Benjamin, there were 3 versions of the Gold Bug, GB I, GBII, and the GB Pro. All three are good gold getters. If the pawn shop machine is a Gold Bug Pro, $400.00 seems about right. But if the machine is an earlier version, the price is way too high. Headphones: mandatory. Don't scrimp on low-end, low decibel output phones. Hope this helps. HH Jim

Yeah it is just a gold bug. So I think I will pass. Thanks for the advice Jim!

The gold bug II is a good gold detector. The one I use to have pulled it's share of nuggets Though the price of a II should be $300 or less. You can hold the detector over a target and tell if it is a nugget or hot rock which is important in some areas. The tone increases with a nugget when the coil is lowered.  With a hot rock the tone increases when you lift the coil. That's because hot rocks are on the other side of the null point.   Frank

Posted By FRANK NOVAK on 23 Dec 2014 03:09 PM
The gold bug II is a good gold detector. The one I use to have pulled it's share of nuggets Though the price of a II should be $300 or less. You can hold the detector over a target and tell if it is a nugget or hot rock which is important in some areas. The tone increases with a nugget when the coil is lowered.  With a hot rock the tone increases when you lift the coil. That's because hot rocks are on the other side of the null point.   Frank

thanks for sharing that tip Frank.