Pirate, Looter, Scavenger or just a Treasure Hunter

[ColonelDan]

I've sometimes wondered why many in our hobby relate to pirates and use the pirate logo to symbolize their activity. I've also heard folks use the term "looter" to describe those hunting primarily on beaches. If we consult Webster, neither of those two describe our hobby in my mind:

Pirate:
a person who robs or commits illegal violence at sea or on the shores of the sea.
any plunderer, predator, etc.: confidence men, slumlords, and other pirates.

That's certainly doesn't describe the folks I know in this hobby!


Loot/Looter
anything taken by dishonesty, force, stealth, etc.: a burglar's loot.
to carry off or take (something) as loot: to loot a nation's art treasures.
to despoil by taking loot; plunder or pillage (a city, house, etc.), as in war.
to take loot; plunder

This doesn't fit either does it? We're not dishonest plunderers.

So neither fits or describes what we do.

Now a word that comes close but not quite is Scavenger

a person who searches through and collects items from discarded material.

But then the items we collect aren't really "discarded" are they? For the most part, they're lost


So my simple soldier mind says that we are simply....Treasure Hunters


Treasure Hunter:
One who searches for anything of value or that which is highly prized.

Yes, It's cold outside and our beaches aren't filled with depositors so I confess to being somewhat bored and have time on my hands right now but hey....I'm fully retired and therefore authorized to such free time, thoughts and wonderments!

Soldier on....

 

[Toecutter]

" Treasure Scavenger " seems about right..

 

[SD51]

We can also be considered as Trash Removers!

 

[teleprospector]

I think a lot of it is the supposed prestige that people associate with what has been portrayed about pirates, the high seas, women, booze, freedom, ect
Jon

 

[Jason in Enid]

People like to call themselves "pirate" because they like to see themselves in the role of the outsider. People who dont like us, (cough, archies, cough) call us "looter" because they want to feel they are better than us.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I just say "coin shooter" if anyone asks.

 

[worldtalker]

People like to call themselves "pirate" because they like to see themselves in the role of the outsider. People who dont like us, (cough, archies, cough) call us "looter" because they want to feel they are better than us.

There is NO ONE better than anyone else,we are ALL people,to many are misguided though through opinions and peer pressure of people that THINK they have the answer...experts(ex)a has been(pert)a drip.) I believe that about covers humanity.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Nice post!

 

[Bum Luck]

“Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.”

― Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi

 

[Samanthy]

I think I am an “explorer” !