A Metal Detector Takes Your Hunt from Sea to Land

I feel there is a sense of the hunt in all divers as to just what they are going to encounter every time they go below the surface.  I have related stories of my searching for wrecks, coins, fishing equipment and even bodies. 

This exploratory drive or desire to locate something has been the underlying topic of my blogs to date, but what is there on the surface that allows me to carry on this need to discover something old or new?    

Enter "Metal Detecting" 

I have had an old used metal detector for a number of years but didn't really take serious interest in it until I met a gentleman that belonged to a club for this hobby.  He invited me to attend one of their meetings to see what the sport was all about. 

The club name was the Central Florida Metal Detecting Club and it’s one of the largest in the United States.  They have monthly meetings where people bring their "finds" from the last meeting.  It's surprising how many various artifacts are on display for the other members to see and wish they had run across them in their hunting. 

Finds run from coins, to jewelry, to artifacts down to odds and ends and these items could have been found on the beach, a park, an old homestead or even a city block. 

One nice thing about joining a club for this sport is that the members will assist you in selecting various brands and models of detectors on the market as well as give you pointers in the proper way of using the machine.  After meeting various members and striking up a relationship with them it is possible to buddy with them to go hunting.  In this manner you not only get to have company on a hunt but also gain more of their experience in how and where to locate finds. 

There are members that have been metal detecting for 20 to 30 years and some that have traveled all over the United States and abroad to hunt interesting locations.  One of the encouragements to travel is that there are like metal detecting clubs all over the world.  Most of these clubs, like ours, hold invitational hunts where they set up a location where coins, artifacts and tokens are buried for the participants to locate.  Coins are the older silver variety, artifacts could be items from the civil war and tokens relate to prizes from digging tools to complete metal detectors.  A reasonable fee is charged to offset the finds and prizes given but the search fever is so great that everyone has fun.  There is usually a luncheon provided by the host club for an additional minor fee. 

Once I got the bug to get into this sport I purchased a good metal detector that had a price of around $700.  I went to the beach, parks and some vacant lots to find not only money but rings, kids toy cars, construction debris and plenty of pop and beer can snap tabs but it's the fun of the hunt that keeps you going.                                

                                                                              My Investment in a Metal Detector 

It wasn't long before my son Gary became interested in the sport and decided to go me one better and looking ahead to possible doing some underwater hunting, invested in a $1,400 machine that could go to 250 feet down.                              

                                                   Gary's Initial Investment in an Underwater Detector

Now you have to understand that sometimes what's a good metal detector under water may not be as good for hunting on the surface.  This proved out when we would go on hunts together to various locations on land.  We had a pact that whomever found the most coins would have to buy lunch.  Well Gary almost always lost, which was not that profitable for me especially if I had to buy lunch which would invariably cost me more than I found. 

Gary finally said "I can't understand why you keep beating me".  I told him to take my detector for a couple of weeks and try it out to see what he could find.  It wasn't more than a few days later that Gary called me to say "Boy this detector sure likes quarters".  That was enough for Gary to sell his underwater model and purchase a detector just like mine.                    

                                                                                            A Good Days Find

A lot of the detectors on the market have a digital read-out on the display screen that brings up a number that most of the time alerts the user to what might be under the ground.  After awhile of using the detector you begin to understand that certain numbers usually correspond to a particular item under the surface.  In general it will tell you if the item is iron, silver or gold and can really fool you on some finds.  You can be very disappointed or elated by what you dig up.  

                                                          Silver Bracelet                                                                         Diamond Ring

Gary and I have become so accustomed to the numerical read-outs that we can skip over pennies in order to get nickels, dimes and quarters.  If the area is not that productive we tend to pick up the pennies or just go to the next location.  Oh, by the way, the lunch contest has moved to his favor more frequently.

George