What have you done with your finds?

[beaverdigger]

I've been detecting for many years, and not to brag, have numerous great finds in the jewlery department. Rings, braclets, charms and such. Many gold and a ton ( almost) of silver.
People have oogled and slobered over many of them, and have been on my case for years to have them appraised to see what they may be worth. Well, I finaly gave in after being put into contact with a buyer of "estate" jewelry. I made good money and was realy suprised. I won't disclose the amount here, You probably would not believe the amount I recieved for the gold and jewels (most buyers and even pawn shops are not interested in silver).
I guess I'll try to sell the silver at the Flea Market or maybe a garage sale and see how it will do.
So, what do you all do with your great finds?
I have one 14kt gold with 4 3pt diamonds and an 18 kt gold band I kept and wear every day since they were my first good finds many years ago.
Hope you all find plenty of treasure .

[Monty]

Mine are stuffed in a box in the closet! Mostly junk, but a few goodies. Monty

[bradgny]

As for my finds well.. Ive been hunting for going on 25 years now I have found a fair amount of relics and historical things those i have kept .As for the amount of steel I have dug ,I could have melted it down and built the Eiffel tower a few times .as for aluminum cans and pulltabs ,if melted down it would probably make enough aluminum foil to go to the moon and back .
But I do love this hobby and will continue to dig ,always waiting for that perfect find as we all are
HH and good luck to you all

[sharpshooter]

So, what do you all do with your great finds?

beaverdigger - I can't say that I've had any "great" finds. I'm mostly a coin hunter; an interest that I've had since first starting a coin collection back in the 60's. I've never sold anything I've found with a metal detector. I've determined that if I ever find a coin that I believe is worth $100 or more, I'll send it off to have it slabbed.

I guess I'll try to sell the silver at the Flea Market or maybe a garage sale and see how it will do.

I have sold some scrap gold and silver to Midwest Refineries. They have been around a long time and will treat you right. They pay 88% of the spot price for silver in your sterling silver jewelry, and 90% of the spot price for coin silver. Might want to consider this as an option.

Someone mentioned historical artifacts. If you have a find of great historical significance, a loan to a museum my be the right thing to do. You retain ownership of the item and get to share it with everyone. Write up an agreement and have the museum pay to have the item insured against theft or damage. I was told by someone many years ago that the Cowboy Hall Of Fame does this for some of their items on display.