Serious Detecting 9.5 in Brass Coin Probe with Grip Handle

The Serious Detecting brass coin probe is a 9.5 in hand tool with a 5.25 in solid brass rod, a pointed tip and a rubber and hard plastic grip. Detectorists use it to find the exact position and depth of a coin before digging, and to work through a dug plug to find a small target. Brass is softer than steel, so it is less likely to scratch a coin, ring or relic it touches than a steel probe or screwdriver.

Who the brass coin probe is for

• Park and lawn coin hunters: probing through turf before you dig lets you cut a smaller, neater plug, or pop a shallow coin out without cutting a plug at all.
• Anyone hunting old coins: a soft brass tip makes contact with a valuable coin less of a risk than a steel tool.
• Detectorists on a tight budget: a probe is a low-cost way to speed up recovery before buying a pinpointer.

If you dig in rocky ground, deep relic holes or beach sand, a probe does little. Most detectorists in those places use an electronic pinpointer from our pinpointers collection instead.

Key features

• Solid brass rod: softer than the steel in a screwdriver or ice pick, so it is less likely to leave marks on a coin face or rim.
• 5.25 in rod, 9.5 in overall: long enough to reach coin depths in a lawn, short enough to control the tip.
• 0.2 in thick rod: slim enough to slide into turf with little resistance and leave a small hole.
• Pointed tip: lets the probe slip into compacted soil.
• Rubber and hard plastic grip: a screwdriver-style handle that holds when wet or muddy. Handle color may vary from the photos.

How to use a brass coin probe

Probing before you dig

Center the target with your detector. Push the probe straight down into the turf at that spot, feel for the hard flat face of a coin, and note the depth. Probe a few times around it to find the edge. With the coin's position and depth known, you can cut a smaller plug, or slide a popper under a shallow coin and lift it out with minimal damage to the grass.

Working a dug plug

If the target is in a plug you have already dug, re-scan to check whether it is in the plug or still in the hole. Then probe the soil and the hole walls gently. The slim rod lets you feel for a hard object without breaking the plug apart.

Check the rules where you hunt. Some parks restrict digging and allow only probing, while others restrict any ground disturbance.

Limits of a brass probe

• It registers on a detector: brass is a conductive metal, so keep the probe out of the coil's field and away from your pinpointer tip while you scan.
• It is not a pry bar: brass bends more easily than steel. Do not lever rocks or roots with it.
• It needs soil that holds its shape: in loose sand or rocky fill, a probe tells you little. A pinpointer and a sand scoop work better there.
• Softer is not marring-proof: brass is less likely to scratch than steel, but pushing hard onto a soft gold or silver surface can still leave a mark. Probe gently once you feel the target.

For the digging step, see our shovels, diggers and picks, and for everything else in a recovery kit, our metal detector parts and accessories.