What got you started in metal detecting?

[Silver Simon]

Oddly enough, Ron Paul convinced me to get into metal detecting. A few years ago I was watching Ron Paul in congress and he mentioned that a silver dollar could get you a few gallons of gas in the past, but now it could get you a full tank. Granted, silver has dropped since then, but I realized that precious metals could be a solid way to hedge against inflation. I stocked up on some silver eagles and called it good. Then I became informed about how older currency contained silver, and having smaller silver like dimes and quarters could be a good way to collect silver, and possibly be used in trade in the event of an economic collapse.

That thought was a little "out there" for me, but better to be prepared than to be sorry. While looking into purchasing smaller silver, I came across metal detecting videos of people finding silver. Silver... for free? Count me in. I had my heart set on a Coinmaster GT, until my local dealer convinced me to go with an AT Pro. He didn't even sell that model, so I knew he wasn't trying to con me. Well, as you may have guessed, silver did not pop out of every hole. It is one of those rare treats that brighten the hunt.

However, the more I detected and found really old items, the more intrigued with history I became, and my mind raced with the stories that might be behind the items I had found. What started as a hobby to greedily fill my stash with silver coins soon became a mission to uncover the lost history that the Earth had swallowed to be forgotten.

 

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[Mackaydon]

Back in the 50s, I was in a Fort Lauderdale hospital as the result of over 'indulgence' for an underaged kid. My roommate said he was a treasure hunter and the stories he related while I was 'recouping' got me hooked. To this day, I wonder: Who was he?
Don......

 

[ivan salis]

not a what --a who my dad --and love of things historical --and valuable...as well

 

[CoinandRelicMan]

Built a Radio Shack kit detector when I was young, after that was always interested in them.

 

[here4themoney]

Old guy across the street was having a yardsale when I was 10yrs old (1987).. He had a Compass judge II for sale, for $10. I asked Grandma for the 10 bucks and after a little begging she gave it to me. I can't remember wanting a detector before that moment, I probably figured it was just too much money and didn't consider it. But once I saw there was one for an amount that I could get I wanted it bad... I detected on and off since that day, sometimes taking years off in my teen years, but over time I been buying newer better detectors and I keep having more and more fun with it.

 

[cruiserkev]

My parents were hooked on a "Little House on the Prairie" dream and we moved to an old homestead in 1980 from the suburbs. At first I hated it there and thought they were crazy. I was a bored 10 year old kid but was curious about history and had endless hours exploring the many old sheds on the property finding treasures and trinkets that were left behind by the previous owners.

Our house was built in the 1890's and was once the main building on a 400 acre farm. We had the last 7 acres of that and found old wells, root cellars and junk all over the property. My dad was slowly remodeling the main house, we were actually the first family to install plumbing there. He tore into several walls and we found the house was insulated with newspaper from the same period. Much was still readable but flaked apart as it was so old. We found a beat up morgan silver dollar, a silver standing liberty quarter and a silver pocket watch during our excavations.

This prompted me to request a metal detector for Christmas. It was one of those old Radio Shack kids models with the orange handle powered by a 9 volt battery. Did not perform to well but I had many hours of fun finding old tools and Model T car parts from the 1920's that were buried around the property. Sadly lost the house, all my belongings including the detector to a fire in 1982. Guess that old dry newspaper, rough cut fir timbers and our belongings made the place go up like a box of matches.

Life got in the way and I did not touch a detector again until many years later. My sister still lives on the property today in a new house. After I got back into metal detecting, the treasure hunting bug hit me hard and I try get out there as often as possible to go hunting. Just clad and wheaties so far, old horseshoes, some square nails and a lot of soda cans we carelessly tossed in the bushes as stupid kids. I know there is some more silver out there. This post has inspired me to get back out there and hunt some more today! HH

 

[cudamark]

As a kid, I inherited a partial Lincoln cent coin collection from my grandmother. When the good older coins started to get a bit hard to find in circulation, I saw an ad in a magazine touting the virtues of using a metal detect to find them. That lit the light bulb over my head and I was on my way. Man, it's been a long trip with no end in site!

 

[luvsdux]

Started out using a detector to help find old dumps with the idea of (hopefully) digging old bottles. Got hooked on the detecting and now do a lot of coin shooting and some relic hunting.
luvsdux

 

[Carolina Tom]

You guys will love this one. The kid next door when I was growing up (early 70s) was very spoiled, he had everything.. go kart, mini bike, pony... and a metal detector! We used to look for treasure around the neighborhood.

Fast forward to 2013... saw Diggers on TV and immediately ordered myself a $200 Bounty Hunter. Went hunting a few times, found a few coins and other items, and it was "on"! Got an AT Pro, then a Deus... and as they say, the rest is history. For me Diggers was a good thing!

 

[Hitndahed]

Well I have always wanted to get a REAL metal detector but the expense of real life had to come first.
I had an old Radio Shack one wayyyyy back in the day and as time passed I developed interests in coins and ancient stuff.
So I was running down a couple of stories on very ancient coins found in Pennsylvania,,found the Spanish Hill website,,,
Which led me to Gloria Farleys site,,,Coincidence of the Coins..
A bit more digging led me to here to view some of those types of coins she was describing in her paper.

So this led me to make a few posts and whatnot,,, and a member here lives pretty close,,, so we met,,,and I bought one of his used detectors. A Fisher CZ& Pro.
We hit my home for the FIRST TIME ever,,, it has NEVER been hunted and was originally a 2 room cabin built in 1850.
Very first coin out was an Indian Head followed by a Merc. And that was just where the original clothes line was.
I have 4.2 acres and you can see the old foundation lines in the ground where the barn and other buildings used to be,, I found
2 of the outhouses too. Way too wet to dig them now,, but summer will be here soon.

Also my place was rumored to be part of the Underground Rail-Road,, along with a couple more places close by.

Seriously I have that gut-feeling that there is a cache or two here and am gonna start looking hard,,, soon as time permits,, Probably going to be an hour here and there though.
DEEP SIGH
But with my parents still alive and in their mid eighties,, their health requires me to "be available". Not a bother at all but it does get in the way sometimes of me doing my thing.
They were there for me all my life and now I feel like it is my time to be there for them.

I have a couple more years to work,,, if I make it,,,hopefully something will come out of the ground to make that time shorter,,, lololol
Anyway I am glad I found this forum,,, and my new "friends" both here and in real life.

Good luck and HAPPY HUNTING
Hit

 

[Garrett424]

Back in the late 80's I saw an early Saturday morning TV show. I live in Maryland and it was about two local guys with metal detectors who hunted many of the old swimming beaches along the Chesapeake Bay. What they were finding astounded me; old coins, jewelry, tokens, lead toys, you name it.

They did so well that they had both quit their "real" jobs and were earning over 60 grand a year EACH at that time, which was a really nice living in those days.

I was quite intrigued to say the least. I had always collected coins and old stuff since I was a kid as well as creek walking for relics, old bottles and anything old or interesting I could get my hands on.

About a year later my then girlfriend (now ex wife) bought me a cheap Micronta detector from Radio Shack. I found one Mercury dime with it; a 1941 which I still have. That's ALL I found with it besides trash and nails. I actually gave that machine away last summer to a kid I know. It still works.

Last year my youngest turned 18. I had been doing some creek and river walking last spring after a minor flood looking for stuff and finding a few cool things. I had more time than usual on my hands and since I was spending so much time in the woods anyway, I decided to buy a detector and try my hand at my old interest.

The whole idea of metal detecting had never really left me, I was just busy raising kids and earning a living for over 20 years. So on June 21st of last year I got a $30.00 Bounty Hunter tracker IV from Craigslist and hit the woods with it. I found a 10K gold band about 10 minutes into my first hunt and I've been hooked ever since. As the saying goes, the rest is history. I've also gotten a few kids I know interested in the hobby along the way.

But, had I not happened to wake up early on that Saturday years ago I may have never even thought about metal detecting.
It looks and feels to me like it was meant to be.

 

[GatorBoy]

The research and history I started to learn about the areas I was finding Native American artifacts and certain ceramic Spanish artifacts just led me to basically the necessity of having a metal detector to search for and find the metal objects.
I guess that's a little backwards than most folks but I actually got a metal detector to find newer items

 

[releventchair]

An uncle in the early seventies let us tag along. When the fire siren went off ,he did too leaving us with his machine.
Dad turned up a fine old coin one time just after uncle left for a fire run and it became a lot more interesting!
Later uncles tales of awesome finds, and museum /historical society and starting a research center works he undertook meant no possible old sites could be ignored.

 

[longcut]

I got hooked on Civil War history in college, back in the 60s ................ That progressively led to metal detecting for the relics ...... I love hunting for silver , but the skirmish sites keep luring me back ..............

 

[penzfan]

The thrill and mystery of the unknown...

 

[kingskid1611]

I have always had a fascination with what someone has hid or just lost. I like finding things and wondering where they have been since they were made, addiction is an understatement for me.

 

[Papalittle]

My wife developed Alzheimers and needs 24 hour care but after a while I was getting burnt out tasking care of her so I hired a couple of young ladies to tend to her needs during the day. With the extra time on my hands I needed a hobby that would allow me to be out of the house and places to go to relax and clear my head. Since I live in very rural area of Nebraska I figured metal detecting was just what I needed. The rest is history.

 

[GatorBoy]

I'm finding I HAVE TO read every one of these out of respect for the poster...

 

[worldtalker]

My Father-in-law back in 74 got me into it,George was a heck of a guy,we did everything together,I sure miss him.


GOD Bless

Chris

 

[Tom_in_CA]

A fellow class-mate kid friend of mine, in Jr. High School, about 1976-ish. He had a Compass 77b (or 94b ?). He'd go out to the local school yards to detect. And one day let me tag along as his digger-boy. A typical good day's finds would be 10 or 20 clad coins, and a few wheaties and/or buffalo. And real good day we'd get a merc, or silver washington, etc... I was hooked! Promptly went out and found myself a used Whites 66TR to buy. Like his machine, was an all-metal TR. That year (1976-ish) was *just* on the cusp of the metal detector technology revolutions. Ie.: discrimination was just-then starting to be seen. Ground cancel machines were just then starting to be seen, etc.... Thus anyone with a detector that was a mere 2 or 3 yrs. old, already had a dinasour! Doh!