I was following rabbit hole of youtube this evening and somehow stumbled across metal detecting videos. I think metal detecting would be something I'd enjoy, so I wanna ask you folks if you have any recommendations for beginner detectors. I'm looking for something that won't need to be upgraded too quick, but won't break the bank either. Any suggestions?

www.kellycodetectors.com . Good place to start reading . Something from Fisher, Garrett, or White's will serve you well .
Someone please make that link hot .

Agreed.. great place to start. I use a minelab.. but any of those mentioned would work great for you.

A few things.. don't get upset.. detecting is 95% digging old junk to find that 5% coin or better. Its about exercise.. fun.. and research. Google maps can be huge as you look for places to hunt...

Have fun!

I use a Tesoro.  It is a lot of fun but if you want to get anything good you'll have to dig a lot of junk too.  As long as that doesn't discourage you too bad you'll have fun.  Just don't set your expectations too high.  For every cool find posted on youtube there is hours of hunting involved.

That's the appealing part to me. I know there's a huge potential for profit and some really cool finds, but I also know that there's A TON of hunting to find those items, if you can even find them. I like the idea of the hunt, not knowing what's hiding under the ground.

Go to a metal detecting forum and read-lots. Friendly Metal Detecting is a great resource.

I have a Fisher F2 and for the money it does extremely well. I have the 4" and 10" head and pin pointer. Pin pointer is crap but works. The big coil works good to about 10+ inches the smaller coil is great for shooting coins and working small lots. I also have a Black and Decker digging tool that has a sheath. It is pretty sturdy and is serrated on one side so it helps cutting sod plugs. You will need a dig tool.

Fisher F2 Review
Same guy on Vaction

I have found a mason jar of change, and some old odds and ends brass spigot ect. The F2 gives visual as well as sound so it helps to identity junk. you can filter certain frequencies but some of the frequencies that show Fe and Al can be gold. Gold sits very near Fe and if it is deep you will miss it. Ive dug a few silver coins but nothing special like Mercury dimes or walking Liberty quarters. To find the goods you have to dig. 9xs out of 10 it will be can slaw, tabs, nails, ect. I tie two bags to my belt, one for trash and the other for finds. I do not waste a lot of time looking at my finds I'll come home and wash them.

One really needs to define what you want to look for and where. Some models perform well in wet areas, some don't work at all in the wet. Beaches with heavy Fe sand will require a certain type of detector. If you plan on hunting/ prospecting gold you will want a different type too. In metal detection the adage the more you spend the better quality tool definitely comes into play. Cheap detectors will find stuff but they will miss stuff as well. I have read where folks will cover an area and have a buddy with better machine sweep the same path and find coins.

Good luck and happy hunting!

Edit: What every you buy, hit up one of the Vendors from Friendly Metal Detecting. They will in every way give you the best deal you can find. I got mine from Bart @ Big Boy Hobbies I do not normally shill for people, but Bart is straight up. I paid for mine and 2 days later it was at my house. He beat every price I could find and when I called he answered the phone.

I have read very good things about the Whites Coinmaster GT.  Not to hijack the thread, but does anyone own one of them?

I work with our local sheriffs office in SAR and have used several different whites models on evidence searchs.  I find things but usually not things that are relevant to the mission.

I think it takes practice with what ever model you end up with.  You will not instantly be an expert and find that missing wedding band.

It will be fun but just stick with it.

I have a garret ace 350 like it a lot but plan to upgrade in the future

I have the 350 also and i like it a lot. American made also :)

I have a lot of fun with it. I find a good bit of regular ole pocket change and old glass bottles if the lids (or part of it) is still on it.

I dig a lot of junk metal also but that had a lot to do with where I detect (old home places)

Coolest thing I've dug is this pistol.. It was down 10+ inches and the garret picked it up no problem.

Thank you for the information.  Just curious how a Coinmaster 6000 D/I would stack up next to a new Coinmaster GT?  Would it go as deep and be as accurate.  I have both now but my D/I is broken, don't know how much it will cost to fix it and whether or not it is worth it?  This is the one you wear on your waist as well.

I'll echo what many have said about the hobby; you'll find about 85-90% junk, but the good stuff you'll find is really cool. I've been at it for a couple of years now and it makes a great outdoor hobby for the "in-between" hunting and fishing season of late winter/early spring. I've found some valuable buttons and coins among the piles of junk. I use a White's VX3 and it's a near top of the line model. You can buy cheaper, but you won't buy better. Basic metal detecting with this model is pretty straight forward and you'll do well right off the bat with the stock programs. Be forewarned though that to get the absolute most out of a top end model like this, you'll need to spend a ton of time reading the manual, making adjustments to programs and just out detecting getting to know how she reacts. I would compare a model like this to flying the space shuttle vs flying a biplane with a low end "starter" detector. Luckily, most of the top end detectors have an "auto pilot" turn on and go feature so you won't get overwhelmed.

Here are a couple of interesting things I've found. I won't post my best stuff, because some of it my end up on Ebay some day.

18th century Spanish silver Real:


U.S. large cent before and after cleaning;




ETA; the Eurotek metal detector is getting rave reviews for the price. I've never used or even handled one, but many say that it's easily the best detector in the starter model category. The Garret AT Pro is another good one in the mid range detectors. White's and Minelabs kind of rule the roost for the top end models.

I started a week or so ago with a Whites Coinmaster.

I already want to upgrade. My advice is buy once cry once and get a detector that can adjust for ground mineralization.

This weekend I found an 1852 large cent, 2 Colonial period flat buttons ( one Tombac ), one Civil war era button, and an unknown small flat button.

Digging something out of the ground in nice shape from the 1700 is interesting.

Thank you for the information guys.  I have been metal detecting for years with a White's 6000 D/I and just bought a Whites Coin Master GT.  I am wondering whether I should get the D/I fixed or just save my money for a more expensive detector?   Anyway, I have pulled my fair share of trash too and it does take a lot of practice, especially finding those deep artifacts with signals that could be either a nice coin or ring - or the most likely thing, trash.  It's a real drag digging up trash in 8 inches of dirt!  However, I understand that's the price you pay for finding good stuff.   Perhaps the new metal detectors are better at "telling" you the "truth" about what's down there?   It's a lot of fun either way.   Found a small gold ring the other day and that keeps me going.

I went out Monday to a beach in Melbourne.  I have a whites coin pro , its a entry level machine at best.  I found 45 cents and a sterling silver Mickey Mouse charm off a bracelet.  This detector is not good near wet sand because you have to drop the sensitivity way down.

But I can detect where people set up and hang out on the dry sand.  So far at the beach I found 1 sterling charm,sterling cross and a 14k white gold earring.

Last month I found over a pound of lead sinkers and probably 4 or 5 bucks in change.

I have tried to detect some of the older properties in Melbourne, but they are private property and the few owners I have asked aren't too open to letting a stranger dig on their property.

I'm curious about the prospecting detectors. I have 3 streams on my property and I am near an area in GA that was once a big gold mining town. Anybody use and recommend a good detector for gold prospecting? I see that they operate in a different frequency range and would probably be dedicated prospecting units.

White's DFX here.  Have had it for years.  Beach's are my favourite.

Ray