Recovering the Cost of a Metal Detector

[badkharma]

I ran my White's XLT for 20 years before upgrading to the Equinox 800. Never found anything overly profound with it in all that time. Once when it was freezing cold, I was tossing out hay to keep my dog warm and I threw my wedding band off with a handful of straw. Would have never found it otherwise, but the old White's found it almost immediately. Worth the whole investment right then.

 

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[Digger RJ]

Just wondering how many here have a metal detector that has paid for itself? I have a 30 y/o Whites Silver Eagle and thinking about upgrading to an A/V 800. My Eagle does a pretty good job but it is heavy and after 30 minutes or so, I have give it a rest. When I was in my 20's it wasnt a problem. I paid somewhere in the hood of $600 for it. It hasnt come close to paying for itself unless you count the health benefits of owning one and staying off the couch. I recently retired so I am getting back into detecting again.

I hunt relics and coin shoot. I've found quite a few relics and coins worth a bit, including a Gold ring that was almost a full ounce of 14kt . That's the only thing I have ever parted with to get My Equinox 800. Everything I find I put in the proper holders and just store them. Keepsakes 😁
As for making enough to pay off all of my machines, it doesn't really matter . The enjoyment that I get out of the hunts and the incredible people I've met in this Journey is More than enough.
I know it's almost always in everyone's mind to be able to find that reimbursement find to pay off their machine, but the enjoyment and peace of mind from this hobby shouldn't be overlooked!!! Happy Hunting!!

 

[BennyV]

All it takes is one or two big finds (gold rings, etc). Obviously this is easier said than done. I got into it to get some fresh air and find some history. Right now I just got the fresh air, but I just started out.

 

[mikeinfla]

Just wondering how many here have a metal detector that has paid for itself? I have a 30 y/o Whites Silver Eagle and thinking about upgrading to an A/V 800. My Eagle does a pretty good job but it is heavy and after 30 minutes or so, I have give it a rest. When I was in my 20's it wasnt a problem. I paid somewhere in the hood of $600 for it. It hasnt come close to paying for itself unless you count the health benefits of owning one and staying off the couch. I recently retired so I am getting back into detecting again.

Ive more than paid for al my equiptment with just the clad coins found. Have found many gold items that i haven't sold.

 

[iamavol]

I know I have. Since the start of 2021, I have filled up a half gallon bottle with common clad that I will take to the bank at the end of the year to cash in. In addition, several James Avery pieces of jewelry that I have sold about half of them...wife and daughters have taken the other half...and a bunch of silver coins (dimes and quarters). We live 2 hours from the beach and I have only detected it once...also have NEVER found a gold ring. I also have a water detector for when I dive. While I try and return everything I can to the original owner, I have sold my fair share of sunglasses, silver rings, and a few phones

 

[swimmer]

Just wondering how many here have a metal detector that has paid for itself? I have a 30 y/o Whites Silver Eagle and thinking about upgrading to an A/V 800. My Eagle does a pretty good job but it is heavy and after 30 minutes or so, I have give it a rest. When I was in my 20's it wasnt a problem. I paid somewhere in the hood of $600 for it. It hasnt come close to paying for itself unless you count the health benefits of owning one and staying off the couch. I recently retired so I am getting back into detecting again.

I have a Whites Eagle II and it paid for itself the first six months. I was in SOCAL and hit the beaches on the weekends. A few years ago I sold all the gold rings I had lying around and got just over $5000 for them. Lots of these were found with a Fisher pulse induction detector I bought somewhere along the line specifically for beach detecting...but both detectors paid for themselves the first six months. Good luck as you get going again in this hobby.

 

[califteacher]

My reply depends on whether my wife is reading this thread or not. Naturally, I accentuate the positive when spending a couple of thousand dollars on a detector.

Like some others, I have never come close to paying for my detector, but it is the other things that members have mentioned, like being on the beach on a beautiful sunny day or finding an object that has been buried for a century, that makes metal detecting rewarding.

 

[bartholomewroberts]

One gold Rolex has pretty much paid for all of my detectors since I started out in this avocation.

Everything else is gravy

Micheal

 

[coast40]

It took me a couple years to pay off my first, a Fisher F2, with a gold wedding band. So I then got an AT Pro and a Gold Bug. Still working on paying off the Garrett Carrot... I don't know which is better, the thrill of the find or the thrill of new equipment.

 

[Keyboardkowboy]

Yes paid my detector off in 3 months after buying it and have recently bought another. But I'm a gold miner and live in gold country. Also I go out every chance I get. Less recently just got married.

 

[golddigger14s]

I don't know if mine has paid for itself since I've never sold anything I have found.

 

[ScoTTT2]

on 3/19 I bought my first detector, the T2+ package with the winnings from a scratch off ticket .. since then I bought a pair of GG platinum head phones, a nels sharp shooter coil, a T2se with a 5" round and 13" ultimate coil, a simplex+ with wired water proof head phones, a 8" coil and carbon fiber lower rod for that machine .. plus odds and ends .. all with the silver and clad coins I've found .. counting the clad and silver I have now, that would probably pay off the original money spent from the scratch off .. I won a 340 vanquish and on the first hunt with that found a 14K ring with a stone and a few diamonds on it ... surely that one find would have paid off that detector .. I told my wife when I started detecting that I wouldn't buy anything new unless it was with the money from my findings .. so far that has worked out well .. saving up for my next big purchase.

 

[RedFernSF]

My detectors have paid for themselves via enjoyment, exercise, relaxation, socialization, and in so many other intrinsic ways.
With that said, monetary value wise, I do not have that mind set when purchasing detectors, but I can say this... a few years ago on my first beach hunt with a brand new detector, I found a large earring made of gold mounted with several decent sized diamonds, the value of which was just slightly under the price I paid for the detector... that was a good day.

 

[Richard Guy]

As others have touched on; .... after a few outings, even if I find 20 pull tabs, my machine has paid for itself. The peace and serenity provided by the sport is cheaper than a psychiatrist and is more effective. It's very akin to playing a musical instrument and is way less frustrating

 

[golddigger14s]

Like a lot of hobbies, most people don't do them to make money. We do them because it makes us happy. Some of the most "valuable" items I have found probably couldn't get me a cup of coffee.

 

[Cape Hunter]

I recently bought the CTX3030 so I am doomed. Going to take quite a while to break even with old buttons and mostly slick coins. Use to find nice jewelry at the beaches. But few take valuables to the beach these days. At least on the cape.

 

[bc5391]

I average $600-700 in clad every year. That is not counting any real gold or silver jewelry. ( lots of bling) I still prospect but usually only find a couple of grams a year, I guess that is not too bad for 1 - 3 times a year.
so to answer the question yes.

 

[Peter67]

I honestly can say yes. I took me a few years to buy really good gear and to find out what and were are the best places to hunt but then you have a deadly combination. The advantage we have here in Europe is that our coins have a higher value. When you detect and you find coins with a value of 1 or 2 euro that adds op really fast. I detect 1 or 2 times a week but i have to drive +- 80 km a day to get at the good places. A good day gives me between 50 and 80 euro. If i detect close to house me it's only 20-20 euro. The average amount of coins i find in a year is +- 2000 euro. The averige on gold rings is 2-3 a year. I like to try out different detectors to find out how they perform. Half of my detector collection, i bought second hand and sometimes i buy detectors i know i still can make some profit on. I'll try them out and sell them then with a small profit. My wife knows i only use money from metal detecting for metal detecting so that's no problem for her and she always has first pick from the gold womens ring i find. Happy wife happy live.

 

[RGINN]

Well I have a White's Coinmaster that I bought in a pawnshop in Lawton OK some years back for less than a hundred bucks and it has paid for itself about 3 times over in spendable cash. I got a White's DFX, mainly I guess cause I could afford it and thought it was a status symbol I guess. But it has paid for itself a few times over too. Not so much in actual money you can take to the bank, but other items, and enjoyment in imagining what I might turn up just a little farther down the trail. The payoff and enjoyment is always in the hunt, anyway, if you can put a dollar value on that.

 

[iamavol]

One gold Rolex has pretty much paid for all of my detectors since I started out in this avocation.

Everything else is gravy

Micheal

Heck Yea...that a winner right there