In this guide we’ll take a look at the best metal detectors for coins.
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What Is The Best Metal Detector for Coins?
More Detailed Coin Metal Detector Reviews
Garrett AT Pro Metal Detector
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Garrett AT Pro Metal Detector Review
The Garrett AT Pro (that’s AT for all-terrain) is the best metal detector for coins. It has an 8.5 by 11-inch DD search coil that’s fully waterproof. It’s a great size that covers plenty of terrains but still alerts you to coins that have become buried over the years, making it one of the best coin metal detectors on the market.
Ground balancing is one of the top priorities when you’re hunting coins because people drop them in such a variety of places. The AT Pro has automatic or manual settings and a continuous coin depth indicator telling you how far to dig down.
There’s a target scale of 0-99 to indicate what your find is likely to be without the hassle of digging. Coins usually fall in the middle range.
Its 15kHz frequency is mid-range enough to find coins and the audio that alerts you is of standard Garrett excellence.
This coin detector also has a high-res iron detector to filter out trash which can be set from 1-40 on the meter. This helps you ignore the tin foil but still find coins. Quick recovery time means you’ll find the coins whilst others are standing around waiting for their re-set.
Lots of detectorists rate the Garrett Carrot and you’ll be pleased to know the AT Pro comes with one.
This dayglow orange pin-pointer is such a hassle-free device that everyone should take it metal detecting.
It simply shows you exactly where your coin is – and because coins are small it’s best to know the right spot before you put your back out hauling tons of soil or sand.
The Garrett AT Pro measures 21.3 x 14.4 x 8.7 inches and weighs only 3.03lbs. You’ll need 4 AA batteries to light her up.
This coin metal detector has loads of features. The Garrett AT Pro is the best metal detector for coins on the market!
Pros
- Superb adjustable ground balancing
- Submersible search coil
- Comes with Garratt’s Pro-pointer AT
- All-terrain so you only need one detector
- The Garrett Carrot is invaluable for pinpointing
- Depth indicator and target scale
Cons
- The screen is difficult to see in bright sun
Garrett ACE 300 Metal Detector
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Garrett ACE 300 Metal Detector Review
This Garrett budget option is the best coin metal detector for you if you want a serious piece of kit whilst on a budget.
The Garrett Ace 300 is often touted as a beginner’s machine, but it’s a great coin hunting detector that includes all the features you need for successful metal detecting and more.
The ACE 300 search coil measures 7x 10inches and achieves good depth.
There are five modes. This coin hunting metal detector runs on a mid-range frequency of 8 kHz, so you’ll pick up pretty much everything, but with the flick of a switch you can select a relevant search mode – such as the coin search mode. Rejoice!
Here are the search modes in all their glory: jewelry, custom, relics, coins, and no discrimination. This makes it a great all round model, and perhaps the best metal detector for coins and jewelry.
The Garrett ACE 300 depth indicator shows how far down you’ll need to dig to find that coin and the audio consists of three tone IDs so you know what you’ve uncovered.
Its target ID screen shows a numerical scale from 0-99 when you locate a find. Low-frequency metals such as iron will fall lower on the scale and coins around the middle. This cuts out the need for joyless back-breaking tinfoil discoveries.
The ACE Garrett 300 weighs 2.8lbs and measures 22x11x6 inches. You’ll need 4 AA batteries to power up.
The Garrett Ace 300 is the best metal detector for coins and jewelry if you are on a budget!
Pros
- 5 easy to use search options
- Waterproof search coil
- Depth indicator
- Very lightweight
- Best coin metal detector on a budget
Cons
- Maybe too simple for experienced detectors
- No volume control
Fisher Labs F75 Metal Detector
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Fisher Labs F75 Metal Detector Review
Fisher is a name to reckon with in the detectorist world, and plenty of pros rate the F75 as one of the best metal detectors for coins on the market.
Let’s start with the preset program modes on this great piece of kit.
We have dE (default), jE (jewelery), bc (bottle cap) and PF (ploughed field), bp which is a booster that gives you enhanced sensitivity and deeper search function, but you sacrifice a bit of recovery time, and cache locating (Cl) for hoard hunting in a more specific mode (more on that below).
Default mode works well in most conditions if you use the automatic ground balancing. Fisher Labs have included their highly-praised mineralization bar graph and ‘fastgrab’ ground balance in the F75, as well as their 0-99 numeric target identification display. All great stuff that makes metal detecting all the more pleasurable.
There are 3 search modes. ‘All metal’ that picks up everything, ‘all metal static’ and ‘discrimination’.
For coin hunting, you’ll probably want to use default preset with discrimination mode. In discrimination mode, you can allocate audio to the various metals you’ve selected – coins, silver, or gold for example. Reviews say they regularly find coins at 14-16 inch depth with this machine using discrimination mode.
If you choose ‘all metal’ mode use it with the target search function display to show the most likely type of find. It isn’t failsafe but it does give a good indication of your find before starting the dig.
The ‘static metal mode’ is a specialist function. You probably won’t need this for coin detecting, but if you fancy looking for gold hoards it will help. Don’t start out with this mode if you’re a beginner as it can cause confusion.
The Fisher coin detector 75 takes 4 AA batteries and weighs 4.7 pounds.
This isn’t the best coin hunting metal detector for a beginner, but if you’re a serious hunter that likes coins, the F75 is a sensitive machine that’ll unearth them for you! We reckon this is the best metal detector for coins for the more advanced detectors amongst you.
Pros
- Excellent ground balancing
- Deep depth searching
- Large LCD screen
- Lots of tones to guide you without constantly looking at the screen
Cons
- Controls are tricky to understand
- A touch heavy
Teknetics Delta 4000 Metal Detector
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Teknetics Delta 4000 Metal Detector Review
This is a well-priced coin metal detector that gets plenty of results when you’re coin hunting. If you’re just starting out, this is the best metal detector for coins for you.
The Teknetic Delta 4000 has a large 11-inch concentric search coil which makes it heavier but covers more ground at greater depth.
This metal detector for coins has eight sensitivity levels from 4 to 12 and its best to use the middle ground for coin hunting.
It automatically searches in discrimination mode which ignores iron, but you can adjust the modes to ignore more metals if you want to search exclusively.
The on-screen target ID number shows what you’ve found without digging, but you’ll need the manual to find out what object that number refers to. It’s worth learning a few in advance! It’s not ideal, but something’s gotta give for the bargain price.
There’s a handy depth indicator that shows how far down to dig. 1 bar means 2 inches, up to a maximum of 8 inches, and the pinpointer shows you exactly where.
Pinpointers are usually only found on more expensive models so this is a great extra.
The Delta 4000 needs a 9-volt battery and weighs only 2.3 pounds.
If you’re looking for a great value for money metal detector for coins that comes with all the discrimination, pinpointing and sensitivity functions you need to find those coins – the Teknetic Delta 4000 is a must have!
Pros
- Easy to understand
- Target identification onscreen
- Depth indicator
Cons
- Not always sensitive enough to locate gold and silver
White's Spectra V3i Metal Detector
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White's Spectra V3i Metal Detector Review
This is a coin hunting geek’s dream machine and in my opinion, one of the best metal detector for coins.
It’s one of the top priced pieces of kit but it’s difficult to find any cons, and you’ll stand the best chance of uncovering something special.
There’s nothing to compare on the market in my opinion.
The Spectra V3i has a lot of functions. Let’s start with the LCD screen.
This coin metal detector is brighter than a thousand suns, and with its high contrast, you aren’t going to worry about screen glare. This is good news because there’s a lot of target information to see.
If you want to hit the ground running the Spectra has 10 new turn-on-and-go hunting programmes set up by White’s engineers that also indicate the depth of your find.
Why fiddle with it yourself when the experts have done the job? In fact, if this machine could drive and hover you wouldn’t need to lift a finger.
Discrimination capabilities – yep. You’d expect good things from a machine of this caliber and it doesn’t disappoint. The factory preset modes are excellent, but you can tweak its advanced discrimination capabilities to suit you.
Looking for zinc coins? Set it to ignore iron and high frequency. Then, if you fancy looking for relics or gold you have the option to switch.
3 optimized frequencies are embedded in the V3i. You can run it on 2.5kHz for silver, 7.5kHz for general use, or 22.5kHz for gold.
Coin hunting is best set to the middle range and tweaked depending on what ground you’re hunting – which leads us to ground balance.
Ground balancing is excellent on the Spectra. It has a ‘soil type select’ function so you can hunt on a variety of mineralized soils in the most efficient way.
The Spectra also comes with a 10” DD coil which is a good all-rounder. It’s solid and reaches an excellent depth. Reviewers say they’ve unearthed nuggets of gold along with coins at a depth of 12 inches – that’s more than other top makes generally delve.
Another great function the Spectra has over other models are the wireless headphones. They are specially engineered and come with the machine.
Pair the wireless headphones with stereo mixed mode and you’ll hear ‘all metal’ tones in one ear and ‘discrimination’ in the other. You won’t miss a thing.
This is a great piece of serious detecting kit that’s no more difficult than operating a smartphone, but if you get stuck there’s an onboard reference guide and live controls so you can adjust on the go.
No more sitting on a rock to fiddle with the paper manual and tuning = more time unearthing coins.
The Spectra V3i weighs around 4.5lbs, has great adjustable ergonomics, and a rechargeable battery.
The Spectra V3i is the best high-end metal detector for coins on the market!
Pros
- Best coin metal detector
- 10 pre-set hunting modes
- 3 preset frequencies
- Bright LCD control screen
- Lots of features
Cons
- Too many controls for a beginner
What To Look For in The Best Metal Detector For Coins?
Coin hunting is an immediate thrill, finding money for free never gets old.
We know there’s lots of options out there – but don’t worry, we’re here to help you find the best metal detector for coins that’s right for you!
If you‘re looking for the best metal detector for coins then here’s a simple fact.
All metal detectors will pick up coins.
The cost involved depends on how easy it is to find them.
I wouldn’t recommend a specific gold hunting machine for coin hunting as these run on high frequencies, or pulse induction, which will often miss coins.
The difference in coin detecting machines is how efficiently and deeply they will find coins for you, and how well they deal with your ground mineralization.
Here’s a bit more detail…
The best frequency for coin hunting
In the past frequency was a big thing, but modern coin detectors have pretty much overcome frequency worries with good design and better circuitry.
Ground conditions will dictate what frequency you need to use, so automatic ground balancing makes a big difference – but here are the basic kHz for successful hunting :
Low-frequency machines at 2-4 kHz are best metal detectors for deep coins, mid frequency 5-12 kHz for relics, jewelry and coins, and higher frequencies for gold.
Most frequencies will pick up coins, but detectorists have most success between 6-15 kHz -and more specifically 8-12khz.
Coins are made from different metals, so you might want to adjust your frequency for specific coinage.
Weight
Weight makes a difference when you’re out coin hunting.
Heavier coin finder metal detectors tire you quickly, so a hip mounted detector is good news. Otherwise look for adjustable ergonomics and a lightweight machine.
The better ones weigh 2-4 lbs despite being loaded with features.
Coil Size
Medium sized coils are probably the best for coin hunting and luckily most machines come fitted with a medium sized coil.
Large coils are best for deeply hidden objects like gold and hoards, but that said, coins do slip down into the soil over time. Some have been found at a foot’s depth.
Ground Balance
Metal detectors are not much use without ground balancing, if I’m honest about it.
Metal detectors are sensitive and pick up magnetic signals which can bounce back from jewelry, relics, coins, minerals and even salt.
A machine with ground balancing detects what type of ground you’re on, and eliminates the minerals in response. Automatic ground balancing is a time saver because it adjusts as you move around.
You’ll get much better results with decent ground balancing.
Pinpointing
Coins are small and this means they can be tricky to locate – and even harder to successfully dig.
Try to buy a metal detector that can pinpoint the coin for you – with a depth indicator, and tones that get louder as you move the coil near the coin. If your machine doesn’t do this you can buy a separate pinpointer such as the Garrett Carrot I mentioned above.
Don’t forget to scan the pile of soil too, just in case you already pulled it out.
Pinpointing is socially responsible. You don’t want a big pile of dirt and disturbed soil especially not in public parks, churchyards, and footpaths.
Money, Money, Money
If you have the coin hunting bug welcome to the detectorists club.
I recommend learning all about your machine before you venture out. Try burying coins in your backyard to see what frequency they register on.
Backyard trials also help you get to grips with the controls, you wouldn’t want to miss that New England coin would you? Imagine another detectorist finding it buried in the ground you’d searched the day before.
Don’t panic! The coin is still there, and a decent machine coupled with some preparation yard work will ensure you don’t miss a trick.