What inspired you try treasure hunting/metal detecting?

[DugHoles]

Just wanted to know what got y'all into this wonderful hobby. I'm sure this has been asked before but it time to refresh this subject. Besides, it might further inspire some of our newer "diggers" here on the forums.

What inspired me: The National Geographic special: Atocha: Quest for the treasure back in 1986. I've seen that special about 50 times on VHS no doubt, I was only 14 then... Then in 1991, while I worked at a scuba diving shop in California, I picked up the book: Treasure Recovery from Sand and Sea by Charles Garrett. Even though I have never hunted on sand or sea, I was hooked.

I was finally got my first detector in 1995, a Fishers CZ-20, and yes, while I owned it, I still never did any water hunting.... I unfortunately has to sell it a few years later to help others in need during Christmas. Then in 2003, my wife got together with family and friends and secretly got me a White's Spectrun XLT for my birthday. Yes, my wife is the greatest treasure that I've ever found.........

The floor is now open.........

GL & HH,

DugHoles

 

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[willie d]

I saw a Whites commercial on TV. Then I thought, "I like finding things, I can do this." Then I remembered that my dad had a detector when I was a kid. Unfortunately, I was too busy playing baseball back then. I went on whites website and found the closest dealer and bought a Garrett, go figure. That was a little over six years ago. One of the best decisions I've ever made.

 

[Dick from IA]

I too would see the White's commercials and wonder if maybe it would be an interesting venture. But it wasn't till about 2 years ago, while visiting my Mom in Florida, we were watching a Travel Channel special on Treasure Hunting. After a segment on beach hunting for Spanish shipwreck jewels and coins, Mom said "Now maybe there's a hobby you should try".

Upon arriving home I began researching MDing, and within a few weeks was in the hobby; and I've been hooked ever since

Thank you, Mom

DFIU
Dick from IA

 

[jeff of pa]

My Grandmother.

She used to spend her Winters in Florida, Searching the Beaches with her 3rd. Husband, back in the early 60's.
When they would come back home for the summers, I borrowed
her detector, and my first find was a 1919 Wheat.

That was all it took

 

[lumbercamp]

I was strictly a bottle digger untill 1972. That year I caught a 52" rattlesnake while I was out looking for bottle sites. I give the live rattler to a local man and in turn he gave me a logmarker from a local lumber camp. I was hooked. It was a very interesting relic. I had never heard of such a thing. Since '72 I have been digging lumber camps, and an occasional mining area.

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

Think I was "inspired" because I had nothing
else to do

have a good un..............

 

[ericwt]

When I was a kid my dad and some of his friends would sit around the camp fire and talk about stories of lost Spanish Gold and hidden treasure. We would also you to the mountans and search for gemstones and fossils. I got a cheap Radio shack MD at 9 years old for a present and have not looked back.

I was hooked.

ericwt

 

[daytondigger]

The neighbors across the street from me had everything you could imagine. My best friend lived there and one day he showed me a little Radio Shack detector. We fired it up and began digging all manners of stuff on there farm. I was hooked and I upgraded to a used whites, then a Tesoro and another Tesoro and another etc.(bigger and better each time) and then one day a Fisher CZ-5 and I haven't looked at another machine since. I'm 38 and have been at it for 25 years.

 

[johnrielly]

Well my uncle is one of those guys who is always trying the get rich quick schemes. Well he thought he was going to with his garrett gta1500 (at the time it was pretty much the best detector out there) and I was a young kid and of course I was curious to the things he would dig up. Well one day he let me use his cheeper detector which was a Bounty Hounter and off we went. We went to an old school that dated back only to early 1900's and he showed me how to work the machine but told me to dig everything.. After a little luck with some wheaties I went over by a large pinetree and got a signal. I dug a plug and some some silver. I never saw a coin that looked like it,and that was so tiny. I read the date 1855,I started jumping up and down with excitment and my uncle ran over thinking I was getting stung by bees.It ended up being a 1855o seated halfdime. My first day of detecting and to this day is the oldest silver coin I have dug.

 

[Gypsy Heart]

When I was young,my dad subscribed to Lost Treasures ,Old West and whatever other magazines there were on treasure. I would pour over them and read them till they fell apart. I was always a hunter...always finding stuff and loved looking in old houses and buildings. I loved looking for treasures and wanted to be a pirate growing up. I read everything I could get my hands on about lost treasures and ghost towns .

 

[The Seeker]

Like most people, I have seen metal detectors while growing up. My father also had one but at the time it never really interested me, so after many years and finally purchasing one a little over 10 years ago . I would detect the beach that was it, until 6 years ago I joined a club and learned a little more about relic hunting. so knowing there was a very old cellar hole on some property we had in our family I decided to go there one day with my son and whites XLT detector found a Civil war Medal that just made me see the light and Detecting and treasure hunting was in my blood now and forever!

Seeker

 

[Boobydoo]

I think when I was 6 or 7, my folks got me one of those Jetco cheapo detectors. Found a few pennies in the yard that I can remember. Then, when I was about 10, in 1971, I saw my neighbor detecting at my elementary school. I followed him around several times that summer and he finally let me swing his detector for a minute. My first signal was a Mercury dime, he kept it but I am forever grateful to him for allowing me to bug him so much. We used to go bottle digging too when I was in my teens. I always try to remember how nice he was to me back then, and try to be that way to the kiddies that follow me around now. I would love to be their inspiration for a lifetime of TH'ing. I finally got my first good detector, a Compass Coinshooter I think, when I was 14. Been a finder ever since.

Smiles!
BDoo

 

[Ocean7]

well Loyd Bridges on Seahunt in the '60's probably gets the credit.
But actually buying a MD - a dream of lost plunder in a house that
was owned by a friend. When I told them about it - they said two
other people had similiar dream about the cache when they stayed
over a weekend.
Now what are the odds? *L* Still looking but my hopes are fading
fast on this one! I did find evidence of where a rectangular box
had been buried in a bake-house hearth mud floor. Perhaps it had
already been found!

 

[Farmercal]

I was always a hunter of sorts but I didn't get into detecting until I was stationed in Monterey, CA. I just thought it was neat thing to do and I bought a Radio Shack detector. Found a cent here and a cent there at the one to two inch range. After Monterey, I was sent to San Antonio and upon lots of reading in TH magazines realized that I needed a better detector and purchased a Fisher 1220 X. Boy, did I start finding good stuff then. That was a good detector and it was that detector that found my 1902 Barber dime. I still have the detector in my garage. I have since moved up to better detectors but that Fisher brought me years of fun, fun, fun. Which is probably why I got into this hobby, FUN. The great people I meet during my TH endeavors are just a side benefit to the hobby.

 

[sendin]

I am just starting out so I don't know if I'll get hooked like many have. Even though my detector is a POS, my friend is a White's dealer and he has gone out with me three times and let me use his MXT Demo. So far, I really like that detector. Between us we have many sites to check. Being long time locals helps and he knows a lot about the history around here. I live near the dairy that my great-grandfather started in 1908 and the property had a road house on it before that. It is still in the family. We already found part of a very old rifle there. I used to be a Chief Engineer on a oceanographic research vessel that was a support platform for a deep sea ROV so that background has helped me to appreciate MDing. I think this may progress to some underwater MDing since I dive and like the water. Anyway, I like the technology, researching and the hunt. Treasurenet has been a great resource and I've learned a lot with all there is to read.

 

[Born2Dtect]

WE&T magazine back in 1983, I was hooked after reading one magazine. Took 20 years to get going, my only regret.

Ed D.

 

[PBK]

My late brother-in-law got into the hobby around 35-40 years ago, and one day he let me have a go with his Coinmaster IV TR.
Later, my dad gave me a 66-TR, and that was it... instant obsession!

 

[buscadero]

Spent some time in Tucson, Az. back in 1969! Ran across some Treasure Magazines for the ist time. Was hooked! Bought a $29.95 MD, all I could afford. Never found much!

I always imagine what if: I would of had one of today's Top-of -the -line MD back then! Wooooo!


Joe

 

[Gribnitz]

Hmm, I must have been 10 or 12 years old (I am 41 now) out riding my bike in a fair ground and saw some older guy using one after the fair. I stood there watching the guy wondering what he was finding and it fascinated me (and I now know that old park must have been hit pretty hard over the years). I saw a detector for sale in the back of a comic book and tried to convince my parents to get me one.....no luck. Well, 25+ years later I forked out my own hard earned cash and got me on on a whim. I really don't know why it bit me again 25 years later, but I bought a cheapie on ebay and found a big ole bullet in the field. I think I posted it here wondering what kind of elephant gun slug I found and was informed it was a .69 caliber civil war bullet. Not a valuable find, but it sure did hook me. It never even crossed my mind about finding old historical stuff, just coins. Well, now I don't even specifically look for coins, the old history impresses me much more.

 

[david.w]

I've been into lost treasures for a while. Anything that has to do with treasure fascinates me. I'm also really into antiques, and anything from the past.
I think I really started thinking about buying a metal detector when I saw them being used in National Treasure (when Ben and his team located the Charlotte). I forgot about it for a few months, and then I found TreasureNet. After reading a few posts on here, I decided that I REALLY wanted one, and quick! I couldn't believe that average finds for you guys are coins from the 1800's, and other historic artifacts.
I finally received my first detector about a week ago, and I've been hooked since!
Thanks to everyone here at TreasureNet for inspiring me to take up this incredible hobby