Following on from my blog about settings and techniques for using the Minelab Excalibur II on SCUBA, I’d like to share one of the great dives I have enjoyed chasing treasure underwater.
With another hot summers day forecast I decided to pack up the family, dive gear, and of course my trusty Excalibur II, for a trip to a swimming area that has been in use for close to a century. I had detected in the shallows of this site previously and recovered a good selection of modern and old coins, so I was looking forward to getting into the deeper water where people dive in and swim.
Once I was kitted up, I walked out into the water, getting a few odd looks from other people as to the device I held in my hands! Once underwater I started making my way toward the jetty where people enter and exit the water via a ladder. Before I could even reach my intended search area I was already getting signals and digging targets, first were some modern coins, then a few old pennies, a good start I thought to myself.
On reaching the area I was after, I started searching low and slow. It was less then a minute before the first coin was in the bag, then some deeper targets had my fanning away the sediment to a depth of about 10 – 15 centimeters, these were an old penny and a gray encrusted coin the size of a florin.
The amazing thing was that as I dug deeper, the more signals I was getting. I then decided to approach this more systematically. I detected an area of roughly a meter square and cleared all surface targets, then I excavated a trench about a meter long by half a meter wide and 10 centimeters deep, and there were more signals down there. Coins, fishing weights and then my first ring! Grey in colour, and with a nice high tone from the Excalibur II, said silver!
I kept going and by now my excavation was about 30 centimeters deep and still I was fanning away recovering targets, modern coins, old pennies and some more gray crusty coins that I was hoping were silvers. Then a second ring, this one green and crusty, copper or brass I decided and kept on searching. A few more coins were forthcoming and then a quick check of my air gauge told me I needed to start heading back to shore.
Once home, and with dive gear and Excalibur II rinsed off with fresh water, it was time to have a closer look at the dives finds. Besides the modern coins and the odd fishing weight, I had six pennies and a half penny, two florins, a sixpence and the silver ring. On closer examination the green coloured ring had engraving inside, so I placed it in an electrolysis bath, on doing this the green corrosion fell away revealing a lovely 9ct gold ring dated 1961!
If you get the opportunity to try diving with the Excalibur II, take it, you won’t be disappointed!
You can see more about my detecting adventures on my YouTube channel “Westcoast Mark”http://www.youtube.com/user/Thedeepbluediver and my own bloghttp://westcoastmark.wordpress.com/
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