Alright, so you’ve got your metal detector, a dream of finding treasure, and about 37 bottle caps in your pocket from your last hunt. Fear not, fellow dirt fisher! I did my research to find some amazing ideas for you all. America is packed with places where people have been losing stuff for centuries. So grab your gear, put on your best "I’m totally not weird" face, and let’s get hunting! 1. Beaches – Where the Sun is Hot and the Lost Jewelry is Plentiful Beaches are like the lost-and-found of the universe. People slather on sunscreen, get all slippery, and then—bam!—rings, necklaces, and coins go flying into the sand. Some of the best beaches to metal detect include Miami Beach (FL), Myrtle Beach (SC), and Huntington Beach (CA). Just don’t accidentally detect a sleeping sunbather. Awkward. 2. Parks – Where Joggers and Picnic-Goers Make Our Jobs Easier Parks are basically historical goldmines (or at least penny mines). People drop coins, jewelry, and random metal bits all the...

So, you got yourself a metal detector, and now you’re standing in your backyard like, "Alright, where’s my treasure?!" But all you’ve found so far is a rusty nail, a bottle cap, and that one missing key from your house that you blamed your dog for eating. Don’t worry, fellow treasure hunter, I got your back. Here’s where to metal detect in Canada without looking like a total weirdo waving a stick in the middle of nowhere. 1. Beaches – Because Sand + People = Lost Stuff If you’ve ever been to a beach, you know that people love to lose things. Rings, watches, coins, sunglasses—heck, probably a whole wallet or two. Check out places like Wasaga Beach in Ontario, Grand Beach in Manitoba, or Kitsilano Beach in BC. Just make sure you don’t get too close to sunbathers. Nobody likes an overenthusiastic detectorist scanning their towel for “hidden treasure.” 2. Parks – The Land of Dropped Change and Forgotten Jewelry Parks are where people go to pretend they exercise. While they’re out...

 Alright, so here’s the deal—I’ve always been a stock coil kinda guy . My Minelab Equinox 800 came with the standard coil, and I happily swung it around for years, digging up everything from silver coins to… deeply disappointing aluminum can shards. Then, two seasons ago, I thought, Hey, what if I go smaller? So, I slapped on the 6” coil , hoping it would help me snipe out coins and relics in trashy areas. And guess what? It totally worked. That little thing was like a surgical tool —weaving between bottle caps, iron nails, and whatever else people have been littering since 1884. I was pulling better finds, but… not necessarily more finds. Depth? Meh. Coverage? Laughable. I basically had to grid an area like I was mowing a lawn with nail clippers. Go Big or Go Home (or Just Keep Digging Forever) So this season, I’m flipping the script. Goodbye, tiny sniper coil. Hello, absolute monster. I went out and picked up the Minelab 15” Coil (3011-0464) —which is roughly the size of ...

 Alright, so if you’ve ever been metal detecting in Manitoba, you know one thing for sure— this place is WILD . And I don’t just mean the finds. I mean actual wild, as in you might be hunting for a 1930s quarter one minute and suddenly locking eyes with a deer who looks just as confused as you are. Or worse—something bigger that makes you reconsider if that signal is really worth digging. But that’s what makes detecting in Manitoba so great . You never know what you’re going to find. Could be an old Hudson’s Bay token. Could be a smashed beer can from someone’s fishing trip in 1998. It’s basically treasure hunting with a side of mystery and occasional mild terror . Treasure, Trash, and Tales from the Dirt I’ll never forget the time I was out near an old homestead, getting a strong 82-84 signal on my Garrett. My heart was racing—silver? Maybe even a big ol’ silver dollar? Nope. It was a perfectly intact, vintage spoon . Exciting? Debatable. But hey, at least I could technically...

  You’d think finding money in the ground would be easy, right? Wrong. You finally got your hands on a Minelab Equinox 800 , fired it up, and went hunting, expecting to come home with pockets full of loonies and toonies. Instead, you’ve got a collection of bottle caps, pull-tabs, and what may or may not be an ancient piece of tinfoil . Welcome to the wonderful world of metal detecting in Canada, where our coins are made of nickel-plated trickery , and your detector spends most of its time having a mental breakdown trying to tell the difference between cash and trash. Why Canadian Coins Are Basically Metal Detecting Trolls First of all, nickel is the worst . Unlike copper or silver, it’s terrible at conducting electricity, which means your detector struggles to get a clean, solid reading. Instead, the numbers on your Equinox 800’s screen bounce around like a squirrel on an energy drink , making it nearly impossible to tell if you’ve found a toonie or just a rusty bottle cap from ...

So, you just picked up a Garrett Vortex , and you’re ready to hit the ground running—literally. You’re pumped, visions of lost treasures (or at least a handful of loonies and toonies) dancing in your head. But after an hour? Nothing but bottle caps, old nails, and a weird piece of metal that might be from an alien spacecraft… or just a rusty bolt. Canadian coins are weird . If you’ve ever tried detecting them, you already know they’re basically the ninjas of the metal detecting world —sneaky, hard to find, and way too good at hiding in plain sight. That’s because, unlike American coins that behave nicely for metal detectors, post-2000 Canadian coins are mostly nickel-plated steel , which makes them way harder to pick up. Why is the Vortex VX9 Struggling to Find Your Loonies? Blame the nickel. Nickel is terrible. It has low conductivity, which means your detector has to work extra hard just to notice it. Add in the steel core that a lot of Canadian coins have, and suddenly, your V...

Alright, picture this: you’ve got your Garrett AT Pro , your headphones are on, and you’re feeling like a modern-day treasure hunter. Today is the day. You’re gonna walk away with a pocket full of Canadian coins—maybe even a whole roll of toonies if the universe is feeling generous. Except… after an hour, all you’ve got is bottle caps, an old nail, and what might be a cursed chunk of metal from a long-forgotten farm tool. Sound familiar? Yeah, Canadian coins are annoyingly tricky to detect. Unlike American coins, which are mostly made of copper and practically throw themselves at your detector, Canadian coins are full of nickel and steel. That means your AT Pro sometimes mistakes them for junk. But don’t worry—if you know how to actually use your machine right , you’ll start pulling up loonies and toonies instead of frustration. Stop Ignoring the Good Stuff So here’s the deal: if you’ve got your iron discrimination cranked up , you’re making a huge mistake. The Garrett AT Pro ...