need detector for beach

Good luck on your coin/nugget shooting trip. Hope you find a monster nugget.

I use mostly the garrett sea hunter mark 2 also have the ls infinium made also by garrett,, the seahunter is a good $500 to $600 dollars less than a minelab excalibur and will take the waves nicely if you use a heavy good old USA army surplus pistol belt i usuall go through 2/3 each season here  in south calif.. also one should gey a good sandscoop that comes with the long and short handles , KEENE eng  out in sanfernando, valley has them  tthat way you can use the short handle scoop while your scuba or snorkling, long hanle for the dry sand.. Tesoro also makes a couple P.I. detects but i prefer the garretts over them , Fisher, whites and minelab P.I.detects.. have a great trip and enjoy .. as i intend being on a san diego to sanfrancisco   beachcombing, coin / nugget shooting trip as of the 13th of this month,   take care bill h  aka clicit

Good all around advice has been given. I will re-emphasise to get what you feel you can afford. Once you get it, you cannot afford to get another for a while. When you go to upgrade, most likely you will not want to get rid of your first one. Assuming both you and your hubby get into the fun of detecting. You don't want to end up with two elcheapo detectors that you can "afford" but neither of you really like. If that happens, you will not find anything while they are sitting in the back of your closet.                         I will take exception to the advise about any kind of digging tool. Digging tools are good for dirt. NOT for beach sand. For beaches, always use a scoop with holes it it. The holes are just a little smaller than a dime. In dry sand, all you have to do is shake it a little and the sand will fall through leaving your target in the scoop. In wet sand, you shake it a little harder. If it is too packed, dip it in water while shaking it and the sand will come out as fast as dry sand.                        Almost all detectors have water proof search coils. If you go into the surf, be very careful. One taste of salt water and the detector is dead. What the water will not damage, the salt will. Ever notice the haze as you look down the beach line? That is very fine droplets of SALT WATER. Whatever kind you get, always rinse or wipe it off with clean water when you quit for the day. At the very least, all of your screws and electrical connectors will start to rust. If you do decide to use a dry land detector on the beach, put some kind of clear plastic bag over the control box to protect it from the salt spray.                If your detector has an adjustable shaft, also take it apart at least once a day and shake out the sand. If you go into the water at all, the fine sand works into the space between the adjustable sections and will seize it up. It can get bad enough that you may actually destroy one of the sections getting them apart.Go ahead and get one. It will take you to the happy hunting grounds. 

I have been using a Bounty Hunter (lower price range) , the same one at all beaches and parks for over 10 years....found lots of money, jewelry, and other objects.  I have a more upgrade model but they both do equal service.  It is 50 percent the detector and 50 percent the operator.....what ever you get.....get familiar with it.  The detector responds but you need to know what it is saying. good searches always      

I have 2 nice detectors on here for sale both have warranties left on them the whites vision upgraded V3 retails for 1700. selling for 1000.00 the other machine is the Garrett GTI 2500 retails for 1175. selling for 1075.00 the GTI has a 9.5 inch coils and for the deeper treasures it also has a treasure hound attachment to it that has a depth of 12-18 feet depending on the treasures. Both machines are easy to learn and use. Plus the added benefit you won't have to sell your beginer machines to up grade these are both top of the line machine . Just seen your add