Poll - How long have you been detecting?

[lonewolfe]

Let's take a poll on:

1: how long you've been detecting.

2: what was your 1st machine you can remember using (doesn't have to be the 1st you bought).

3: Most silver coins in one day of detecting (and if you're as old as I am or older and been detecting as long or longer) you'll remember the days when you could swing a $49.95 detector and find 30 to 40 silver coins at a park/school in one day with no problem, finding most coins at 1 to 2 inches (and do it time and time again)!

I'll start (and I know there's some who are older and been detecting longer, and this is going to reveal some ages here!)

Me = 1977 (14/15 yrs old).

One of Garrett's best for the time (Garrett A.D.S Metal Detector) it was a VLF/TR detector.

Most silver coins in one day = (and I'm working from memory here!) 15+ mercury dimes, 25+ silver roosevelt dimes, 3 st. liberty 1/4s, 7 or 8 silver washingtons, 2 walking lib 1/2s< never forget those!.. Found at one school and a HUGE park that was used since before the civil war..

Soon afterwards (early/mid 80s) these kind of finds in 1 day or even one week or even one month became a thing of the past and, it's only gotten worse since then. Now, you're lucky to find this in one to 2 yrs or more, searching dozens of parks, schools, etc. etc..

 

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[Siegfried Schlagrule]

posting so I can follow this thread. good times good memories.
I built my first detector in 1960 I think from the $1 plans in the back of a comic book to convert your transistor radio into a money finder. I didn't have a transistor radio but my cousin did. He donated it to the project but wasn't asked about it first. I was sure that I'd find enough money to buy him a new one. I did but not that first day. For four years every dime, quarter and half I found was silver and most were barbers and mercurys. When I was offered the chance to buy a water department surplus White's Treasure Master BFO (the same one Karl von Mueller used at that time) I was in heaven. Who cares if it used a 67 1/2 volt battery and a 9 volt both of which look like a riding lawnmower battery but not quite that heavy. The old wooden coils were a joy when they hit the dew covered grass early on a Saturday morning too. The most silver I found was 128 coins at one football field. Back in the long ago the fans would line up at the fifty yard line and pitch a handful of change to ensure good luck for the home team. It was surely good luck for me. Thanks for the heads up Whiskers. Liked your book. ss

 

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[diggit 65]

I got the bug when I was 18 and now i'm pushin 40. my first detector was an alert.
All it did was beep and i dug. I still have it .I have finaly worked through five different ones. I now use a garrett gta 1000 ultra I like it .the oldest coin I have found is an 1883 indian head penny
diggit

 

[whiskers]

Thanks for the compliment about my book, Siegfried. I see you're a dowser. Did you know Bill Wacker, the fellow who ran the San Jose Gun Show for many years (back in the days when you could go to a gun show and buy a gun)? If you did I'll tell you a little story.

-Jim Lyons

 

[bk]

1) Started in 1973.

2) A Jetco Mustang. (cost $29.95). Quickly upgraded to a Compass 77B. No discrim.

3) $7.40 face value. Found in a football field. I thought I died and went to Heaven!

 

[smokeydog]

1 i started metal detecting back in oct 2004
2 whites MXT
3 my first couple hours trying to learn my machine, i found
1903 dime 1924 quarter 1889 nickle and some wheeties
now i cant stop swinging.

 

[Siegfried Schlagrule]

Re: Poll - How long have you been detecting? - circle of companions

whiskers, Any relation to the wacker that wacker drive in chicago was named after? Only wacker I'm familiar with. Only real gun afficianado I knew was a KvM friend named Butch Austin who may have been the only guy who could ever get real performance out of the old vw bugs. I know he worked out of his barn and had people coming in from all over the country for tune ups. He was scheduled pretty tight but left room for a treasure trip every couple of months. He died in Florida while treasure hunting. couldn't ask for a better way to go. We both had articles and letters published in the old Prospector's Gazette but his were run uncut and mine would get pared down to a few sentences or paragraphs. LOL. He was the first person I ever saw in print talking about people driving around with their headlights off. Not many of the old circle of companions left. Arkansas Bill is on this list, Joe Bogosian is still around but not online, oldestjim, you, me - you might recognize my real name, you'd most likely recognize monk's real name. Don't think Paul is on here anymore but he's still around. Contrary to rumors Richard Ray is alive but not on this list at least under his name. pretty sure that
h. glenn carson is not on this list but his daughter is occassionally; If w.c. jameson is here it's not under his name. Freddie Hollister hasn't posted in a couple years. Dave Crooks is rarely on here but I occasionally forward something to him. Nice talking to you. ss

 

[majik]

six months half that winter

Garrett scorpion gold stinger


no silver coins yet but a silver ring (today) and silver spoon

HH Majik

 

[GrantWA]

Started in 1977 when I was 25 and took a break from 1988 till now.. just getting back into it.

Garretts ADS deepeseeker was my best detector. First thing I found was a pulltab.

Best day was at the Yakima Firing center while we were firing our Cobras when I was assigned to C troop 2/10th Air Cav out of Ft Ord, CA. I decided to hunt one small area, that was the shade side wall of a training center classroom. I spent 4 hours in an area about 30x60 ft. Found overe 100 silver coins, of which the best were 3 Silver Dollars out of the same hole. Oldest was dated 1929. Three mens gold rings and a 14k gold mens watch, the workings were gone but he case was still good. One of the rings was a high schools ring from 1937 at a school in Olympia.. all gone now as one of my sons had drug problems for a long time.. everything not nailed down dissappeared for a while.

Just now getting back into it and already have found a really neat old cast iron toy train engine which it appears is made before 1937.

I think I am gonna search my first privvy whole on my GGrandpas Homestead, my GGrandma drew a picture of it in 1904 and it shows the privvy. The Ivy tree which still stands in the middle of the homestead is in the drawing right in front of a window.. Also shows the root cellar entrance... can't wait to get enough time off to go carefully search it.

Grant

 

[BULL]

2 Weeks

Treasure Hunter XJ9

32 cents all clad, a dog choker collar, a latch to something??, beer tabs

Having a blast though

 

[DirtDiggerDaveinMD]

6 Years

Radio Shack/ Bounty Hunter model 3000
Garrett GTAx 1250
Now use an XLT, and love it.

Lots of clad, only a few pieces of silver coin.

Gold and silver jewelry, of which only one piece had to be dug. Everything else I found lying on top of the ground.

Diamond ring, one diamond earring.

The usual scrap metal and junk.

Dave

 

[omnicognic]

15-20 yrs off and on(mostly off)

1st MD and the one used the longest was a radio shack orange number 7
I bought it for $7.00 at a garage sale and it has paid for itself 400 times over!

of silver I can't remember the most

I have jumped back in with both feet and bought a whites beach hunter ID!

 

[TxA_GunFighter]

I gave it a try about 1974, found some tools, coins (nickles, pennies, dimes, couple of quarters), and lots of trash. I didn't like the detector, can't remember what it was. Took it back and moved on to other things. Tried it again through the years but never got to stay with it. When I get my Tesoro Lobo ST and extra coils I think that will all change. I didn't have a good machine nor did I have a place where I could get advice and help. Looks like that has changed so I am sure I am hooked for life.

Can't wait to get started.

GH

gunny

 

[mudd1242]

Started about 1970 useing a White Detector. Think it was a 4000. May be wrong about the model as the ol' mind is a little foggy anymore. Coin finds were measured by the pockets full. Quite a few were silver. Relics seemed to be everwhere. Sure did enjoy those days. Still have lots of fun though and still find quite a few treasures today. Good and Happy Hunting everone!!!!!

 

[lonewolfe]

Thanks for all the replies here guys! Keep em coming! There sure are some interesting stories from you all, and lots of memories stirred up of when coin shooting was a lot of fun with the finds being mostly silver (barber and mercury, etc.)! Those days when a pocket FULL of silver for a 1/2 days work may be gone now but, the dream lives on, and good finds are still out there for the ones who do their home work!

HH

Lonewolve

 

[boogeyman]

1963. Can't remember the brand but it was a tuber. Cost 2 weeks allowance for the 97 volt battery & the huge 9volt one. Got a Bounty hunter BFO & thought I'd died & gone to heaven! Coin count was enough to buy batteries & ice crème sandwiches. Went to Grandpas for the summer. Ran around digging up hot rocks thinking I'd hit the mother lode. Shucks no market for leaverites..........

 

[RotZorn]

Got a radio shack special for Xmas when I was 12, that was 1989. I used it a few times found some "modern" coins at the park here in town but really didn't use it much. It sat in my closet untouched for years.

When I moved out at age19 my mom sold it at the yard sale with my permission.

Enter 2010.... A fellow maintenance tech at the plant I was working at brought a coin master to work and hit the smoking area at lunch time one day. He let me swing it a bit- and I got bit?!?? I looked at them for over a year dying to get one.

In March of this year (4 months) I got a Fisher F5.

 

[cudamark]

Wow, this thread is so old I hadn't seen it before! I bought my first detector in June of 1970 so that makes it 43 years now if my math is correct. A Treasure Probe IV which I still have. It doesn't work anymore (probably a good thing!) but it came with a set of three coils and a hard case. Sounds fancier than it performed. A BFO style that had a hard time finding anything deeper than 4"....and that had to be at least a quarter sized object. Back then, your silver count was based on how long you wanted to detect that day. I never really kept track. It would be like keeping count of your clad today.

 

[lededoop5125]

coinmaster pro......Started in Summer of 2011.... I bottle hunted for years before that until I was on youtube and I saw metal detecting and that got me going. I went to a virgin site and found 11 silver coins in one day + many more back in January 2012

 

[Talon]

8 Year old thread...

 

[scotty544]

First Detector was 1985 ish Tesoro Silver Saber that I still have today. Found two silver halfs in one day, another day I found a Walker half, a silver Washington and a Mercury and a oklahoma tax token.