The best advice I can give is listen to what has been said by my esteemed colleagues in this thread, but I'll reiterate some of it.
Read read read - study study study. Read printed treasure-hunting books and read all you can here.
Watch videos. Youtube videos from Nuggetnoggin and Beau Ouimette are entertaining and informative, and there are many more available besides these two.
If you will be into detecting, study your detector, and put some time in. I personally feel (not wanting to get into a debate about first detectors) that the Garrett AT Pro is the best detector a newbie can get. Why? Because its super simple to use at first, and you wont outgrow it too soon. Many seasoned detectorists love their ATP.
Above all, JUST DO IT. Don't sit around dreaming about it. Don't make up excuses not to go out. If you go fishing and never toss your line in the water, you will never catch a fish, right? Same goes for detecting. If you dont put a coil over it, you will never find it. DO IT.
Same applies to any other facet of this hobby. If you are researching caches and treasures, then do it. As with everything else in life, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. Just look at a fine example of a recent banner find, just look at the awesome Pine Tree Shilling that was recently recovered by Ahab8. A perfect example of how thorough research can really pay off.
You got lots to do, so get going!
