9/11/68-9/11/08 forty years swinging a detector

kane23

Hero Member
Mar 29, 2007
719
5
Utah
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Tejon, Garrett Ace 350.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hi,
Forty years wow! On my birthday in 1968 my mother bought me a cheap detector. They were all BFO's and TR's back then,no discrimination. I was 14 at the time,my first find was a penny hidden by a friend. I think my detector cost $30.00. I did'nt find much until my mother bought a better detector a General electronics Mark 1A. Mostly I searched the dirt along the side of city roads, but still found a lot. My first decent find was a 1902 blackened barber quarter. I did'nt even know what a Barber coin was then.
Soon I started searching lawns. Man there was silver everywhere! I found over three thosand silver coins just in the city park(over several years). at the local high school I found 9 silver halve's in one day,at the College, eleven silver halves along with four gold rings the same day. All with a detector that did'nt discriminate.
In 1972 I tripped and broke my detector. I did'nt buy another one until 1977,this time a bounty hunter big bud. In 1978 I heard a deep signal that turned out to be my first gold coin a 1880-s five dollar piece. The next year I found a 1849 ten in a local ghost town. soon I was finding other coins by the thousands.
The silver of course started dropping way off,now i'm lucky if I find ten silver coins in a year. One day at an old dump I found 7 tokens that I sold for $950.00. My other highlight of the 1990's was a 1875 twenty dollar gold found in Leadville Colorado. I had a a treasure magazine article about that one.
In 2001 I found a little over 20,000 coins in one year, What a ride! In 2003 I found another gold coin, this time a modern five in a large ring with two diamonds. My best estimate for 40 years detecting is that i've found 275,000 coins. I hav'nt stopped, almost 7000 this year so far.
I do not have a digital camera or PC,still if you want to see some of my finds I can email them to you.Just let me know at [email protected]. I wish you all great hunting,my forty years has been a great experience...Kane 23
 

Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
3,992
In Michigan now.
Detector(s) used
Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
You had a wild ride and learned a lot from your hunting. If only todays kids could get more into the hunt too.
 

Cynangyl

Gold Member
Apr 12, 2007
11,346
78
God's lap
Detector(s) used
X-terra 70
ACE 250
You have done awesome my friend! I thoroughly enjoy the magazine articles you have written as well as the daily emails of finds and such. What a blessing to have a friend like you! ~hugs~
 

johnnycat

Bronze Member
Aug 19, 2007
1,510
309
Mechanicsville, VA
Detector(s) used
Legend
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
My brother has been detecting just about as long as you have and the stories he has. It seems that back then everywhere he went he came home with a pocketful of coins. He says that back then, "everywhere" was a sweet spot and you stopped digging coins only because you just got plain tired. Ahhhh, the good old days. :wink:
 

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kane23

kane23

Hero Member
Mar 29, 2007
719
5
Utah
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Tejon, Garrett Ace 350.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Cynangyl,you are always so sweet and such a good friend! Johnnycat your brother is so right! Silver everywhere back then. In one three day stretch I found over $36.00 face value in silver coins. HH Kane 23
 

Cynangyl

Gold Member
Apr 12, 2007
11,346
78
God's lap
Detector(s) used
X-terra 70
ACE 250
Now to just find a place that you guys didn't detect so it is STILL that way!! lol
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
Don't you wish you hadn't stopped between 1972 and 1977? :o How deep would that earlier detector of yours get a coin-sized target? I started with a used 66TR (circa late 1960s/early '70s) in the mid 1970s. I recall it would go about 4" deep on a coin sized target IF I listened reealll close :)
 

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kane23

kane23

Hero Member
Mar 29, 2007
719
5
Utah
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Tejon, Garrett Ace 350.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Tom,
Seems I could find a silver dollar or half about six inches with that old unit,it was a real wisp of a signal, anything over three inches. I borrowed a few detectors from 72 to 77,I also dug a lot of dumps and found a few old coins and lots of bottles that way. I should have really still been going when detectors became discriminators and VLF came into vogue.To busy chasing women at the time I guess. I have to make up for it in volume these days. HH kane 23
 

kayo

Newbie
Sep 8, 2008
4
0
:thumbsup: I personally know this man and he is a hell of a treasure hunter. He has'nt even begun to tell you about all the tokens, coins, bottles, marbles, artifacts he has found through the years. There are outhouse's he's dug, the gold coins he's found (about 13 or so), coins 16-d mercury, silver dollars, jars full of tokens, handmade marbles. He lives his life as a treasure hunter and still managed to raise five children. His knowledge of history is amazing as is his knowledge of coins. (foriegn and USA) Cogratulations on forty years.
 

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kane23

kane23

Hero Member
Mar 29, 2007
719
5
Utah
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Tejon, Garrett Ace 350.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Kayo!
Your the man! Thanks for all the kind things you said1 Kayo is also no slouch,last week he found a 1893 Indian head, a 1900-s barber dime and a real nice 1920 buffalo! he is one of the best,often he will find seated coins when I do not. Thank the treasure world for friends like Kayo!...Kane23
 

Narthoniel

Bronze Member
Jul 1, 2008
1,755
6
Virginia Beach
Detector(s) used
Excal 2 and E Trac
Being new to detecting, stories like this are very inspiring. Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your great success throughout the years. I dream of finding a single gold coin, and you have over a dozen! Wow!
Thanks again,
Anthony
 

bootybay

Gold Member
Aug 9, 2007
11,314
120
NJ
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
EXCAL 2, SOV. GT
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hey Kane,
Congrats on all the super finds over the years.. I gotta ask ya, did you sell them all or keep em? :thumbsup:
 

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kane23

kane23

Hero Member
Mar 29, 2007
719
5
Utah
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Tejon, Garrett Ace 350.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Bootybay,
I still have some of my finds, but most are long gone,having money to buy food and other things sometimes becomes more important than treasure hunting...Kane 23
 

time4me

Bronze Member
Aug 30, 2005
1,296
44
Detector(s) used
E-Trac, Explorer II, Excalibur
I nominate you for the Metal Detecting Hall of Fame.

Man, what an incredible journey you've had detecting these past 40 years.

Here's to the next 40 years! :occasion14:
 

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kane23

kane23

Hero Member
Mar 29, 2007
719
5
Utah
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Tejon, Garrett Ace 350.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If I live even another 20 years it will be amazing! I will probably go out detector in hand......Kane 23
 

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kane23

kane23

Hero Member
Mar 29, 2007
719
5
Utah
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Tejon, Garrett Ace 350.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Found another 115 coins yesterday with 40 dimes and 30 quarters...The journey continues...HH Kane 23
 

Cynangyl

Gold Member
Apr 12, 2007
11,346
78
God's lap
Detector(s) used
X-terra 70
ACE 250
Congrats! Glad to hear you are finding a lot again! Take good care of yourself! ~hugs~
 

MUD(S.W.A.T)

Gold Member
Apr 15, 2005
8,003
897
Location: Undisclosed
Detector(s) used
I use, Whites MXT and Garrett AT Pro.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Oh so its your fault... your what a friend and I call a Discotector... Your one of the ones that took all the coins in the 70's, well thank you for taking all the silver coins.... :( I asked my folks for a machine when I was a kid.... They never got me one :( was not till I was 24-25 (2004-2005)I bought my own. Oh well, times change sounds like you had a blast and made some good money and still are. I can only imagine what it was like to dig so much treasure...

Keep @ it and HH!!
 

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kane23

kane23

Hero Member
Mar 29, 2007
719
5
Utah
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Tejon, Garrett Ace 350.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Mud,
Neither of us will ever find it all! There is still tons of stuff, you just have to work harder to find it! Sorry your parents did'nt get you that detector. Want to find a lot of silver? search the lawns of older houses. I would do it more but I hate asking permission. Good luck.....Kane 23
 

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