Hello,

I wanted to send White's a note to let you know just how awesome the DFX really is!

My husband and I purchased our first detector, the DFX this past fall. We were eager to begin exploring the property of our 1826 farm before winter. We are currently trying to research the home and its history, so metal detecting the site is a natural extension of that curiosity!

Of course being impatient and over eager, we wanted to get to playing with the DFX before we really understood how to use it. After throwing a few coins on the ground and some skimming of the manual; we were off!

After a few hours of totally novice hunting, we found mostly tinfoil, a few newer coins and some old iron objects that would only be of interest to ourselves. We dug just about every hit we got, figuring it was a learning experience. After about 2 hours of hunting, we got a deep signal near our old dug well. We stood there for a second and debated about digging it up - as the DFX said it was 9 inches down and we hadn't yet mastered the fine art of a neat plug! We doubted the reading and wondered about user error, but curiosity overtook us.

After 10 inches or so, we hit a tree root. We doubted if was really anything...or if we were using the DFX correctly. It was clearly the deepest hit we had tried to dig up. But skimming the DFX over the open hole, we then got a stronger signal. The DFX said something is down there, so we were determined to find out what it was. After an inch or two deeper and a few more minutes of poking around a dinner plate size hole, my husband said "I see it!"

He pulled out from under that tree root what appears to be an early brass/copper compact mirror. After carefully opening it up, we found a broken mirror and its frame. We were thrilled with the item and amazed at how deep the hole was...12 inches! We brought our find into the house and started cleaning it up when we saw the faintest markings of initials - which appear to be a fancy cursive "JHB". Based on our house research, we can attribute it to one of the earliest owners of this house. To hold in our hands an item owned by someone 100 years ago is truly amazing. What is even more amazing is that two complete novices found it on their first day - a foot deep.

This find might not be worth much money, but to have such a personal item from someone who lived in this house is very meaningful to us. It is truly a treasured item from our home's past!

The DFX is an amazing metal detector - even in the hands of a novice. I can't wait to see what treasures we will unearth once we actually master it!

Kelly and Jim E,
NH

I had been detecting the area of an old stage stop that was in service from the late 1700's until the mid 1850's.The structures have long since rotted away, leaving only a pile of moss covered foundation stones. Old pottery shards were visible everywhere.

Using the White's DFX with the Eclipse Deepscan DD 1400, I was finding flat buttons and horse tack by the handful. I recovered over 50 flat buttons, several Colonial shoe buckles and belt buckles. Finally I received a good response and dug a Colonial 1838 large cent. It looked pretty cruddy when I first dug it but after a good scrubbing it cleaned up very nicely.

 

The next day I returned to the site and found a 1820 capped bust dime 6 inches deep. It was in very good shape and cleaned up well. What a thrill to find old coins at a place where travelers once stopped and rested from long stage rides, stretched their legs and dropped coins for me to find.

Vernon C.
VA

I am the local dealer in the Tacoma, WA Area. My first find with the Super 12 loop was a 58 Calibre Mini-Ball found in the area of Fort Steilacoom, located near Steilacoom, Washington. I have found these Bullets before. Several years ago I was allowed to hunt on the original location of the Fort. Four buildings of the original Fort are still there and being maintained for historical reasons. Other items I have found there were an 1848 Large Cent, 1856 Seated Liberty Quarter, many Indian Pennies and various Jewelry items. At the present time we are not allowed to hunt there as the area is now a National Historical Site.

Thank you,
Larry

 

Cape Cod Sparkler

I spend most of my time now in the quaint locality of Cape Cod, MA. As I write this article the seasonal harvest of the cranberry crop is taking place right behind my cottage. The normally desolate bog is interrupted with a temporary burst of human activity, as water is flooded in to float the fruit to the surface. It is fun to watch just a little as the berries are herded by hand towards a waiting conveyor and truck.

Cranberries are a colorful necessity for our tables at this time of year. I don't languish though when I stop for a minute to snap an opportune picture. I try not to let the beauty of my area distract me from my mission for you see I am a totally dedicated treasure hunter. My true passion is gold nugget hunting. Unfortunately I live on the wrong darn coast to indulge my passion as often as I would like! This is a pretty little chunk of gold I found in Ganes Creek, Alaska this June with 3 other like nuggets while treasure hunting with my mentor Gerry McMullen of Boise, ID. For me, this is living large! I am retired now. The freedom to live this treasure hunter's life is what I worked 35 years in the grueling Information Technology profession to achieve.

Sadly, I am located so far east of gold country that my cottage is in fact 25 miles out in the ocean on the sand spit named appropriately Cape Cod. This is very frustrating for a nugget shooter indeed. I try to keep myself sharp for my biannual trips to gold country by beach detecting. It's just not the same! I try to hit a different beach each dawn. My only company is gulls and an occasional beachcomber. We pass with maybe a quick head nod. It is downright gorgeous here. There must be hundreds of beaches within 25 miles of my cottage. It's not the same for you see Gold Fever has truly taken over. Just ask my normally patient and supportive wife, Donna. Her patience does sometimes wane a bit and she exclaims in frustration with me, "You're Obsessed"! From my point of view, when there are no gold nuggets to be had, any other endeavor is just biding time until I can arrange a trip westward.

Up until now I have only found mostly pocket change each time I hit the beach. I try very hard. I use my White's MXT 90% of the time and love it. I also own Minelab GP Extreme and a Fisher Gold Bug 2 for my trips out west. I have even taken several detecting classes from buddy Gerry who runs Gerry's Metal Detectors. Gerry has me finding gold now but I often call him up often for extra coaching. He too is patient with me. Gerry says the same thing over and over, "Get into the water, turn your discrimination almost off, gold rings will usually ID around nickels/pulltabs range and use your MXT in Relic Mode". I know most valuable beach finds come from the water and I have tried over and over again to master the salt interference but I always wind up detecting the fluffy sand. I try my luck mostly at low tide figuring that just a couple of hours ago this still moist land WAS actually pretty far out in the water. Two years of pocket change! Nothing seemed to work. Most importantly Gerry always said, "Stick with it, Dan...someday it will be your turn"

Gerry was right. My time had come! A second bountiful harvest occurred on November 1st on Cape Cod. More than cranberries were being harvested that day. I believe this harvest originally came from the ocean. With detector in hand, I stumbled onto Barlow's Landing near Falmouth on Buzzard's Bay. It is a tiny little speck of a beach and was very peaceful now during to off- season. It is only about 100 feet in its entirety. I had not ever detected it before. I did not know it even existed! It was simply on my researched hunt route as I was hitting all six little beaches along the way. The previous week I got a little extra help from Mother Nature. Ninety mph winds whipped up into a North Easter while churning up the bay's floor and most surely tossed up this beauty. I named it my Cape Cod Sparkler.

According to the Certified Appraisal, the ring's diamonds weighed in at 1.74 total carats and its brilliant 1.30 center diamond has SI1 clarity. It has a color rating of HI. An astonishing retail value was established at over $8,800. It has a 2-tone 14k gold setting with smaller diamond baguettes on each side. I found it in the moist sand after all with my White's MXT and stock 9 1/2" loop. It was just an inch down. I am sure that before the storm this brilliant stone was out cozying up to some clam out in the bay. It had been there for some time since there were minor signs of sand abrasion to the setting. When my Cape Cod Sparkler exploded in brilliance from its hiding place in the sand, I leaped for joy in absolute jubilation and did a poor rendition of an Irish Jig. The gulls could care less. I had found the Holy Grail of beach detecting! The 1 1/4 carat diamond ring is very fulfilling. The find gives me instant vindication against all the naysayers. You know the type well. They're the ones who proclaim your nuggets as, "Fools' Gold". They're the ones who "Don't believe" in our quest.

Dan

"NEVER LIMIT YOUR EXPECTATIONS"

 

Before going on a recent trip to the Caribbean, I purchased a White's Beachhunter I.D. to use on the Beaches and in the surf. I had purchased White's detectors previously in 1993 and they had accompanied me on 2 previous trips to the Caribbean Islands where I had found many coins and some cheap jewelry items. But this time I wanted to get into the surf. What luck, on my first morning beach hunt with the Beachhunter I.D. I found about 40 coins and one piece of jewelry. It was a 2+ inch 16 ct white gold cross pendent containing 21.6 cts of demantoid garnets that has since been appraised at $22,896.00. Probably my "Find Of A Lifetime!" I have worn it on special occasions. All I can say is, WOW, you never know what the next "BEEP" is going to be. Thanks to Whites for 14 years of exploring and many finds along the way, but this big find was far beyond my wildest expectations.

 

Jerry K.