What would you say is the most accurate detector you have tried on coins?

I have tried a lot of different detectors and to me ( for my area) it has been the Etrac / 3030 and the CZ3D. They seem to give the most accurate readings in my ground on coins. Most detectors can ID the shallow stuff but once you start getting past 6-7 inches thats where a lot of them start having problems. Especially in the nickel zone. Would like to hear what others have had success with.

Etrac so far

I will chime back in after I try out the 3030 this summer!

Coins.......CTX3030

Bill, I think the E-trac would be my #1. The CTX3030 varies a little according to the separation mode that's being used. By the way I just sold my CTX3030 and I'm looking for a CZ3D.

Joe. I agree, I think the Etrac is a little better. In some modes on the CTX the ID does not seem as accurate. Good luck in your search for a CZ.

I have found the CTX 3030 to be more accurate at fringe depths than the E-trac. I dug a lot of coins with the E-Trac with ferrous numbers of 1 but the ctx does not fade/drop as much at the 9" plus coins. When I get a 1-30-34 on the ctx it is junk unlike the many dozens of deep indians that hit there on the E-Trac . Same on ultra deep silver, the ctx does not fade on the ferrous numbers as much. They both will drop a few digits on the conductive side on fringe depth targets and on coins on edge .

It would be tough to beat the Minelab Explorers and their offspring for id-ing 6 inch plus deep coins. Of course, like DanPa says... the man behind the wheel has a lot to do with it....

CZ 3D, CTX and LTD SE

I haven't used many detectors with a meter especially high end ones but I do remember the old White's Eagle II SL (black box model) that I had was pretty accurate.

Yes, the old Whites Di Pro was probably the best for id on coins EVER, for me. But man the ergonomics were terrible on that machine!

sovereign

I had the Whites Eagle SL II also and it was very accurate. I have the CZ3D now, but have not tried an E Trac. Would like to try one sometime.....

#1 Etrac-----#2 CTX

Whites 5900...

whites pro xl...

Both very accurate for the first 6 inches...

deeper depth accurate i.d. required get a ctx...

Keith

To me the most accurate is the one that gives a faint but clear smooth unbroken sound, regardless of what the meter reading says. Faint tells me it is deep...clear smooth tells me it is a conductive target and not iron. My whites coinmaster does this the best. I pull out musket balls down 8 to 10 inches with this machine all the time with disc set at 51/2 and 8" coil.

Hi,,,A metal detectors ability to accurately id a target can only be as good as the operator interpreting what the machine is actually telling you....This holds true for metered or non metered metal detectors if they are properly set up.....Every machine I have ever ran in the past has lied right to me....I always hunt by sound and rarely look at the meter if the machine I'm running at the time has one....Overall my 3D tuned by Tom gives me a fairly reliable proper indication of a probable target......JJ

Whites have the most accurate meters on the planet. Can't understand some of the posters with CZ's and Minelabs as all they give is is a ballpark and not a specific number whereas for instance Whites give you an accurate ID number seperating various coins. Just read the original post again and yep it asks for accurate not ballpark with no particular depth mentioned.

Not sure what Minelabs give a ballpark ID/number because the Explorers through CTX give very precise ID number for each type of coin if you remove the depth issue . Then ad extreme depth and they are still as accurate as any and better than most .

I see what Dan is saying. Minelab does not match a specific number to a specific target like some of the other companies do. But if you know a quarter hits at a 46-47 it will still hit at a 46-47 almost all the way until it cant pick up the target anymore (in my area anyways). With some other detectors the target ID will start jumping all over the place the deeper the target gets and become useless anyway. The CZ does give target info but as you know most targets from zinc and above will register in the coins area in the enhanced mode. But again the CZ is accurate even at depth.

I know its old tech now,but a sovereign with sunray meter is as accurate as you can get. match the awesome tones and size/depth of target with numbers on meter,snd I doubt ANYTHING is more accurate. Silver dimes/Quarters and most wheats=180
Indians 177, buffaloes 138 etc. Put it this way,I was hunting a beat to death park with a buddy one day,and decided to target buffaloes...and ended up with 6.

I have found my F70 and F75ltd to be exact in target id and VDI numbers at all depth! Just saying......

The Sovereign with a 180 meter.

The Sovereign only has one flaw and that is recovery speed. If it was fast I would only have one detector.


The 3030 and E Trac are very good.

The ability to ID coins is a must have feature if you are going to hunt yards that ware well taken care of.

I agree with Deathray and Goodmore. The Sovereign with a meter is the most accurate detector for coin hunting at depth you will probably ever see produced. But you have to be retired to hunt it

First you find the faint signal, then you do the sovereign wiggle over it to charge it up, then when the tone pitch quits changing you take a look at the meter. You know when you got the wiggle down good and are getting a good charge on the target because you will hear a continuous tone over the target instead of a beep. Great machine. But so slowwwww to hunt with.

HH
Mike

Mike --

That imagery/wording you used, about doing a "wiggle" to "charge up" the target, is fascinating. I've noticed exactly what you are talking about, using other machines (especially my Explorer) -- but would probably not have been able to put it into conscious thoughts/words like you did. Reading your words, a light-bulb went off, for me. That's EXACTLY how it seems -- that you are "charging up" the target, using little wiggles, and the target slowly "improves" with respect to the information your detector is able to display about the target. Thinking about eddy currents and such (what little knowledge I have about such concepts), I think it makes sense that this is, at least possibly, exactly what is happening -- i.e. hitting the target with persistent transmitted radiation, allows for "better" induction of current in the target -- and thus, over the period of a couple of seconds' time, a more "stable" or "consistent" reading of the target by the unit. Wow, great stuff Mike.

I know when I was learning to use my Explorer, that the BIGGEST breakthrough I had was when a friend and long-time user described clearly to me how to slowly circle a target, while using the "Minelab wiggle" over the top of target, to help decide if it was a "good" one, or not. This was a quantum leap forward, for me, in terms of learning to get the most out of the Explorer. It was after that, that I learned to "work" those little subtle "chirps;" it wasn't long before I learned that if I can "coax" one of those chirps into being a semi-consistent, good-sounding, faint tone, that these are the targets to get excited about...

THANKS, Mike, for putting this into words in a clear way...

Steve