Metal Detecting first time out, how I got started..

[Cool Hand Fluke]

It was labor day weekend the summer of 1985. My wife and I stopped at a garrage sale in our local town just checking out the items for sale. We noticed a sign that read: "Metal Detector for rent, $10.00 for the weekend." I was interested so I decided to try it. I gave the guy $10.00, he then gave us a 5 minute course on how to operate it. It was an old Whites Coinmaster, I believe one of the old T/R units. We drove to one of the elementary schools and proceded to hunt with this crazy gadget. We started at the rear of the school where there was a large soccer field. I remember finding a few pennies and a nickel. I handed the machine over to my wife and after about 5 minutes she got a beep. I dug it up for her and was amazed at what she found. It was an 1889-S Morgan Silver Dollar! That was 25 years ago! Needless to say I've been hooked ever since! Since that day I've found another 4 silver dollars, about 1 every 6 years (Morgan & Peace). What are your experiences? How did you get started?

-Sonoma County Mike

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Mike, cool story. I've read many examples of persons who's first time out nets a biggee keeper, and BAM, they're hooked I guess it's like if you never gambled before: If you were to play slots for an hour and loose loose loose, then by the end of that hour, you'd probably think "gambling is silly". But if you happened to hit a slot in that first hour, then guess what? You're hooked. Because from then on, no matter how often you don't hit a slot, it's still in your mind "I might"

There was a couple at our club meeting in 1983, who had JUST bought a metal detector. They had never even been detecting before (barring trying it out in their front yard perhaps). That first night, at the club meeting, they heard other members talking about the thick-pickens at the then-raging storms that were reaking havoc on CA beaches (the 1982-83 El nino). So ... the next day .... the couple goes to the beach that everyone at the club meeting was talking about. They get 3 gold rings on their first day! The 2nd day was no different! You can imagine that they were just elated with their new-found hobby By the 3rd day, a friend of mine was passing them in the beach parking lot, and over-heard them complaining amongst themselves, that this particular day was a bad day, because they "only" had 1 gold ring I guess they just didn't know that it's a bit harder than easy pickens everywhere

 

[Toby1858]

Yea, no dout. If some one goes out on there first hunt and finds something really good, then they are some kind of lucky! Took me several hunts and a couple of months to score my first silver. It's that ''You never know'' That started it for me and that's what keeps it fun!!!!

 

[birdman]

My father had an old fisher machine that he had bought back in the 60s . He said he went down to Fort Morgan Al which was 12 miles from where we lived and he hunted it but every swing he would pull up minnie balls and shell fragments . He said those were common surface finds back then so he just left them there . He was looking for uniform items but did not have the patience to wade through all the common relics. That would have been horrible. In the early 80s he bought another machine.It was a garret ground hog but by then it was illegal to hunt at the fort but there were still tons of stuff to find around our house. I used to go out with the garret and dig a few things up but as a kid I did not know how good I had it and spent more time playing in the water then searching for treasure.I would find old bottles and bring them home and Indian pottery which I still have . When I got grown I got back into treasure hunting for a bit but not till I was stationed in Germany did I get a good machine and really get addicted. In Europe there was good stuff everywhere and finding loot was easy. Still have not hunted here in Korea yet due to the weather but it is starting to warm up .