Looking for treasure hunters in South Florida!

[elweezer]

Hey guys,

My name's Allie Conti, and I'm a reporter for the Miami New Times. I'm doing a story about a metal detecting dude, and I'm looking for some people to talk to about looking for gold on or around South Beach. Interested in helping me out for an article? My office number is 305-571-7613, or you can PM me on here, and I'll get back to you. Thanks guy, and happy hunting.

- Allie

 

[dewcon4414]

There is a difference between doing it full time and making a living. I put in a lot of hours as do many of the people on here, but we arent young, unemployed, and living for the moment. Most of us have an income and this is found money to us. Lots of difference in bragging i COULD make a living at this and doing it. dont believe everything someone tells you..... lot of fish stories in detecting as well.

Dew

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

Gary is not doing this full time...he works too.

True Debby, but it's how he works which makes the difference.
The distinction is that Gary runs his own business which provides the opportunity and empowers him to metal detect.
He relies on, what we in Hawaii where the cost of living in higher call: multi edges to survive – then prosper.
Most likely his focus is family first, businesses(s) as a conduit, to follow his bliss, rather than being bound and told what to do by others.
Anyway – that’s the way that I see it from my easy chair.

 

[nutsdad]

Just want to add a few lines to this tread. Is this person getting a check from any other source. Government ,disability, settlement ask all the right questions and the truth will become evident. Nutsdad

 

[Les West Central Fl]

The only person I know that detects for a living sleeps in the park at CWB. He weighs about 100lbs. and likes strong beverages.

 

[diggummup]

Allie Conti,
All I can say is get out to SOBE right after this storm hits this weekend and you'll find plenty of treasure hunters. Nothing like investigative reporting here in south Fl.

 

[dewcon4414]

That one made me laugh Les because you showed me him when we hunted. Someone was once called a high tech pan handler.... well that guy kind of was. We were discussing this in PMs and there are a few who have used their experience of love of the hobby to maybe not make a living but they sure do well. They sell books, detectors, CDs and teach detecting..... one comes to mind Tom Dankowski over at NASA.

 

[Les West Central Fl]

That one made me laugh Les because you showed me him when we hunted. Someone was once called a high tech pan handler.... well that guy kind of was. We were discussing this in PMs and there are a few who have used their experience of love of the hobby to maybe not make a living but they sure do well. They sell books, detectors, CDs and teach detecting..... one comes to mind Tom Dankowski over at NASA.

If you get to the beach too early , you can't go to the rest room because he sleeps on the Throne at night . He is a nice person, just has some problems , like liquid diet.

 

[Ring-A-Day-Dan]

The "MAN" that you must talk to is Gary Drayton from Pompano Beach. His numerous finds could support a family well. His profession takes him to many places in SE FL and he detects as he travels.

 

[Montauk3]

holy shades of Overkill!

 

[CASPER-2]

I found $15,000 worth of gold last year
this was using the price that I sold $9000 of it at which was when it was at $1720 an ozt
if you added in the silver - relics, collectibles and lead and other sellable items (sunglasses,and such)
maybe another $1000+
if I lived in a camper by myself - could get by on that I guess
this year I have about $2500 - so I'd be in trouble

 

[CASPER-2]

Florida's Metal Detector Fanatics Fight High Tide and Murky Laws - Page 1 - News - Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach - New Times Broward-Palm Beach

dont know about you all - i dont like being called a scavenger and calling alot of
us old geazers - this is what happens when people that dont know squat about the hobby - try to write about it -
more doody

 

[dewcon4414]

Casper..... boy i have to agree... scavenger?? Thats right up there with a high tech pan handler. How disappointing that we have to use such flair with words.... i think the term geezer ticks me off more. I guess we know how she feels about us older guys out there having fun in our hobby..... oh she forgot to mention its a hobby. I cant say ive ever seen anyone laughing.... taking pictures, wanting to get better informed, even asking us to help find their lost items... but never laughing at me.

Dew

 

[bigscoop]

I get laughed at every day....but then again, I have fun with folks on the beach and I earn/deserve it. Positive interaction with folks on the beach will do more for the hobby then anything. Most of the people I meet on the beach have a genuine interest in the activity, I say "activity" because that's how I portray it whenever they inquire, "Some people collect shells, fish, surf, etc,....I metal detect. It's just a great beach activity, also helps to keep me in shape." They usually accept this explanation and it also often serves to skip around those monetary curiosities that are always looming in their faces and eyes. It's just another beach activity.

Age, well, I consider myself to be a beach creature now....too old and too tired to endure the endless hours of harsh hunting I use to endure....but also self-educated and experienced enough to know why/when. If I were 24 I'd be right out there looking back at the older me on the beach and I'd probably never realize the older me was exhausting a lot less energy, having a far more enjoyable and less frustrating day, and quietly sticking gold in his pouch. We have a new, younger hunter on our local beaches now, see him everywhere I go, his obvious determination and energy wears me out just watching him. A new CTX, a new Excal, he passes over more beach in an hour then I do in a 4 hr hunt. "Old Geezer"...you bet, it's a time-earned honor.

"Perspective"....that's all it any of it really amounts to. Go hunt, do you're own thing, enjoy your day. Don't sweat the small stuff and don't let it get under your skin to the point that it owns a piece of you a$$. Young will one day be old, and it will happen much-much swifter then they realize.

 

[CASPER-2]

Casper..... boy i have to agree... scavenger?? Thats right up there with a high tech pan handler. How disappointing that we have to use such flair with words.... i think the term geezer ticks me off more. I guess we know how she feels about us older guys out there having fun in our hobby..... oh she forgot to mention its a hobby. I cant say ive ever seen anyone laughing.... taking pictures, wanting to get better informed, even asking us to help find their lost items... but never laughing at me.

Dew

Last time I was laughed at was like 5-6 yrs ago - I got in water soon as gates opened at this nice beach
my gal set up our blanket in the middle of the towel line
a large family with friends set up behind us - I was using my PI Pro
after a couple of hrs I got hit with a wave - stuck my arm out - coil hit hard and I broke my lower shaft
so I headed out towards my blanket - people behind us see me coming and start nudging each other - I got my headphones on
- they think I cant hear and they dont know my gal is in front of them - "hey look at this clown" - "wonder how many pennies he got"
"hahaha" and a few other comments - my gal asks why I got out - I hold up my machine and show her the daggling coil - but I whisper to her
that I did get 2 gold - the group is trying to see what I got - I secretly hand her the 2 wedding bands - and they are trying to see what I handed her -
they whisper - "i think he got something good" - I tell my girlfriend - Im going to the car to get my back up at the time - a CZ20 I picked up used
and i had not had much practice with - I tell my gal - "dont tell them anything if they ask" she says "you should have heard stuff they were saying" - "I heard parts of it" - when I get back to the blanket - I grab my mask & snorkel - give my gal a kiss for luck and start heading out - one of the guys speaks up and says "hey - mind me asking what you found?" - I say "Im just a clown with a bunch of pennies" they all blush with embaressment
"oh - we're sorry - we been drinking - we dint think you could hear us" " I told my gal she could show them the 2 I got - they were impressed
I headed back out and got another right of the bat and a half hour later got another - when I came back in - we were all good friends now - they all scooted
over and wanted to see my finds adn I put the other 2 in my gals hand - so I got the last laugh
and luckily I have a pic of that outing -

took the pick because people always ask - which machine is better
I can show them this comparrison - it does not matter what machine if you learn it and like it
I tell people - its 1/3 the machine
1/3 the user
and 1/3 luck -
if the stuff is there - you got a good machine no matter the brand and you know what your doing - then you should find it
if its not there - no matter what brand you got and how good you are - you not gonna

 

[dewcon4414]

I had some drunken kids do the ole beep beep beep to me one day as i passed them..... 30 min later one of them lost their ring. who got the last laugh?

Dew

 

[Im2stoked]

Read your article, thought it was awesome. Wish I would have read your post earlier, could've helped u out too

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

Read your article, thought it was awesome. Wish I would have read your post earlier, could've helped u out too

Initially I was going to jump into the fray along with Casper, Dewcon, and Diggummup In protest to some of the words used such as old geezer, scavenger, searching for petty change, surreal etc., except that my response would be far more negative. My thinking was that this article was only good for lining the pan of a bird cage or wrapping mullet.

That was before I saw Im2stoked reply that he thought that this article was awesome and was puzzled as to how could this be?

Looking back, I found that Casper had provided the thread to the complete article which I highly recommend all T Net members read. What you will find is a comprehensive article about how the State of Florida not only financially benefits from the incoming stream of retired detectorists, they get a lot of their beaches cleaned of trash for free or for the cost of a few meager coins found by the visitors. She compares this to the fewer, younger and more physically capable detectorists who do his for a living. She also shows how the popularity of metal detecting benefits the manufactures and distributers.

Further she exposes the complexity and murkiness of the laws of the State of Florida and shows how special interest groups benefit such as a few professional salvager(s). Plus hints and shows how strong the archeologists are and how they themselves benefit through their positions: E.G.
Roger Smith, Florida’s official underwater archaeologist in Tallahassee is a $43,000 a year position. Corey Malcom, chief archaeologist is at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West – salary was not disclosed. In my opinion 4/10 of a million here, 4/10 of a million there adds up to billions nationwide which is a very large feed trough or pot to lick by those in power for just saying NO. OR if lucrative enough may issue a permit to a special interest group. Under current Florida law, I could be considered an artifact as I am more than fifty years old!

According to Mark Schuessler, president of the Federation of Metal Detector and Archeological clubs: It’s just another surreal day in the life of a metal detector scavenger. Hordes of geezers drive to South Florida’s beaches every week to search for petty change and pass the time. There are 30,000 to 50,000 of these folks in the United States, including thousands in Florida For the vast majority , beachcombing is a way to play play pirate and supplement their social security checks.

Your anger and frustration should be vented on Mark Schuessler
Allie Conti merely reported what the president of the Federation of Metal Detector and Archeological clubs said.



In my opinion her research was thorough. This is a comprehensive and informative article, which I enjoyed reading.
If you concur with what I have discovered, I hope that some of the inflammatory pictures and comments about her will be voluntarily removed.

 

[diggummup]

Initially I was going to jump into the fray along with Casper, Dewcon, and Diggummup In protest to some of the words used such as old geezer, scavenger, searching for petty change, surreal etc., except that my response would be far more negative. My thinking was that this article was only good for lining the pan of a bird cage or wrapping mullet.

That was before I saw Im2stoked reply that he thought that this article was awesome and was puzzled as to how could this be?

Looking back, I found that Casper had provided the thread to the complete article which I highly recommend all T Net members read. What you will find is a comprehensive article about how the State of Florida not only financially benefits from the incoming stream of retired detectorists, they get a lot of their beaches cleaned of trash for free or for the cost of a few meager coins found by the visitors. She compares this to the fewer, younger and more physically capable detectorists who do his for a living. She also shows how the popularity of metal detecting benefits the manufactures and distributers.

Further she exposes the complexity and murkiness of the laws of the State of Florida and shows how special interest groups benefit such as a few professional salvager(s). Plus hints and shows how strong the archeologists are and how they themselves benefit through their positions: E.G.
Roger Smith, Florida’s official underwater archaeologist in Tallahassee is a $43,000 a year position. Corey Malcom, chief archaeologist is at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West – salary was not disclosed. In my opinion 4/10 of a million here, 4/10 of a million there adds up to billions nationwide which is a very large feed trough or pot to lick by those in power for just saying NO. OR if lucrative enough may issue a permit to a special interest group. Under current Florida law, I could be considered an artifact as I am more than fifty years old!

According to Mark Schuessler, president of the Federation of Metal Detector and Archeological clubs: It’s just another surreal day in the life of a metal detector scavenger. Hordes of geezers drive to South Florida’s beaches every week to search for petty change and pass the time. There are 30,000 to 50,000 of these folks in the United States, including thousands in Florida For the vast majority , beachcombing is a way to play play pirate and supplement their social security checks.

Your anger and frustration should be vented on Mark Schuessler
Allie Conti merely reported what the president of the Federation of Metal Detector and Archeological clubs said.



In my opinion her research was thorough. This is a comprehensive and informative article, which I enjoyed reading.
If you concur with what I have discovered, I hope that some of the inflammatory pictures and comments about her will be voluntarily removed.

If that's the case then shame on Mark Schuessler. I think everyone should drop him an email.
​What a stupid and irresponsible thing to say from someone in his position. My apologies to Allie Conti.

 

[bigscoop]

I wouldn't make too much out of it. With all of the recent exposure it's like the aliens have finally landed and people just want to know more about us.

 

[cntrydncr1]

well I still don't like being called a grey haired geezer! lol