What find got you hooked?

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

I had been a lurker on Tnet for 4 months learning my new detector, hitting the mulch and tot lots, reading about all of the cool finds. Maybe going out once a week for an hour or 2. One day decided to hike a bit into the woods where I knew there was an old chimney. About 10 minutes at this site and out popped this coin, looking cleaner and brighter than the dozens of clad coins I had found up to that point. Holding that small piece of buried pristine history definitely was what got me hooked. My first silver coin.

Anyone else have a coin or find that set the hook really deep?

 

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[CoilyGirl]

My first real good find was an eagle breastplate dug about six inches down in the yard of house tear down in 90 degree weather. I dug it in the soft soil of a flower bed while the husband was in the back yard digging in packed down soil from construction equipment. The thing that makes the find so sweet for me is that that yard had probably been hunted many times but I'm the only yoyo who thought to dig in the flowerbeds,haha.

 

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[Trezurehunter]

Ordering some brochures 30 years ago, (before internet existed) reading them, ordering my detector, and finding my first Mercury dime on my first outing with the detector. It was in our church yard, and I can remember it like it was yesterday. I guess you could say that was Hooked, Line, and Sinker !!

 

[GB1]

mine was a 2 oz silver bar

 

[WannaDig3687]

The first bottle I found in the creek.

 

[JerseyDigger19]

1914 Barber dime with my Ace 350 on my third hunt out with the Ace. I never looked back!

 

[neodetectorist]

Probably this one but it was not hard to get hooked. There would have been others.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

I always enjoyed detecting as a fun pastime, but when I unearthed a random Va halfpenny a little over 20 years ago it unleashed the colonial monster that had been hiding inside of me. And the rest is history. Check out the photo in my signature below for proof ....

 

[Steve in PA]

I was hooked before I even bought my first detector in 1985 just from reading treasure magazines.

 

[Sleepy]

Nice coin! When I was about ten years old there was a metal detecting store down the street from my aunt's. It was called "G & B House Of Treasure". They had glass display cases loaded with incredible coins and civil war relics. They had shelves full of detectors for sale and one Christmas Santa brought me a "White's Beachcomber". I can't remember my first coin but I remember I was hooked and would work to make any money I could and saved up to buy a larger nicer detector and have been hooked ever since. About five years ago I bought my first water detector and got the fever all over again. When that first ring came up in my scoop there was no stopping. Greatest hobby in the world.

 

[Z.K.]

Great post.

I played around for a summer with an ACE250, but in spite of a couple of decent finds I soon felt the hobby was a waste of my time...no sense in pulling clad when I earn a great wage, and no sense in digging up pulltabs when I have a wife and children I love and can spend time with.

A couple years later I saw a video of a guy who lives near me digging up a Spanish 1 real, and I was blown away. I had no clue such coins existed in my area, and immediately became interested in how they got here. I decided to upgrade to his detector (AT Pro) and to try to think older than the 20th century silver that had motivated me to get the Ace. I ended up pretty deep in a forest on what I knew was land abandoned over 100 years ago. My third time out with the AT Pro I found a Royal Provincial loyalist button from around 1780, and a few yards away just minutes later a coin purse with 12 British half pennies from 1694 to the mid 1700s. I was such a newb I didn't even know what I'd found (thought the RP and crown meant Royal Mounted Police!!). I didn't even know what to call the coin purse, so in my first tnet post I called it a "bag" of coins. Ha!

26 months later, and even just getting to do this a few hours a week for 8 months out of the year I've found hundreds of relics, and dozens of buttons and coins from the late colonial, post revolutionary, and early Federal periods, including 6 of my own Spanish silvers! In one of the more fun coincidences in my life, I even ran into that guy from the inspiring video (Mud Dog Mandy) in the woods, and we've become detecting buddies.

But the best thing is that I found a passion for history that has changed my life. I've written some articles and presented for my local historical societies, and have developed friendships with people who have a lot to teach about detecting, identification, restoration/conservation, and history in general. I'm even considering a second career in history instead of the early retirement I've been working towards for 20 years.

I am so grateful for that incredible forest find...even if I never find something like that again, my life was changed for the better in ways that are all about "real" treasure.

 

[creskol]

It was actually a find that someone else made that got me hooked way back in 1967. A beautiful girl named Karen found me during a rather tumultuous time in my life, and instantly became the love of my life.
We took an electronics course together in 1968, and built two kit metal detectors together. There was no looking back then! We went everywhere detecting together, and I was hooked for sure. Tragically, our time together was cut short when Karen was killed by a drunk driver. Here it is 50 years later, and I still have not gotten over her loss.

 

[Echoplex]

When I bought my first detector I remember asking my son what our goals should be for our first year. We both agreed that finding a silver coin would be the goal. We live in a relatively young area that was mostly developed during the 40s and 50s, so we didn't have many years worth of time for silver drops. The idea of finding a silver coin seemed remote.

On my second day of detecting I took our entire family to the park. About 3 holes in I dug my first silver - A 1924 Merc at 7". The entire family was standing around when I pulled that sucker out of the ground. It wasn't until that moment that I understood how much joy this hobby could provide. I remember feeling ridiculously happy and so amazed that an object dropped so long ago could look like it was dropped yesterday. It is that very feeling that I continue to chase to this day. We ended that first year with 21 silvers, a gold/diamond ring, and some amazing artifacts and relics.

 

[washingtonian]

1904 Indian Head Penny found 12 years ago. My little brother and I got a bounty hunter metal detector to clean out a children's coin hunt that happens every 4th of July near my grandparents. We didn't know anything about the history of the area but quickly found out. The baseball field there was still our most productive site by far.

 

[Z.K.]

It was actually a find that someone else made that got me hooked way back in 1967. A beautiful girl named Karen found me during a rather tumultuous time in my life, and instantly became the love of my life.
We took an electronics course together in 1968, and built two kit metal detectors together. There was no looking back then! We went everywhere detecting together, and I was hooked for sure. Tragically, our time together was cut short when Karen was killed by a drunk driver. Here it is 50 years later, and I still have not gotten over her loss.

I'm so sorry that you experienced such a profound loss. Thank you for what you wrote. I also found your quote quite powerful.

 

[Old Pueblo]

Im not a metal detectorist, so I dont dig anything, but this is my best find, which resparked my intense interest in the World War I era here in Southern Arizona. No, its not that old, and may not be that special to a lot of other users here, but for an Arizona history lover, its hard to beat a surface find like this.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/g...418-fort-huachuca-post-barber-shop-token.html

 

[Old Pueblo]

It was actually a find that someone else made that got me hooked way back in 1967. A beautiful girl named Karen found me during a rather tumultuous time in my life, and instantly became the love of my life.
We took an electronics course together in 1968, and built two kit metal detectors together. There was no looking back then! We went everywhere detecting together, and I was hooked for sure. Tragically, our time together was cut short when Karen was killed by a drunk driver. Here it is 50 years later, and I still have not gotten over her loss.

Sorry to hear about that. Losing a lady friend is certainly a tough one, and Ive lost a couple over the years. Nothing that tragic though, fortunately. Take it easy.

 

[Old Pueblo]

When I bought my first detector I remember asking my son what our goals should be for our first year. We both agreed that finding a silver coin would be the goal. We live in a relatively young area that was mostly developed during the 40s and 50s, so we didn't have many years worth of time for silver drops. The idea of finding a silver coin seemed remote.

On my second day of detecting I took our entire family to the park. About 3 holes in I dug my first silver - A 1924 Merc at 7". The entire family was standing around when I pulled that sucker out of the ground. It wasn't until that moment that I understood how much joy this hobby could provide. I remember feeling ridiculously happy and so amazed that an object dropped so long ago could look like it was dropped yesterday. It is that very feeling that I continue to chase to this day. We ended that first year with 21 silvers, a gold/diamond ring, and some amazing artifacts and relics.

Still waiting for my first silver with a detector (Found a pile of silver Roosevelt dimes on the surface once). My house was built in the 1960s, so Ive found tons of clad, but no silver yet. Theres got to be one somewhere, though.

 

[digger460]

Bought my house in 2005. It's in an old coal mining town, established in 1893. I decided to buy a Titan 3000xd metal detector to see if I could find any history. The very first target was this coal miner's check tag. When the the miner's went in to the mine, they would grab there tag off a board, and then return it when they came out. Alway's wondered how it got in the yard, if it's supposed to be on the board. A little story on this picture. I didn't know what it was at first, so I went on the interweb, and finally found out what it was. During the research, I ran across a guy that has a huge collection of tag's from across the US. I contacted him to see if he would be interested in adding it to his collection. I tried to take some pictures of it to send to him, but couldn't get the letter's to show, so I wound up tracing the letter's with Window's Paint, so he could see what it say's. Turn's out he didn't have one, so I sent it to him. Kinda wish I still had it.

Anyway, was hooked from there

 

[A2coins]

I was hooked on treasure hunting since I was young I think the Platnum ring and a 14k charm bracelet with solid little coke bottles all around it didn't hurt to solidify my addiction!!!!!!

 

[A2coins]

I was hooked before I even started swinging! I'm guessing a lot of us were. Metal detecting is something I had wanted to do for about the last 3 years but just never got around to taking the leap until this season. I'd say the finding of TNET gave me a good push to get it rolling. Absolutely so glad I did!! Woot!

I gotta say that's me also!!!!!!!!