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TEKNETICS
DETECTING ACTIVITIES
Coinshooting is searching for coins, usually in places like parks, schoolyards, church lawns,
Coinshooting
and people's yards. In most places where coins are likely to be found, there is also a lot of
aluminum trash like pull-tabs and bottle caps, as well as steel bottle caps and often nails.
Sometimes there is jewelry present. You will usually search using discrimination to get rid of
the iron and the aluminum trash, even though this mode will cause you to miss some of the
jewelry.
Much coinshooting is done in lawn areas, where digging holes would cause damage to the
grass. We recommend use of an accessory hand-held pinpointer in such cases. Recovering
targets is usually done by first accurately pinpointing the target, then carefully cutting a slit in
the turf with a knife, and tamping it firmly when you are finished. In these situations, you
cannot recover deep targets for fear of damaging the turf, so you can cut down on nuisance
signals by reducing the sensitivity.
When searching on private property, first get the permission of the property owner. Most of
the public places where one is likely to do coinshooting are city, county, or school district
property. There is usually no ordinance prohibiting use of a metal detector as long as you are
not causing damage. Sometimes such ordinances do exist. Administrators and security
personnel often have the legal authority to prohibit any activity they do not like even if there is
no ordinance against it. If there is a metal detecting club in your area, someone will usually
know what areas can and cannot be searched.
Be prepared to always put your best foot forward when using a metal detector in a public
place. Pick up any trash you recover; put it in a pouch or pocketed apron. This way you can
explain that you are performing a public service by helping keep the place free of trash,
especially pieces of metal or glass that could endanger a child at play. Be proficient at
recovering targets without causing damage to the lawn. Explain that whenever you find
jewelry which has personal identification marks, such as a class ring, you make an attempt to
determine the owner and to return it. When someone who questions what you are doing
understands that you are causing no damage and are actually performing a public service, you
will usually be welcome.
Relic Hunting
Relic hunting is searching for historical artifacts. The most common desired objects are
battlefield debris, coins, jewelry, harness hardware, metal buttons, trade tokens, metal toys,
household items, and tools used by workmen and trades people. The most common
unwanted metal is iron (nails, fence wire, rusted cans, etc.), but some iron and steel objects
such as weapons may be valuable. If you are at a site where you may encounter unexploded
ordinance, use caution.
Most relic hunting locations are in fields, forested areas and vacant lots where digging holes
will not damage turf grass, so having a detector with good depth sensitivity is important. Some
places are so littered with iron that it is necessary to discriminate out iron in order to be able to
search, even though you may miss some potentially valuable artifacts.
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Comprehensive Operating Manual & Guide to Metal Detecting
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