Metals and magnetic minerals (iron ore or black sand) are detectable with metal detectors. Metal objects are those that will conduct electricity, e.g; gold, silver, copper, brass, lead, artifacts, coins, rings, watches, jewelry, war relics, treasure caches, post hole banks and countless others. One of the most frequently question asked to us by a customer is; how deep a metal detector can detect an object? This question is asked because various detector manufacturers and dealers advertise false an misleading information in order to sell their detectors. Depth detection of a metal detector depends an several factors.

Why Should I Buy A Metal Detector?

One of the more enjoyable and profitable family hobbies is treasure hunting with a modern metal detector. Many find this to be a financially rewarding hobby as well. Treasures of all kinds are being found: gold and silver coins, war relics, jewelry, gold nuggets, and even old rare bottles from trash dumps from old towns or home places. With a little research you can find the old treasure stories in your area... the old timer who buried his gold and silver coins or an outlaws hidden stash from the past. It takes research and a metal detector to help you pinpoint the find.

The really big finds are not just being found by professionals. Thousands of treasure hunters have found that coin shooting can be very profitable. It's not just the finding of old coins and lost jewelry, it's the outside fresh air and the exercise that is good for the body. If you use your detector seriously, it could easily pay itself many times over with the old coins and artifacts that you can find. Many people think that treasure hunting requires you to dig big holes to recover lost coins and jewelry. It doesn't work that way because the lost objects are not always that deep, but there are times when you know it's time to dig deep

It's more of the decomposing leaves, sticks, and grass that make up the top soil. It takes a long, long time for items to actually sink into the ground. A perfect example of this is hunters finding large objects and coins at only a few inches deep. We consider a deep coin at about 6 - 8 inches. If the ground has not been disturbed, (top soil is there) you still get a once in a while deep detector reading which will require you to dig deeper. With modern metal detectors that's not a problem. They have the depth capabilities for any old deep coin. Promote the hobby and donate ancient and historical finds to your local museums and societies.

Other sites on the internet have covered this topic in great detail, so much so that the explanations seems to be more on the science of transceiver devices, transmissions, as well as electro-magnetic fields, eddy currents, electromagnetic field distortion, and so on and so on and so on. All very scientific and boring to read and in many cases difficult to understand....Not so the following simple explanation...

You don't need to understand all the science of how a metal detector finds various metals. You can find coins, rings, jewelry, gold, relics, artifacts, small buried caches and even deep treasures without knowing scientifically how a metal detector works. Look at this simple illustration...,

Illustration '1' shows a typical metal detector user. He has followed the instructions supplied by the manufacturer and has his metal detector turned on. After testing his detector on some surface targets (coins) to make sure it is working, he now starts searching for buried coins and treasures.

Notice the "red" signal pattern being transmitted from the search coil into the ground. (Note: we have enlarged the illustration of the signal pattern for easier understanding). As long as the signal entering the ground does NOT come in contact with metal, there will be no audio signal, no flashing light, no vibration, nothing will happen.

Illustration '2' shows what happens when the detector user's metal detector search pattern comes in contact with metal objects , in this case both shallow and deep coins. When the search pattern touches metal it interrupts the transmitted signal and this interruption or disturbance of the search pattern will cause the metal detector to alert the detector user (you) with an audio signal, usually a distinct loud sound. In some cases flashing or blinking lights will accompany the audio signal.

Simple isn't it?