Kevin Bozard
Jr. Member
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2008
- Messages
- 59
- Reaction score
- 0
- Golden Thread
- 0
- Location
- South Carolina
- Detector(s) used
- Bounty Hunter Pioneer 505
Thanksgiving Day, I set out for my first ever beach hunt with my Pioneer 505. With the beach about an hour from home, I got an early start, but still not as early as I should have. I reached the sands of Hilton Head beach at approximately 8 am. While the beach certainly wasn't crowded on this cold holiday morning, there were more people there than I expected. Most were out for an early morning walk, while a few cast fishing lines into the surf. There were no sunbathers, and certainly no swimmers; as temperatures hovered around the 30 degree mark.
My finds were rather disappointing for my first beach outing, and only included a 1988 Lincoln cent, a 1970 something Jefferson nickel, tweezers, bottle caps, and pull tabs. But none of this was the unexpected treasure I found.
An hour into the hunt, I was on my knees digging a signal when I was approached by two small boys. They were around 5 years old at most.
"What are you doing?" the oldest asked.
"Looking for treasure" I replied. I glanced around to see if their parents were close by, but no one stood out as even being concerned about where the boys were.
"Can you keep it?" the little boy asked.
"If I find something I can" I answered.
"I want to try!" the boy said excitedly.
I passed the detector to him, and showed him how to sweep the coil above the ground. His younger brother ran off to an older lady down by the water, whom had her back to us, and called for "Grammy" to come look. The Grandmother returned with the youngest boy, and stood by watching the oldest sweep the coil across the sand. I nodded, and wished her good morning, but she didn't offer a reply; so I turned my attention back to the little treasure hunter. He had the coil about six inches off the ground, but suddenly dropped the coil right to the dirt. The detector omitted a beep (a false signal of course), and the boy dropped to his knees and started digging. I knelt beside him and raked around in the sand a couple of times with him. I sat back, and told him to grab a big handful of sand and let the dirt sift through his fingers. He followed my instruction, and on the second handful, a sandy but shiny state quarter appeared in his palm. His eyes lit up and the glow spread through his face as he gazed at his find jubilantly.
"I want to try!" the younger brother said. So I passed the detector over to him, and he followed the example of his older brother of sweeping the coil at about 6 inches above the sand. After a few feet, the detector beeped, and the little one set the detector aside and began digging. He dug a hole about an inch deep, and four or five inches wide. Then he looked at me, with a somber expression, and said "there's nothing there."
I dropped to my knees and raked some of the sand out of the hole, but left some loose sand in the bottom of the now three or four inch deep hole. "Sometimes you have to dig a little deeper" I said. The boy scooped out another handful of sand and let the grains sift through his fingers. It didn't take much of the sand to leave his little hand before a shiny state quarter showed up in his palm. He squealed with excitement and jumped to his feet. "I found one too!" he exclaimed, as both boys showed their finds to "Grammy".
The Grandmother looked at both quarters with an unforgettable expression of wonder, and then I saw her expression change, as she understood what had happened. The boys wandered off, but "Grammy" stood there with a smile on her face. "Thank you", she said. "I think you just made two little boys have a very happy Thanksgiving".
I returned her smile and wished her a Happy Thanksgiving, as she followed the little ones down the beach. I covered the hole we had dug, picked up the detector, and resumed my search of the beach. I didn't find anything else after that, but that one moment with the little guys was well worth the whole trip, and the expressions on their little faces was certainly the best treasure of all.
My finds were rather disappointing for my first beach outing, and only included a 1988 Lincoln cent, a 1970 something Jefferson nickel, tweezers, bottle caps, and pull tabs. But none of this was the unexpected treasure I found.
An hour into the hunt, I was on my knees digging a signal when I was approached by two small boys. They were around 5 years old at most.
"What are you doing?" the oldest asked.
"Looking for treasure" I replied. I glanced around to see if their parents were close by, but no one stood out as even being concerned about where the boys were.
"Can you keep it?" the little boy asked.
"If I find something I can" I answered.
"I want to try!" the boy said excitedly.
I passed the detector to him, and showed him how to sweep the coil above the ground. His younger brother ran off to an older lady down by the water, whom had her back to us, and called for "Grammy" to come look. The Grandmother returned with the youngest boy, and stood by watching the oldest sweep the coil across the sand. I nodded, and wished her good morning, but she didn't offer a reply; so I turned my attention back to the little treasure hunter. He had the coil about six inches off the ground, but suddenly dropped the coil right to the dirt. The detector omitted a beep (a false signal of course), and the boy dropped to his knees and started digging. I knelt beside him and raked around in the sand a couple of times with him. I sat back, and told him to grab a big handful of sand and let the dirt sift through his fingers. He followed my instruction, and on the second handful, a sandy but shiny state quarter appeared in his palm. His eyes lit up and the glow spread through his face as he gazed at his find jubilantly.
"I want to try!" the younger brother said. So I passed the detector over to him, and he followed the example of his older brother of sweeping the coil at about 6 inches above the sand. After a few feet, the detector beeped, and the little one set the detector aside and began digging. He dug a hole about an inch deep, and four or five inches wide. Then he looked at me, with a somber expression, and said "there's nothing there."
I dropped to my knees and raked some of the sand out of the hole, but left some loose sand in the bottom of the now three or four inch deep hole. "Sometimes you have to dig a little deeper" I said. The boy scooped out another handful of sand and let the grains sift through his fingers. It didn't take much of the sand to leave his little hand before a shiny state quarter showed up in his palm. He squealed with excitement and jumped to his feet. "I found one too!" he exclaimed, as both boys showed their finds to "Grammy".
The Grandmother looked at both quarters with an unforgettable expression of wonder, and then I saw her expression change, as she understood what had happened. The boys wandered off, but "Grammy" stood there with a smile on her face. "Thank you", she said. "I think you just made two little boys have a very happy Thanksgiving".
I returned her smile and wished her a Happy Thanksgiving, as she followed the little ones down the beach. I covered the hole we had dug, picked up the detector, and resumed my search of the beach. I didn't find anything else after that, but that one moment with the little guys was well worth the whole trip, and the expressions on their little faces was certainly the best treasure of all.
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