Detector that will only see gold and silver?

[ptiworld]

Hi,

I'm fairly new to hobby detectors... I'm looking for a metal detector that is capable of ONLY detecting gold and silver. I heard many are good at discrimination but how good are they? I want a metal detector that won't alert on coins or junk metal.... just gold and silver. What metal detector would you recommend?

Thanks in advance!

[z118]

The short answer is that there is no such machine, and if anyone tells you otherwise, they are lying or ill informed.

Detectors can be very good at consistently identifying items of the same composition and shape, but not by type of metal alone. Since gold and silver items are not a consistent size, shape, or purity, there is no way for a machine to consistently distinguish them from any other metal.

Good luck!

[ptiworld]

Oh really? so if a had a gold coin and a copper coin the exact same size I couldn't tell the difference between these every time:huh:thinkingabout:

Seems like since gold and silver and copper are all so different we could discriminate these with a metal detector no?

I'm obviously new so thanks for your help and responses.

[z118]

Yes, a detector will give different signals on items of the same size but different metals... so a gold coin will ring up differently than a copper coin of the same size.

However, that only works on items of the same size. There is no doubt a piece of aluminum can of a different size that will also ring up exactly like the gold coin.

The signals are based on size and composition. So two items, different metals, same size = distinct signals. Two items, same metal, different size = distinct signals. Because of this there is no way to set a machine to only ring up gold or silver. Does that make sense?

[ptiworld]

Ok, I think I see what you are saying. I thought this was only the case with Pulse Induction metal detectors no? I heard some metal detectors use Induction Balance that will allow this? Such as the Garrett AT Gold?
http://www.garrett.com/hobbysite/hbby_at_gold_main_international.aspx

Guess not though? Hmmm..... that is too bad! I was really hoping for something with this capability :crying02:

[ssserena]

Good question.The truth of the matter is they can but they wont.If you can send a man to the moon you surely can make a machine that goes onto a certain metal,I dont beleive it for a second that they cant!But they refuse to do this for one certain reason MONEY!THE AMOUNT OF MONEY IT WOULD COST TO MAKE A MACHINE TO ONLY HONE IN ON THESE ONLY 2 PRECIOUS METALS WOULD BE MINDBOGGLING EXPENSIVE!Anything can be done but to have the drive to do it thats the key!It would take alot of gold rings to pay off a $100,000 metal detector.I really like your post bye the way!Maybe some day the prices will come down.

[Stormrider51]

Okay, this is interesting. ALL metal detectors detect metal. That is their function. They pass an electro-magnetic field across a buried object and register the changes in the field caused by the conductivity of the object. Since the beginning of the detecting hobby there has been a drive to make detectors that are able to detect only good targets. The manufacturers called it discrimination. While there have been improvements, it has been mostly hype. There's a reason for this. Most modern detectors use known values as a baseline. So a zinc penny will affect the field created by the coil in a predictable way as will a nickle, dime, quarter, and so on. Now we come to the problem. A wad of aluminum foil can give an infinite number of reading values depending on the size of the foil, how deeply it is buried, and even how tightly it is wadded. It can look' like anything. So one piece can be totally ignored by the detector while another piece can register as a coin or gold ring. The same goes for pull tabs. Depending on the design of the tab and how it is laying in the ground, it can register a conductive value that is in the nickle-to-gold ring range. The detectorist has choices. We can dig only targets we are fairly sure of. We can dig iffy targets and come up with more good stuff while also increasing the amount of trash we haul home. Or we can use the old detectorist rule of if it beeps, dig it and know we didn't miss anything worth having while needing a scrap metal bin at home. But a detector that finds only gold and silver? Good luck with that. It's far outside the bounds of modern technology.

Storm