Attention ! any/all metal detectorists who were hunting circa 1965-1975 !...

[fyrffytr1]

I have already posted my story in another thread but will add it here. Back in the late 50s, early 60s a friend and I would go to cleared lots in my hometown and pick up civil war bullets. We would take them down to the creek and see who could skip them the most times. We left the buttons and other stuff because it didn't skip good. My hometown was either a Confederate or Union camp for the duration of the war. I got my first detector when I got out of the Navy in 1973 but I detected with one of my brothers machines before then whenever I was home on leave. I never concentrated on coins but had a heck of a time finding civil war and earlier relics.
My younger brother paid all his bills for a year selling bullets at 50 cents each in the mid 70s.

 

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[creskol]

My girlfriend and I got into detecting back in 1968 with a kit built detectors we made in a high school electronics class. She was the best hunting partner I have ever had. Sadly she was killed by a drunk driver in 1973. I still miss her more than anything.

 

[Rustynailsandscrews]

Keep in mind, silver was in general circulation back in those days. So finding silver was the same as finding clad today and you just spent it. Machines were heavy and cumbersome to handle with little to no discrimination. Today's basic machines could run loops around what we had then !

 

[gunsil]

My Garrett BFO is much lighter than my Safari or any Minelab Explorer series detector. It does have a big aluminum box but it actually is well balanced and was comfortable to hunt with for many hours a day. If you think these machines were cumbersome and heavy you never used one. Silver was no longer issued after 1964 and EVERYBODY took it out of circulation since everybody knew it would soon be worth more than a clad coin. I don't know anybody who spent a silver coin after 1965, although I know some did it wasn't the norm. As for discrimination, yes, there was none. Is this a handicap? NO. The only absolutely POSITIVE ID anybody will ever get on a target is when it is out of the ground and in their hands. As I have maintained for years, and a proven fact, "he who digs the most holes finds the most good stuff". So you had to dig a lot, big deal. We cleaned ALL the junk and good stuff from the ground. Nowadays there are still many very experienced and astute hunters who have the most sophisticated modern machines yet they still hunt "wide open" no discrimination and dig most signals. They are the ones who get the most goodies.

 

[A2coins]

I only wish

 

[CASPER-2]

I started in 1975 at age 12
even then most of the schools and parks were hit a few times by older guys
that started in late 60s early 70s
but still you could walk away with a handful of silver coins every hunt
now I'm happy to get one from most spots