The METAL DETECTOR thread.

[Bill Douglas]

Has anyone actually found anything?

[porsche930dude]

I find a good bit of stuff and all i do is the parks and schools in my town and the woods behind my house. about 20$ a year in modern change but occasionally an old coin or jewelry. iv got a couple ace 250 detectors.

[pwd72s]

Never played with one, but when a surveyor was here hunting for corner posts, he quickly found them. He used one from White's electronics, made near here in Sweet Home, Oregon. Mentioned they penetrated better than others he'd used...

http://www.whitesdetectors.com/

[Bill Douglas]

I've found my own car keys that I lost at the beach so that fairly much paid for the metal detector.

I've been finding a few one and two dollar coins. But I've also found what seems like 10,000 beer bottle tops

I wold like to hit the gold fields and try to find a nugget. Sort of a bucket list interest. I've got a Garrett AT Gold.

[green 73]

No,
I tried it 30 yrs ago.
Did not find enough to pay for batteries.
The people I was hunting with wanted me to find new places.
They said that the places I found were all hunted out.
I still have it, waste of money!

[gregpark]

I bought one to trace a waste line on a property. The line was under a thick slab so I bought the large diameter frisbee thingy for deep detecting. The guy who sold it to me said "so, you're headed for Mexico" No, why? "Well guys buy this one to hunt for gold coins hidden in Adobe bricks in ruins down there, if you go don't try to bring it back cause if the federales find it they will tear your vehicle apart"
Hmm, maybe I should take a trip to Mexico

[MBAtarga]

Had one as a teenager and found $20 or so in change over a week or two while on vacation at a lake resort.

Bought one a few years back (a White mf'd unit) and have taken it to the beach on vacation. Most valuable find has been a mans silver ring and bracelet.

Buddy of mine bought a top of the line detector and took it specifically to older high schools and search baseball/football fields, etc. He's found dozens of rings - many rather pricey.

[URY914]

If you're in Florida with one on the beach you have to wear white sock and sandals. FL Law.

[masraum]

When I was a kid, I got one. I never found anything with it, and it wasn't really the thing for a kid as it kind of requires you to be patient and methodical and at 10 or 11, I lacked the interest to be either. When I was about 13, some folks showed up where I lived and started going through the field behind our townhouse. They ended up find a few civil war buttons and musket balls. I was uber jealous.

[Rick Lee]

My uncle took me out in the woods with his metal detector when I was a kid. He lived in Fredericksburg, VA. We found some Civil Way bullets, but even at that age, I felt like we found them too quickly. My mom told me a few years ago he had planted them for us to find on that outing.

[porsche930dude]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

I've found my own car keys that I lost at the beach so that fairly much paid for the metal detector.

I've been finding a few one and two dollar coins. But I've also found what seems like 10,000 beer bottle tops

I wold like to hit the gold fields and try to find a nugget. Sort of a bucket list interest. I've got a Garrett AT Gold.

for me its shotgun shells and lead. iv got a gallon jug full of them

[wdfifteen]

I rented one to try to find the monuments at the corners of a property I owned. I had no luck, and finally figured out the batteries were dead. With new batteries I found the pins. Kind of a pia.

[masraum]

I think I would have the patience and be methodical enough to do it these days, but I don't have the time or a good spot.

It's easy to find every piece beer tab, roofing nail and bit of metal junk. Finding something interesting is not terribly common.

If you want some cool stories, search for stories on the BBC news website. People have found all sorts of cool sheisse in the UK. 1000s of years of occupation, invasion and metal working ability.

[Bill Douglas]

Yes, New Zealand is too new to have anything interesting. A friend's dad found something Roman, and worth a lot of money, on his first time out. He was in the countryside out from East London.

I quite like getting out there with it though. There's a place I can get to on my trail bike that is not too far from home. It used to be an old gold mine but it was the fine stuff stuck in rock. There may be a nugget in the stream where it meets the beach. Hundreds of years of pounding surf breaking things up and leaving the gold.

[Embraer]

Sure, lots of silver coins, gold rings, and relics. I spent a large part of my youth land fishing. My dad was a Tesoro and Fisher dealer.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

I used to do a lot of metal detecting when I was a teenager, always loved searching and finding stuff so it filled a gap when I moved to the UK and couldn't snorkel and collect sea shells

Best find was a Henry 8th circa 1491-1547 hammered silver groat, found under an apple tree in a flower bed of our garden

The coin was about the same age as when our house was built

[vonsmog]

My Dad got us a good one (White's) around 1970, it was expensive at the time. First night out I found a Silver 1853 Three cent piece under an old cheery tree in our front yard where an old house sat at one time! Used it a lot as a kid and found mostly junk, but it kept us busy. Still have it and it still works, use it every once in a while. My kids used it when they were younger as well.

[frosty2]

So I purchased a metal detector a few weeks ago and I live on a bay that drains into Lake Ontario. In the fall they lower the water in the Great Lakes which of course lowers
the water in our bay so with the water down to a couple inches and a sand bottom I tried my luck in front of the house and this was my first two days results.
Unfortunately the bay started to freeze by the end of the week so that’s it for now.
Mike

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Captain Ahab Jr

Best find was a Henry 8th circa 1491-1547 hammered silver groat, found under an apple tree in a flower bed of our garden

The coin was about the same age as when our house was built

Exceptionally cool. Needs to stay with the home.

[Evans, Marv]

Being the cheapo I am, I recently bought one at Costco. I imagine it really isn't too good, but I've always wanted one. I don't expect to find much where I live because of the rural character and hilliness, but I have wanted to locate a corner marker for a long time and this thread gave me the idea of using it. Thanks!