Krosp1718
Greenie
Checking in from Federal Way WA.
I am new to detecting, but have had family that were old hands way back in the day. My Grandfather, Robert Forbes, was a constant source of information, lore, and war stories involving treasure hunting using various means. He was particularly fond of going after an old, abandoned outdoor toilet with nothing more than a shovel. Him and his hunting buddies Joe (can't remember the last name) and Dan (think his last name was Dozart) would occasionally take me along for some detecting in New Orleans if they were hitting something easy like a park or school ground. His favorite activity was metal detecting on the Port Hudson Battlefield. He would bring his gear to work with him (Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola) and creep into the battlefield after work. A night's detecting would often lead to a couple of shells, a handful of minie balls, and the occasional item that stood out. Buckles, bayonets, buttons, etc. Then he would hike back out before dawn, having piled everything into an old Boy Scouts backpack. Once home, a quick bit of demilling, and a quick cleanup with a brush and some shellac, and it went into the case. It's a wonder he never blew himself up doing this. When he retired from the state back in the early 80's, they bought his collection and placed it in the Port Hudson Battlefield Museum. I understand that it's all still there to this day.
Another favorite was to take an inner tube and cover it with screen wire. He would then work down the seawall on Lake Pontchartain in New Orleans with a square nose shovel. No detector needed really. Wave action would push everything up to the bottom most step. I remember him showing me a bootlace that he had tied into a loop that was completely filled with gold rings. The overwhelming majority were high school class rings, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at one. At one point they decided to get serious about the seawall and bought a floating 4" dredge. I don't know that it ever found more treasure for them, but I was able to go with them once and see it in action.
Eventually, he nearly got in some trouble. Workmansbooks: (WB20090510467M) Magazine: Treasure Found!: Vol. 10, No. 4, Winter 1984 Yep. Him and his buddies wrote up an article (which my Mother typed for them) and submitted it to Treasure Found with some pictures. Treasure Found picked up the story. "Huge Cannons Found at Battery Beinvenue." Not surprisingly, shortly after publication they received an angrily worded cease and desist from someone's lawyer. They decided that they flaunted with incarceration enough and settled down after that.
I've attached a few pics from some stuff he sent me a few years ago. Sorry for the terrible quality, but they're cell phone pics of printouts of old pictures. He had to leave us last year, and I sure do miss him.
As for myself, I am fairly new to the Seattle area. I'm a Landscape Architect and hired in with the CoE last year. I'm begining some research that I hope will point to some productive ground, and eventually, waters. Ideally, I think I should start with hunting on land and get a feel for things. I'll hopefully be shipping my dive gear up here over the holidays and with a fantastic amount of luck and determination, could be making dives by next summer. I'm also researching detectors and currently eyeing the Garrett AT Pro pretty lustily.
At any rate, I just wanted to say hello.
I am new to detecting, but have had family that were old hands way back in the day. My Grandfather, Robert Forbes, was a constant source of information, lore, and war stories involving treasure hunting using various means. He was particularly fond of going after an old, abandoned outdoor toilet with nothing more than a shovel. Him and his hunting buddies Joe (can't remember the last name) and Dan (think his last name was Dozart) would occasionally take me along for some detecting in New Orleans if they were hitting something easy like a park or school ground. His favorite activity was metal detecting on the Port Hudson Battlefield. He would bring his gear to work with him (Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola) and creep into the battlefield after work. A night's detecting would often lead to a couple of shells, a handful of minie balls, and the occasional item that stood out. Buckles, bayonets, buttons, etc. Then he would hike back out before dawn, having piled everything into an old Boy Scouts backpack. Once home, a quick bit of demilling, and a quick cleanup with a brush and some shellac, and it went into the case. It's a wonder he never blew himself up doing this. When he retired from the state back in the early 80's, they bought his collection and placed it in the Port Hudson Battlefield Museum. I understand that it's all still there to this day.
Another favorite was to take an inner tube and cover it with screen wire. He would then work down the seawall on Lake Pontchartain in New Orleans with a square nose shovel. No detector needed really. Wave action would push everything up to the bottom most step. I remember him showing me a bootlace that he had tied into a loop that was completely filled with gold rings. The overwhelming majority were high school class rings, but I wouldn't turn my nose up at one. At one point they decided to get serious about the seawall and bought a floating 4" dredge. I don't know that it ever found more treasure for them, but I was able to go with them once and see it in action.
Eventually, he nearly got in some trouble. Workmansbooks: (WB20090510467M) Magazine: Treasure Found!: Vol. 10, No. 4, Winter 1984 Yep. Him and his buddies wrote up an article (which my Mother typed for them) and submitted it to Treasure Found with some pictures. Treasure Found picked up the story. "Huge Cannons Found at Battery Beinvenue." Not surprisingly, shortly after publication they received an angrily worded cease and desist from someone's lawyer. They decided that they flaunted with incarceration enough and settled down after that.
I've attached a few pics from some stuff he sent me a few years ago. Sorry for the terrible quality, but they're cell phone pics of printouts of old pictures. He had to leave us last year, and I sure do miss him.
As for myself, I am fairly new to the Seattle area. I'm a Landscape Architect and hired in with the CoE last year. I'm begining some research that I hope will point to some productive ground, and eventually, waters. Ideally, I think I should start with hunting on land and get a feel for things. I'll hopefully be shipping my dive gear up here over the holidays and with a fantastic amount of luck and determination, could be making dives by next summer. I'm also researching detectors and currently eyeing the Garrett AT Pro pretty lustily.
At any rate, I just wanted to say hello.
