Average income from metal detecting?

[thebirdflu]

Hello everyone. I just want to get a feel for how much everyone earns from this hobby. I know I'll never get rich from this and that's not the point. It's fun to find cool things and there is always the rush from pulling that unknown item out of the plug. But I would like to know if any of you have figured out what you make per hour of detecting, from face value of clad to retail value of rarer items.

My average is about 30 cents per hour. I haven't found any high dollar items yet so that's pretty much all clad. Some days are better and some days are worse. I know something like a 1916D merc can up that average a lot!

 

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[deadeye 22250]

If we all figured an hourly wage, most of us are below poverty for a wage. I do not detect to become rich, I do it for enjoyment.

 

[ecoast]

machines, supplies, gas, eh; --prolly minus $3500 a year


not so much what you make; but more like what you will spend...

 

[I C THE LITE]

I had to laugh when you mentioned you average about 30 cents per hour. I used to do the same when I used to be a UPS semi driver. I would take runs that would allow me to metal detect. For years I would do the same old schools, parks, churches, ball diamonds and old farmer houses again and again and again. I only had 30 to 42 minutes a day to detect but my goal was to average 1 penny a minute. Not hard at first but after awhile it would take a minute or two walk to get to an area that I had gone over several times. Never did I average less than a penny and several times I averaged 6-7 cents or more per minute. When I would get back to UPS my buddies would ask what I found and I would tell them 3 cents a minute or 5 cents a minute and they would just laugh. I did this for many years and found lots of Indian Heads, Barber Dimes, Liberty Halves, and many other silver coins. It's the thrill of the hunt that counts more to me than the value of what we find.

 

[thebirdflu]

Oh I totally agree with everyone. I'm not in it to get rich for sure. I guess I would like use it as a gauge or comparison on how productive my site selection and technique is versus others. As of now my selection it rather limited but I plan to expand soon. I haven't door knocked yet but there are a few properties I'm interested in and I'm going to ask when the opportunity presents itself.

 

[Red James Cash]

Average income from metal detecting?

Why hello there MR,Mrs,Miss IRS agent.

 

[Keppy]

Why hello there MR,Mrs,Miss IRS agent.

You could be right..

 

[gsxraddict]

you lose money in this hobby, just like almost every hobby.

A good year you might be able to break even by finding a Confederate belt buckle or something, but we all know how rare that it.

 

[Mud Hut]

If I was working by the piece, I would have starved to death 33 years ago.

 

[DigIron2]

I do it mostly for the enjoyment too,but the possibility of the big one is out there,just wish I knew whereI have hunted some site's that I would come back with at least a days minimum wage pay in relics almost every time I would hunt them, "for awhile anyway".But it doesn't last,the site will eventually produce less and less until you find yourself walking around all day and are lucky to find one decent find.Not a reliable source of income in my opinion.But I can't speak for everyone,I guess anything is possible?I bet hunting would be a stressful job if you had to depend on it!Plus who wants to have to sell all their stuff.That alone would take away my passion for the sport.

 

[Moresound]

The past three days yielded me about minimum wage. And that as with three or four great finds ... Two big silver bracelets and one small one, a Benjamin half, a mercury dime, a war nickel, two small silver rings and one big honker of a silver ring, one small/medium silver heart from a necklace.

Then the tons of clad.


Oh yeah and the relics ..... Priceless!

 

[dirtlooter]

I thought everyone was a millionaire, why I would be doing really good if those pull tabs were worth ten cents or more! yeah right!

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Metal detecting income= 0.
Metal detecting= Priceless!
Peace

 

[Boatlode]

With the cost of gas, I'm definitely in the red.

 

[dirtscratcher]

A lemonaide stand would be more profitable.

 

[TerryC]

It's feast or famine. I have an Impulse 8 that probably paid for itself 3 or 4 times over....... the last 20 years! I would be better off flipping hamburgers for McDs..... and I would even eat better! TTC

 

[Moresound]

When you get right down to it .....

It would only take that one find, that one find.

 

[Lady Pirate]

A Dollar Three Eighty

 

[Moresound]

A Dollar Three Eighty

Is that counting the half cent?

 

[masterjedi]

LOl... If you took your gas, tools, batteries, Mdetectors... you never make money...

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