A bit of my roots or how I became a treasure hunter!
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 06:01PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
My father was a dreamer and let his dreams and schemes lead him far afield in life, sometimes into the shady edge of legality. Perhaps, one day, I'll share some of those stories. He was the proud owner of an early Whites detector and learned just enough to find a huge diamond ring for which he received a large reward. He told me that diamond shined like "The Headlight On A Train" son!!! Mostly he dreamed about detecting and as far as I know never found anything else with his cherished detector. I know he was proud of me for my record in finding gold and silver. He and I never had a chance to share our hobby other than in stories, but then life is often like that, eh?
In the late '60s I was in Germany in the service. Mom wrote me a letter outlining a tale dad brought home from a beer break at a small Texas beer joint owned by a fellow he knew who had been in Germany during WW-2 as had my dad. Dad remarked one time that if it hadn't been for the wine cellars in Germany he couldn't have made it through the war. He was trained as a scout and sniper and was always the first man into new territory. He had a small scar above one ear, I forget which, that was from a near death dealing bullet.
In the tale his the friends patrol captured a German payroll and buried it in a shell crater. It was in silver coin and there was some gold he assured dad and it was way too heavy for them to carry away. The treasure was buried a few yards to the right of the stone pillars the marked the entrance to the local airfield at Ulm, Germany. Dad wanted me to investigate and let him know what I found. He was sure it was sizable in value and was still there because the friend was the only member of the patrol to survive the war.
My wife and I traveled to Ulm not too far from my base and we checked out the landmarks provided us. A casual question at a local eatery got us raised eyebrows and directions to the local airfield that now served as a sport flying center for the area. The airfield was there, the stone pillars were there and the location of the treasure was now the site of a huge barn like structure. It had a concrete floor and I can not imagine it being built without the treasure, if any, being found.
Too bad dad. Maybe your next dream..........
Alas Dad is dreaming in the next world now and I miss him and his dreams.
HH Friends,
Cupajo
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makes you wonder how much valuable stuff was ratholed
Posted by: david(tx) [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 06:28PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 4,125
around europe during the wars.i bet like you that the payroll loot is gone .
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That had to be a let down....So close!N/T
Posted by: Ron J [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 07:42PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 2,145
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There has to be a lot of treasure just a waiting for someone to find it!!!N/T
Posted by: Royal [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 08:56PM Moderator
Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 12,429
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________________________________________
Life is not about arriving at your grave intact but rather to Experiencing nature-Enrichment for life-"What a Ride"
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I suspect there is a lot of hidden treasure in Germany, as well as.............
Posted by: Kelley (Texas) [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 09:50PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 5,337
other areas of Europe. Surely all of it has not been found. Cupajo, thanks for posting this amazing story...it lights a fire under me to go back to some of those sites that I am finding while riding the motorcycle on the back roads of South Texas. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
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enjoyed,thanks for posting !N/T
Posted by: ojm bc [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 10:24PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 3,431
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in GB they show up often,re roman coins etc.N/T
Posted by: ojm bc [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 10:26PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 3,431
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Must have been exciting driving to the site and wondering what you'd find. Great story. Cool Dad.N/T
Posted by: WillyP [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 18, 2008 01:03AM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 2,181
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What a great story.. It goes into the 'if only' category.. bur we all can dream!!N/T
Posted by: Mikie [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 19, 2008 02:20PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 4,848
How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 07:57PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
In the early '80s I decided to try my hand at treasure hunting with a metal detector. I bought a Whites 6000DI discriminating land machine and used it to find lots of junk and coins in old yards and at the beach near my Connecticut home. I found one nice gold ring with it before I became a convert to water hunting.
One day while working the local beach I noticed an older guy detecting the shallows. He seemed to be doing a lot of digging and didn't appear to want to be disturbed. I watched him as he searched and it became apparent to me that if I wanted to find jewelry and other valuables that I would have to get in the water. I built a plexiglass box for my Whites and found it was too sensitive to minerals in the water to be of much use in salt water. If I adjusted it to ignore the salt it couldn't find anything. In fresh water it would no doubt do much better, but my home is minutes from a popular beach. I needed a salt water machine.
A quick trip to my friend the local metal detector dealer resulted in a Garrett XL500PI purchase. I was now armed and ready to get the gold. In three years of digging I found about 12 Lbs. of silver and hundreds of gold rings. I've returned 28 rings to their owners and two of the finds were written up in The Hartford Courant, Connecticuts oldest newspaper. I'll continue another time if there is any interest. there are a few good tales for later. I just thought I would lay the ground work first.
Copajo
(Nobody gets it all, but I'm working on it!!!)
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Thats a pretty good score card! Welcome to Royal's!N/T
Posted by: Ron J [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 08:09PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 2,145
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Good on ya! Thanks for joining us.............
Posted by: Wayne in BC [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 08:36PM Moderator
Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 6,515
we would be pleased to hear about your experiences.
________________________________________
Go ahead, beat your guns into plowshares, you will be plowing for me.
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Welcome aboard. Always nice to see another person from CT.
Posted by: George-CT [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 08:52PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 3,806
I hunt both the water and dirt, but mostly water. Easier on the body and more enjoyable. I'm up here in North Windham, CT. Grew up in Groton, New London, Waterford. Looks like your water hunting is doing pretty well for you.... George-CT
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You bet we're interested Copajo...........
Posted by: Rob/Windsor, Ont. [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 09:18PM Registered: 2 years ago
Posts: 3,886
Not a wonder you guys hunt those beaches ! Nothin' like those quantities around these parts. Success seems to follow those who let good conscience be their guide. Good on you and welcome aboard !
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Good writing,I like detecting stories !N/T
Posted by: ojm bc [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 09:34PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 3,431
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Pull up a chain and sit yourself down.. Welcome to the best and friendliest place on the net!!!N/T
Posted by: Mikie [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 10:16PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 4,848
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I would love to hear more!....Welcome!N/T
Posted by: Dan-MO [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 10:30PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 1,244
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: SurfCutter [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 05, 2008 12:21AM Registered: 1 year ago
Posts: 263
Welcome , I also am from that era of detector and opening of the salt water beaches to a great machine , the ol pulse XL 500's .... I may not have found as many rich targets but have meet and travelled with may great people in this hobby ..Jack and Eleanor Hube to drop a name or two ...LOL
Again Welcome and enjoy the the posts, very good bunch here..
Bill G.
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 05, 2008 05:25AM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
WOW!!!,
What a welcome!!!!!
Thanks all!!!!!!!
More later.
Cupajo
(Nobody gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: bdahunter [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 05, 2008 05:00PM Registered: 2 years ago
Posts: 2,888
Everybody Loves a Surf Pirate Story! What could be Better?? I'm a surf pirate myself and I'm always ready to listen to a good yarn, especially about surf hunting. I've only been surf hunting a few years and I've done well even though I missed the glory days when the surf was ripe with loot for those who dared to wade in.
Welcome to a Great Group of Friends,
BDA
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting Ch.2
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 05, 2008 05:53PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
Remember children, this was 23 years ago when I was much more able than now. I only searched for three years, then I put my machines away and only used them to locate lost items of jewelry for people that called me. During those 3 years the only problems with the XL500s were the battery packs were starting to fail after 2+ years of frequent use and I was regularly repairing the loop connectors as they suffered lots of abuse chest mounted. A few weeks ago I decided to tune up the old machines and git to diggin again. I need the exercise. My first hour out there almost killed me!!! I rebuilt the battery packs and repaired one connector wire and I was ready to get to it. On one of those days after digging for an hour or two a fellow I had known 23 or so years or so ago hit the water not far from me and later we reaquainted ourselves. We both seem a bit older now. Any way he claims I got him started detecting in the water and as a result he found his first gold then and the rest is history. He was with a hunting partner that used an Infinium LS. That guy had no mercy and not being a slow child I realized that what I was watching was no miracle, but one fine machine and a guy that knew how to use it!! This convinced me to order an LS for my self. I know the value of a good machine and I've always considered Garrett the best. I'm impatiently waiting for delivery.
I'll fill in the gap '80's etc. later. Gotta go for now.
Thanks for your interest.
Cupajo
(No one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting Ch.2
Posted by: SurfCutter [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 05, 2008 08:07PM Registered: 1 year ago
Posts: 263
I am also in to working on getting an Infinium LS , my hunting buddy has one , but is not so taken with it and has offered it to me at cost ... We are just getting back to hunting together again ,(long story) . He has a bit of a different interest now as to what he like to hunt for these days , ..I am just grateful to be able to get out and hunt be it water or land ... Of late my friend Gerry has the desire for Colonial war relics and coins and has for the most part given up hunting the water ...
If you are ever in the neighborhood of Rt 24 / 494 MA feel free to give a shout and stop by I would be glad to see you , coffee and chew the bull etc ... maybe even a quick hunt around the farm ....
Bill G.
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 05, 2008 09:12PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
Thanks for the invite Surfcutter. I rarely get out of Ct. these days and as for Tr. Htg. have more within a stones throw of my front door than I'll ever get to. For now I,m content to visit via these posts altho it would be great to have a meeting of the clan and have a cup and chew the fat. While I've been waiting for my LS to arrive I've given the old XLs a workout several times and have four gold rings to prove it. I had to return the first one they sent me because of technical problems and Garrett has another new one in route. Wish me better luck with this one.
On with the story. I spent evenings and weekends and every spare moment of those three years in the water searching for treasure, I hunted the off season (January, February, and March) of those three years in water so cold it hurt to get it on your bare skin. Ice formed on my stainless steel (Homemade) scoop and it was too slippery to lift at times. There were no distractions (such as swimmers, kids and adults asking what you're doing or what you've found and wanting to paw through your finds) from those whispers of sound in the headsets that meant another target to dig and a possible jewel. The tides were more favorable and the water more clear.
The Connecticut River froze so solid one year that the Coast Guard Ice breakers had to plow up the river to Hartford to allow the oil barges passage. One very still and extremely cold morning I got suited up in multi-layers of warm cloths, my insulated chest high waders, shoulder length rubber gauntlets with GI wool glove liners and headed for the water. There was a very clear, almost heavenly, musicalsound in he air such as I've never heard before or since. The mystery was solved when I got close enough to the beach to see the huge, crystal clear chunks of ice that had been transported to Long Island Sound by river current, wind and tide. They bumped together against the beach and one another and produced the most beautiful, clear bell tone I've ever heard. In 2001 I mentioned to a lady that lives near tthe beach where I heard the sound that I had gone out in that winter to prospect the shallows and she asked me if I had heard the beautiful music Mother Nature made that year?
There were many times when I didn't recover a valuable find, but I always found something of interest. I recovered BB gun BBsand bits of wire from fireworks. Pounds of fishing sinkers and trash such as beer cans and broken bottles from thoughtless people that threw them in the water to be rid of them. I've often thought it would be poetic justice if the person that threw the glass out there would be the one to get a terrible cut from the jagged, broken glass. I suspect that has never happened, but I live in hope.(does that make me a bad person??).
Enough for now, thanks for tuning in.
Cupajo
(Nobody gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 05, 2008 09:23PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
PS,
Surfcutter, I forgot to mention that I happened to watch Eleanor dig up a nice diamond years ago in Old Lyme at the base of a cut bank following a bad N'or Easter. It almost got me back in the water, but I had other pursuits at the time. What goes around---and here I am again and happy to be here Gang!!!
Cupajo
Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: SurfCutter [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 06, 2008 02:10AM Registered: 1 year ago
Posts: 263
I hope to get down to Eleanor's shop in the near future and get a machine for my son but a lot has to happen for that to work out . Again Welcome Enjoy the posts and the great people here they are really the true treasure . ...
Bill G.
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Cupajo, that is an amazing amount of silver and gold.............
Posted by: Kelley (Texas) [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 11, 2008 09:34PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 5,337
Not many folks find that much treasure...you have done good! Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2008 09:48PM by Kelley (Texas).
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 05:05PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
Hi Kelley,
In the mid-80s I had what was then the best available detectors. I learned how to get the best out of them and me. The only other people out there were not as well equipped or as adept with their equipment, and my results proved it. All those rings were gold and I had probably 20 plus pounds of silver total, all found in 3 years of regular hunting. I sold some of the silver years ago so I don't have an accurate total. Woulda, coulda, shoulda.......! When a month or so ago I decided I needed to get out there again for my physical well being and my sanity, I found that the methods I used so long ago still produce (4-gold rings). There aren't as many there these days as there were largely due to my efforts and those guys who learned slow down and to listen, really listen to their equipment. Now I'm learning to understand what an Infinium LS is trying to tell me.
So if you see an old guy out there diggin deep, watch and learn cause you too can find keepers by following his example.
HH Friends,
Cupajo, Ct.
(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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Good for you! I have found hundreds of rings in the water too but
Posted by: Royal [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 16, 2008 06:24PM Moderator
Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 12,429
have not had nearly that kind of luck returning them. I did return one that was a 1932 high school ring though. She was dead but I returned it her grand daughter.
I don't hunt salt water and use a Fisher 1280x and just love that machine. I also have a CZ 20 but don't much use it. Also a Whites XLT and a Shadow. I have not been detecting in a while though. Too much to do and too little time
We are certainly interested in Detecting storys here. Most of us detect!
________________________________________
Life is not about arriving at your grave intact but rather to Experiencing nature-Enrichment for life-"What a Ride"
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Yep, and if you ever lose a car transmission, I'm the one to call, right Mikie and Royal? N/T
Posted by: Sunny [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 16, 2008 10:28PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 6,667
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 20, 2008 12:43PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
There was an old engine block within 5 yards of dry Land in a swimming area in Sound View Beach here. I suspect it was used as a mooring, but don't know. At low tide when the sand had washed clear it was a hazard for swimmers. I haven't hunted there in a longgggggg time, but if it is still there I plan to make it my business to get rid of it.
A transmission??? There must be a story for you to share.
HH Friends,
Cupajo
The "Go to guy" when jewels are lost.
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 19, 2008 05:28PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
Over the years there have been many calls for me to "PLEASE FIND MY LOST RING!!!!!!". My first was from a lady I knew whose teenage son lost the only thing he owned of his dead father's, a large university ring!! He gave me a close approximation of the location of the ring and I found it in a few minutes. When I handed it to him he cried real tears of gratitude and thanked me from the depth of his being. He shook my hand and hugged me like I was family. I consider that quality time folks!!!!
One young bride to be lost her dainty platinum ring with a huge diamond by foolishly wearing it to the beach and then even more foolishly putting it on the tiny finger of her three year old niece, who promptly flipped her hand in the air sending the jewel flying! They wisely cordoned off the area and called me. A few moments time, tears of joy and warm hugs!!! Quality Time.
28 times I've been the hero and no regrets. The two times that really stand out were finding the class ring of my wife's 2nd cousin after over 20 years lost and the ring of a friend over 40 Years lost. They both got nice write-ups in Connecticut's oldest and largest newspaper, The Hartford Courant.
The cousin's mom had bought a replacement for the lost ring and was concerned about how to keep the fact that I had found the lost one from her husband who didn't know it was foolishly lost.!! Mom kept it!
The other ring was a 14K signet ring, the gift of a beloved aunt, to celebrate her 12 year old nephews confirmation. He proudly wore it everywhere even swimming where he lost it! Joe Martino grew up in the area one block from where he lost the ring and lived there his entire life. When he found out I was out there with a detector he told me that he wanted his ring back if I found it. I assured him that if it hadn't been found by another hunter I would find it in time. Every time I saw Joe he asked, "Find my ring yet?" After a year or so I found a ring that matched the description he had given me, gold...initials..JAM..
When I handed it to him, with hardly a glance he told me this isn't it!!! Now how many JAM's are there one can find?
I kept at it until one day I parked near a couple of fellows suiting up in waders and trying, it seemed, to hit the water before I did. I'm never in a race when there is treasure to be found. I chuckled to myself as they hit the water with two large splashes and forged ahead at flank speed! Not more than 10 feet and 20 minutes later I had the first ring in my scoop! I yelled to these guys, "SLOW DOWN, YOU MISSED ONE!!!". They were 75-100feet down the beach from me throwing a wake as they cruised through the water. 5-10 feet and 15 minutes farther along I found a nice small engagement ring with a real diamond!! I held it up and yelled again to these guys, now a hundred yards away, "SLOW DOWN YOU MISSED ANOTHER ONE!!!" I don't know if they heard me or not but by the time I found ring number three, (Joe's ring!!!) a yard or so farther along, they had reached the end of the beach and were climbing up onto dry land and heading back to the car. Ring number 4 was in my scoop before they got back to where I hunted in their tracks, ring number 5 came to light as they loaded their gear yo leave and ring number 6 as they drove away, probably muttering to themselves some thing about what a waste of time detecting a hunted out beach!!!
There is a lesson in there somewhere!!!
Joe, known locally as "The Mayor of Sound View Beach (Honorary) was one thrilled man to have his long lost ring returned over 40 years after he lost it!!!
He shook my hand until it hurt and knowing this was his lucky day went down and bought a small fortune in lottery tickets!! Ah, that was Joe. He's no longer with us, but the memories linger on..........
HH Friends,
Cupajo
(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
".
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Cupajo, it appears that you have really excelled in treasure hunting............
Posted by: Kelley (Texas) [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 19, 2008 11:00PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 5,337
I think that it is neat that you find lost items for folks. I have never devoted the time to treasure hunting with a metal detector that I probably should have...always more interested in Indian relics. Most of my metal detecting has been done on ranches or old home sites...I especially like to hunt old picnic and swimming areas, old home sites, and old river or creek crossings for relics. I enjoyed your story, amazing how good you are at treasure hunting. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
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Excellent treasure tale Cupajo..
Posted by: Mikie [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 20, 2008 09:10AM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 4,848
Like you, and I am certain many of the others on Royals forum, I have been contracted to find rings and watches for people. When you return that ring to a person, that is payment enough.. :
fair winds
Mikie
________________________________________
"A dog is better than me, for she has love and does not judge"
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Re: The "Go to guy" when jewels are lost.
Posted by: sixships [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 20, 2008 10:17AM Registered: 7 months ago
Posts: 7
Great Deeds followed by Smiles and Hugs are our Greatest Rewards. Keep up the Outstanding 'tecting.
________________________________________
May the dirt on your digger be always lined with something shiny.
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The trick to detecting is not the machine you have but knowing what it is telling you
Posted by: Royal [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 20, 2008 04:38PM Moderator
Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 12,429
I use a Fisher 1280X for my diving and that was the first machine I ever owned. I know what it is telling me by sound, no meter. I probably miss many targets but I have found a heck of a lot of them.
If someone asked me what I considered a good signal, I could not tell them. It just sounds good.
You obviously have paid your dues and the machine is talking to you
________________________________________
Life is not about arriving at your grave intact but rather to Experiencing nature-Enrichment for life-"What a Ride"
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So True! Good going Cupajo!N/T
Posted by: Ron J [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 20, 2008 05:00PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 2,145
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enjoyed your stories cupajoe
Posted by: david(tx) [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 20, 2008 06:52PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 4,125
glad these folks found their lost rings,i mean glad you found them .
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Good going and a neat story!N/T
Posted by: Dan-MO [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 22, 2008 08:39PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 1,244
What scared the devil out of little Joe!!
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 06:32PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
Hi Gang,
Time to pick up the story of my beginning days as a treasure hunter.
One fine day in warm spring weather found me waist deep in our local beach waters, and I was glad to shake off old man winter blues on such a beautiful day, in such a pleasant way. Focusing intently on signals in the earphones allows one to casually observe one's surroundings in a very special way,--no hurry--soak it in kind of way. I noticed a young fellow dressed in a suit walk to near the waters edge accompanied by two young women dressed in a similar fashion. He was carrying a card board carton which he handed to one of the young ladys as he removed his shoes and socks and rolled up his pant legs to knee high or so. As I watched, he opened the carton, took out something I was too far away to see, looked at it and then threw it out into the water. He and his companions then bowed their heads for a moment and then he proceeded to empty the powdery contents into Long Island Sound. I said to myself,says I, "I think I've just witnessed a water burial." This , unknown to me, set the stage for a chuckle or two in spite of the sad occasion. I never heard who's remains got scattered that day, but when I went to visit my detector dealer friend Bill Peckham of WillJean's Detectors in Killingworth, Connecticut he added to the tail.
There was an older Italian gentleman that I had seen a few times at the beach. He had a Whites PI machine and when he was looking for targets he moved so fast he left a wake like a speed boat. I followed him one day and found a hole you could lose a bus in and on the outer edge of the hole I found a nice ring Joe had dug up and lost! My friend Bill told me that Joe had stopped by with a metal disk that appeared to be heat discolored and had numbers on it. Joe wanted to know what this thing was? Bill told me that when he told Joe that it was a titanium tag used in crematoriums to identify the ashes of the deceased. Bill told me the superstitious old fellow looked as if he might pass out for a moment. He grabbed the disk and flew away in terror. After returning the disk to the place he found it he stayed away from the area for months after and only returned after what he must have judged a suitable time lapse.
And now for the rest of the story! (too much??)
Shortly after that, during one of those extremely low tides we get here when the moon and wind co-operate, I found the tag and to secure it from becoming a collection piece, I waded out deep enough that my dry bottom was at risk, dug a hole as deep as I could, a couple of feet as I recall, and put the item to rest
for what may be the last time. I say "may" because one never knows what a major storm will do.
'til next time HH Friends,
Cupajo, Ct.
(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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I can't say I blame him
Posted by: Dan-MO [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 07:09PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 1,244
I don't think I would want to add that tag to my collection! Great story, can't wait for more!
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Me neither!N/T
Posted by: Ron J [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 07:27PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 2,145
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Hi Cupajo! I have been out for awhile and have just started
Posted by: Sunny [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 14, 2008 07:54PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 6,667
reading posts again! Nice to see ya hanging around! I hope to be back full time soon. Your treasure hunting stories are good! Hope you stay with us!
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Cupajo, I do not think that I would have wanted it either...............
Posted by: Kelley (Texas) [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 10:50PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 5,337
I would have also returned it to where I had found it. Things like that are spooky to me and I have no desire to mess with anything that could involve the supernatural...You folks did good by getting rid of it. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
A 12 point diamond is too blasted small to die for!!!
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 11, 2008 04:48PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
I got a call from a man saying he had lost a "12 point" diamond ring, would I please come to the beach where he was renting a cottage and find it for him as he was leaving Connecticut for Michigan the next morning and didn't want to leave the ring because the diamond was from his beloved dead gramma's ring and he had a pinky ring made for it and it hadn't been off his finger in 35 years and now it was in Long Island Sound (paused for a long breath). Obviously this fellow was upset and needed to find that ring! I promised to stop down in a short while, but I didn't want to mislead him by promising to find the ring. I told him I would do my best and that I had managed to locate quite a few lost rings for people over the years. He replied that I could name my price to which I replied that I don't charge as it is my hobby and I like helping people. After one aborted attempt I managed to locate the cottage and found a small crowd on the beach. As I approached with my GARRETT XL500 rigged for surf detecting, a man built like a line backer for the Green Bay packers separated from the crowd and rushed to greet me. Close to 300lbs of bear belly. bone and muscle, no neck and arms as big as my thighs, all wrapped up in a heavy haze of alcoholic vapor. He was too upset for the booze to have much affect, but I figured that if he sat quietly for 2 minutes he would be "out like a light". There should have been alarm bells, but my focus was on finding the ring, not on the potential danger I faced.
After introductions I found that the ring was lost while playing in shallow water a few feet from dry sand. I explained that as the sun was set we would have best results if I took the scoop of material I dug and spread it out on the dry sand where we could then find whatever caused the signal and with luck the ring.
I cautioned that the machine would respond to all metal so I may dig a nail or another piece of jewelry or possibly a coin. We wouldn't know until we checked the material dumped. Several flash lights were on hand and as I dumped each scoopful I spread it with my wader boot to allow me to pin point the location for the fellow to find the target. One junk ring, a couple of coins and a few pieces of junk metal later there was a small flash of light and there it was, the 12 point diamond ring! I said to the guy as I pointed, "I think that's it". He grabbed it up in a ham fist and said loud enough for people in Michigan to hear, " this is it! this is it , you found it you Son of a B_____, you found it", as he wrapped that ham of an arm around my neck, headphones and all and proceeded to jump up and down dragging me around with him like I was a rag doll. I'm trying to calm down this guy and he can't hear anyone, but himself crying and laughing and jumping around with me in tow!!!
After what seemed two lifetimes he decided he had hurt me enough I guess to express his joy and he let me go. Through ringing ears I heard him say that we would go inside and he would write me a check and in fear for my life I agreed, but only if he made it a small check. The check was made out for 200 dollars and I thanked him and got out of there. I don't think I could have survived any more of his friendliness.
When I saw the bruises of my face the next day from the Garrett underwater earphones, I thought perhaps I should have asked for more money just in case I had ear trouble from this escapade.
The lesson I learned was that in an emotion charged situation where alcohol is involved and the one emotion driven is of huge stature, be prepared for anything. In retrospect, I should have, the moment I saw the ring, put about a hundred feet between me and this guy. That way he would have to catch me to hurt me!!! Also, that I would always have to keep my wits about me under these situations otherwise this hobby could be hazardous to one's health, MY HEALTH!!!
Also a 12 point diamond is too blasted small to die for!!!!
HH Friends,
Cupajo
(No-one get 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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Still a good feeling though isn't it? N/T
Posted by: Wayne in BC [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 11, 2008 06:36PM Moderator
Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 6,515
(This message does not contain any text.)
________________________________________
Go ahead, beat your guns into plowshares, you will be plowing for me.
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Maybe Budweiser should do a Mr. Metal Detector Guy commercial starring You and Crusher!
Posted by: bdahunter [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 11, 2008 07:09PM Registered: 2 years ago
Posts: 2,888
Mr. Metal Detector Guy, We Salute You!
Nice Job Mate,
BDA
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2008 07:10PM by bdahunter.
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Cupajo, appears that you got the unintentional beating............
Posted by: Kelley (Texas) [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 11, 2008 09:44PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 5,337
for trying to do a good thing for someone. I bet if he ever loses anything in the future, he will give you a call...you made him very happy! Thank goodness you lived to tell the story...a very enjoyable story to read. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
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A very good reward [and I do not ean monetary].. well done!!N/T
Posted by: Mikie [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 11, 2008 11:15PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 4,848
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Re: A 12 point diamond is too blasted small to die for!!!
Posted by: SurfCutter [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 01:32AM Registered: 1 year ago
Posts: 263
Yes finding a lost ring for some one is a reward in and of it's self , and I have on occasion been lucky enough to find and return a few myself ...Well Done !
In that I am currently 6' and 275 lbs I have not had any one try to rough me up to much in their joy of having the ring returned ....
Bill G.
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almost a dead Hero! N/T
Posted by: Ron J [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 04:58AM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 2,145
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Re: A 12 point diamond is too blasted small to die for!!!
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 05:18PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
Hi Friends,
Thanks for all your replies to my story. Now for the rest of the story....! It may not occur to you to ask just how big a 12 point diamond is. I didn't know when I went lookin for that ring, but I had the lesson ground into me literally. As I understand the system, when a diamond is too small to give it a karat designation it is given a point rating and believe me a 12 point diamond is SMALLLLL!!! Of course size had no bearing on the emotion the fellow attached to the stone and I understand completely.
However I would never risk my life for a stone of that size from a purely monetary value consideration. I don't understand how it could even be faceted!
HH Friends,
Cupajo
(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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WTG Cupajo!
Posted by: Dan-MO [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 07:23PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 1,244
No better feeling than returning a ring to it's owner! I have returned a few and have gotten more pleasure from returning them than I would have got from keeping the ring-with one exception. I once dug a gold school ring and spent the better part of a day tracking down the owner. When I finally found her she turned out to be a snobish 19 year old who snatched the ring from my hand without a word of thanks-then did everything but accuse me of stealing a platinum ring that she said was lost at the same time as the one I found. She was a real little witch. I promptly went back to the spot I found the ring and looked for the other for a couple of hours-never did find it. I am not sure I would have returned it if I had.In your case -you earned your money! Good on you and thanks for a great story!
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Bet he was glad he found you! That's an awesome story! N/T
Posted by: Sunny [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 14, 2008 07:55PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 6,667
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I have been in such a situation several times
Posted by: Royal [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 16, 2008 06:59PM Moderator
Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 12,429
Liquor involved in an emotional situation. It was very bad indeed. Heck, I married a couple of them
Thanks for an interesting story Cupa!! You gotta watch out for those fat drunks! Shut your face Willy
________________________________________
Life is not about arriving at your grave intact but rather to Experiencing nature-Enrichment for life-"What a Ride"
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Re: A 12 point diamond is too blasted small to die for!!!
Posted by: sixships [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 20, 2008 10:54AM Registered: 7 months ago
Posts: 7
Outstanding deed and a super story. Thanks for sharing, but always beware of gratitude that blocks out the sun.
________________________________________
May the dirt on your digger be always lined with something shiny.
While water hunting one fine afternoon not too far from a popular local beach front bar, I came across an object that gave a loud signal and yet kept moving away as I tried to scoop it up. After a couple of tries it occurred to me that I was dealing with a wallet and I nudged it gently into my scoop with the toe of my boot. Tipping the scoop way back I was able to retrieve the wallet with $60.00 and several keys plus Drivers license etc enclosed.
It felt good to make the call that overjoyed the young man who owned the wallet. He lived 60 miles away and on his next opportunity stopped by and picked it up. As a sign of appreciation he left one of the $20s for me. That was nice, but you can't buy the good feelings I had already experienced by letting the young man know I had found the wallet.
On another occasion only a few yards from there I was enjoying the fresh air and sunshine of yet another beautiful day on the Connecticut shore when I noticed two middle aged ladies, dressed in the traditional one piece swim suits of Old Country matrons, glancing this way and that in a rather suspicious way. They were huddled together and looking at something I couldn't see from my perspective. They made their way to the waters edge and walked across the beach to the entrance of the aforementioned bar all the while glancing this way and that as if they were afraid of being caught, at what I couldn't imagine.
Twenty minutes or so later a young man (early to mid-thirties) came up to me and asked if I had found a wallet? I saw he was very concerned and barely stifled a laugh at the now obvious answer to what the ladies were up to. I explained to him what I had seen and told him that they may have left the wallet in the bar with the manager, but based on the way they were acting and the fact that I had seen them exit the back door of the pub and walk away up the street I doubted it. He swore and indicating one of the expensive power boats anchored nearby, told me he had decided to swim in from his boat rather than wait for the bar's water taxi and the loss of the wallet and $6,000.00 it contained were the price of a hard lesson.
He later let me know the wallet was gone. When he swam back to the boat it was in an effort to cool off over his loss.
People watching is the most delightful by product of metal detecting and can teach you a lot about people if you are aware if the things going on around you.
GL&HH Friends,
Cupajo
(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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I have always admired all of you on here that find things and
Posted by: Sunny [ Send a Message ]
Date: June 04, 2008 07:45PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 6,667
go the extra mile to get it back to it's rightful owner!
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Pity about the two ladies...
Posted by: Mikie [ Send a Message ]
Date: June 05, 2008 08:45AM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 4,848
Some people have little or no honour. However, returning the gentlemans wallet shows class.
Fair winds
Mikie
________________________________________
"A dog is better than me, for she has love and does not judge"
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Shame on the two ladies but the guy was a moron
Posted by: Royal [ Send a Message ]
Date: June 05, 2008 08:18PM Moderator
Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 12,429
who the heck carries that much money?
I was in a boat shop and talking to a guy about something or the other, I forget what, when my diving and metal detecting came up.
A young guy was listening to us talk. he was in his late 20's I would guess and he came up to us and asked me if I would hunt for a Rolex for him.
I asked him where he had lost it and he said in Lake St Clare some where. LAKE ST CLARE SOMEWHERE? That is one hell of a huge search area. I asked him how he had lost it and he said he got drunk and went water skiing with it on. I told him he was a friggin idiot and deserved what he got.
I did not make a friend but he was a rich stupid guy and I felt someone should tell him
Thanks for the post
________________________________________
Life is not about arriving at your grave intact but rather to Experiencing nature-Enrichment for life-"What a Ride"
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Re: Old Man's Early Years-"Humanity Part 2"
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: June 06, 2008 06:04AM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
Hi Friends,
I'm glad you noticed the underlying story Royal.. Here was a well off "young?" guy out to impress people with his high-powered boat, his macho swim to the beach from the boat and a huge wad of cash in his wallet!!!! Instead life taught him a valuable lesson and possibly protected him from a mugging too!!!
People watching is great fun, especially when you are expecting life's little surprises!!!
GL&HH Friends,
Cupajo
(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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Good story, thanks for sharing with the Forum, much appreciated. N/T
Posted by: Kelley (Texas) [ Send a Message ]
Date: June 06, 2008 04:54PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 5,337
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good one...N/T
Posted by: ojm bc [ Send a Message ]
Date: June 07, 2008 12:41AM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 3,431
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Another great story!N/T
Posted by: Dan-MO [ Send a Message ]
Date: June 08, 2008 12:30PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 1,244
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Good stuff on the return Cupajo !.....I highly doubt those two ladies were ever free in their minds to "enjoy" their find.....too bad for all involved on that one ...great read !N/T
Posted by: Rob/Windsor, Ont. [ Send a Message ]
Hi Gang,
Yesterday I introduced my soon to be 19 year old grandson to water detecting!!! He thought it was the best thing since MTV and X-Box!!! Wow Grampa when can we go again??? 7 this AM "you wanna go you better get up and grab a quick snack" (ME Telling Him of course!!). In the water by7:20 (forgot to dry out gloves and jacket, so) cold and ready to go home by 8AM!!! Fog's burning off and a few minutes sunlight on the dark waders and he's good to go another round. A 1/2 hour later gets his first ring!!!(Junk, but who cares??) Beer can, clump o junk iron, odds and ends.
Meanwhile Grampa, waist deep and picking up bits of dross (hunting a hunted out area) is proudly watching. 21/2 hours from goin in he's headed my way not looking very happy, as he say's "I'm sorry Grampa I tore a hole in my new waders. (Seconds later I had a small 10K gold ring in my catch all, and a heavy silver gold filled band followed a few minutes later!!! He, wet and cold loaded his gear in the van and I reluctantly pulled out for home!!!
You-all be the judge.
GL&HH Friends,
Hi Gang,
I decided that when I pass through those gates at the end of my life there will probably be a giant hair pin over the gate and I'll be in Metal Detector HELL!!!
In this place you will possess the best detector money can buy and the water will be as rough as only the water in Hell can be. You will find that your batteries/machine will fail at the very moment every hunting partner is popping diamond rings out of the ground all around you.
You are searching in some of the rockiest water hunting you've ever experienced and you watch a large diamond ring slip off the lip of your scoop!!! There are diggers from your club all around you and as you lean hard on the next scoop full of sand, stone and magma to pull that jewel out of one of the hardest and deepest digs you've ever experienced, the handle snaps off your favorite old scoop. None of your near and dear old friends from the club can hear your cries for the loan of a scoop!!! (earphones you know)
Well Dear Friends, I think you get the picture--------WILL SOMEONE OUT THERE PLEASE WAKE ME UP????
GL&HH FRIENDS.
Cupajo
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 06:01PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
My father was a dreamer and let his dreams and schemes lead him far afield in life, sometimes into the shady edge of legality. Perhaps, one day, I'll share some of those stories. He was the proud owner of an early Whites detector and learned just enough to find a huge diamond ring for which he received a large reward. He told me that diamond shined like "The Headlight On A Train" son!!! Mostly he dreamed about detecting and as far as I know never found anything else with his cherished detector. I know he was proud of me for my record in finding gold and silver. He and I never had a chance to share our hobby other than in stories, but then life is often like that, eh?
In the late '60s I was in Germany in the service. Mom wrote me a letter outlining a tale dad brought home from a beer break at a small Texas beer joint owned by a fellow he knew who had been in Germany during WW-2 as had my dad. Dad remarked one time that if it hadn't been for the wine cellars in Germany he couldn't have made it through the war. He was trained as a scout and sniper and was always the first man into new territory. He had a small scar above one ear, I forget which, that was from a near death dealing bullet.
In the tale his the friends patrol captured a German payroll and buried it in a shell crater. It was in silver coin and there was some gold he assured dad and it was way too heavy for them to carry away. The treasure was buried a few yards to the right of the stone pillars the marked the entrance to the local airfield at Ulm, Germany. Dad wanted me to investigate and let him know what I found. He was sure it was sizable in value and was still there because the friend was the only member of the patrol to survive the war.
My wife and I traveled to Ulm not too far from my base and we checked out the landmarks provided us. A casual question at a local eatery got us raised eyebrows and directions to the local airfield that now served as a sport flying center for the area. The airfield was there, the stone pillars were there and the location of the treasure was now the site of a huge barn like structure. It had a concrete floor and I can not imagine it being built without the treasure, if any, being found.
Too bad dad. Maybe your next dream..........
Alas Dad is dreaming in the next world now and I miss him and his dreams.
HH Friends,
Cupajo
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makes you wonder how much valuable stuff was ratholed
Posted by: david(tx) [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 06:28PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 4,125
around europe during the wars.i bet like you that the payroll loot is gone .
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That had to be a let down....So close!N/T
Posted by: Ron J [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 07:42PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 2,145
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There has to be a lot of treasure just a waiting for someone to find it!!!N/T
Posted by: Royal [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 08:56PM Moderator
Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 12,429
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________________________________________
Life is not about arriving at your grave intact but rather to Experiencing nature-Enrichment for life-"What a Ride"
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I suspect there is a lot of hidden treasure in Germany, as well as.............
Posted by: Kelley (Texas) [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 09:50PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 5,337
other areas of Europe. Surely all of it has not been found. Cupajo, thanks for posting this amazing story...it lights a fire under me to go back to some of those sites that I am finding while riding the motorcycle on the back roads of South Texas. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
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enjoyed,thanks for posting !N/T
Posted by: ojm bc [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 10:24PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 3,431
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in GB they show up often,re roman coins etc.N/T
Posted by: ojm bc [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 10:26PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 3,431
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Must have been exciting driving to the site and wondering what you'd find. Great story. Cool Dad.N/T
Posted by: WillyP [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 18, 2008 01:03AM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 2,181
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What a great story.. It goes into the 'if only' category.. bur we all can dream!!N/T
Posted by: Mikie [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 19, 2008 02:20PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 4,848
How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 07:57PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
In the early '80s I decided to try my hand at treasure hunting with a metal detector. I bought a Whites 6000DI discriminating land machine and used it to find lots of junk and coins in old yards and at the beach near my Connecticut home. I found one nice gold ring with it before I became a convert to water hunting.
One day while working the local beach I noticed an older guy detecting the shallows. He seemed to be doing a lot of digging and didn't appear to want to be disturbed. I watched him as he searched and it became apparent to me that if I wanted to find jewelry and other valuables that I would have to get in the water. I built a plexiglass box for my Whites and found it was too sensitive to minerals in the water to be of much use in salt water. If I adjusted it to ignore the salt it couldn't find anything. In fresh water it would no doubt do much better, but my home is minutes from a popular beach. I needed a salt water machine.
A quick trip to my friend the local metal detector dealer resulted in a Garrett XL500PI purchase. I was now armed and ready to get the gold. In three years of digging I found about 12 Lbs. of silver and hundreds of gold rings. I've returned 28 rings to their owners and two of the finds were written up in The Hartford Courant, Connecticuts oldest newspaper. I'll continue another time if there is any interest. there are a few good tales for later. I just thought I would lay the ground work first.
Copajo
(Nobody gets it all, but I'm working on it!!!)
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Thats a pretty good score card! Welcome to Royal's!N/T
Posted by: Ron J [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 08:09PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 2,145
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Good on ya! Thanks for joining us.............
Posted by: Wayne in BC [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 08:36PM Moderator
Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 6,515
we would be pleased to hear about your experiences.
________________________________________
Go ahead, beat your guns into plowshares, you will be plowing for me.
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Welcome aboard. Always nice to see another person from CT.
Posted by: George-CT [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 08:52PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 3,806
I hunt both the water and dirt, but mostly water. Easier on the body and more enjoyable. I'm up here in North Windham, CT. Grew up in Groton, New London, Waterford. Looks like your water hunting is doing pretty well for you.... George-CT
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You bet we're interested Copajo...........
Posted by: Rob/Windsor, Ont. [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 09:18PM Registered: 2 years ago
Posts: 3,886
Not a wonder you guys hunt those beaches ! Nothin' like those quantities around these parts. Success seems to follow those who let good conscience be their guide. Good on you and welcome aboard !
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Good writing,I like detecting stories !N/T
Posted by: ojm bc [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 09:34PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 3,431
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Pull up a chain and sit yourself down.. Welcome to the best and friendliest place on the net!!!N/T
Posted by: Mikie [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 10:16PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 4,848
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I would love to hear more!....Welcome!N/T
Posted by: Dan-MO [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 04, 2008 10:30PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 1,244
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: SurfCutter [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 05, 2008 12:21AM Registered: 1 year ago
Posts: 263
Welcome , I also am from that era of detector and opening of the salt water beaches to a great machine , the ol pulse XL 500's .... I may not have found as many rich targets but have meet and travelled with may great people in this hobby ..Jack and Eleanor Hube to drop a name or two ...LOL
Again Welcome and enjoy the the posts, very good bunch here..
Bill G.
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 05, 2008 05:25AM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
WOW!!!,
What a welcome!!!!!
Thanks all!!!!!!!
More later.
Cupajo
(Nobody gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: bdahunter [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 05, 2008 05:00PM Registered: 2 years ago
Posts: 2,888
Everybody Loves a Surf Pirate Story! What could be Better?? I'm a surf pirate myself and I'm always ready to listen to a good yarn, especially about surf hunting. I've only been surf hunting a few years and I've done well even though I missed the glory days when the surf was ripe with loot for those who dared to wade in.
Welcome to a Great Group of Friends,
BDA
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting Ch.2
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 05, 2008 05:53PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
Remember children, this was 23 years ago when I was much more able than now. I only searched for three years, then I put my machines away and only used them to locate lost items of jewelry for people that called me. During those 3 years the only problems with the XL500s were the battery packs were starting to fail after 2+ years of frequent use and I was regularly repairing the loop connectors as they suffered lots of abuse chest mounted. A few weeks ago I decided to tune up the old machines and git to diggin again. I need the exercise. My first hour out there almost killed me!!! I rebuilt the battery packs and repaired one connector wire and I was ready to get to it. On one of those days after digging for an hour or two a fellow I had known 23 or so years or so ago hit the water not far from me and later we reaquainted ourselves. We both seem a bit older now. Any way he claims I got him started detecting in the water and as a result he found his first gold then and the rest is history. He was with a hunting partner that used an Infinium LS. That guy had no mercy and not being a slow child I realized that what I was watching was no miracle, but one fine machine and a guy that knew how to use it!! This convinced me to order an LS for my self. I know the value of a good machine and I've always considered Garrett the best. I'm impatiently waiting for delivery.
I'll fill in the gap '80's etc. later. Gotta go for now.
Thanks for your interest.
Cupajo
(No one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting Ch.2
Posted by: SurfCutter [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 05, 2008 08:07PM Registered: 1 year ago
Posts: 263
I am also in to working on getting an Infinium LS , my hunting buddy has one , but is not so taken with it and has offered it to me at cost ... We are just getting back to hunting together again ,(long story) . He has a bit of a different interest now as to what he like to hunt for these days , ..I am just grateful to be able to get out and hunt be it water or land ... Of late my friend Gerry has the desire for Colonial war relics and coins and has for the most part given up hunting the water ...
If you are ever in the neighborhood of Rt 24 / 494 MA feel free to give a shout and stop by I would be glad to see you , coffee and chew the bull etc ... maybe even a quick hunt around the farm ....
Bill G.
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 05, 2008 09:12PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
Thanks for the invite Surfcutter. I rarely get out of Ct. these days and as for Tr. Htg. have more within a stones throw of my front door than I'll ever get to. For now I,m content to visit via these posts altho it would be great to have a meeting of the clan and have a cup and chew the fat. While I've been waiting for my LS to arrive I've given the old XLs a workout several times and have four gold rings to prove it. I had to return the first one they sent me because of technical problems and Garrett has another new one in route. Wish me better luck with this one.
On with the story. I spent evenings and weekends and every spare moment of those three years in the water searching for treasure, I hunted the off season (January, February, and March) of those three years in water so cold it hurt to get it on your bare skin. Ice formed on my stainless steel (Homemade) scoop and it was too slippery to lift at times. There were no distractions (such as swimmers, kids and adults asking what you're doing or what you've found and wanting to paw through your finds) from those whispers of sound in the headsets that meant another target to dig and a possible jewel. The tides were more favorable and the water more clear.
The Connecticut River froze so solid one year that the Coast Guard Ice breakers had to plow up the river to Hartford to allow the oil barges passage. One very still and extremely cold morning I got suited up in multi-layers of warm cloths, my insulated chest high waders, shoulder length rubber gauntlets with GI wool glove liners and headed for the water. There was a very clear, almost heavenly, musicalsound in he air such as I've never heard before or since. The mystery was solved when I got close enough to the beach to see the huge, crystal clear chunks of ice that had been transported to Long Island Sound by river current, wind and tide. They bumped together against the beach and one another and produced the most beautiful, clear bell tone I've ever heard. In 2001 I mentioned to a lady that lives near tthe beach where I heard the sound that I had gone out in that winter to prospect the shallows and she asked me if I had heard the beautiful music Mother Nature made that year?
There were many times when I didn't recover a valuable find, but I always found something of interest. I recovered BB gun BBsand bits of wire from fireworks. Pounds of fishing sinkers and trash such as beer cans and broken bottles from thoughtless people that threw them in the water to be rid of them. I've often thought it would be poetic justice if the person that threw the glass out there would be the one to get a terrible cut from the jagged, broken glass. I suspect that has never happened, but I live in hope.(does that make me a bad person??).
Enough for now, thanks for tuning in.
Cupajo
(Nobody gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 05, 2008 09:23PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
PS,
Surfcutter, I forgot to mention that I happened to watch Eleanor dig up a nice diamond years ago in Old Lyme at the base of a cut bank following a bad N'or Easter. It almost got me back in the water, but I had other pursuits at the time. What goes around---and here I am again and happy to be here Gang!!!
Cupajo
Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: SurfCutter [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 06, 2008 02:10AM Registered: 1 year ago
Posts: 263
I hope to get down to Eleanor's shop in the near future and get a machine for my son but a lot has to happen for that to work out . Again Welcome Enjoy the posts and the great people here they are really the true treasure . ...
Bill G.
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Cupajo, that is an amazing amount of silver and gold.............
Posted by: Kelley (Texas) [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 11, 2008 09:34PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 5,337
Not many folks find that much treasure...you have done good! Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2008 09:48PM by Kelley (Texas).
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 05:05PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
Hi Kelley,
In the mid-80s I had what was then the best available detectors. I learned how to get the best out of them and me. The only other people out there were not as well equipped or as adept with their equipment, and my results proved it. All those rings were gold and I had probably 20 plus pounds of silver total, all found in 3 years of regular hunting. I sold some of the silver years ago so I don't have an accurate total. Woulda, coulda, shoulda.......! When a month or so ago I decided I needed to get out there again for my physical well being and my sanity, I found that the methods I used so long ago still produce (4-gold rings). There aren't as many there these days as there were largely due to my efforts and those guys who learned slow down and to listen, really listen to their equipment. Now I'm learning to understand what an Infinium LS is trying to tell me.
So if you see an old guy out there diggin deep, watch and learn cause you too can find keepers by following his example.
HH Friends,
Cupajo, Ct.
(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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Good for you! I have found hundreds of rings in the water too but
Posted by: Royal [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 16, 2008 06:24PM Moderator
Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 12,429
have not had nearly that kind of luck returning them. I did return one that was a 1932 high school ring though. She was dead but I returned it her grand daughter.
I don't hunt salt water and use a Fisher 1280x and just love that machine. I also have a CZ 20 but don't much use it. Also a Whites XLT and a Shadow. I have not been detecting in a while though. Too much to do and too little time
We are certainly interested in Detecting storys here. Most of us detect!
________________________________________
Life is not about arriving at your grave intact but rather to Experiencing nature-Enrichment for life-"What a Ride"
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Yep, and if you ever lose a car transmission, I'm the one to call, right Mikie and Royal? N/T
Posted by: Sunny [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 16, 2008 10:28PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 6,667
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Re: How the Old Guy Got Started in Metal Detecting
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 20, 2008 12:43PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
There was an old engine block within 5 yards of dry Land in a swimming area in Sound View Beach here. I suspect it was used as a mooring, but don't know. At low tide when the sand had washed clear it was a hazard for swimmers. I haven't hunted there in a longgggggg time, but if it is still there I plan to make it my business to get rid of it.
A transmission??? There must be a story for you to share.
HH Friends,
Cupajo
The "Go to guy" when jewels are lost.
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 19, 2008 05:28PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
Over the years there have been many calls for me to "PLEASE FIND MY LOST RING!!!!!!". My first was from a lady I knew whose teenage son lost the only thing he owned of his dead father's, a large university ring!! He gave me a close approximation of the location of the ring and I found it in a few minutes. When I handed it to him he cried real tears of gratitude and thanked me from the depth of his being. He shook my hand and hugged me like I was family. I consider that quality time folks!!!!
One young bride to be lost her dainty platinum ring with a huge diamond by foolishly wearing it to the beach and then even more foolishly putting it on the tiny finger of her three year old niece, who promptly flipped her hand in the air sending the jewel flying! They wisely cordoned off the area and called me. A few moments time, tears of joy and warm hugs!!! Quality Time.
28 times I've been the hero and no regrets. The two times that really stand out were finding the class ring of my wife's 2nd cousin after over 20 years lost and the ring of a friend over 40 Years lost. They both got nice write-ups in Connecticut's oldest and largest newspaper, The Hartford Courant.
The cousin's mom had bought a replacement for the lost ring and was concerned about how to keep the fact that I had found the lost one from her husband who didn't know it was foolishly lost.!! Mom kept it!
The other ring was a 14K signet ring, the gift of a beloved aunt, to celebrate her 12 year old nephews confirmation. He proudly wore it everywhere even swimming where he lost it! Joe Martino grew up in the area one block from where he lost the ring and lived there his entire life. When he found out I was out there with a detector he told me that he wanted his ring back if I found it. I assured him that if it hadn't been found by another hunter I would find it in time. Every time I saw Joe he asked, "Find my ring yet?" After a year or so I found a ring that matched the description he had given me, gold...initials..JAM..
When I handed it to him, with hardly a glance he told me this isn't it!!! Now how many JAM's are there one can find?
I kept at it until one day I parked near a couple of fellows suiting up in waders and trying, it seemed, to hit the water before I did. I'm never in a race when there is treasure to be found. I chuckled to myself as they hit the water with two large splashes and forged ahead at flank speed! Not more than 10 feet and 20 minutes later I had the first ring in my scoop! I yelled to these guys, "SLOW DOWN, YOU MISSED ONE!!!". They were 75-100feet down the beach from me throwing a wake as they cruised through the water. 5-10 feet and 15 minutes farther along I found a nice small engagement ring with a real diamond!! I held it up and yelled again to these guys, now a hundred yards away, "SLOW DOWN YOU MISSED ANOTHER ONE!!!" I don't know if they heard me or not but by the time I found ring number three, (Joe's ring!!!) a yard or so farther along, they had reached the end of the beach and were climbing up onto dry land and heading back to the car. Ring number 4 was in my scoop before they got back to where I hunted in their tracks, ring number 5 came to light as they loaded their gear yo leave and ring number 6 as they drove away, probably muttering to themselves some thing about what a waste of time detecting a hunted out beach!!!
There is a lesson in there somewhere!!!
Joe, known locally as "The Mayor of Sound View Beach (Honorary) was one thrilled man to have his long lost ring returned over 40 years after he lost it!!!
He shook my hand until it hurt and knowing this was his lucky day went down and bought a small fortune in lottery tickets!! Ah, that was Joe. He's no longer with us, but the memories linger on..........
HH Friends,
Cupajo
(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
".
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Cupajo, it appears that you have really excelled in treasure hunting............
Posted by: Kelley (Texas) [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 19, 2008 11:00PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 5,337
I think that it is neat that you find lost items for folks. I have never devoted the time to treasure hunting with a metal detector that I probably should have...always more interested in Indian relics. Most of my metal detecting has been done on ranches or old home sites...I especially like to hunt old picnic and swimming areas, old home sites, and old river or creek crossings for relics. I enjoyed your story, amazing how good you are at treasure hunting. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
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Excellent treasure tale Cupajo..
Posted by: Mikie [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 20, 2008 09:10AM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 4,848
Like you, and I am certain many of the others on Royals forum, I have been contracted to find rings and watches for people. When you return that ring to a person, that is payment enough.. :
fair winds
Mikie
________________________________________
"A dog is better than me, for she has love and does not judge"
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Re: The "Go to guy" when jewels are lost.
Posted by: sixships [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 20, 2008 10:17AM Registered: 7 months ago
Posts: 7
Great Deeds followed by Smiles and Hugs are our Greatest Rewards. Keep up the Outstanding 'tecting.
________________________________________
May the dirt on your digger be always lined with something shiny.
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The trick to detecting is not the machine you have but knowing what it is telling you
Posted by: Royal [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 20, 2008 04:38PM Moderator
Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 12,429
I use a Fisher 1280X for my diving and that was the first machine I ever owned. I know what it is telling me by sound, no meter. I probably miss many targets but I have found a heck of a lot of them.
If someone asked me what I considered a good signal, I could not tell them. It just sounds good.
You obviously have paid your dues and the machine is talking to you
________________________________________
Life is not about arriving at your grave intact but rather to Experiencing nature-Enrichment for life-"What a Ride"
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So True! Good going Cupajo!N/T
Posted by: Ron J [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 20, 2008 05:00PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 2,145
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enjoyed your stories cupajoe
Posted by: david(tx) [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 20, 2008 06:52PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 4,125
glad these folks found their lost rings,i mean glad you found them .
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Good going and a neat story!N/T
Posted by: Dan-MO [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 22, 2008 08:39PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 1,244
What scared the devil out of little Joe!!
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 06:32PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
Hi Gang,
Time to pick up the story of my beginning days as a treasure hunter.
One fine day in warm spring weather found me waist deep in our local beach waters, and I was glad to shake off old man winter blues on such a beautiful day, in such a pleasant way. Focusing intently on signals in the earphones allows one to casually observe one's surroundings in a very special way,--no hurry--soak it in kind of way. I noticed a young fellow dressed in a suit walk to near the waters edge accompanied by two young women dressed in a similar fashion. He was carrying a card board carton which he handed to one of the young ladys as he removed his shoes and socks and rolled up his pant legs to knee high or so. As I watched, he opened the carton, took out something I was too far away to see, looked at it and then threw it out into the water. He and his companions then bowed their heads for a moment and then he proceeded to empty the powdery contents into Long Island Sound. I said to myself,says I, "I think I've just witnessed a water burial." This , unknown to me, set the stage for a chuckle or two in spite of the sad occasion. I never heard who's remains got scattered that day, but when I went to visit my detector dealer friend Bill Peckham of WillJean's Detectors in Killingworth, Connecticut he added to the tail.
There was an older Italian gentleman that I had seen a few times at the beach. He had a Whites PI machine and when he was looking for targets he moved so fast he left a wake like a speed boat. I followed him one day and found a hole you could lose a bus in and on the outer edge of the hole I found a nice ring Joe had dug up and lost! My friend Bill told me that Joe had stopped by with a metal disk that appeared to be heat discolored and had numbers on it. Joe wanted to know what this thing was? Bill told me that when he told Joe that it was a titanium tag used in crematoriums to identify the ashes of the deceased. Bill told me the superstitious old fellow looked as if he might pass out for a moment. He grabbed the disk and flew away in terror. After returning the disk to the place he found it he stayed away from the area for months after and only returned after what he must have judged a suitable time lapse.
And now for the rest of the story! (too much??)
Shortly after that, during one of those extremely low tides we get here when the moon and wind co-operate, I found the tag and to secure it from becoming a collection piece, I waded out deep enough that my dry bottom was at risk, dug a hole as deep as I could, a couple of feet as I recall, and put the item to rest
for what may be the last time. I say "may" because one never knows what a major storm will do.
'til next time HH Friends,
Cupajo, Ct.
(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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I can't say I blame him
Posted by: Dan-MO [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 07:09PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 1,244
I don't think I would want to add that tag to my collection! Great story, can't wait for more!
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Me neither!N/T
Posted by: Ron J [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 07:27PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 2,145
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Hi Cupajo! I have been out for awhile and have just started
Posted by: Sunny [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 14, 2008 07:54PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 6,667
reading posts again! Nice to see ya hanging around! I hope to be back full time soon. Your treasure hunting stories are good! Hope you stay with us!
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Cupajo, I do not think that I would have wanted it either...............
Posted by: Kelley (Texas) [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 17, 2008 10:50PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 5,337
I would have also returned it to where I had found it. Things like that are spooky to me and I have no desire to mess with anything that could involve the supernatural...You folks did good by getting rid of it. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
A 12 point diamond is too blasted small to die for!!!
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 11, 2008 04:48PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
I got a call from a man saying he had lost a "12 point" diamond ring, would I please come to the beach where he was renting a cottage and find it for him as he was leaving Connecticut for Michigan the next morning and didn't want to leave the ring because the diamond was from his beloved dead gramma's ring and he had a pinky ring made for it and it hadn't been off his finger in 35 years and now it was in Long Island Sound (paused for a long breath). Obviously this fellow was upset and needed to find that ring! I promised to stop down in a short while, but I didn't want to mislead him by promising to find the ring. I told him I would do my best and that I had managed to locate quite a few lost rings for people over the years. He replied that I could name my price to which I replied that I don't charge as it is my hobby and I like helping people. After one aborted attempt I managed to locate the cottage and found a small crowd on the beach. As I approached with my GARRETT XL500 rigged for surf detecting, a man built like a line backer for the Green Bay packers separated from the crowd and rushed to greet me. Close to 300lbs of bear belly. bone and muscle, no neck and arms as big as my thighs, all wrapped up in a heavy haze of alcoholic vapor. He was too upset for the booze to have much affect, but I figured that if he sat quietly for 2 minutes he would be "out like a light". There should have been alarm bells, but my focus was on finding the ring, not on the potential danger I faced.
After introductions I found that the ring was lost while playing in shallow water a few feet from dry sand. I explained that as the sun was set we would have best results if I took the scoop of material I dug and spread it out on the dry sand where we could then find whatever caused the signal and with luck the ring.
I cautioned that the machine would respond to all metal so I may dig a nail or another piece of jewelry or possibly a coin. We wouldn't know until we checked the material dumped. Several flash lights were on hand and as I dumped each scoopful I spread it with my wader boot to allow me to pin point the location for the fellow to find the target. One junk ring, a couple of coins and a few pieces of junk metal later there was a small flash of light and there it was, the 12 point diamond ring! I said to the guy as I pointed, "I think that's it". He grabbed it up in a ham fist and said loud enough for people in Michigan to hear, " this is it! this is it , you found it you Son of a B_____, you found it", as he wrapped that ham of an arm around my neck, headphones and all and proceeded to jump up and down dragging me around with him like I was a rag doll. I'm trying to calm down this guy and he can't hear anyone, but himself crying and laughing and jumping around with me in tow!!!
After what seemed two lifetimes he decided he had hurt me enough I guess to express his joy and he let me go. Through ringing ears I heard him say that we would go inside and he would write me a check and in fear for my life I agreed, but only if he made it a small check. The check was made out for 200 dollars and I thanked him and got out of there. I don't think I could have survived any more of his friendliness.
When I saw the bruises of my face the next day from the Garrett underwater earphones, I thought perhaps I should have asked for more money just in case I had ear trouble from this escapade.
The lesson I learned was that in an emotion charged situation where alcohol is involved and the one emotion driven is of huge stature, be prepared for anything. In retrospect, I should have, the moment I saw the ring, put about a hundred feet between me and this guy. That way he would have to catch me to hurt me!!! Also, that I would always have to keep my wits about me under these situations otherwise this hobby could be hazardous to one's health, MY HEALTH!!!
Also a 12 point diamond is too blasted small to die for!!!!
HH Friends,
Cupajo
(No-one get 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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Still a good feeling though isn't it? N/T
Posted by: Wayne in BC [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 11, 2008 06:36PM Moderator
Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 6,515
(This message does not contain any text.)
________________________________________
Go ahead, beat your guns into plowshares, you will be plowing for me.
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Maybe Budweiser should do a Mr. Metal Detector Guy commercial starring You and Crusher!
Posted by: bdahunter [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 11, 2008 07:09PM Registered: 2 years ago
Posts: 2,888
Mr. Metal Detector Guy, We Salute You!
Nice Job Mate,
BDA
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2008 07:10PM by bdahunter.
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Cupajo, appears that you got the unintentional beating............
Posted by: Kelley (Texas) [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 11, 2008 09:44PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 5,337
for trying to do a good thing for someone. I bet if he ever loses anything in the future, he will give you a call...you made him very happy! Thank goodness you lived to tell the story...a very enjoyable story to read. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)
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A very good reward [and I do not ean monetary].. well done!!N/T
Posted by: Mikie [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 11, 2008 11:15PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 4,848
(This message does not contain any text.)
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Re: A 12 point diamond is too blasted small to die for!!!
Posted by: SurfCutter [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 01:32AM Registered: 1 year ago
Posts: 263
Yes finding a lost ring for some one is a reward in and of it's self , and I have on occasion been lucky enough to find and return a few myself ...Well Done !
In that I am currently 6' and 275 lbs I have not had any one try to rough me up to much in their joy of having the ring returned ....
Bill G.
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almost a dead Hero! N/T
Posted by: Ron J [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 04:58AM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 2,145
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Re: A 12 point diamond is too blasted small to die for!!!
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 05:18PM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
Hi Friends,
Thanks for all your replies to my story. Now for the rest of the story....! It may not occur to you to ask just how big a 12 point diamond is. I didn't know when I went lookin for that ring, but I had the lesson ground into me literally. As I understand the system, when a diamond is too small to give it a karat designation it is given a point rating and believe me a 12 point diamond is SMALLLLL!!! Of course size had no bearing on the emotion the fellow attached to the stone and I understand completely.
However I would never risk my life for a stone of that size from a purely monetary value consideration. I don't understand how it could even be faceted!
HH Friends,
Cupajo
(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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WTG Cupajo!
Posted by: Dan-MO [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 12, 2008 07:23PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 1,244
No better feeling than returning a ring to it's owner! I have returned a few and have gotten more pleasure from returning them than I would have got from keeping the ring-with one exception. I once dug a gold school ring and spent the better part of a day tracking down the owner. When I finally found her she turned out to be a snobish 19 year old who snatched the ring from my hand without a word of thanks-then did everything but accuse me of stealing a platinum ring that she said was lost at the same time as the one I found. She was a real little witch. I promptly went back to the spot I found the ring and looked for the other for a couple of hours-never did find it. I am not sure I would have returned it if I had.In your case -you earned your money! Good on you and thanks for a great story!
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Bet he was glad he found you! That's an awesome story! N/T
Posted by: Sunny [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 14, 2008 07:55PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 6,667
(This message does not contain any text.)
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I have been in such a situation several times
Posted by: Royal [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 16, 2008 06:59PM Moderator
Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 12,429
Liquor involved in an emotional situation. It was very bad indeed. Heck, I married a couple of them
Thanks for an interesting story Cupa!! You gotta watch out for those fat drunks! Shut your face Willy
________________________________________
Life is not about arriving at your grave intact but rather to Experiencing nature-Enrichment for life-"What a Ride"
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Re: A 12 point diamond is too blasted small to die for!!!
Posted by: sixships [ Send a Message ]
Date: May 20, 2008 10:54AM Registered: 7 months ago
Posts: 7
Outstanding deed and a super story. Thanks for sharing, but always beware of gratitude that blocks out the sun.
________________________________________
May the dirt on your digger be always lined with something shiny.
While water hunting one fine afternoon not too far from a popular local beach front bar, I came across an object that gave a loud signal and yet kept moving away as I tried to scoop it up. After a couple of tries it occurred to me that I was dealing with a wallet and I nudged it gently into my scoop with the toe of my boot. Tipping the scoop way back I was able to retrieve the wallet with $60.00 and several keys plus Drivers license etc enclosed.
It felt good to make the call that overjoyed the young man who owned the wallet. He lived 60 miles away and on his next opportunity stopped by and picked it up. As a sign of appreciation he left one of the $20s for me. That was nice, but you can't buy the good feelings I had already experienced by letting the young man know I had found the wallet.
On another occasion only a few yards from there I was enjoying the fresh air and sunshine of yet another beautiful day on the Connecticut shore when I noticed two middle aged ladies, dressed in the traditional one piece swim suits of Old Country matrons, glancing this way and that in a rather suspicious way. They were huddled together and looking at something I couldn't see from my perspective. They made their way to the waters edge and walked across the beach to the entrance of the aforementioned bar all the while glancing this way and that as if they were afraid of being caught, at what I couldn't imagine.
Twenty minutes or so later a young man (early to mid-thirties) came up to me and asked if I had found a wallet? I saw he was very concerned and barely stifled a laugh at the now obvious answer to what the ladies were up to. I explained to him what I had seen and told him that they may have left the wallet in the bar with the manager, but based on the way they were acting and the fact that I had seen them exit the back door of the pub and walk away up the street I doubted it. He swore and indicating one of the expensive power boats anchored nearby, told me he had decided to swim in from his boat rather than wait for the bar's water taxi and the loss of the wallet and $6,000.00 it contained were the price of a hard lesson.
He later let me know the wallet was gone. When he swam back to the boat it was in an effort to cool off over his loss.
People watching is the most delightful by product of metal detecting and can teach you a lot about people if you are aware if the things going on around you.
GL&HH Friends,
Cupajo
(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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I have always admired all of you on here that find things and
Posted by: Sunny [ Send a Message ]
Date: June 04, 2008 07:45PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 6,667
go the extra mile to get it back to it's rightful owner!
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Pity about the two ladies...
Posted by: Mikie [ Send a Message ]
Date: June 05, 2008 08:45AM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 4,848
Some people have little or no honour. However, returning the gentlemans wallet shows class.
Fair winds
Mikie
________________________________________
"A dog is better than me, for she has love and does not judge"
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Shame on the two ladies but the guy was a moron
Posted by: Royal [ Send a Message ]
Date: June 05, 2008 08:18PM Moderator
Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 12,429
who the heck carries that much money?
I was in a boat shop and talking to a guy about something or the other, I forget what, when my diving and metal detecting came up.
A young guy was listening to us talk. he was in his late 20's I would guess and he came up to us and asked me if I would hunt for a Rolex for him.
I asked him where he had lost it and he said in Lake St Clare some where. LAKE ST CLARE SOMEWHERE? That is one hell of a huge search area. I asked him how he had lost it and he said he got drunk and went water skiing with it on. I told him he was a friggin idiot and deserved what he got.
I did not make a friend but he was a rich stupid guy and I felt someone should tell him
Thanks for the post
________________________________________
Life is not about arriving at your grave intact but rather to Experiencing nature-Enrichment for life-"What a Ride"
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Re: Old Man's Early Years-"Humanity Part 2"
Posted by: Cupajo [ Send a Message ]
Date: June 06, 2008 06:04AM Registered: 8 months ago
Posts: 365
Hi Friends,
I'm glad you noticed the underlying story Royal.. Here was a well off "young?" guy out to impress people with his high-powered boat, his macho swim to the beach from the boat and a huge wad of cash in his wallet!!!! Instead life taught him a valuable lesson and possibly protected him from a mugging too!!!
People watching is great fun, especially when you are expecting life's little surprises!!!
GL&HH Friends,
Cupajo
(No-one gets 'em all, but I'm workin on it!!!)
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Good story, thanks for sharing with the Forum, much appreciated. N/T
Posted by: Kelley (Texas) [ Send a Message ]
Date: June 06, 2008 04:54PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 5,337
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good one...N/T
Posted by: ojm bc [ Send a Message ]
Date: June 07, 2008 12:41AM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 3,431
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Another great story!N/T
Posted by: Dan-MO [ Send a Message ]
Date: June 08, 2008 12:30PM Registered: 3 years ago
Posts: 1,244
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Good stuff on the return Cupajo !.....I highly doubt those two ladies were ever free in their minds to "enjoy" their find.....too bad for all involved on that one ...great read !N/T
Posted by: Rob/Windsor, Ont. [ Send a Message ]
Hi Gang,
Yesterday I introduced my soon to be 19 year old grandson to water detecting!!! He thought it was the best thing since MTV and X-Box!!! Wow Grampa when can we go again??? 7 this AM "you wanna go you better get up and grab a quick snack" (ME Telling Him of course!!). In the water by7:20 (forgot to dry out gloves and jacket, so) cold and ready to go home by 8AM!!! Fog's burning off and a few minutes sunlight on the dark waders and he's good to go another round. A 1/2 hour later gets his first ring!!!(Junk, but who cares??) Beer can, clump o junk iron, odds and ends.
Meanwhile Grampa, waist deep and picking up bits of dross (hunting a hunted out area) is proudly watching. 21/2 hours from goin in he's headed my way not looking very happy, as he say's "I'm sorry Grampa I tore a hole in my new waders. (Seconds later I had a small 10K gold ring in my catch all, and a heavy silver gold filled band followed a few minutes later!!! He, wet and cold loaded his gear in the van and I reluctantly pulled out for home!!!
You-all be the judge.
GL&HH Friends,
Hi Gang,
I decided that when I pass through those gates at the end of my life there will probably be a giant hair pin over the gate and I'll be in Metal Detector HELL!!!
In this place you will possess the best detector money can buy and the water will be as rough as only the water in Hell can be. You will find that your batteries/machine will fail at the very moment every hunting partner is popping diamond rings out of the ground all around you.
You are searching in some of the rockiest water hunting you've ever experienced and you watch a large diamond ring slip off the lip of your scoop!!! There are diggers from your club all around you and as you lean hard on the next scoop full of sand, stone and magma to pull that jewel out of one of the hardest and deepest digs you've ever experienced, the handle snaps off your favorite old scoop. None of your near and dear old friends from the club can hear your cries for the loan of a scoop!!! (earphones you know)
Well Dear Friends, I think you get the picture--------WILL SOMEONE OUT THERE PLEASE WAKE ME UP????
GL&HH FRIENDS.
Cupajo