a fraction of the available area. So if you are passing through, spend a bit of time there, friendly clean town, and good prospects! Happy hunting. 

Brian Schache – South Australia

23^rd April 2010

It was Good Friday, and I decided to go out and hunt for a while, so I hit the old hunted out park I had been working for a while now where just about everyone had hit for years. I decided to work around trees that day, and coming onto one of the bigger trees. I started detecting away from the tree, and I got a beautiful mid-tone signal, at about six inches in the ground. I've been digging mid-tone signals there because they were bountiful. I guess all other hunters were interested in the high tone silver signals. So I dug, and at my third dip of my trusty Shark digger... My find came to light, after who knows how many years it had laid in the darkness away from the light of day waiting for someone like me to bring it to light. 

21^st April 2010 

Found on a club site 2008 a very nice Saxon 9th century gold finger ring. At a depth of around nine inches, the field had been hit by about 40 detector users that day, and from a hot spot at the end of the day I found the ring, it was well after 4pm when the ring came up after its 1,100 year rest. 

S. Fenton - London, UK

10^th April 2010 - Winner of SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH

31^st March 2010

I just returned from a week long hunt to Birch, Essex, England on virgin ploughed farmland. There were seven guys on the hunt total.

Here was the breakdown of machines used:

1 person: Whites V-3
1 person: Whites V-3 and E-TRAC
2 persons: Explorer SE with Pro coils
3 persons (including myself): E-TRAC

After the first day of using the Whites V-3 and finding nothing much of anything, the guy that also had the E-TRAC tried it on the second day. With the E-TRAC he found his first hammered silver. He continued to use the E-TRAC for the rest of the trip and found a few additional hammered coins. I believe he mentioned he would be selling the V-3 when he returned to the States.

The person that only had the V-3 never found any hammered silver.

I found three hammered (two silver pennies and a half grout) along with various other artefacts/silver jewellery and a few Roman bronze coins.

The other members of the hunt (with the E-TRACs and Explorers) all found many hammered coins, Roman silvers and other silver artefacts.

Thought you would be interested in these results….

Barry Small - Dix Hills, NY, USA

24^th March 2010

Hello, went out to one of my favourite spots, an old hotel/woods/workers quarters site. I’ve been here many, many times before with other detectors but this time I was using my Minelab Explorer XS with my new coil and wow, at first I wasn't too sure if it was any different than my stock 1050 coil but when I started getting target signals again and again I was amazed and said how could I have missed theses targets? But there's one target I could not mistake as relics. I was scanning as usual doing my grid type scan back and forth like a typewriter would do and wham! 12 feet from an old stone wall I get a 26-27-28 signal at 10 to 12 inches deep and it was loud and clear.

22^nd March 2010

Armed with a new E-TRAC earned for his birthday this detectorist proves skill and devotion to the hobby of metal detecting pays off. Within a couple of weeks an exciting find of the smallest US silver coin ever made for circulation, an 1853 three-cent silver, was the result of this detectorist's work. What a great find!

Minelab User - Tennessee, USA

22^nd March 2010

Here are some photos of finds made by a detectorist from Elko, NV with his new Minelab E-TRAC. Detecting an older site in February where there was quite a bit of surface iron trash the E-TRAC was used with a small accessory coil. The pictures show three coins from the old Western site including an 1893 Barber Dime, an early US five-cent coin dated 1866 and an 1843 Seated Liberty Dime which was the oldest coin to come from the site.

Minelab User - Elko, Nevada USA

8^th March 2010

I got this detector just about a month ago and took it out for the first time on Saturday, Feb 27. I was detecting an area that was believed to have had a lot of colonial activity. We had been to this site two times before this and found only flat buttons. I dug up this 1725 Spanish Reale, or rather change from a Spanish Reale. I have not seen any of these come from NC. My oldest find to date! I love my new E-TRAC...This is the most stable running detector I have ever used!

Jamie Miller - NC, USA

4^th March 2010

We just started to thaw here in Connecticut (New England) and I headed out Sunday Feb 28th to a new spot...My second target was a Roosevelt silver dime and the day rolled from there...I ended the day with a record five silver coins and 14 wheat pennies...I was so excited the next day I could not wait to get out of work and head back over...five more silver coins! Yes back-to-back five silver days...I have been out five times now in 2010 and have 13 silver coins...one piece of sterling jewellery and 39 wheat pennies already! Thank you Minelab!

FooserPaul – Connecticut, USA

15^th February 2010

Decided to take the 20-minute walk to a spot on the beach that I go to about once a month. Got there about 7am this morning, it was very cold and I was not having a lot of fun, most of the targets were pieces of aluminium cans scattered around like they had been placed there on purpose. My hands were numb from the cold and I was getting discouraged very fast, about 30 minutes into my hunt I had a target that sounded like it should be something other than the typical coin or aluminium I had dug to that point. When I first saw the ring I thought it was just a nice silver band but once I felt the weight of it I new it was something special. Turns out to be 19 grams of Platinum and 750 Gold!!

Very nice find, one of my best rings this year…Thanks for looking.

P. Walla – CA, USA

5^th February 2010

Hello everybody,

I am from central Nebraska and here is my story...

The wife rolled her eyes at me when I mentioned I would like to purchase a metal detector. I borrowed a BH QD II from a friend and found a 1919 wheatie during deer season at an abandoned one room school. It felt great. Even better than shooting a deer. So the crops were ok this year along with the prices and I purchased an X-TERRA 305 (E-TRAC users read on!).

This was just before Thanksgiving. I hunted my Father-In-Laws over the holiday. He must've been a tightwad because I didn't even find clad. Then I went a couple of miles away where he grew up and found five wheaties from the 40's and my first silver (1943 P War Nickel). I was pumped.

Day after Thanksgiving. Set a goal to put up some electric fence over cornstalks for my cattle, if I got that done I would detect the local football field where I went to High School. Took my four-year-old son with me. I told myself before I started hunting I was going to dig up the pulltab signals on the X-TERRA 305. 10 minutes into the hunt I dug, about 3" down, a ring. The closer I looked at it, still in the hole the more I began to realize what I'd found. I lost my wedding ring in 1994. I didn't know where but thought it was at my in-laws' Dairy where I worked (I always took it off to milk). This ring, my first found metal detecting, was mine...again!!!

I called my wife on my cell.

Wife: Hello
Me: Hey. Guess what I found?
Wife: What?
My: My ring...
Wife: No you didn't.
Me: Yes I did...really.
Wife: No you didn't.
Me: Yes.....

The conversation went on like this for a while and I'm not sure I really convinced her until I got home and showed her. The ring in the picture on the left is the one I found, the one on the right is the one we bought to replace it...they are the same pattern and the right one is way more worn as I've worn it a lot working on the farm.

1^st February 2010 - Winner of inaugural SUCCESS STORY OF THE MONTH

I live in a very historic area. I had permission to hunt woods around a lake that was active from about the 1820's to the 1960's. Though I assumed it had been hunted before, I knew there had to be old coins in the area. I hunted it (with my "other" detector) on 6 or 7 trips out, without finding a single "good" target. I had been having success for 20 years, but the targets just seemed to be disappearing. These woods should have targets that I just wasn't finding.

I finally decided I just had to have an E-TRAC if I was going to continue to have the success I used to have with other detectors.

My second day out with my new E-TRAC was back to the woods. I was now going to find out if it was really empty, if it was just me, or if it was the detector!

1^st February 2010

I found a lot of old coins...the X-TERRA is the best!

Joze - Slovenia

18^th January 2010

In November 2009 I returned to Jordan as part of The Great Arab Revolt Project, sadly when re-examining my luggage Jordanian customs had not put back the upper stem to my Safari and despite checks at the airport the item could not be located. Without going into a lengthy story Minelab brilliantly flew a replacement out to me which not only enabled me to metal detect, but also is directly responsible for the finding of several hundred coins and artefacts. One of these belonged to a 2.95 inch Mountain Gun, and was actually a fuse protector for one of the shells. Shaped like a small propeller it fitted onto the base of a shell reducing the chance of a detonation should the shell be accidentally dropped etc. 

21^st December 2009

I had just gotten my shiny new X-TERRA 705 a week earlier. I had used it a couple times and was impressed with the feel and performance. I had owned other detectors from other companies, but the X-TERRA 705 felt like the first professional detector I had ever owned. I decided to take my new machine to a football field and an old school I had hunted several times before. I never gave it much thought at first then I got to notice that I was digging deeper than ever before. WOW!

I hunted a while and in an area I had covered many times before I got a sweet silver sound, eight inches later out comes a 1918 Mercury Dime. I get on the cell phone and call my father “Guess what I just found?” I hung up and walked less than four feet away and bingo! I find an 1870 Indian Head Penny! My first, back on the phone…only this time dad says, “That’s not an 1870, they are rare.” I said yes it is! It was my oldest coin, and I am sure I would never have found it using my other brand detector. By the way the Mercury dime sure was pretty, but the penny brought US$140.00. Thanks Minelab. Owning a Minelab sure does pay for itself!

Mike Fuson - Madison, Tennessee

11^th December 2009

I live 30 minutes or less from a lot of historic sites/parks, so I decided to try my hand at "treasure hunting".

December 2009 just started and I received my X-TERRA 30 from UPS. Brand new to the hobby, I finished the assembly and had nowhere to go, it was already dark outside. I live in a house that's just over 150 years old and remembered I had a dirt room way in the back of my cellar...what the heck!? Wouldn’t you know that thing started beeping as soon as I got in there. My first ever find was a 1936 silver quarter!!

I also found a bottle cap and a couple of old square nails. Unreal...! I’m really happy with my purchase and just wish I had bought this thing in the spring.

...Looking forward to finding some really cool stuff.
Thanks Minelab, now I’m hooked.

Rudy Stumpf - New Jersey, USA

I am an enthusiastic Minelab customer and have great fun flipping lost coins out of the ground all over the country. I started off in 1988 with my first detector a GT 16000, and was prospecting for gold till 1990 with good success. I stopped detecting until my retirement in 2000 - as I am an active person and could not sit at home doing nothing, I had to look for something to do.

On my beach walk one day I saw an old friend of mine detecting there with a SD2100, and he told me that he had been doing it for a few years, very successfully. He also told me he had great fun, because you always met new people, and that there was plenty of goodies to dig out. After that day, I went home and prepared my GT 16000 to go to the beach the next morning. This is what started it all, and I never looked back, as it gives me great enjoyment and satisfaction.

7^th December 2009

In your last Minelab Times, I read with interest the article "Staffordshire Hoard" accompanied by a photo of detectorists in a field near Corfe Castle in Dorset. That photo has special significance for me, as I was privileged to attend the Minelabowners Rally at Corfe last September and detected on that very field as well as surrounding fields where permission had been gained by Minelabowners (MLO).

A memorable find for me on that field was my first cut quarter hammered silver coin and my detecting friend found a very bent Medieval hammered Silver Penny there. I was suprised how thin those hammered coins are, making them easily damaged by farm machinery. By this time I had realised that any old coin we might find here in Australia is modern in comparison to England where 1800-year-old roman coins are commonplace. One bloke let me hold a 2000 year old Gold Stater he had found a month or two earlier. Wow!

The high ridge next to the Castle ruins produced Roman coins for some of our group, which is quite surprising, as I was told it had been detected for 30 plus years. Just goes to show that you never get it all.

The best coin I saw at Corfe was a gold Guinea from the 1690's,which was found lying on the surface. Needless to say, the next day everyone rushed to detect that field, but no more were found. Another memorable find for me at the Corfe Rally was a small Roman brooch. I didn't know what it was at first, but was soon told.

2^nd December 2009

Went hunting at an old ghost town site. A colonial county seat that later was abandoned and is now just a big hay field. In the area where the courthouse is supposed to have been, Andrew Jackson started his legal career in this courthouse in 1787.

1787 turned out to be my lucky number. I found a few artifacts. A thimble, two fired lead balls, a broken gunflint, button and part of a padlock. But a good strong penny signal turned out to be a 1787 Connecticut Copper Penny.

Mac in Oak Ridge - North Carolina, USA

13^th November 2009

I'm a new owner of the great E-TRAC and I had to say I'm falling in love with your products…I want everything Minelab!

A.R. – VA, USA

13^th November 2009

Found a set of pewter tableware on a metal detecting rally…Turns out the tableware was resting in the kitchen area of a previously unknown Roman building…the find came from a depth of approx 15” – 18”…None of the other machines could even pick it up…Quality Minelab…This was my first outing with a new club, so not sure what people are saying behind my back but I am pretty pleased with myself…Check out the Weekend Wanderers website for the full story soon…Thanks Minelab…Wouldn’t have any other machine even if it were given.

Peter Steanson – Hampshire, UK

13^th October 2009

I was out on a Saturday morning detecting at a newer house. I was just expecting to find modern clad and such since there wasn’t much history at this location. Or at least that is what I thought.

After avoiding a lot of scrap aluminium signals all of a sudden I heard a great signal. It was a solid 13-46/47 in both directions. I knew it was something good based on the tone of the signal. I dug up the target quickly as it was easy to pinpoint with the E-TRAC and it was about 6” deep in the ground.

At first I thought it was a button and then I saw the threads on the back and that threw me off. I saw it had an old patina on it and it appeared to have a large "E" or "M" located on the front. My second guess was a knob from an old kerosene lantern. Well after consulting with some fellow detectorists, they helped me correctly identify the item as a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers collar insignia pin from WWI!!! The logo on the front is a castle with two towers. It was threaded because there was a nut on the back that was screwed to the bolt.

After finding this item I did some research and determined that this location used to be an old farming field. I can't wait to bring the E-TRAC back to see what else might be found at this location!

Josh Hipple – NC, USA

11^th October 2009

Each year there’s a annual hunt in England; they call them “Rallies”, where relic hunters gather to join in the fun of digging relics and swapping stories. This year, because of such a large expected turnout, only selected members of MLO were invited to attend. MLO is a web based forum that is worldwide in its’ membership and also shares knowledge of detecting while showing finds from all over the world. It’s primarily dedicated to people who own Minelab detectors but there aren’t any restrictions as to your choice of metal detecting machine you can own. As the American Site Administrator for this forum, which has a large group of member, I couldn’t resist attending this years fantastic event...

...On the first day I walked to a close-by field and hunted for about three hours. Didn’t find much in the way of treasure so I returned back to the camping field to see if others had located any relics. Later that afternoon I climbed up the steep ridge that overlooks the Corfe Castle ruins and made my first find, a pulled musket ball. Then hunting along the ridge I found another musket ball, dropped and in perfect shape. This area was used by troops during the English Civil war, that were attacking Corfe Castle.

9^th October 2009

Success!!! Daniel Heramb is one happy guy and he’s not going to get beat-up by his wife...

Daniel had found one of the clubs I belong to on the web and he sent out an urgent email for help - he had lost his wedding band in the sand. It had fallen out of his pocket. Both he and his wife were very upset.

Ed Travis, president of one of the clubs I belong to: Georgia Research and Recovery and The North Georgia Relic Hunters Association, sent out a mass email to everyone on the roster and I volunteered, not knowing how large of an area it was to hunt. I thought it was at his house near a sand pile...far be it. It was at the physical outdoors facility at a local university. Personally, looking at such a large area, I thought it's not going to be found...

2^nd October 2009

"My treasure hunting buddy Misha and I chose the field that was adjacent to the former location of the Lutheran Kirk (church) built in the late medieval times and destroyed during the World War II in 1944. I received a hint from someone that a bronze ring, circa 16th century, had been recently found in this field... 

...Now I had a good feeling about this location. The best part was that there was no iron junk present in the ground, only coins and some relics like this bronze ring. By looking at the crude filing marks on the ring’s design, we could date this find well back to the 16th century, and, therefore, the 16th century coins could be buried here as well!...

16^th September 2009

Last year (2008) I bought a Bounty Hunter Quick Draw 2 and went to a yard where my brother lost his class ring back in 1955. Went over the yard pretty good, but didn't find it. Got signals of pennies and dimes close to the surface, maybe 2-3 inches, but nothing else.

This summer my son bought an E-TRAC. I liked it so much, but couldn't afford the price. My wife let me buy an X-TERRA 30. I can't believe the stuff I've found with it. I find nickels now, before, I never found one nickel. Anyway, I am still in the process of going over the yard looking for my brother's ring. I just wanted to let everyone know, MINELAB IS THE BEST! By the way, this is my latest from that yard - 25 cts. 

W. Shipley – Ohio, USA

14^th September 2009

We've all heard it before, no site is hunted out. That statement rang true to me one Sunday Morning in September when I decided to hunt a site I had been to many times and had always came home with something for my finds collection. I decided to head to an area that I had only searched minimally because it was usually overgrown, but this year it was surprisingly easy to detect.

I had been there only 10 minutes when I got a good dime signal that bounced only a little between 30-36 very clear and was down about 4+ inches. I cut a plug and checked, no signal, checked my hole, still in there. I went down a little deeper and pulled out a handful of soil, it was there. I fished around the pile and found the target, at first I was disappointed it looked like a clump of foil, and then I looked again and blew the dirt off...it was a New England Tree coin! The find of a lifetime in my eyes!

10^th September 2009

I have been detecting close to 20 years, and have never been metal detecting in the water. After reading a Sovereign book by James Clynick, I gained the confidence to set up my Sovereign GT for water hunting. I went to a lake that I have fished in before and thought to myself "wow that large overhanging tree must have been a great rope swing back in the day".

It was a quick trial and error getting in the water for the first time with the Sovereign GT, and everything went well equipment wise. It was one of those days that you go detecting with not too much optimism and you have to fight off the thoughts of errands, and priorities, that have to be done back home.

10^th September 2009

Here is a recent exciting find made in Europe with an X-TERRA 505.

Minelab User

28^th August 2009

I couldn't believe my luck! After many disappointments from asking and writing to various local farmers for permission to detect on their land, I had been given the go ahead to search a large estate in Hampshire. The land was of interest to me due to the fact that to my knowledge it had never been detected on before and had roman activity in the area. I couldn't wait to get started.

Two weeks before the awful foot and mouth situation took a hold I got my chance and descended on the estate armed with all necessary supplies for a days detecting. As usual I made myself known to the landowner who took great pleasure in telling me I wouldn't find anything, as it had never been inhabited. Not to be put off, I set off with my trusty Minelab Explorer purchased from Detecnicks to do some serious searching.

Several hours had passed and I began to think the landowner was right there was nothing of any great interest here. Just about to call it a day when I got a signal that sounded promising. On digging, I was again rather dispirited to find three old fifty pence pieces stuck together! Not the sort of treasure I had hoped for! Working my way down the field towards the river I discovered several more old decimal coins and decided at that point to call it a day. Taking a different path across the field to my car I passed some molehills. I have always been under the impression that you would have more chance of winning the lottery than finding anything of interest in a molehill, but today I thought I'd give it a go.

After sweeping across several molehills, I received a positive signal. I paused briefly to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I knocked the topsoil over to reveal a ring seemingly crying out to be rediscovered. From the condition of the metal I knew it had to be gold and could not wait to get back to my car and home for further inspection. After careful cleaning with warm soapy water at home I found the ring to be even more interesting and beautiful than I first thought. Inside was inscribed "Louisa Dunn born 7th February 1854 died 10th December 1863". My Wife, Lynne and myself were strangely obsessed with finding out more about this little girl and also, how the ring got to be where it was. We set off a chain of events that no one could have predicted. Lynne and I spent a very cold morning searching the local Churchyard for Louisa's grave but to no avail. The next step was the Hampshire Records Office in Winchester; maybe we were presuming too much in that she was a local girl.

We discovered that the name Dunn was not common to Hampshire and had no luck finding our Louisa. As a last resort we were advised to search the National Records, which Winchester had a limited amount of. After looking intently at microfiche for hour after hour, my stomach lurched as I saw in print the name Louisa Dunn, born 7th February 1854 in Marylebone, London! I stared in amazement; one little piece found in the puzzle, at last we knew where she came from but however did the ring get to be where I found it?

The record office advised us that there was enough information on the ring to request birth and death certificates, which we could obtain for a fee from the General Register Office in Southport, Merseyside. This would give us a fuller picture of Louisa's background.

Because I always take any remotely interesting finds to Liaison Officer, Sally Worrell (Portable Antiquities) at Winchester museum thought I'd take the ring along for her opinion. Sally knew how intrigued I had become with the story behind the ring and asked if I would be interested
in taking part in a new television programme called Revealing Secrets from Channel 4. They could hopefully discover more than I could alone. We knew there was no financial gain to be had from this little ring, but could not rest until we had all the facts.

Two days later I was contacted by the Revealing Secrets research team who were most interested in my tale and requested the ring and information I had already collated to be sent to them. Hopefully they would be able to fit the pieces together and give me the whole picture.

I had already informed the landowner of the find and kept him up to date with the proceedings. He was very pleased to know that it was to be featured on television. To read more and see the ring and it’s finding by the Channel 4 Team go to Youtube .

Paul Mc Taggart - Hampshire, UK

28^th August 2009 

"Just as harvest had been in operation for some weeks I decided to pay a visit to a local field, with Steve, that had only been harrowed a few days before. In the past this field yielded little to the many determined searchers who trod its surface. Detecting is a combination of research skill, a great detector and of course Lady Luck. Combined these three come under numerous other permutations when considering frame of mind and weather. Anyway for some possible 700 years something had indeed been lost on this most "tight" of terrains. In the last 40 years no local detectorist was gifted the right permutation of factors to find this buried thing. But on this day in late August, armed with my Safari, the combination of elusive factors would fuse together for me and a strange but positive signal would be experienced.

4^th August 2009

Having been a staunch user of a competing brand detector, I realized I was missing something... more stable target identification, better depth, and expandability. I decided on the Minelab X-Terra 70 right at the beginning of 2009. After a few months of on again off again use, I got more and more comfortable with the detector each time out. Watching the DVD and reading forum users input certainly helped me along. Well, today I acquired permission to hunt a place I've had my eye on for a while. The forecast called for rain, but for some reason or other it was a nice evening... too nice to sit inside and wait for the rain! With my X-Terra 70 in hand, out the door I went.

Arriving at the site (original house built circa 1870), I decided to stick with the stock coil over the optional deeper coil. I figured the stock coil would give me the best clue as to what might be here and was a good place to start. Immediately, I started hitting coins. Lots and lots of coins! All modern, but they were literally all over the place. Having dug about 10 wheat pennies, I finally made my first nice find of the night. At only 3 inches deep were 3 local bus tokens from the 1950's / 60's, along with a nickel and a wheat penny. This gave me hope that the place indeed hasn't been detected like the owner told me! A short time later I received a solid 42 - 44 hit with the X-Terra 70. Showing in the 6 inch range, I carefully made my plug and sure enough out popped a 1944 Washington Quarter! First silver of the hunt!

Several modern coins and wheat pennies later, I dug yet another silver Washington Quarter... 1959! Very nearby this quarter I received another solid mark with the detector, leading me to believe I had found a silver dime. Sure enough, about 7 inches deep, a 1914 Barber Dime! And after that, a 1959 silver Roosevelt Dime! The rain/storms finally began to move in and after a few more modern coins in my pocket, it was time to head home. A total of 57 coins, plus the 3 bus tokens were dug! This was by far my most productive day with this awesome detector! Hands down, this is the best detector I've laid hands on. I have about 7 years of detecting experience under my belt and this detector has really invigorated my passion for the hobby! I still have a lot of ground to cover at this place, and eventually plan on hitting it with the deeper coil to see what I might be missing. Minelab... you have an excellent detector in the X-Terra! Thanks for building a great detector that is not only easy to learn, but goes deep and finds the good stuff!

Bill Bertke - USA

24^th June 2009

My wife always says: old socks are no longer mended - they are thrown in the garbage! In the past however, women took the time to sew and to embroider, and if my finds are anything to go by, the women would sew in the forests, clearings and meadows. Thanks to the metal detectors, I have been able to find these lost (or discarded) thimbles. 

Throughout history, thimbles have been made from various materials: gold, silver, bronze and copper, or in other alloys and even non-metallic materials. The oldest thimbles were made from bone, horn or ivory but they are not detectable because they are not metallic. 

4^th June 2009

A few months ago whilst using my Safari I had the great luck and pleasure in finding a Bronze Age object. This was later identified as the base section of a Bronze Age sword scabbard chape. The signal had come from about 8 inches down and registered loud and clear. The Safari then went on to locate a fragment of Bronze Age axe-head, but afterwards it was the chape that fascinated me...I could conjure up images of the chieftain or tribal leader who had once been so powerful and influential to be able to own a sword. I wondered at what he may have been called and marvelled that today’s technology could locate this incredible object that had not been handled for 3500 years. 

19^th May 2009

Well I must say this new X-TERRA 305 is fantastic! It’s a big improvement over the previous X-TERRA 30. I think it's the best buy out there at the moment. So far, in less than one month of ownership, I have found 3 rings, plenty of dimes, quarters and nickels and even a US dollar coin and some foreign coins. The X-TERRA 305 has great depth, very good target ID stability and great battery life. Thanks Minelab!

Minelab User

29^th April 2009

I found my very first Gold Sovereign in the park the other day. This coin had a very faint high tone to it, but I thought that it sounded interesting, so I dug it. The coin was almost 9" down and was shining like a full moon at me. I was thrilled to find it. 

Thanks for making a great machine Minelab. 

Steven Reidy - New Zealand

21^st April 2009

Got out for a few hours with the 705 yesterday. First I did some target comparisons between my 70 & the 705, and then just hunted with the 705 for the remainder of the hunt. Two hours hunting and this diamond ring was one of the results.

The ring made my day. Usually finds of this nature are made at the beach. This is my first gold diamond ring ever at a park. 14kt with 24 - 1 point baguettes that I believe are diamonds. The 705 read it as a nickel (10/12 target ID but also bounced to 8 & 14). Four inches down I expected to get a nickel and was very pleasantly surprised to get the ring.

Minelab Field Tester

28^th March 2009

I would like to tell you about your E-TRAC once again. I have had the E-TRAC for just about a year and I can tell you that it is by far the best detector I have ever used. With it I have made many first and for a person like myself who has over 30 years of detecting it takes a lot to get me excited. The E-TRAC has returned the thrill of detecting with its superb ability to detect those deep targets and its ability to get past the trash and identify those iffy signals with a clear response that other detectors I know have missed.

I have enclosed two pictures of coins I have found with the E-TRAC. I believe that I was the first person in the US to recover a gold coin using the E-TRAC. It was found in an area of heavy trash near an old building cellar hole. It was my first gold coin in my thirty years of metal detecting. It was a US $5.00 Gold Coin dated 1878. I was pleased to send you a picture when I found it. 

I bought the Eureka Gold sometime in 2007 as I was told there are gold nuggets here. I was in that 'gold' area for almost two months and what I have seen are only tiny gold flakes, just no way for any gold detectors to detect such tiny flakes.

A year passed and I started to find coins after mastering my Eureka Gold. I knew it is not meant for the beach as nothing was mentioned in the operation manual. I was totally amazed when I could find coins, gold rings and junks on the beach...wet sand I mean!

From comparison with other brands I am confident that Minelab out does them in many ways.

Jeffrey Lai – Sabah, Malaysia

Thirty-one years of detecting over 300,000 holes dug and I finely dug my first gold coin on March 28 2009. It is an 1878 U.S. Five Dollar Gold coin found with my new E-TRAC detector. The best of the best detectors I have ever used and this along with many other great finds that I have found with my new E-TRAC. I have some great detecting locations that I have used my Explorer at and I have found many great finds extremely deep but the E-TRAC is in a category all of its own. The machine loves deep targets and is able to see buttons better then any detector I have ever owned. If it can see buttons then finding old deep coins is easy for this machine. The detector is so steady that a major industrial plant, an electrical fence, an underground power line and many hot rocks in the area I hunt don't affect the search results. This machine operates just great without any issues and without any interference from the hot rocks or power lines. 

Just a super detector with great depth and stability, and with the ability to find targets that other detectors miss. If you want I can provide many other pictures of fines found with the E-TRAC including many large cents and early U.S. State coins and many many very early buttons. 

James T. Bucki - New York, USA

A short time ago I was detecting on the beach with my Sovereign GT when suddenly out of the blue I got a strong wide signal. After a lengthy period of digging, there emerged from the sand, a large black disc-shaped object. After cleaning it with sea water, it was clear to me that there was an image of a hand holding a sword. It went straight into my finds bag and into my jacket and after looking for another hour or two without a notable find, I headed home. Interested in discovering more about my find, I cleaned it more thoroughly with distilled water and dental tools and as I did so, it became clearer and more identifiable, the disc had two metal screws and a bronze plate on it. It looked to me like it was handcrafted metal work....

Minelab User

I woke up to go to work on April 4, 2003. I'm a roofing contractor and when I headed to my truck, I realized someone had broken into my toolbox, stealing several nail guns and a saw. Well, I was mad to say the least, so after giving my report to the police, I decided to take the morning off, do some detecting to cool down and relax. 

I grabbed my old beat up reliable Sovereign with the Sunray S-12 coil and headed to some houses that are in the process of being moved. The houses are up in the air on blocks, so it is easy to stand upright under them and hunt. The first signal I got was a loud high-pitched signal that was breaking up. It read 180 on my meter, but I thought it may be a big chunk of iron causing it to be false. Well, I plunged my Letch in the dirt, popped out a big chunk of dirt and I see this BIG gold disc in the dirt. My first thought was that it must be some kids play money. Well, I picked it up, felt the weight and about the same time I knocked some dirt off and almost soiled myself when I saw the date - 1890! I flipped it over and read "20 dollars" with a S mint mark. I had a real hard time containing myself. 

I continued to hunt for over an hour or so and every signal I got after that I would think "alright, maybe this is another one", but I only got a couple of wheats and an Australian half penny. Well, that was my story, thanks for letting me share my best find ever with ya. 

Ray S. - California, USA

Dear Minelab, 

Several times a year I travel to Poland to visit my girlfriend. While visiting her, I always take my Sovereign GT and go detecting on the beach near where she lives. I consistently find enough money to pay the costs for the trip enabling me to see her more often. 

I have really enjoyed using the Sovereign and have found a great deal of treasure with it. In fact, after owning the Sovereign for only a short while, I found enough treasure to pay for it. This is the best detector I've used. It handles mineralization and salt extremely well, enabling me to find targets that other treasure hunters have missed. 

The depth of the Sovereign is absolutely amazing. I have recovered many treasures from depths of up to 14 inches in heavily mineralized soil. I have found in Valkenisse, an Old Dutch village, treasures dated between the years of 1375 and 1500.

Once again, I really enjoy using the Sovereign GT. Thank you for producing such a fantastic detector. 

Sincerely, John V.

No more debate on its abilities. It is a star. 

A faint but persistent monotone... a glance at the depth gauge bottomed out at 12 inches. Battled with the roots covering... a pointed blade on my spade was not helping. Finally, I hacked and weaved my way to a depth in excess of 12 inches. Still the target called me...challenged me, almost mocking in its elusiveness. 

The final approach was clawed out with my gloved hand. At what was about 14 inches, I felt the solidness of an object. It was a partially rotted copper half penny. I was simply over-awed (and somewhat exhausted). 

To me, as I sat there sweating in the afternoon sunlight, it was the final proof. The E-TRAC was simply inspiring. I looked back over the last week or so, and realised how this new unit had won me over. I now detect differently, and am renewed in my passion for hunting. Yes, hunting is the right word. Going out with the E-TRAC is like stalking cunning targets. They have defied man and machine before, but today they surrendered to the E-TRAC. 

So for me, I need no more convincing...I've had enough...enough success that is! If you have a Minelab E-TRAC, and haven't yet seen the light, then be patient, and find somewhere that allows her to show you what she is capable of. Once you've gained confidence in what she can do, given the chance, then you will be more willing to trust her when the going gets tough. If she can't do it, then heaven help the others in similar circumstances. Don't forget, she may do it differently than others. It's up to you to recognise what that different way is. 

To all the lads on the forum who have helped me, and by your testing and commentaries enthused me, THANKS. Now that I have 100% confidence in my machine's capabilities, then it is up to me to match that with my abilities. The forbidden words are, "Fancy discrimination patterns". The key phrases are "MINIMALISTIC DISCRIMINATION" and "REPETITIVE AUDIO, REGARDLESS OF QUALITY". Those are the key elements for depth. 

I hunt in FERROUS AUDIO and 2 TONES - Why?? So that I don't become mesmerised by the siren call of a target that is reluctant to identify itself. Keep the whistles to a MINIMUM, and your mind will stay focused on the main chance. Just make that target say "YES" more often than "NO". At depth, things don't necessarily sound normal; so don't depend on the clarion call. 

It's the repeatability...even if the actual sound is imperfect...Is it trying to repeat itself? Yes? 'Neat' sound on pinpointing?.....Then go get it, man!....That's my philosophy......What's yours? 

I'm having a great time! Thanks MINELAB 

Matt R. - UK

I used it on a good Roman site, removing all discrimination from the 'Coin & Jewellery' mode (making it an 'All Metal' with conduct sounds), and found coin after coin that a friend's Explorer II couldn't hear.

GH - UK

From the outset I liked the look of this latest model. It was tested on a wide variety of soils and conditions and produced superb results on a quantity of non-ferrous objects. Quality was here too, in the form of the ancient Celtic coin being found. With its easy to use control panel format, this is definitely the latest Minelab detector to appeal to both new-starters and old hands alike.
It is vital for a detectorist to have confidence in his or her machine...in using the Safari such a confidence is quickly established and with continual use will be firmly built-on to achieve desired results. But don't take my word for it that this is indeed a superb detector...try one for yourself!
Whilst Field Testing the new Minelab "Safari" (which means travel) with a colleague, he found an ancient Celtic coin that had been transported to Britain from France and I located a button from the Great Eastern railway, rather ironic finds, from what proved to be a fantastic detector. 

JEH - UK

Last year and again this year, Stan V. won the Detectorist of the Year award from the Brisbane Detector Club. He is very methodical and passionate about his detecting, enjoying the hobby for over 15 years. Stan has located an old army hospital site from WW2, now part of a dairy farm, south of Brisbane. The hospital site covers 12-15 acres and Stan uses a spray of paint on the trees every 5-6 meters so he can keep track of where he has detected. 

The Sovereign has been a terrific machine for him finding literally thousands and thousands of coins, badges, rings and other artefacts. One of his most exciting finds has been two US Army dog tags. Stan has even been able to locate one of the owners and returned the dog tag to him 62 years later. 

It seems everyone prefers the "all metal" mode to get extra depth but I prefer to have some discrimination as I love the silence! My previous Fisher F75 eventually drove me crazy with all the sounds and constant chatter so I love the Safari for its quietness and already have more confidence in it than the F75. My preferred setting is based on the Coin & Jewellery mode, although with a few homemade changes, giving similar discrimination as the Relic mode because I like the coin/ring symbols. 

I must say I do LOVE this machine for several reasons, the performance is excellent, and it's so EASY to use! I have total faith in it and now enjoy my time detecting rather than fiddling and changing settings and then worrying about whether I've got it right or not. I also like the "C" and "F" symbols showing the audio responses when I change modes. 

Mr. Paul Williams – Exeter, Devon ENGLAND

One of my sites is a very good site but what I would also describe as my "nightmare site!" It's of Roman origins and has a mass of iron and pockets of mineralization so severe it is difficult to work and pull anything out of! 

Walking in, I stayed at the edge of the field for a while trying to get used to the new X-TERRA 505 detector. I soon found several small targets embedded in the layers and folds of the ploughed surface including a pigeon ring, some shotgun cartridges, a lead weight and yes...a few Roman grots. 

Having summoned up the courage I then headed for one of the worst spots. Lowering the coil to the ground I did a manual ground balance procedure, difficult mind you to get the machine to even out but I accomplished this by reducing the sensitivity down to about three quarters of the power and slowly began to work the area. 

Moments later I was rewarded with a 'clatter' sound, small and sharp and soon pin pointed where the sound was coming from and recovered a very nice Roman bronze coin. Soon a few more of the same targets came up and I began to get more confident about the abilities of the 505 to work in such terrible ground conditions. The iron was easier to distinguish than with my other motion machine as it rarely gave repeatable sounds and blanked a lot so I ignored those sounds and didn't dig much of it. 

After a while I stopped to take a break and examined the finds: I had a Denarii, 12 Roman bronzes, some more grots, part of a Roman fibula, a thin bent silver disc, a pewter button, a few pieces of lead and the others mentioned earlier. 

This was my best day on this site and I will be returning soon to give it another go. 

Dave Turner - Hants UK

This was my first detector. I had been looking for something to do ever since I was put on short time at work. 

I found everything about the X-TERRA 305 straight-up, easy to understand and uncomplicated to use. The Instruction Manual was almost too good and there are lots of diagrams. When the signals were solid and the meter display showed a consistent number I was rarely disappointed and the sound was usually a coin. 

Of course I did get fooled a bit on the first few days as I wasn't used to the sounds or the numbers. But I soon caught on and more and more outings turned profitable. I soon learned that the low blaat sound and when the screen showed a minus slash that the sound was coming from scrap iron. I also learned to dig very neat holes to recover the finds because the pin point button function was easy to use and when the circles were black it was right on top of the find. 

My best day was at a car boot-sale field: the coins were numerous and the 305 developed a love affair with "chubbies" (£ coins). Twenty-two pound coins, two two-pound coins, numerous 20 pence pieces and a nice silver ring went into my pocket that day. It was easy to spot the coins as the numbers they gave off were always the same and it was also easier to ignore all the rubbish that people had dropped. I am very happy with my 305 and am finding loads of spendable money. 

T. Hartley - Kent, UK

August 2009 I just recently bought a Minelab Sovereign GT and we have just had a week away at the beach and while the boys were fishing I was getting used to my new Sovereign GT. It was a quiet beach really not a lot of sunbathers mostly fishermen so I really didn't expect to find much but it was a good exercise in getting used to how it worked and my shyness at being out there and using it as I hadn't used one before.

To my surprise I started to find some coins $1, $2, 20c, and 2 & 1 cent all pretty green and sand coated and then I got a different sound and low and behold I had found someones mobile phone (didn't work of course) and then a key (guess they had to get another one), a piece of jewellery, a couple of drink cans and pieces of silver paper and foil lined drink cartons, fish hooks and sinkers these were fairly new so replaced the ones my husband was loosing. 

One afternoon I got this really loud beep and the further I went down the louder it got really thought I was on to something the fishermen stopped fishing to come and see what I had found and about 70cm down we scraped some rusting metal had to investigate it so scraped around it and it was a large sledge hammer head well I guess it just goes to show that whatever the noise is you should investigate anyway when you are just learning but I was amazed at how loud the beep was even though the hammer head was 70cm down in the sand. Next I am off to try it out in gold country watch this space.....

Nanthegran

I decided to go with the new Minelab Musketeer Advantage, having good success with the older style (Green) Musketeer in the past I knew it would be a great detector for hunting Civil War Relics. I had permission to hunt a Civil War Confederate Cavalry Camp about an hour away. I had hunted this site several times in the past with lots of different brand's of top of the line detector's. To be honest I did not have much hope of finding too much since that particular site had been detected pretty hard in the past. 

After arriving, within just a few minutes, I heard my first response and it sounded like a good target so I got out my digger. Since I had hunted this site several times in the past I knew how deep most of the relics were going to be, or so I thought, after retrieving a target which was about two inches deeper than anything that I had ever dug at this site before...it was like hunting the site for the first time...Oh yeah I forgot to mention the first target that I got with the Advantage was a CW pistol bullet... I've used it at several of my old detecting sites in the past 30 days from Dalton, GA to Atlanta, GA - I'm amazed each time that I use it. Thanks for a great detector. 

In the photo you will see a few items that my wife Leslie and I found (don't forget, family hobby) while out metal detecting in February of 2003. While out using our Minelab Musketeer Advantage (with a 10" coil), these items were all found at sites that we have hunted in the past. The round item in the center was found at a site where we have found Civil War Relics in the past, but I do not know what it is for sure yet. It's made of brass and it has some type of crystal or marble in the center of it (could be a rosette or hat pin). The item below it is a Civil War belt buckle keeper, there is a number in the top left hand corner that will match the number on the belt buckle (when we find it). This belt buckle keeper was found at an old home site. 

One item that I really like in the photo is the ladies silver wedding band which was also found at an old house site (being small and thin like this ladies sterling silver wedding band proves a great metal detector). This house site goes way back, I could tell by the metal that we were digging. They did not have electric and they did not have a car, this was a old site that we found with our Advantage. Also in the photo you will see flat buttons, Indian head pennies, Civil War bullets, pocket watch parts, knapsack parts, etc. All of these items were dug in the North GA area. 

Minelab User - GA, USA 

April 19th started out as a normal Sunday morning dig with my local detecting group. We were revisiting a field that we had detected on quite a number of occasions near Lichfield, Staffordshire and good targets were in short supply as many different types of detector had been over this land. I had been experimenting with some new settings on my Explorer SE Pro and so I was detecting very slowly and carefully trying to make sure I understood the different sounds from my new settings and didn’t miss anything. 

For a while I found nothing of great interest but then I picked up a faint signal that excited my curiosity. It was a bit iffy so I removed some earth to see if the signal improved, which indeed it did. Putting the spade in to a full blade depth I removed a clod of earth towards the bottom of which was a denarius of Carausius in a really nice condition. I knew that Carausius denarii were seldom found but I had no idea the amount of interest that this coin would create.

The Minelab Advantage detector I purchased from you on Tuesday was a huge hit with the family. We went to an old school site in Kapunda that has a reputation for being haunted and within six feet of the gate we found $1.15, some old brass belt buckles and other old relics. Very pleased with the purchase and thank you for your friendly service and knowledge. 

....We have continued to gain experience with the detector and over the past week we have found three very old brass thimbles, a 1924 penny , a 1922 shilling (really deep in the ground too) and three old dog tags. I have sent a photo of them. They are dated 1907, 1908 and 1927. It is unbelievable what and where these things turn up. 

Thank you again.

Minelab User

I've owned my X-TERRA 30 for the better part of 6 months now. In my neck of the woods I've found most of what is expected - modern clad, occasional early 1900's coins, a few rings, and LOTS of trash. But Thanksgiving Day here in 2008 was the day that changed all of that. I'm a casual metal detector user, and the X-TERRA 30 really fits me well (though I'm really aching to get my hands on a Safari), and to me, finding something out of the usual really gets the blood pumping. 

On Thanksgiving morning, I packed the X-TERRA 30 into the car, and off to my girlfriends parents house we went. Thankfully, they don't mind me digging in their yard. I had done it on only one other occasion, and happened to pull a WWII era US Army Air Corps enlisted lapel pin out of their front yard. But this time out, I had plans to dig much longer, at least an hours worth. 

This is my first metal detector, and after much research, I decided the Minelab was the detector I wanted. Because I had a limited budget, I bought the X-TERRA 30. 

This unit assembled easily, and was very simple to operate for a novice like me! The first time out I just tried it in my back yard, over a path I walked many times. No sooner had I turned the unit on, I walked two steps, and the detector gave a good strong signal. The pinpoint mode placed me right over it, and after pushing the dirt aside; a shiny dime was staring back at me! Not bad for just a minute's work. 

I highly recommend this entry-level detector to anyone just starting out. Now it's off to the beach!
 
JCRS - Florida, USA

My son works at a local golf course was using my metal detector to locate sprinkler heads. When one of the members lost a very valuable ring he asked my son to see if he could find it. The ring was a gift from business partners is valued at over $10,000. He lost it while cleaning snow from his car after the first major snowfall of the year. The ring was on the street and had been under snow packed by passing vehicles. My son picked up my new Minelab X-TERRA 30 and found the ring in less than five minutes, which resulted in a healthy bonus for him. 

Cliff P. - Saskatchewan, Canada

I have enjoyed the hobby of metal detecting since 1974. I suffered a spinal injury a few years ago, and have not been able to metal detect due to my physical impairment. When Minelab came out with the new Advantage, I read about the lightweight thin coils and hip mount capability and decided that these features may allow me to once again participate in the hobby I relished for so for many years. A hobby that I had only enjoyed in my dreams since the injury. My doctor encouraged me to give it a try as the physical exercise will benefit my cardiovascular, not to mention the psychological benefits of being outside in the fresh air. Like he said, I know my physical limitations. What I can do and what I can't. So, I decided to give it a try. 

Recently I had the opportunity to support a first for the island, and in particular the Carisbrooke Castle. The English Heritage archaeological dig is the first excavation within the Castle, and aims to gain knowledge of the Privy Garden history from Saxon, Norman and medieval periods. 

Carisbrooke Castle started as a Roman fortification, and extended through the Saxon period to the 11th and 12th centuries when it became a Norman Motte and Bailey Castle. 

The area around the 11th century chapel, which since about 1700 had shown to be gardens could reveal evidence of what was a high status cemetery since Saxon times through to medieval. 

I was asked if I could assist during the dig by scanning all the spoil heaps for any possible artefacts. Obviously discrimination wasn't really necessary as all metals were part of the information being gathered, providing a rare insight of the Castles development over the centuries. 

Having already decided that the X-TERRA 70 was the ideal detector to use for this project, it only remained for me to decide what coil would be suitable in the conditions likely to be encountered. Clearly with the many coil frequency options at my disposal detecting was a matter of versatility. You might think that my choice was likely to be a standard concentric for greater pinpointing, well no I decided to use the new 10.5'' inch DD round high frequency 18.75 kHz coil. 

I felt that the DD coil would give me greater coverage and better rejection of ground noise, especially as this ground was likely to be quite mineralised. Well what I did find, was that the ground was covered with many metal items. Worrying at first, but it was possible to reduce the sensitivity and at the same time reduce any possible confusion. I was able to separate and pick up every signal; the meter reading gave me all the valuations. 

My god how sensitive this coil is, it picked up every little metal item in the ground and soon the trays were getting filled up with a whole range of valuable archaeological information from many centuries - I finally just left the setting on pinpoint only and continued just searching every mound all day.
Judging by the exhausted looks on the faces of other searchers with their machines, and the fact that they gave up after just a couple of hours, suggested they were having a few problems dealing with the conditions. 

Many thanks for making this experience possible, my detecting in the field has been equally rewarding; so the X-TERRA 70 is always taken to rallies along side my Explorer not for relaxation but as an equal to my detecting day. 

Kind regards, 

John Williams

I had located a few sites near my home town where one-room school houses had stood in the early 1900's and had gotten permission to hunt several of the sites. One was now choked with newer pine trees and dense underbrush; however, after finding a 1926 Mercury dime on my second sweep, I knew the area had potential. The targets were deep - at least 7" or more - and the ground was mineralized clay common in this part of the Carolinas but the Quattro was doing quite well ferreting out coins and a few other trinkets. After a few hours I headed home with 34 wheat cents, 4 silver dimes and a few things such as Cracker Jack prizes and a well-worn watch fob. As usual for this area the wheats usually come out totally grungy so after checking for the infamous 1931S and 1909S VDB (of course they were noticeably absent), I proceeded to clean the rest of the stuff I'd found over the last week or so. 

When I was done I went through the coins to see if I had any filler dates for the few remaining holes in my Whitman folders (actually on my 3rd set of Lincoln cents). Well, one was a 1922 but there was no 1922 hole in the book... only a 1922D. Pulled my Whitman pricing guide and what I found was that there were no pennies minted in Philadelphia in 1922 - only in Denver. It appears that there were some minted where the "D" on the die was filled up with debris and the mint mark was not struck on the coins. 

The value according to PCGS... it ranged from $400 in Good condition to $25,000+ in MS condition! Considering it was circulated and the ground did take a toll on the surface, it will probably appraise in the $500 to $800 range which is tough to beat for a penny! 

The Quattro worked flawlessly at the site and had no problem detecting the coin at close to 9 inches. Not bad for a true "turn-on-and-go" detector! 

Andy Sabisch - USA

The ring shown above was found on November 4, 2004 using a Minelab Explorer with stock 10" coil. I had been hoping to find gold so I was making a point to dig all signals that hit in the nickel and pull tab range, knowing that gold rings often give similar signals. It was getting late and sunlight was fading when I got a perfect "pull tab" signal. I almost passed it up hoping to get a "good" signal before darkness set in. I took a step past then decided to stick with my original game plan to dig all pull-tab signals. I pinpointed the signal and quickly dug the target. I knew immediately that this was no pull-tab but because of the dirt and failing light I didn't know just how nice of a find I had until I got it home. 

21st December 2007

I was using my trusty Minelab Musketeer XS Pro. I had been out all day, not finding very much, and was feeling the cold night was drawing in. I was just about to make my way to the car to call it a day when I was sweeping the ground fairly quickly in the hope of one last try, then I had a signal and began to dig and uncovered what I thought to be some sort of cooking pot.

I continued to carefully dig away and revealed another metal vessel. I checked to see if anything else was in there and a further metal vessel was uncovered. At this stage I had dug down approximately 18”. My heart was racing; I truly didn’t know what I had discovered.

Unnnn-believable! Sighhhhh. I don't think I would have believed this story had I not dug it myself. I went to the latest field where there are numerous detectorists there everyday. After searching the lower grass area for a while and finding nothing of note I moved toward the far right corner where I had found my two good bullets the other day. I got a good signal on one of the banks leading towards the railroad track and found another nice confederate Gardner bullet about 6 inches down. 

I had no idea what I was about to find. I made my way up to the very corner of the field and saw a dug hole there. This was an almost perfectly cylindrical hole about 6 inches across and about 9 inches deep. Now, about half the time when I'm out there and I come across a hole, filled in or not, I run my coil over it to see if the previous digger missed something. I did this with this hole and got a very loud tone that sounded like a surface soda can. 

" Wow", I said. "What the heck is that and why didn't they dig it up?" I thought may be the digger had found some junk and left it in the bottom of the hole but I felt down to the bottom and felt undug, packed earth. I then stuck my probe in the hole to see if I could pin point where the object was. The sound was strong over the entire bottom of the hole. 

" What in the world?" Taking my shovel, I started to open up the perimeter of the backside of the hole to see if I could get a better approach to what was in there. Digging deep and behind the signal I started to bring up the shovel full of dirt when I saw something come up. I sat there stunned for a second trying to comprehend what I was looking at as I was looking at the backside. I plucked the item up and turned it over. 

What I was staring at was a Union (most likely officer's) sword belt plate. The plate is in great shape with just the backside hook being broken; probably the reason why it was discarded. Someone actually left this in the ground??? The only thing I can gather is that maybe the digger had started digging this hole when it was getting dark, they didn't have a flashlight, and they didn't have a probe.
But would anyone actually leave a signal that strong in a civil war relic field that was 10 inches in the ground? I guess so. And I thought finding the 1819 Large Cent around other holes in that field was amazing. All I could keep saying all the way home was "Unbelievable", and "Thank you God." 

Bearbqd - WV, USA

I have been metal detecting for almost 30 years and I have owned a Minelab detector for over two years. Six months ago I upgraded from an Explorer XS to the Explorer II and I am just writing to congratulate you on such a brilliant machine. I never cease to find more ways to configure and operate my machine to suit my particular needs. 

I live in an area where other detectors just simply will not work due to the ground effect but the Explorer II just tunes it out. I thought my XS was the best machine ever but upgrading to the Explorer II has prompted me to put pen to paper, (or should I say fingers to keyboard), and pat you on the back. It is hard to know what you can do to improve on this brilliant machine. 

Congratulations Minelab, a big pat on the back. 

Martin S. - Isle of Mull, Scotland

I was on day 11 of a 14-day detecting vacation in Colchester, England. I was with a group of 5 friends and already a 1500 BC Bronze Age Axe hoard was found, a hoard of 3 gold starters, 1 single axe head, and some nice hammered silver. I was afraid I was going to get skunked on finding something special. I was using the Explorer II at a field we'd be on three separate times.

My friend Shawn had a feeling about this field, and he was right. I was in a corner of the field with few targets being found when I got a signal and dug a plug. At first I thought it was a button until I picked it up and realized it was a gold coin. Of course no one was in earshot and I had to enjoy the moment by myself. This is the only picture I have of the coin (it's still in England awaiting an export license.) It's officially classified as a Gallo Belgic E Stater, C. 56BC class 2 of the type. 

Gary B. - Texas, USA

I found this silver watch fob at an old fair ground/race track. The signal was iffy, but came in mostly as a high "coin" tone on my Explorer II. I was disappointed when I dug up a large squashed rusty can. I thought, "This isn't what I heard". Sure enough, a few inches over was that sweet high tone. I recovered this beauty at about 8 inches. 

The Parlin & Orendorff Co. was in business from around 1850 to 1919 when International Harvester bought them out. The maker of the fob was F.H. Noble and Co (tiny writing on the back). They have an interesting history of making love tokens that caused some trouble. 

Rob B. - Michigan, USA

I was detecting in one of our locally hunted out parks when my Explorer II picked up a deep nickel-sounding target. The park had produced a number of century old coins over the years so my hopes were high that it was something good. After digging an 8" deep plug, I spotted a gold circle gleaming in the bottom of the hole. I picked it up and saw that it was a lady's gold signet ring engraved with the initials "MK". I judged from the style that it was probably made in the early 1900's. I imagine that "MK" has long sense passed away so it saddens me to know that I will never have the privilege of returning her ring. Perhaps, someday, I will solve the mystery of who she was. 

Dave H. - New York, USA

Minelab has certainly done their homework with the Sovereign Elite. Here at last we have a detector that not only looks good but also it's performance in the field has improved beyond my wildest expectations. The new Tornado coil has totally transformed the Sovereign Elite - it's sharp, fast and accurate pinpointing of targets was what pleased me most about this machine. On the most extremely mineralised and iron infested soil I have yet searched on I didn't dig one ferrous item from the ground. 

In addition to this, no longer do we experience control boxes falling off the stem or battery compartment covers coming adrift - the redesigned control box with its unique method of attachment to the stem that incorporates a battery system that locks into position, combined with the ability to totally ignore iron, make this detector a leader in its class. Equally at home on the beach or inland, the thought that Minelab have put into the detail of this transformed Sovereign more than compensate for the heavier than average weight and make it a "must have" for the dedicated detectorist. 

Minelab User

I recently purchased a new Minelab Sovereign Elite and am delighted to say I was taken completely by surprise! When it arrived I opened the box to reveal this highly streamlined metal detector and could not wait to try it out. After assembling the Elite and adjusting the settings, I went off to one of my usual haunts to try it out. Upon arrival at site, I turned the Elite on and took two steps into the field, only to receive a positive signal straight away. I dug down to retrieve the target and turned the sod over and checked through it for my prize, but it was still in the hole. I then dug down a further spades depth and to my surprise a beautiful silver hammered coin at over 9 inches! 

The Minelab Sovereign Elite is a lovely, lightweight and well-balanced machine, which makes it more comfortable in detecting for long periods of time. It is super deep and has excellent discrimination and quick target retrieval. This is the best Minelab Sovereign ever thanks to Minelab's new BBS Technology, this machine is a must for every detectorist! 

Thank you Minelab. 

Danny M. - Northern Ireland

I have used many kinds of detectors over the years. I used to think detectors featuring target ID were state-of-the-art. But after using a Minelab Sovereign Pro, I have realized I was wrong. This detector can be adjusted to flawlessly distinguish good targets from bad, even in heavily trashy areas. The key I found was to set the level of discrimination to the point where you get a broken audio response on screw caps and other objects you dig up which your preliminary settings fail to discriminate. 

Even at higher levels of discrimination, the Sovereign Pro could clearly detect pennies and dimes at 9 inches down, even when surrounded by trash objects. I had never experienced this level of accuracy in trashy areas with other, single-frequency detectors before. Pinpointing was also accurate, fast and easy whenever the target was "X"ed in all-metals mode. I averaged coin recovery at about one every 30 seconds in a park where trash had been such a problem that previously it had been hard to distinguish good targets from bad ones. It was almost like walking around and picking coins up off the ground! I was using the 10" (1000) coil during the test. With other detectors, I discovered that this size coil was usually too large to distinguish trash from treasure in heavily trashy areas.

With the 17 frequencies of the Sovereign Pro, I had no problem accurately detecting and pinpointing good targets among undesirable ones, quickly and easily. The Sovereign Pro has made coin-hunting an adventure again, because of the high rate of good target recovery and minimal level of frustration due to false signals. The ability to mount the control box underneath the rear of the handle balances the heavier 1000 coil, and the heavy-duty construction enables the Sovereign Pro to stand up to heavy use. 

Congratulations Minelab for a job well done! 

Fred P. - Colorado, USA

In August/September of 1814, several violent clashes occurred between US Infantry and Artillery Regiments and the British, Canadian and their allied Native warriors. The siege of the American-held Fort Erie lasted several miserable months until the night of 15 August when a 02:00 am attack was mounted by British forces. One flanking attack was directed at a sandy mound called Snake Hill where Towson's artillery commanded the field along the Lake Erie shore. The advancing forces were ordered to remove their flints from their muskets lest an accidental shot alert the pickets. They were decimated as they approached the redoubt. 

September 19th 2004, I got a sweet coin tone on my Explorer XS hard up against the low ferrous tone of an iron target. Down between some large rocks I dug a handful of dirt and out with it came a large rusty object. I began banging it against my shovel blade to remove the rust and crud from what I thought was an old door hinge but which looked oddly familiar. What a wonderful surprise as I recognized it for what it was! In my delight at finding this Musket 'hammer', I don't even think I pursued the coin tone...just might have to go back and see what it was. If that coin tone hadn't shone through the iron tone, I would never have recovered this artifact. Thank you Minelab for a quality product that never ceases to amaze. 

Thomas F. - New York, USA

This coin is a 1606 hammer struck Douzain from the reign of Henry IV (August 2 1589 - May 14 1610). The Douzains were collected by the French Government in the late 1600's, re-pressed as a new coin, counter-stamped with the Fleur De Lis and sent for circulation in Canada, Louisiana and other New World colonies. This find was made with an Explorer XS and in an area which was heavily hunted, but obviously worth the time it took to dig a handful of targets. It is my oldest coin find to date and I don't expect to see anything older without travel, but who knows. 1606 wasn't within reach until I found it. 

Chris C. - Canada

To all at Minelab, 

You guys are the best, I just bought the new Explorer SE and I love it, I am a big fan of Minelab detectors and always will be. The Explorer SE will join my other four Minelab detectors. Thanks for making the most advanced detectors out there. 

MINELAB ROCKS! Thanks. 

Johnny - NJ

Dear Minelab, 

In the last nine years what has really been new that hasn't come from Minelab? You are the only company that is offering us new products. 

The Explorer when it was launched was a new concept, innovative, exciting, sheer technological brilliance. A multi frequency detector offering greater depth and improved identification on small targets, and much more besides. 

Explorer has been my main detecting platform now for a number of years; and further more it has been reliable throughout all this time, being used over the whole spectrum of detecting conditions, especially on beaches where it has no equal. 

Some have said it was a bit on the heavy side, and others have stated that it had a slow recovery speed. Yes, it was a little heavy, but I've been used to heavier detectors in the past. For a detector of this calibre you don't let it worry you, because you get completely engrossed in your detecting and hitting the targets. But you are listening, clearly Minelab listened to the feed back and responded to those minor criticisms, and reacted, - reaction that has manifested itself in the lighter and added performance of the Explorer SE. 

Although the SE looks like its predecessor, there are a number of additional benefits that have greatly enhanced the way it operates, now transforming a good detector into an even greater one. The black styling although only aesthetic does give the SE a smart professional look, which really appealed to me. It didn't take long to try it out either, it did seem different; the feel and balance are great, this is obviously a result of the lighter coil, but not just that, the grip now thicker offers more reassuring handling, and swing capabilities, it's the comfort zone. 

I've never had difficulties in setting the Explorer up, but the changes made to the menu structure on the SE make access to key programming functions a lot quicker and more user friendly, especially for those people buying this great detector for the first time, you lucky lot, we didn't have anything like this when I started! 

I am so pleased with the changes to the audio tones and especially the pin point mode. If it was only those two functions that had been changed I would have been a happy man anyway - but to have the many other well considered improvements; correlation of iron mask settings with digital readout values, finer threshold stability in trashy environments, and a faster more powerful processor makes it a perfect winner for me. 

Well more about the audio tones and how they affected my detecting experience. My first outing on pasture with the SE prompted me to use Iron Mask as I usually do, with just a little iron discrimination. Sensitivity set to 24, manual, and Pitch Hold to start, with deep recovery. The idea of the audio pitch increasing on the threshold tone, similar to the target signal, and especially those not rejected, definitely helped to discern the unwanted targets when the threshold blanked. I don't think it would be suitable on a trashier site where the threshold would change constantly. But, there's something for everyone, I was very pleased with the way it worked. Other audio sounds, normal, long and smooth give you greater control than the old sounds. 

The new Pin Point function was fantastic and picked out every target with ease; this in unison with the depth information was one of the highlights of the new SE for me. What am I going to do with my rather expensive probe attachment - ah I forgot the detector is also lighter for not having it. 

Quality has always been the maxim for me in anything I've purchased; it's that reassuring point that somebody has put time and effort into achieving something good. Minelab has done that with their detectors, the clarity of their manuals, and Explorer SE definitely. Does it show that I think you've done it once again, for me this is a winner! 

I will keep you updated on the results of my detecting trips and successes, I'm sure there will be plenty of these in the coming months. 

Regards, 

John Williams

On October 22, 2006 I was relic hunting near Fredericksburg, Virginia. I had just dug three Confederate Gardner bullets and received another signal on my Explorer XS that sounded and IDed like another bullet. 

After dumpung my second shovelful of dirt I was surprised to see a small silver coin on top of the dirt pile. I thought I had just dug a piece of Spanish silver but when I picked up the coin I knew I was wrong.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I was holding a worn 1792 half disme! I knew I had found something special but it wasn't until I went home and did some research did I realize how special it was. The 1792 half disme was the first coin minted by the United States.

There were 1500 minted of which around 250 are known to exist today. It is reported that the silver used to mint this coin came from George Washington in the form of his silver serving set. Thomas Jefferson hand delivered the freshly minted half dismes to George Washington and he dispersed them to dignitaries and friends. Some found their way into circulation as is evident by the wear on mine and others. Estimated price on my find is US$10,000 . 

I am thrilled to have found this piece of our nations past. In October 2004 I dug a 1916 D mercury dime. I never dreamed I would ever top that find but I did. Thank you Minelab! 

Marc Sciance - USA

I have been metal detecting now for about five years. Got a cheap metal detector at first and found a 1783 penny in the first dig. This gave me the bug so I went out and got myself a Minelab and never looked back. 

What a metal detector! It's won me the "Find of the Month" in most months at my metal detecting club, which is the South Hams Metal Detecting Club here in England. The latest find is a very nice gold noble.

Hammy Barry - England

Most of these finds were found in supposedly worked out parks. There's still
a lot of treasure in the ground, at least for SE users! 

Thanks for a great machine. 

John - Plymouth, Michigan, USA

Hey guys and girls, my name is Luke. I'm 22 and have just started metal detecting for a hobby. Just thought I'd let you know I recently got a Minelab X-TERRA 30 and this little machine is awesome. 

In 2 weeks I've found: 
· An 18ct gold diamond ring;
· A 9ct gold ring;
· Old silver chain with clasp;
· Silver bar;
· 2 old medallions (one is a 1919 end of war peace medal);
· About 20 different pennies, half pennies and three pence’s aging from 1864 to 1961;
· About 10 dollars in various new coins;
· A 1974 dog tag;
· Old Pierre Cardin zippo lighter;
· Old brass cufflinks, old key and;
· Lots of 1 and 2 cent pieces. 

In the mean time while digging for stuff, I've come across old marbles aging from as old as the 1850's. I'm just amazed at what this machine has found! I recommend the X-TERRA 30 as a good starting point. After two weeks of owning mine I'm very impressed and just can't believe it. 

Take care! 

Lukey 9 - NSW, Australia

Hi to the folks at Minelab,

I'm a proud owner of a Minelab Quattro, and on a trip to the lake I found a 1955 Australian silver six pence. It is a long way from home and was down around five inches at the edge of the shoreline. The story it could tell...thank you so much. I LOVE my Quattro and if I ever get another metal detector it will be the X-TERRA 70.

To me, metal detecting is like Christmas, you just don't know what you will find. Happy hunting and thank you for making such a GREAT line of metal detectors. 

Mr. Steven King - Oregon U.S.A.

I had a great time with this machine. I was only going to buy a second-hand Excalibur in case my other one broke. But I ended buying a new Sovereign XS-2a Pro for $950AU. 

I was working in Tom Price when I bought this. Three nights at two to three hours a night after work got me $62 in $2 and $1 coins. A bit later I had 2 weeks R&R and drove up to my old Excalibur grounds between Port Headland. I had 13 days off with pay (you beauty!). 

Well within 12 days I had found enough gold coins to pay for the detector. Thirteen days of detecting with the XS-2a Pro got me over $1,000 in gold coins in the same areas which I'd already been over with the Excalibur. My best with this detector is $403 in six hours. Detecting a grassed area near a swimming pool I would have got more but my ears were ringing after six hours so I walked away. 

Paul H. - Australia

This to me is much the same as the XS2a Pro except it has a few extras. Sometimes I think I may be getting a tad more depth with the Sovereign Elite. I haven't used this as much as the XS-2a, which I traded in on the Elite but it's doing extremely well. 

I detected 2 different swimming pools for a total of $560 dollars. 3 race tracks for $223 and 2 spots on the same ground as the XS-2a Pro for $94. In Whim Creek I found $20 on the pub lawn and 9 pre-decimal coins from 1880 to 1920. 

I've stopped counting the coins now. I just love the hobby/ lifestyle. I know I can go travelling, fishing, detecting and it's not going to cost me a red cent. It doesn't get any better than that but then again who knows what riches you will find. There are bucket loads out there. 

The reason I was sceptical about giving up my experience was the concern of people who follow not doing the right thing. I do not dig holes on grassed areas. I use a screwdriver and prod for the coin. Once pin-pointed there's no need to dig holes and if you do, you'll stuff it up for me and everybody else. 

I could rabbit on for hours about the things I learnt about these machines the amount of coins still amazes me. There are bucket loads of them out there old and new. Research in local libraries led me to a lot of old coins and finding coins over 100 years old is the biggest buzz of detecting for me. 

Paul H. - Australia

It sure made my day finding this presidential campaign badge. I've never found anything like it before. It was 8-9 inches deep, and I found it on Aug 28th 2004 with an original Explorer XS. I also found 3 Indian head pennies that day, but I would rather find something like this over common date Indian head pennies anytime. My two hunting partners using Explorer II's found barber dimes and Indian head pennies that day also. We all agreed that my campaign badge was more than likely the rarest find that day. It's a piece of history that I might not ever see unless I dig it up thanks to my Explorer XS.
Phil S. - Illinois, USA

These photos show my 1st Hammered coin with the New Sovereign Elite. I first started detecting in the early 1970's and until the advent of the Minelab Explorer, I had used Whites Detectors for the last ten years. I felt that with the new technology "Multi Frequency" I would be able to revisit all those sites that had previously been worked to death, The Explorer sure lived up to its name, in the last two years I have never found as many hammered coins. 

Alas, the only problem I had, with old age catching me up fast, was the weight of the Explorer which was reintroducing my Tennis Elbow, previously gained by many years of sweeping those motion machines and being told that the faster you sweep the more the rewards shall be. I decided that I just had to change to a Hip Mount system, I did try an American Hip Mount conversion kit for the Explorer, but it turned out not to be ideal, you cannot beat a manufacturer's genuine Hipmount system. 

Whites kindly offered to convert one of the new DFX's for me, but the dual frequency along with the extremely difficult learning curve (Different Settings required for almost each site) just didn't match the raw processing power of the Explorer. 

And then a light suddenly appeared at the end of the tunnel, my copy of both the "Treasure Hunting" & "The Searcher" magazine came through the letterbox, and in true Minelab tradition, with no previous mention on their internet site was this advert for the "The New Sovereign Elite", and yes it had 17 Frequencies and more importantly it was either Chest or Hip Mountable.
 
The machine was supplied to me by Crawford Metal Detectors from Scunthorpe, who covered all the controls in no time, showing me the best way to maximise the system. Next having recently moved I needed to acquire some local land to detect upon and then my wonderful wife informed me of her long lost cousin, who just happened to be married to a local farmer..."No problem ", he said, go anywhere you like and so today 3rd December 2002, I arrived at one of his fields. 

Remembering the simplicity of the controls shown to me by Crawfords, I set the machine in Variable Tone / Auto Sensitivity / All Metal and started to detect, the very 1st signal that I received was the coin as illustrated, a Hammered Silver 3d of Elizabeth I. Over the next two hours I was amazed at the loudness of the signals received, even better than the Explorer, and with far less weight, many of the finds were coming from beyond 7" in depth and were just minute buttons. The machine really is in an Elite category all by itself, its ease of use in the field, with the ability to just flick a switch between "All Metal" & "Discriminate" Mode / "Fixed" & "Variable" Tone ID, plus the boon of either Hip or Chest Mounting must surely make this another winner for both Minelab and you. 

Finally I come from a Computer Background and therefore understand all this new jargon surrounding some of the new top of the range detector systems, In fact, many people having realised how complicated these systems are, have exploited us by writing books on how, by pressing this button, turning off this feature, upping this sensitivity, turning up the preamp gain etc., you will be able to go that extra centimetre or so. 

I feel that after 30 years detecting, that what most of us really don't want to do is learn to become a Computer Technician, or start tweaking all those setting to get the best from the machine. 

Now with the "New Minelab Elite", it's back to how it was in the old days with all the latest technology (17 Frequency BBS, Digital Ground Balance etc.) handled by the machine, leaving us the detectorists just the job of digging up all those targets.

Minelab User

I wrote to you earlier this year telling you about the success I have had with my new Musketeer Advantage. I found an 1888 Orleans mint Morgan silver dollar in an area that I had been hunting for nearly 30 years. I found it at a full 9 inches with the Advantage and 8-inch coil. Since then I have also purchased a new Sovereign Elite. It has been an equally impressive detector. I received the Elite on a Thursday afternoon. I spent the remainder of the day reading the operation manual and learning the fundamentals of the BBS operation. The following day I went to the site of an old house that was being torn down to make room for a parking lot. 

Upon arriving at the site, I found bulldozers still at work on the house, but saw the sidewalk had already been removed. I gained permission to search the area of the sidewalk and began detecting. I set the discriminate at foil and the notch to zero. I set the threshold and sensitivity to compensate for the ground conditions. After a couple of steps, I got a signal that turned out to be a pull-tab. I reset the notch to ignore the pull-tab and continued my search. Within a couple minutes I got another signal that read 550 on the meter. It was right in the middle of where the first section of sidewalk had been removed. At a depth of 3 inches, I uncovered an 1854 Seated Liberty dime. Although there was only 3 inches of dirt covering the dime, keep in mind that only a few hours earlier there had also been 4 inches of concrete on top of that. I continued to search the area and also found an early Mercury dime and 5 Indian cents ranging in date from 1875 to 1905. Not a bad way to start out with a new detector. 

I am looking forward to taking both the Advantage and the Elite to the areas I have searched in the past, knowing that none of my previous detectors had the discrimination capabilities or reached the depth of these two Minelab detectors. 

Thank you for continuing to build the best detectors available. 

Randy H - Iowa, USA

I went to the local beach not expecting to find much in the way of old coins but was I in for a surprise. I have been Gold Nugget detecting since 1980 and have found a fair amount of Gold over the years, most successfully with The Minelab SD2200 and GP-3000 series detectors. I have not done much coin shooting recently but I went to the local beach that is worked by other detector operators. I did not expect to get much but I was very happy that the Sovereign gave strong signals on these silver and copper coins. The other detector users that I have seen on the beach do not use Minelab detectors and I am convinced they walked over these finds.
 
Woody - Vic, Australia

Just before Christmas I was lucky enough to find a hoard of Celtic coins with my two detecting buddies Edward and Andrew Clarkson. The field of the discovery was mentioned in a book I had been using for research and even contained a map with an 'X' to mark the spot of a previous discovery. So after gaining permission we set off to the field with our Explorer SEs. 

On arriving at the field we sat trying to relate the old map to the modern landscape realising some of the hedgerows still existed today. We walked onto the field to where we thought the 'x' indicated the find spot of the earlier find and sure enough started to find gold coins within a few minutes. 

I was out detecting with my Minelab Explorer in the woods beside an old colonial road in NY. Nearby, I had come across two homes listed on a map from the colonial era and was pulling old state coppers and artifacts from the swampy ground near and old stream. I figured that the map showed three more structures 1/2 mile down the path, I might be able to pull up some more goodies. Well, there was plenty of trash along the way and as the path wandered back and forth between the stream and the road, I got a strong signal. Digging around 4" into the earth popped a pendant, pin back up. 

I thought it was going to be junk jewellery at first because of the trash concentration, however, upon further examination it appeared to have a 10k stamp next to the pin which was still intact. 10k I thought, not a bad start for the day. Then I turned it over, wiped some of the dirt away and saw an eagle below a class year of "69" with an "A" shaped background with the initials U.S.M.A. on it. United States Military Academy, that's West Point, I thought. West Point was about 20 miles north of this site. I had found a West Point Class A pin. 

After detecting the rest of the day, finding nothing more than chopped lead, I decided to see if I could locate its owner. I called West Point to see if the initials "HJ" could be traced to a cadet graduating in 1969. They thanked me for trying to locate its owner and informed me that the "HJ" was the manufacturer of the piece. But, they sent out a letter via email to all the class indicating that a pin was found and gave my contact email address for correspondence. I received several messages from that class, many thanking me for trying to locate its owner and only one saying that it might be his. After several communications, it turned out not to be his (lost his in VA) and the search continues. The 35th class re-union was this week and an announcement was made of the find. I still am hopeful of finding its owner. 

Robert G. - New York, USA

I had gotten a Minelab Explorer for Christmas and was just beginning to learn the machine when I took it out for a day of hunting. It was different from the Minelab Sovereign that I had for a couple of years. It was a rare and fairly warm winter day when a friend Mikey, and I decided to go detecting at one of our favourite spots to hunt. I had taken his advice about listening repeatedly to air tests of coins and that advice came in handy that day. I was out hunting along side of him when I got a rather large target and figured it was another crushed soda can, but the tone just sounded too good, so I decided to dig. 

Since I was still getting used to pin pointing with the Explorer, I was cutting a larger plug than usual, but it turned out to be worth it. When I lifted out the plug I saw a half of a silver bracelet and the other half was still in the hole. 

I live in Louisiana and like to hunt in New Orleans where the 1884 World's Fair was held. While hunting in the park is very tough, if you go slow you can find some pretty nice stuff. 

On the way to the park I told my dad I was going to dig any target that had an ID of a 1, 2, or 3 because of the recent information I learned from the forum about where gold coins ID'd. My dad and I started hunting around a nice old Live Oak that day in the back of the park and we found a few Indian Cents and even some civil war relics (Confederate soldiers camped there for a long time). The signals were few because over the past year we have been digging there a lot and have removed just about everything that read close to a coin. 

After about 10 or 15 pieces of aluminium and nothing to show for it, I heard a soft signal that showed about 5" deep and read a 3 on the digital meter. I cut a nice plug out and when I flipped the plug over I could see the first $1.00 coin. I pulled it out of the plug and ran to dad to show him. After all the excitement I walked back to the hole and checked it for anything else and what do you think I heard? Another signal! I reached in the hole and removed some dirt and there staring me in the face was another beautiful $1.00 gold coin. The dates were 1854 and 1855 and they were in great shape. This is proof that it is very hard to clean out an area unless you are digging everything. 

Tommy C. - Louisiana, USA

Early this month one of my detector buddies (KennyMac) called and said that he had talked to his old flight instructor who owns some land in York Co., Va, about 3 or 4 miles from Yorktown. He gave us permission to swing on it and also got permission for us from his neighbours. 

Behind the houses there is a very deep ravine. We swung on top of the hill first where KennyMac had found an eagle button and some minnie balls. He also found a 3-piece bullet. I had found a Mass. button and a few minnie balls there too. 

After a while, we climbed down into the ravine and started digging up old drink cans. They sure sound good and you just have to dig them. Then one of those signals was deep. When you're digging in a stream and the water is up past your elbow, you want to give up. That's a lot of trouble for a can, so I called KennyMac over since he has an X1 probe. I used it to locate the target and when I pulled it out it was upside down. 

KennyMac said "Ha! A soap dish." Which was exactly what it looked like at first. After filling in the hole it still was puzzling me, but I stuck it in my pouch and continued on. I kept thinking about it and had a hunch but didn't say anything till we got home. I got my book out and turned right to the page with the shoulder scales. I told KennyMac "Check this out!" Can you imagine the rush? After the high fives and congrats and picture taking he told me to post it on the forum. That was my first post on the forum. The rest of the scales (all but two) and bottom bar was recovered the next day. It sure made this month a great one and looks good in my display. 

Stan D. - Virginia, USA

I found this coin in an area that I have been passing up on hunting because of the trash and it's location close to an old metal shed. I finally decided to try it after hunting areas I have already hunted several times and this was the third thing I dug, so I called it a day. The next day the farmer planted the field so I can't hit it again for a while. I have found coins from the 1500's, 1600's, 1800's, 1900's and 2000's in this field, but no 1700's. Well now I have one! 

Calvin M. - Virginia USA

My buddy Tim has been generous in letting me and others metal detect at a lake/resort site that he got permission to hunt. One of the best finds that I've dug on the beach there is this 1928 high school class ring. So far it's the oldest class ring I've found by about 30 years or so! 

If anyone has an idea what high school this could come from I would really like to know. There is a chance the owner could still be alive and I would enjoy returning it (initials are inside the band). 

Neal W. - Indiana, USA

I got a chance to get out and do some detecting the Tuesday before Thanksgiving with a friend Neal. We went to an old fairgrounds we had hunting and doing fairly well at. We hunted most of the day finding 17 injuns, a seated dime a shield nickel, some buttons. One of the last things I dug that day was at first I thought was an injun, but after a closer look it had writing on it. Then I know it was my first CW storecard. After I got it home I cleaned it better and posted it. Not knowing were it was from was looking at towns all over Indiana. Then thought it was from Chicago. It was not until I post it for the contest that Mikey from Ohio sent me something on it, finding out that it was from New York City. That token sure did travel a long way in 1863 to get here. 

Thank you, Ron.

While beach hunting on May 13th, I was working the wet sand with little success. After turning around and moving a little closer to the blanket line, I noticed a volleyball court and decided on a little detour from the grid. Nickels started popping up, and I'm fairly sure that someone had hit most of this area with high discrimination, thereby leaving all the lower conductivity stuff. That turned out to be just fine with me :-) 

Having only done a pass or two on the court, a guy asked if I could help find a set of car keys. He wasn't sure they'd been left on the beach, but if they were, they'd be in a pretty confined area. After scouring a 10x10 spot, he was sure someone else in the group took them, thanked me, and bolted. I headed right back to my volleyball court grid, and just beyond the border of the waterside, I heard what I was pretty sure was a foil seal. But it turned out to be one of the lowest sounding rings I've ever found. When I saw the colour, I had high hopes for platinum...but the white gold I ended up with will have to suffice :-) I suspect it's an older setting, and the diamonds tested out nicely. 

Andy B. - Florida, USA

I was hunting a lot in an old part of town where a bulldozer had pushed some dirt around. The only old find that came from that dirt was this Civil War store card from a business in Kendallville, IN that goes by the name of W. and J. Bunyan. After I posted it on the Minelab forum I got a reply from D.B. in Maine telling me that he looked it up in his token guide and found that it has a rarity rating of R-7 which means there are only 20 or less of this particular one known to exist. I'm glad I decided to hunt that spot and also glad someone long ago planted it there for me to find and enjoy! 

Neal W. - Indiana, USA