5/7/10 When jewelry hunting I have tried to dig quality signals in the zinc cent range and in the upper pulltab range as well. Zinc cents generally fall in the 50 to 60 range. The upper pulltab range is, to my way of thinking, from 30 to 50, although I think the highest pulltab I have found was about a 44. Zinc cents that have medium to high corrosion have a lowered VDI and show up in the upper pulltab range, usually in the 40's and sometimes in the 30's. They can produce a high quality signal. I wanted to see if the V3 could distinguish between large gold rings and zinc cents to save myself some frustration and time. I tested three gold rings and three zinc cents that all have the same approximate VDI. I have only included pics of the Analyze and Probe screens since the Search and Pinpoint modes offered no distinguishing characteristics. The tests were done using the stock Coin and Jewelry program with the Eclipse 5.3 (6x6) concentric coil. Targets & Analyze and Probe Screens

The targets

10K Plain Band - Size 9 - 4.7g

14K Plain Band - Size 10 - 7.8g

18K Plain Band - Size 11 - 7.0g

Zinc Lincoln Memorial Cent (Zn 99.2% - Cu 0.8%)

Zinc Lincoln Memorial Cent (Zn 99.2% - Cu 0.8%)

Zinc Lincoln Memorial Cent (Zn 99.2% - Cu 0.8%)

10K Plain Band - Size 9 - 4.7g

14K Plain Band - Size 10 - 7.8g

18K Plain Band - Size 11 - 7.0g

Zinc Lincoln Memorial Cent (Zn 99.2% - Cu 0.8%)

Zinc Lincoln Memorial Cent (Zn 99.2% - Cu 0.8%)

Zinc Lincoln Memorial Cent (Zn 99.2% - Cu 0.8%)

From this quick test it appears that there are four possible differences. The Analyze accuracy percentage is lower for the gold rings. The zinc cents, on average, seem to appear larger in Analyze than the gold rings. While testing, I varied my sweep speed to see if this held true and, in general, it did. In Analyze, the 22.5KHz curve is closer to the 2.5KHz curve for gold rings in comparison to zinc cents. The Probe display shows some major differences; the Phase is quite different as is the Strength. I can understand the Phase being different, but not sure why the Strength would vary. Please keep in mind that this was a quick test without many targets. It was also done in a benchtest environment, so your mileage may vary. I will put this information to use when I go hunting from now on and will update this article with the results. ***** Initial testing indicates that, in practice, it is very difficult to tell the difference, even using Phase. I will keep my eye on Phase and the other potential indicators when I run into this type of signal, but I am not optimistic. ***** HH! TBGO