Is it possible to "make a living" metal detecting?

[CincinnatiKid]

I view all the YouTube vids, TV shows, etc. Some of the MDing "stars" are surely comped by manufacturers, even cable companies and YT. But , can a person sustain a comfortable life by metal detecting?
Any thoughts...
Thanks
Peace

 

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[Limitool]

If I could sell every horseshoe I find for say $100.00 straight from the ground.... or after a bath in electrolysis and a little cleaning say for $200.00... and after I write up a certificate of authenticity that I knew who's horse it came off for say $300.00 then I could make a great living. You've given me one hell of an idea. Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TerryC]

Yes and no. If you are doing popular beaches with good PI machines, maybe. The question is... define COMFORTABLE. TTC

 

[G.I.B.]

Yes, you can make a living being a metal detectorist.

(assuming you live in a tent, have no dependents, are receiving SSI, Medicare and something of a retirement account from some place up north and you enjoy being seen in a broken down '67 Buick with different color doors and no hood.)

There is an alternative however.

When it's discovered that pull tab's are a premium rocket fuel source for alien space ships- I'm gunna be rich!

(it's called a hobby for a reason)

 

[RustyGold]

GIB you got it right! When pull tabs go to 150.00 per oz.!

 

[DDancer]

There are gold prospectors in Australia that make a living just detecting. In the US though I'd reckon you'd have to have a day job.

 

[Lady Pirate]

 

[mangum]

No! Then it would be work & not a fun hobby.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

My buddie and I used to to talk about it all the time...One thing about Youtubers, is the fact, the dont always find all that stuff at the same time, or the same day. I personally would have to find over a 100 dollars a day just to pay my bills, not including food/gas/anything fun (beer)

But trust me, it would be great, but detecting with a quota would be stressful

 

[stefen]

Anything is possible if you have a positive attitude and invest your time and effort...

Try it for a year then provide a one (1) word essay on its outcome...

 

[bakergeol]

I view all the YouTube vids, TV shows, etc. Some of the MDing "stars" are surely comped by manufacturers, even cable companies and YT. But , can a person sustain a comfortable life by metal detecting?
Any thoughts...
Thanks
Peace

It was a tough go even in the OLD Days- over 50 years ago when nobody knew what you were doing and everything was virgin and untouched. One could easily make minimum wage(what $1.60 an hour) but silver dimes were worth 10 cents and gold was $30 an ounce. I used to take detecting trips to the east for several weeks detecting virgin sites. When I needed money for gas and food I would stop at a small town and detect around the parking meters or at a local school yard. Sort of living off the land. Banner finds every day but paying the rent- Nooo...

George

 

[DigginDownUnder]

There is a guy in Australia who claims to make 30k plus a year. He detects parks after music festivals and events. $2.00 coins add up fast.

 

[Ocean7]

it is possible but not probable for most people. Those who do are Professionals and not going after chump change. You'll always hear of the exceptions - either real or quite imagined. Anyone who can - more power to them.

 

[lookindown]

No...its a hobby.

 

[sponge]

GIB you got it right! When pull tabs go to 150.00 per oz.!

Dudes im freakin rich. How about the lime green pulltabs? When do you see tent spikes increasing in value ? Is it true that bottlecaps can are being bought back due to the huge strike. Those people are pissed man.

sponge using smoke signals.

 

[jeff of pa]

anything is Possible.

Those guys in England that dug up multi-million dollar Caches in farmers fields,
have already made a Living & the rest is just icing.

I'm sure there are also a Few beach hunters in Hawaii etc., that IF they cached in could consider their
take, a good retirement fund.

as I said, anything is possible.

I'm sure there is also a few detectorists who bought $3,000.00 detectors & haven't found a Zinc penny yet

 

[Tom_in_CA]

There are gold prospectors in Australia that make a living just detecting. In the US though I'd reckon you'd have to have a day job.

Ha good answer d-dancer Yes we're doing good JUST to pay for our gas and equipment, eh? haha. Even given that you'll get some good numismatic coins, or the melt value of gold if you're a beach or nugget hunter, etc...

Yours & lookin-down's ("no it's a hobby") answers reminds me of this example: When gold hit all-time-highs in about 1980 or so, there was a particular pioneering fellow here in CA, who was amongst the first generation of hunters to figure out how to make metal detectors find nuggets in their natural state (this was before specialty machine for nuggets). He and his buddies were doing good enough on their Saturday/Sunday hunts in the Sierra foothills, that he began to figure out that he was actually making MORE money at gold prospecting, than he was at his job!

As luck would have it, he soon found himself between jobs. So the solution was simple: simply metal detect for a living finding gold nuggets. He did this for several weeks, but soon found that it was no longer fun. Whereas before it had simply been a hobby, yet NOW he was "under the gun" to make a quota each day. So instead of looking forward to it each day (as had been before each weekend), now it was a dread. Now it was paperwork, etc... So he abandoned those notions, applied for normal jobs, and went back to keeping detecting as "fun".

 

[bigfoot1]

the deal as I see it is this...expenses are constant...value finds are intermitant.even if I lived under an overpass I would on occassion starve.I sell the tar out of my finds.I find creative ways to maximise their value...I hunt alot...best year yet...$3300.00

I like beer too much to live on that

cheers

 

[FloridaDigger]

I believe you can live off of metal detecting, but it must be approached like a business rather than a hobby. For example, you may need an income source or savings until you become good at detecting and recovering high value coins or relics. You'll need a professional detector or two and become good at research. Learn where the most 'treasure' can be found in your area and be persistent. Your ratio of trash to treasure should increase - meaning more digging and more trash. Mel fisher is a good example of what it takes to treasure hunt. He never let discouragement set his pace and it never diminished his energy. The good news is we don't need investors.

 

[lookindown]

Ha good answer d-dancer Yes we're doing good JUST to pay for our gas and equipment, eh? haha. Even given that you'll get some good numismatic coins, or the melt value of gold if you're a beach or nugget hunter, etc...

Yours & lookin-down's ("no it's a hobby") answers reminds me of this example: When gold hit all-time-highs in about 1980 or so, there was a particular pioneering fellow here in CA, who was amongst the first generation of hunters to figure out how to make metal detectors find nuggets in their natural state (this was before specialty machine for nuggets). He and his buddies were doing good enough on their Saturday/Sunday hunts in the Sierra foothills, that he began to figure out that he was actually making MORE money at gold prospecting, than he was at his job!

As luck would have it, he soon found himself between jobs. So the solution was simple: simply metal detect for a living finding gold nuggets. He did this for several weeks, but soon found that it was no longer fun. Whereas before it had simply been a hobby, yet NOW he was "under the gun" to make a quota each day. So instead of looking forward to it each day (as had been before each weekend), now it was a dread. Now it was paperwork, etc... So he abandoned those notions, applied for normal jobs, and went back to keeping detecting as "fun".

You got it.