Im wondering if anyone has felt this way...about finds being phony?

Terry Soloman

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BryanM362

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In the final analysis, I really don't care too much if someone posts an item they planted. Everything I see and read about is really cool and I love the history behind them.

Am I wrong to think that some posts are of items that were not really found?
I'm kind of wondering why I have some doubts at times.
I know I will find the ring or the silver coin and will be happy to keep hunting.

Just wondering if anyone else has got that feeling and is it normal?

Haven't noticed it here, but I definetly get that feeling watching American Diggers!
 

Doubter in MD

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There are a lot of things on here that I consider fake, and I am not restricting that statement to finds.

And while posting fake finds doesn't hurt anyone, I do believe some of the other threads are potentially damaging to naive people who are too trusting of others.
 

Muddyhandz

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It really doesn't bother me one bit. The person who posts fakes has to live with themselves.
Sure they might a get a high from all the attention, but it would be short lived and followed by some sort of depression.
It's really strange times these days with the internet. To me it's like a D&D role-playing video game.......
I've spent hours finding rare weapons, armour, and gold coins and when the game is shut off, I have nothing to show for.
If you post that you had a bowl of cornflakes on facebook and three people like your post, do the cornflakes taste better?
I rarely post my finds anymore because I don't need to. Many people have visited me and seen my stuff.
They've held these objects in their hands and marveled over it's history and beauty.
Hunting partners were right there when I found something good and we shared in the experience.
Most importantly, my finds do not become more special because a bunch of people on the internet said "Wow, nice find!"
My finds are meant to bring me happiness. That's why I do what I do.
One day when I write a book or open a small museum, then others can enjoy these finds as well.
Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy reading posts of people's finds and posting my finds too.
I just don't need to show off my stuff to make myself feel better about it.
If someone posts fakes they are only fooling themselves.
Cheers,
Dave.
 

Iron Patch

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Most finds are dug and you can tell they're dug, and the fake finds are almost always pretty low end stuff. Most who do this probably have something else going on that is a lot bigger issue than us worrying about a find that was misrepresented.

Something for everyone to think about.... Not too long ago on another forum someone was either caught, or accused of doing this and was given a VERY hard time, and lots of jokes made at his expense. He killed himself. How much the razzing played a role we'll never know, but a lot of people learned a tough and sad lesson that day.
 

GMD52

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As many have already said, the poster who shows us pictures of a less than honest find is in the end only cheating himself, and trying to be accepted by the many pros here on Tnet, And they have to know in their minds that all of you can tell. But that is their prerogative under the open forum of this site. Over confidence will eventually make them slip up and get caught, and finally the redundancy and questions to draw attention to themselves will stop until the next one in line steps up. I also agree that it's a lot easier to ignore them, than boost their ego's. My opinion only, and I definatly far from perfect, but do believe that honesty will always win in the long run. It comes down to being a lot easier to not say anything , than to keep the conversation going.
 

Jason in Enid

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Saw a guy get ripped apart on another forum, he actually posted with pic's of a V nickel, a steel penny he says he dug and some Confederate paper money he found in a buried steel box. The coins and paper bills were pristine, they ripped him to shreds. Sorry I don't like fake anything.

That's not exactly what happened. The person posted obviously store-bought coins and said he dug them. Many people replied with "wow, thats great" and similar posts. Then the poster was fed enough rope to hang himself with. Questions about how clean they were and how he got them to look so good. Multiple answers, different stories, talk about his buddy's coin shop, etc, etc. Nobody came out and said anything about them being fakes until he became aggressive and started attacking people for questioning his multiple stories. Once he took that road, it became "gloves off" until the mods locked it.
 

hunter_46356

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Well I didn't mean they actually ripped the guy apart but he did post pic's of non dug coins, don't know where he got them and paper money that he said he in found a can in a box, I guess I assumed the box was metal but I could be wrong. The rest of the story is just like you said Jeff. I guess I just saw all the questions and obviously assumed they were considering this guy and his finds not real. I think we are on the same page. My comment was not connected with the one about the guy killing himself, Haven't heard that one till now.
 

watercolor

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Well I guess I'm guilty. . . sort of.
My son planted this quarter in the backyard the evening I got my first metal detector.
The next morning I found it. . . along with his note that was wrapped around it LOL.

I still have it, with the note, in a plastic bag pinned to the wall in my office to commemorate this historic event.

Eric's Joke.JPG
 

Iron Patch

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Well I didn't mean they actually ripped the guy apart but he did post pic's of non dug coins, don't know where he got them and paper money that he said he in found a can in a box, I guess I assumed the box was metal but I could be wrong. The rest of the story is just like you said Jeff. I guess I just saw all the questions and obviously assumed they were considering this guy and his finds not real. I think we are on the same page. My comment was not connected with the one about the guy killing himself, Haven't heard that one till now.


Just for the record I think it was an overdose, and I don't know if it was intentional or not. But regardless of what exactly happened I have no doubt his mental state would have played a role.
 

Native Floridian

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Problem regarding posted finds -

Those trying to make a name for themselves by posting eye popping finds. The desire to be perceived as a Big Dog hunter drives these posts. I've seen this on TNet.

I know it's fake, so does just about everyone who is looking at it. Then someone comes along and gives the hunter an atta boy. Before you know it they've piled up a half dozen WTGs, with four or five likes and they are busy back in the jewelry box looking for the next item to take to makeup so they can post the next find.

It would be nice to give them what they deserve but then this place would turn into a free for all. Honest, but thin skinned members would be afraid to post.

So it goes in the life of a big dog wannabe!

That said, i believe most of the posts are real.
 

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ryaan21

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A couple of years ago I made a post concerning this. My brother and I introduced a friend to metal detecting. He seemed really excited and interested in it. My brother sold him a nice detector to replace the cheap one he was using. On the 1st or second hunt with us he started finding really nice stuff, silver out the ying yang, really good condition indian heads. We all just congratulated him and went on with our hunting.

The next week or so a co worker of both my brother and the guy who was detecting with us asked my brother "Hey did ***** show you those coins I sold him?" Turn out the coins that he sold him were the exact same ones he found while detecting with us.

Made me really wonder why someone would do something like that. Especially while hunting with us. We get excited when someone finds a simple wheat penny or some artifact like an old brass lantern piece.

So yeah I know people are out there who would do something like this. Would I call them out on it? In person I would. On a forum like this, no, this is not the place. They will have to live with themselves and the weird lies they tell. I can't imagine planting or faking a find to get praise or attention. It would feel hollow and miserable im guessing.
 

PatrickD

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I have seen a couple episodes of Diggers... Have they ever dug up a pulltab?
 

Hdubya

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I have seen a couple episodes of Diggers... Have they ever dug up a pulltab?

I cannot watch that show! Bam babyyyy! I feel like he gives normal people like me a bad name. I get excited over finding old shot gun shells. They have no value but yet I get excited pretty much every time. All the stuff he pulls out of the ground *appears* to have been already electrolysised.

** oops I thought you were talking about American diggers. The actual show diggers I love... They dig garbage all the time but don't show it until the end when they lay everything out.
 

PhilBarnett

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I can imaging any one getting any excitement out of planting things or using stuff they did not find. I know from my experience in hobbies that the thrill is when you make a find of something that has not been seen in years or never seen before. Several years ago my brother and I got into gold prospecting. Bought a dredge and did a lot of panning in a creek close to where I live I the gold belt in the east. We didn't find a lot but both had vials of gold mostly flake with a few puckers. There is nothing like finding the first gold in you pan. The feeling when the sunlight hits that gold down I. The black sand that is left in the bottom of yo pan is just a thrill. I did a little detecting 20 plus years ago and that feeling is the same when you find old coins. What joy could come from buying coins and say you found them. Lol. I can wait till I get the cash rounded up for ther Whites v3i that I am going to buy in a couple months to get back into detecting now that I am retired.

Sent from my iPad using TreasureNet
 

badpenny

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I never planted a thing, and if I post it, I dug it... on a recent hunt at my old homestead I laughed at every penny I dug, knowing my father threw them randomly in the yard just to tick me off. Nothing older than the early seventies either.
 

OP
OP
EmptyPockets

EmptyPockets

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I really appreciate the views and guidance posted in this thread. Of course I would never call someone out, it's just plain tacky.
However, if my brother plants that 10# gold nugget I've been looking for, well, I'm calling him out. :laughing7:

I'm glad that some folks have chimed in on what I have felt and the pointing out of the rules of the forum.
It's not that I'm angry at anyone, it's just that I'm a newbe in the metal detecting hobby and also have newbe feelings about things.

Thank you everyone for posting your views.
I really do appreciate it.

I think I'm gonna have to watch that digger show, haven't seen it yet.

Live long and metal detect. :hello2:

-Joanne
 

pennyfarmer

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I used to MD with this guy. The first time out, he found a really cool old penny from like 1917 or something. The next time out, he found several old coins in an area I had searched before. The third time out, he found several other old coins. One was another penny like he found on the first hunt. I stopped hunting with him.

Why would you quit hunting with him? maybe you could learn something from him. Follow him and check the signals he is getting. I offer that to my friends who seem skeptical about my finds. I dig lots of good stuff where others have been before. It is actually a favorite past time, hunting where others have hunted it out. I would not fool you with a 1917 penny. I have also pulled coins right behind people, although I learned that is not nice. I understand your frustration, I have felt it before but I use it as an opportunity to examine my own techniques. Is my hunting style right for the area? Is my mind focused on the task at hand?

Too bad you blew off a friend who may have been able to help if you had just asked.
 

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