Joe my belief is that we (obsessed MDer's) should judged by our entire portfolio of finds. Not all research produces great finds. Many sites have been hit/pounded over the past 5 decades. Our perseverance and time invested does pay off in the long run. I consider this endeavor as a marathon and not a sprint. The value of your finds are subjective as to where your peers hunt. For example pulling a silver Merc from a semi-modern park in Ohio may be seen as a trivial find by those who live on the east coast and concentrate on areas where colonial treasures are abundant, or those in the south who primarily hunt for CW relics, but it is a great find for the area you hunted in. It's all in perspective. I am a coin shooter that likes to find the occasional relic. Just getting out and swinging the coil is treasure in it's own right. The more you swing, the more you find. I do all kinds of detecting. Every type of hunting has it's own rewards.
