How many are out there...REALLY!?

[Tpmetal]

I found a silver pocket watch in a field that i was told has been pounded since the 70's..... there is always more hiding out there

 

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[hvacker]

Do the numbers.
How many detect
How many for more than a couple times
How many aren't any good at it or will ever be.
How many hours can the average physically last detecting.
How many have a compulsion to not keep a secret
How many have an unnatural fear of authority and won't go to great places ( There the same people that drive 5 mph under the limit.)

While there might be sites that are over picked due to their popularity most sites aren't hardly picked at all.
To be really good at reading a detector is harder than the sales guy said.

 

[Just_curious]

Great comments everybody. Love the feedback. To hvacker, I Totally gave up on worrying about authorities and know that those authoritarian spots are always located on old homesteads. I think it's an issue of being by design and not because of a lack of better spots

 

[boogeyman]

Back in the 60s or 70s Charles Garrett replied to this He said, You could take an army of people with detectors and give them a year and they'd still never find it all. I can remember eyeballing silver in tot lots no biggie filling your back pocket with coins during the 60s, now we've just got to work a little harder, research a little harder, and swing a little longer! If it was easy, everyone would be swinging. Sometimes just sitting looking at a place picturing it a little differently helps.

Don't get discouraged! Ya gotta have fun with it!

 

[WaterScoop]

This quote came from a Wall Street Journal in 2011

“The top U.S. retailer, Kellyco Metal Detectors in Winter Springs, Fla., saw annual sales climb 63% from 2005 to 2010, to $24.8 million. The store projects sales of $26 million this year.”

This was before Minelab realeased many of their flagships. So you can imagine how much their sales are now.


Here is a timeline from Minelab:


GPZ 7000 launched - the best gold detector available (2015)
GO-FIND Series launched - entry level detector with smartphone interface (2015)

Record GPX Series detector sales in Africa
CTX 3030 launched - the ultimate treasure detector (2012)
PRO-FIND 25 pinpointer launched (2012)
SDC 2300 launched - compact waterproof gold detector (2014)

And of course the now Equinox

And this was just Minelab. Keep in mind that there are many manufacturers who are all selling otherwise they would be belly up. So I guess tons of new Metal detectorists are added yearly

Here is a direct link to the article

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904233404576462161651031814

 

[fistfulladirt]

Hmmmmm...I thought this was a thread about mercury dimes...

 

[Tom_in_CA]

....How many have an unnatural fear of authority and won't go to great places ....

Yes. I can think of a great site that my buddy and I hunted here in the western United states. That was "no secret to the history books". We assumed it would be pounded to heck, but were pleasantly surprised that it was nearly virgin. We pulled numerous seateds, reales ,and even a gold coin. The land is owned by some sort of public utility (won't go into details, lest it give the site away). So all we can figure is: Any past md'rs who thought of hunting there, must've asked the utility Co, got the obligatory safe answer "no". Yet anyone can simply step off the side of the road, walk 50 paces, and could have simply hunted it un-bothered. Oh well.

 

[Rookster]

In My state of Mississippi being on the lower population scale we have detectors but in my area a civil war area I don't see that many people on parks, old baseball fields even cities property. I know detectors are there but in my area we can't seen to form new clubs. I'm use to hunting alone so it I cool with that. As for using those library it's kinda funny you mentioned that because I was just at one last week and as I was signing in the receptionist ask me what I was looking for. I told her old maps of my county that may include civil war troop movement. As luck would have it she told me her 14 year old son had found some buttons on the edge of the field of the farm they lived on. They turned out to be civil war. After about 10 minutes of chat, she invited me to hunt the property. I offered to split anything I found. She said no that's fine just show us what you find. Can it get any better than that?Needless to say I'm excited to get the permission.