I’m trying to buy a metal detector, so I went on craigslist today. There are over 20 MD’s for sale in my area, and most of them seem to be from people who are just giving up. I’m thinking there might be a dark side I didn’t consider, so I wanted to ask for some information before I buy it:
Why did you quit metal detecting? Boredom? Drudgery? Poor returns?
Moved Cafe Society --> IMHO.
Didn’t quit because I’d never dream of taking it up, but don’t you find there’s a certain lack of dignity and a vulture-like quality in deliberately seeking out what others have lost?
Other scanners can be very territorial and will hit you with their canes if the feel you are poaching. And there are only so many bottlecaps you can find before it gets boring.
I bought a White’s Eagle Spectrum about 15 years ago. Was the latest-n-greatest at the time. I think I paid $900 for it. I still have it, though I haven’t used it in 9 years.
I enjoyed treasure hunting, but I never found anything worth bragging about. I found a couple large pennies (dated early 1800s), and a silver half dollar at my dad’s house. But as mentioned by DrFidelius, those are the exceptions, not the rule. Most of what I dug up was trash or newer coins.
The “secret” to finding cool stuff is location. The ideal place is a location where people congregated at one time (e.g. old city park), and the dirt has not been disturbed, and where other treasure hunters have not hunted it. Those locations are almost non-existent.
I would like to get back into it, but with other stuff going on (kids, chores at home, etc.) it just seems I have such little time for activities such as treasure hunting.
Its not so much about quitting as never really got started. Metal detectors share time with telescopes as ‘things put in the closet and forgotten about’. Someday someone pulls theirs out and realizes it hasn’t been used in years and figures they can at least get some cash for it.
Around Philadelphia, the heyday of Metal detection was in the 70’s when they were building I-95 along the Delaware. Mounds of unsifted dirt from the dig were piled on the sides and guys with metal detectors went all over it. Lot of nifty stuff found, apparently.
I’ve taken a friend’s MD out to our CO ranch for a week and was so encouraged that I’ll soon buy my own. It’s a collection of about 20 old sheepherder ranches from the 19th century, plus given the numerous petroglyphs it’s seen many generations of Indian activity as well. It’s probably 5 miles from Bent’s Fort where Kit Carson was a scout.
I detected a couple of the old homesteader sites and quickly found that the oldest ones were the best, otherwise there was too much scattered iron. I’d scan everywhere there would have been traffic, inside the structure walls, the paths between them and the cistern, stockade, etc. It was an interesting cross section of life that appeared, buttons from old garmets, utensils, tools, the occasional coin, cartridge casings, etc.
I know where one of the main Indian campgrounds is. Back in the 30s the university nearby walked the area and collected 19 gunny sacks full of items, that became part of the seed for starting the Koshare Indian Museum. I’d like to MD it too and hopefully will find some more interesting pieces.
There also are a couple of sand blows, multi acre dunes where Indians used to camp. I’ve found a lot of arrowheads there and we’ve let others on and they’ve found some spectacular pieces. Usually we go after a big wind, no telling what a MD could locate.
So someday when I retire, I’ve got literally years worth of prime country just waiting for me to detect. Looking forward to that!
I considers getting a metal detector, but then it dawned on me that most of the good, easy to access sites have probably been picked over. I discussed this with a coworker who has been doing it for decades. When he first started, he had a lot of great finds. Then as metal detectors improved, he had another round of great finds. Now he says finding something worthwhile is pretty rare. But he still likes to be outdoors and his back gets a good workout.
Another problem is that a lot of land is owned by the government or by private owners. There is very little public land left, particularly on the east coast. Also, you might be digging on property that is part of a national park or monument, which is illegal.
I use mine almost exclusively at the beach.
We have a beach house in Ponte Vedra, south of Jacksonville. The locals are a bit higher on the food chain that what you’d find at PCB or Daytona, and thus they lose some really nice things.
It’s a 1.5 mile walk from our house to the club.
Anything I find goes in my pocket, unless there’s some identifying feature or name.
I’ve returned a dozen wedding or class rings to folks, and I’m glad to do it.
Just before dinner, when things are winding down at the club, I’ll make a few passes where the umbrellas are, and invariably I’ll find a ring or two.
If I find something at the club, I’ll turn it in. We’re members, and it never hurts to build good will. I’ve gotten several nice notes, and a couple of dinners from grateful people.
I found one Tiffany ring with a 7.07ct flawless D diamond about 4 years ago. I brought it back to Atlanta, and the kids at Tiffany knew just who it belonged to. An older woman who lived on the same street as my wife’s sister here in town! She’d been going to the club for decades, and this was the first thing she’d ever lost there!
While I would rather have paid off my house, we did return it to her, so we’ve got some Karma points built up.
Whenever I go to a park, I seem to get chased out by The Man.
You wouldn’t believe how mean they are at Gettysburg!
Metal Detecting is a hobby I’ve long wanted to pick up but have resisted mostly because of the dignity issue. I just don’t want to be that guy with the metal detector answer the same dumb “Find anything yet?” question fifty times every time I go out. Public areas are pretty picked over but everytime things freeze and thaw, more stuff gets pushed up towards the surface… I think the best bet these days is to ask private landowners to let you hunt on their property and offer to give them a certain amount of what you find.
Thanks folks, I’ve decided not to do it. I have a bad back, and it sounds like i won’t be able to handle it.
Necesita nuevos pantalones!
la verdad es más extraña que la ficción.
hombre blanco sólo habla la verdad! 
You made me laugh!
We stayed at the club last year. Nice beach for MDing, to be sure. And considering the number of storms that run up the coast, there’ll be items from antiquity found in the strandline from time to time.
A serious treasure hunter will not use the metal detector’s built-in speaker; he/she will use a pair of high-quality headphones. For three reasons:
So you quit because you kept finding too much valuable stuff?
So you have found a dozen class or wedding rings that you returned, which implies more that you didn’t/couldn’t return due to a lack of identifying information.
AND
You “invariably” find a ring or two every time you go there
AND
You found a seven carat diamond (so, the size of this) that some lady lost in Florida (and it stayed lost until you came along) and oh, the lady just happens to live on the same street as your sister, in another state entirely.
Was this before or after you issued the best down on the thugs at Steak-n-Shake?
Yes. I keep things when the owner can’t be found. Pure evil is what that is.
AND
Per trip, not per day. We spend a month or more there each summer.
I am considering seppuku in my shame for not giving you every fucking detail of my life.
My wife’s sister. Do try to keep up.
It was before. Same year I spotted a teen girl wearing a Reitz High School shirt on the Jax Pier. The same school my sister went to. Over 40 years ago. 800 miles away.
But that could never happen, right? Because, what are the odds, right?
I don’t live in cave. I live in the real world where shit happens, good and bad. Sometimes I share. You don’t like it or believe it? No problemo. Save some time and ignore my posts. Use that time to give blood or wash the homeless, so we all know how much better a person you are than I am.:rolleyes:
I’m OK with that.
