Garrett AT Gold
Garrett AT Gold Target ID Chart: Reading 0 to 99 at 18 kHz
Quick answer
The Garrett AT Gold runs at 18 kHz on the same 0 to 99 scale. Iron reads below about 40, small gold and foil 40 to 65, nickels near 58 to 65, pull tabs 60 to 72, zinc cents 72 to 80 and copper, dimes and silver 80 to 95, with all bands shifting in mineralised ground.
Garrett publishes 18 kHz for the Garrett AT Gold and positions it for small gold nuggets, jewellery, coins and relics, with a manual and automatic ground balance plus a ground balance window for varying soil. The higher frequency is the whole point: it produces more signal from small, low conductive targets that a coin machine barely notices.
That same sensitivity makes the target ID number less central than it is on an AT Pro. Prospectors run this machine in True All Metal and use the number only as a secondary check, because small gold in mineralised ground often does not hold a stable ID at all. The bands below are where targets tend to fall when the signal is strong enough to classify.
Top pick
Garrett AT Gold
18 kHz with a ground balance window for mineralised soil, True All Metal mode and the same 10 foot waterproof rating as the rest of the AT line.
Price was accurate when this page was compiled and changes often.
What does each target read on a Garrett AT Gold?
Bands for the AT Gold with its stock coil in mild to moderate soil. In heavily mineralised prospecting ground, expect these to compress, drift low and become unreliable long before the audio gives up.
On a Garrett AT Gold at 18 kHz, small gold and foil typically read 40 to 65, nickels 58 to 65, zinc cents 72 to 80 and dimes and quarters 80 to 92, with iron below about 40 and small nuggets often refusing to hold a stable number at all.
| Target | Typical AT Gold ID | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Iron nail or fragment | 0 to 40 | Hot rocks can also read low and erratically in mineralised ground |
| Small gold nugget, sub gram | 35 to 60, unstable | Often audible in All Metal well before it produces a usable number |
| Foil, small aluminium | 40 to 58 | The most common false positive when prospecting near modern rubbish |
| Small gold ring, under 2 grams | 45 to 65 | Overlaps foil completely. There is no gold only number at any frequency |
| Larger gold ring, 5 grams or more | 60 to 78 | Mass and surface area push this up |
| US nickel | 58 to 65 | Reads a little higher than on lower frequency AT machines |
| Square pull tab | 60 to 72 | Sits on the jewellery band, as always |
| Lead shot or musket ball | 55 to 75 | Lead is a poor conductor, so size drives the reading |
| Zinc cent | 72 to 80 | Corroded examples drop several points |
| Copper cent | 80 to 88 | Stable in clean ground |
| US dime | 82 to 90 | Silver at the top of the band |
| US quarter | 85 to 92 | The most repeatable high conductor signal |
| Silver half or dollar | 90 to 95 | Large silver near the top of the scale |
Garrett publishes the 18 kHz operating frequency, the 0 to 99 scale and the ground balance window. The per target bands reflect what AT Gold owners consistently report and shift substantially in mineralised prospecting ground.
Why is the number less useful on an AT Gold?
Because the targets it is designed to find are the ones a target ID handles worst. A sub gram nugget produces a weak, low conductive signal, and in the mineralised ground where gold is usually found, the machine is already subtracting a large ground signal. What remains is enough to make a sound and often not enough to classify. That is why Garrett puts True All Metal at the centre of this machine and why prospectors dig on tone.
The number becomes useful again when the AT Gold is used for coins and relics, which many owners do, because 18 kHz with a fine ground balance is a genuinely capable relic setup in hot soil. In that role the bands above behave much like an AT Pro chart shifted a few points upward at the low conductive end.
How does the ground balance window change readings?
Garrett gives the AT Gold manual and automatic ground balance plus what it calls a Ground Balance Window, which lets the machine treat a small range of ground readings as neutral rather than a single point. In practice that means fewer false signals from variable soil and hot rocks, and a steadier threshold to listen through.
It also means your target IDs are only as good as your balance. Balance on the exact ground you are hunting, rebalance when you move, and rebalance after rain. A machine balanced on a track and then swung over a red clay bank is not measuring what you think it is. The site by site settings are on the AT Gold settings by site type page.
Does the AT Gold beat a dedicated gold machine?
Not on the smallest gold. Garrett's own Garrett Goldmaster 24k runs at 48 kHz, which is where very fine gold gives a usable signal and where an 18 kHz machine gives little or none. If your ground holds sub gram flakes and specimens, the higher frequency machine is the correct tool and the AT Gold will simply miss them.
What the AT Gold offers instead is breadth. It is waterproof to 10 feet, it handles coins and relics competently, and it uses the same coils as the rest of the line, which the coil compatibility chart covers. For somebody who prospects occasionally and hunts old sites the rest of the year, that is a reasonable trade. For a dedicated prospector it is not.
Sources
- Garrett AT Gold owner's manual, ground balance window and All Metal sections
- Garrett AT Gold listing feature bullets, including the 18 kHz operating frequency
- Garrett Goldmaster 24k published specification, 48 kHz single high frequency
Frequently asked questions
What frequency is the Garrett AT Gold?
Garrett publishes 18 kHz for the AT Gold, chosen for enhanced detection of small gold nuggets, jewellery, coins and relics. That is higher than the AT Pro and the AT Max, which makes it more responsive to small low conductive targets and to mineralised ground alike. It also makes careful ground balancing more important, which is why the machine includes a ground balance window.
What target ID does gold read on an AT Gold?
There is no single answer, which is the honest one. Small nuggets often read between roughly 35 and 60 when they read at all, and frequently refuse to hold a stable number in mineralised ground. Gold jewellery spans about 45 to 78 depending on mass and karat, overlapping foil and pull tabs throughout. Prospectors dig on tone in All Metal rather than on the number.
Can I use the AT Gold for coin hunting?
Yes, and plenty of owners do. At 18 kHz with a good ground balance it is a capable coin and relic machine, particularly in mineralised soil where lower frequency detectors struggle. High conductors read a little differently than on an AT Pro but the ordering is the same. The main compromise is more chatter from small aluminium trash in modern parks.
Is the AT Gold better than the AT Pro in mineralised soil?
Generally yes, because of the ground balance window and the manual balance control, which give finer adjustment where soil varies. The higher frequency is more sensitive to mineralisation as well, so it is not a free advantage, and a careless balance will make the AT Gold noisier than an AT Pro in the same ground. The gain comes from using the balancing tools properly.
Should I buy an AT Gold or a dedicated gold detector?
If fine gold is the main goal, a higher frequency machine such as the 48 kHz Garrett Goldmaster 24k will hear the small material the AT Gold cannot. If you prospect occasionally and hunt coins and relics the rest of the year, the AT Gold is the more useful single machine, adds a 10 foot waterproof rating and shares coils with the rest of the AT line.
Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published specifications, manuals and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Target ID numbers, depth figures and settings vary with soil chemistry, moisture, target size, depth, orientation and firmware version, so treat every figure here as a starting point and verify it against your own machine's manual and your own ground. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.