63bkpkr
Silver Member
- Aug 9, 2007
- 4,069
- 4,618
- Detector(s) used
- XLT, GMT, 6000D Coinmaster
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Hello to all,
To set the scene, it is cold and raining outside on this 19th of February 2011 in Northern California and though I'd rather be outside metal detecting I'm inside but wanted to do something worthwhile. I acted on a thought and photographed some of my early finds with my first "real metal detector" and I share them with you now. {Note: this is the first time these pictures have been posted}
I started making detectors from plans in electronic magazines, these worked but minimally. Next I built a Heathkit it also found all types of metals but no discrimination. Then a friend at work loaned me a Whites 6000D Coinmaster that he was not interested in, this was back in the mid 70's. The finds I've pictured in this topic are ones I found with the Whites 6000D, a machine I learned to believe in and trust and which provided me with many happy hours of detecting. After borrowing it for several weekends I purchased it and used it for many years till it was stolen in 1989 along with the vehicle it was in. But that is a different story for another day.
I began using the Whites and immediately began finding coins in my own front yard, this was new and exciting. I then detected neighbors yards, found a lovely silver Washington quarter in a yard the owner assured me there was nothing there. I was still "shy" about detecting and did not want to draw much attention so on weekend mornings I would hop on my bicycle and ride out with the detector and ask people if I could detect their yards. A note of explanation: I did not dig holes. I used an 1/8" diameter brass rod on a 'T' handle to "locate" the target in the ground. Time consuming but not messy. Also, I would offer to do simple yard work like raking for the chance to detect their yard, kind of a win win situation for both of us. On with the tale..........
One Saturday morning I'd been out for some time and was enjoying myself. I'd wandered to the edge of Downtown Redwood City where I noticed the sidewalk in front of the chamber of commerce was torn up. I'd read in W&E T about good hunting under old walks so I went over and began swinging, I was using earphones. My mind was tuned to nothing but the threshold tone coming from the earphones. Bottle caps, tin foil, nails and then I realized something was different around me. I looked up and there was traffic every where and people could see me! I decided to quit and headed for the bicycle. Now here it comes what we read so many times and say "Oh sure you did"! I had about 20 feet of opened sidewalk underbelly between myself and the bike, I put the earphone's on and began walking quickly while swinging when it happened. There was this SOOO Loud sound from the earphones, I suspect I lost some hearing ability on that one. I said to myself "what kind of bottle cap did I find now". I moved the coil out of the way and I could see the circle of the offending item in the ground. I bent over and pushed on one edge of the circle and up came the bottle cap. ONLY it was gold colored and thick and I'd just found my first GOLD RING!
That moment was life changing! At that moment I gave up being Shy out in public while metal detecting. The president of the U.S. could be standing there giving a speech and I'd just keep right on swinging while the SS carried me away. Hmmmm, this is the first time I've ever typed that abbreviation and it is a bit disturbing. Back to the ring - the first picture is the circle I saw in the dirt only not nearly as thick as the dirt had filled in around the radius of the ring. The second picture is the face of the ring. I tried locating the owner of the ring, back in the 70's, and I will try again now as searching sites has become so much easier and I suspect the lady that lost the ring might enjoy having it back. More on this aspect later.
We shift to detecting a friend from works back yard in the early evening till after dark. I'd gained some experience with the 6000D and was still probing with the brass rod. I found the usual pull tabs and bottle caps but I then had this one signal that sounded so different that I just had to know what it was. Probing is difficult as one can not see into the ground though once you've gotten a starter circle built with the probe a finger along with the probe can be inserted. It was now Dark out and my hand held flashlight only added to my frustration. At one point I felt something between my finger and the rod and began to drag all three items from the probe hole. In the dim flashlight I thought it was nothing but a small stone covered with dirt, I did my first brush off and saw something odd. I used the stored water supply I always carry with me and spit on the object and cleaned it a bit more, it looked metallic. I checked the probe site and the signal was gone, I checked the thing in my hand and the machine nodded its needle that I'd pulled the item from the ground. Once home the Gold Crown cleaned up nicely.
My first Gold Tooth and I'm now a believer in a "good" electronic target probe.
As time rolled on I picked up other nice or at least interesting objects. A Philadelphia Railway Token, mind you we are still in Northern California.
A Sterling Silver Mouse Ring (Mickey I'd guess)
A "Sharpshooter Ring" and though not in the best of condition it is what I've been offered the most for as it is an oddity. Comments as to the identity of the ring would be appreciated along with any sort of value.
inside of Sharpshooter ring
This "hobby" has been and still is special to me as it allows me to instantly step away from the stress or cares of the day as soon as I hear the threshold tone in the earphones and my mind switches to listening to the tone and for any changes in it. I've added a Whites XLT and GMT to an eBay purchase of a 6000D to replace the stolen 6000D. I've found more stuff with the XLT and gold nuggets with the GMT and I'm looking forward to the return of warmer weather to the low sierras so I can get "out there" and maybe even find some more of the yellow metal.
I hope this little post gives other armchair bound detectorists or would be detectorists something enjoyable to read, some inspiration and I would like to share a belief with you, there is more out there waiting to be found. Enjoy, 63bkpkr
GMT Finds for 2010 {nuggets only}
To set the scene, it is cold and raining outside on this 19th of February 2011 in Northern California and though I'd rather be outside metal detecting I'm inside but wanted to do something worthwhile. I acted on a thought and photographed some of my early finds with my first "real metal detector" and I share them with you now. {Note: this is the first time these pictures have been posted}
I started making detectors from plans in electronic magazines, these worked but minimally. Next I built a Heathkit it also found all types of metals but no discrimination. Then a friend at work loaned me a Whites 6000D Coinmaster that he was not interested in, this was back in the mid 70's. The finds I've pictured in this topic are ones I found with the Whites 6000D, a machine I learned to believe in and trust and which provided me with many happy hours of detecting. After borrowing it for several weekends I purchased it and used it for many years till it was stolen in 1989 along with the vehicle it was in. But that is a different story for another day.
I began using the Whites and immediately began finding coins in my own front yard, this was new and exciting. I then detected neighbors yards, found a lovely silver Washington quarter in a yard the owner assured me there was nothing there. I was still "shy" about detecting and did not want to draw much attention so on weekend mornings I would hop on my bicycle and ride out with the detector and ask people if I could detect their yards. A note of explanation: I did not dig holes. I used an 1/8" diameter brass rod on a 'T' handle to "locate" the target in the ground. Time consuming but not messy. Also, I would offer to do simple yard work like raking for the chance to detect their yard, kind of a win win situation for both of us. On with the tale..........
One Saturday morning I'd been out for some time and was enjoying myself. I'd wandered to the edge of Downtown Redwood City where I noticed the sidewalk in front of the chamber of commerce was torn up. I'd read in W&E T about good hunting under old walks so I went over and began swinging, I was using earphones. My mind was tuned to nothing but the threshold tone coming from the earphones. Bottle caps, tin foil, nails and then I realized something was different around me. I looked up and there was traffic every where and people could see me! I decided to quit and headed for the bicycle. Now here it comes what we read so many times and say "Oh sure you did"! I had about 20 feet of opened sidewalk underbelly between myself and the bike, I put the earphone's on and began walking quickly while swinging when it happened. There was this SOOO Loud sound from the earphones, I suspect I lost some hearing ability on that one. I said to myself "what kind of bottle cap did I find now". I moved the coil out of the way and I could see the circle of the offending item in the ground. I bent over and pushed on one edge of the circle and up came the bottle cap. ONLY it was gold colored and thick and I'd just found my first GOLD RING!
That moment was life changing! At that moment I gave up being Shy out in public while metal detecting. The president of the U.S. could be standing there giving a speech and I'd just keep right on swinging while the SS carried me away. Hmmmm, this is the first time I've ever typed that abbreviation and it is a bit disturbing. Back to the ring - the first picture is the circle I saw in the dirt only not nearly as thick as the dirt had filled in around the radius of the ring. The second picture is the face of the ring. I tried locating the owner of the ring, back in the 70's, and I will try again now as searching sites has become so much easier and I suspect the lady that lost the ring might enjoy having it back. More on this aspect later.
We shift to detecting a friend from works back yard in the early evening till after dark. I'd gained some experience with the 6000D and was still probing with the brass rod. I found the usual pull tabs and bottle caps but I then had this one signal that sounded so different that I just had to know what it was. Probing is difficult as one can not see into the ground though once you've gotten a starter circle built with the probe a finger along with the probe can be inserted. It was now Dark out and my hand held flashlight only added to my frustration. At one point I felt something between my finger and the rod and began to drag all three items from the probe hole. In the dim flashlight I thought it was nothing but a small stone covered with dirt, I did my first brush off and saw something odd. I used the stored water supply I always carry with me and spit on the object and cleaned it a bit more, it looked metallic. I checked the probe site and the signal was gone, I checked the thing in my hand and the machine nodded its needle that I'd pulled the item from the ground. Once home the Gold Crown cleaned up nicely.
My first Gold Tooth and I'm now a believer in a "good" electronic target probe.
As time rolled on I picked up other nice or at least interesting objects. A Philadelphia Railway Token, mind you we are still in Northern California.
A Sterling Silver Mouse Ring (Mickey I'd guess)
A "Sharpshooter Ring" and though not in the best of condition it is what I've been offered the most for as it is an oddity. Comments as to the identity of the ring would be appreciated along with any sort of value.
inside of Sharpshooter ringThis "hobby" has been and still is special to me as it allows me to instantly step away from the stress or cares of the day as soon as I hear the threshold tone in the earphones and my mind switches to listening to the tone and for any changes in it. I've added a Whites XLT and GMT to an eBay purchase of a 6000D to replace the stolen 6000D. I've found more stuff with the XLT and gold nuggets with the GMT and I'm looking forward to the return of warmer weather to the low sierras so I can get "out there" and maybe even find some more of the yellow metal.
I hope this little post gives other armchair bound detectorists or would be detectorists something enjoyable to read, some inspiration and I would like to share a belief with you, there is more out there waiting to be found. Enjoy, 63bkpkr
GMT Finds for 2010 {nuggets only}
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