Hey Everyone! I was just responding to a topic and it made me think it would be interesting to see how everyone got their start as a metal detectorist. For me, my addiction started after seeing a movie called" The Deep" as a kid. Like all kids I was fascinated by the idea that people found treasure in the water. I had grown up on a barrier island around fisherman and divers, all of whom were gifted with the ability to tell outrageous stories, some involving, fish, others storms,and still others famous loose women, but my favorites were always the ones about treasure. Finding pirate treasure, confederate gold, or Batistas Treasure plane... It didn't matter. Floridas history it turned out was steeped in treasure lore. I was hooked. Throughout the years I read a lot about the history of my area and of my state. The funny thing is even though I am sure I saw detectorists on the beach, I had always kind of "tuned" them out.... It's kind of like buying a car. Once you get one you notice everyone else driving around in that model. I never made the connection. Then one day I saw an Internet story about a guy who returned a wonderfully large class ring. The article showed some of his other finds, one of which was a Silver Reale. That was it for me. I saved my pennies and bought my first machine (Thanks to the help of a lot of the senior posters). Then I started my "real" education on what hard work treasure hunting really is. Like all hunters in the beginning, I had no idea. I love it though, and if my body could take it, I would do it every day. Unlike the characters in the movies, ( and contrary to local opinion) I have not gotten rich doing it, but the part of me that longs to find treasure in the ocean is well satisfied by the sight of gold in the scoop. Thanks for reading and I hope you will share some of your own "lore".
Find's Treasure Forums
Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!
You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Click here to register!
Need Support Help?
Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you
How did you get your start in Metal Detecting?
- Thread starter Dig
- Start date
Joel-Winnipeg
New member
For me it started in the mid 60s reading articles of people finding things of value
in detecting.
Also the anticipation of finding hidden treasure and never knowing what could come up next.
I built my first Heath Kit detector and learnt to love this hobby.
Dropped it for a while when raising a family but went back to it in the mid eighties.
It came back with a vengeance when I retired and now enjoy more than ever.
Now do it to enjoy the outside ( nature ) and the exercise and surprise of finding old coins and relics.
in detecting.
Also the anticipation of finding hidden treasure and never knowing what could come up next.
I built my first Heath Kit detector and learnt to love this hobby.
Dropped it for a while when raising a family but went back to it in the mid eighties.
It came back with a vengeance when I retired and now enjoy more than ever.
Now do it to enjoy the outside ( nature ) and the exercise and surprise of finding old coins and relics.
same here dig saw a treasure hunting movie in the mid to late 60s and just had to have one so i started bugging mom and dad and santa too to
get one for christmas that year lo and behold i had one under the tree(mustang i think was the name of it) and i learned how to use it and old bfo type and found my first gold ring in my front yard(no one remembers ever losing one) that my sister wear to this day
get one for christmas that year lo and behold i had one under the tree(mustang i think was the name of it) and i learned how to use it and old bfo type and found my first gold ring in my front yard(no one remembers ever losing one) that my sister wear to this day
Dig, When I was a kid, my family used to go surf fishing at Santa Monica and other beaches. We would use a sand crab (flea) catcher which was a metal drag basket with a 1/2 inch wire screen on it. You would drop it into the surf as the waves were going back out and it would trap these little soft-shelled "crabs" that were used for bait.
My uncle said that if I dragged this "rake" through the dry sand I could find coins. It was hard work but I did find coins, fishing tackle and my first "big" find, a 10" hunting knife. Of course, I found thousands of cigarette butts and other trash too but the sight of coins and other valuables in the bottom of the basket was intoxicating. My uncle also told me about a thing called a metal detector and I decided that I had to have one someday.
When I turned 16 I got my first job with the main purpose of making enough money to buy a metal detector. When I had saved about $100 I bought a "Goldak" and even though it was pretty primitive by today's standards, it was good enough to find thousands of coins and a fair amount of silver and gold jewelry. I also got my driver's license at the same time so I was all over the place detecting whenever I could.
Since that time I have owned many other detectors and have found some nice things. But there was something special about detecting back then when there weren't as many people doing it. I wish I knew then what I know now about how and where to hunt.
HH!
My uncle said that if I dragged this "rake" through the dry sand I could find coins. It was hard work but I did find coins, fishing tackle and my first "big" find, a 10" hunting knife. Of course, I found thousands of cigarette butts and other trash too but the sight of coins and other valuables in the bottom of the basket was intoxicating. My uncle also told me about a thing called a metal detector and I decided that I had to have one someday.
When I turned 16 I got my first job with the main purpose of making enough money to buy a metal detector. When I had saved about $100 I bought a "Goldak" and even though it was pretty primitive by today's standards, it was good enough to find thousands of coins and a fair amount of silver and gold jewelry. I also got my driver's license at the same time so I was all over the place detecting whenever I could.
Since that time I have owned many other detectors and have found some nice things. But there was something special about detecting back then when there weren't as many people doing it. I wish I knew then what I know now about how and where to hunt.
HH!For me it started back before I was a teenager. My grandfather had a Whites machine marketed by Sears. On the weekends that I was allowed to stay the night with my grandparents, my grandfather and I would go to old country churches or old city parks and metal detect. As I became a teenager and out of high school the detecting went to the way side. About 11 years ago I purchased a GTI 2500 machine and started hunting again when time allows. About 5 years ago we vacationed on the beach the same week as some friends. They introduced us to their Aunt and Uncle that own a vacation home there and since we have been making annual vacation plans together to detect the beach, which led me to purchase an E-Trac and an Excalibur II 1000.
BCOOP
BCOOP
John (west central FL)
New member
Good topic Dig!
I got interested in metal detecting as a kid in the 1960s. Popular Science Magazine used to occasionally run articles about metal detectors and I found it fascinating. In the back of the magazine there were ads for different brands of detectors like Relco, White's, Garrett, Goldak, & Jetco. I bought an inexpensive Jetco model. It was a BFO and used a small transistor radio mounted on the shaft to receive the signals from a transmitter on the search coil. I didn't find much with that primitive machine but for some reason I didn't loose interest. A few years later I purchased and built a Heathkit detector. It had no discrimination but was much more sensitive than the old Jetco BFO. I took it out to the beach in Delaware and found a lot of coins and a few gold rings in the dry sand. Back then, there were very few detectorists on the beaches and targets were everywhere. I can only imagine what it would be like to go back in time with one of today's top detectors and the knowledge I now have. Anyway, after a series of other land machines, I finally upgraded to one of the early Excaliburs and got involved with water hunting.
I got interested in metal detecting as a kid in the 1960s. Popular Science Magazine used to occasionally run articles about metal detectors and I found it fascinating. In the back of the magazine there were ads for different brands of detectors like Relco, White's, Garrett, Goldak, & Jetco. I bought an inexpensive Jetco model. It was a BFO and used a small transistor radio mounted on the shaft to receive the signals from a transmitter on the search coil. I didn't find much with that primitive machine but for some reason I didn't loose interest. A few years later I purchased and built a Heathkit detector. It had no discrimination but was much more sensitive than the old Jetco BFO. I took it out to the beach in Delaware and found a lot of coins and a few gold rings in the dry sand. Back then, there were very few detectorists on the beaches and targets were everywhere. I can only imagine what it would be like to go back in time with one of today's top detectors and the knowledge I now have. Anyway, after a series of other land machines, I finally upgraded to one of the early Excaliburs and got involved with water hunting.
Fire Fighter 43
Active member
In 1977 my Grandma bought me my first real detector for my birthday. It was a Whites Beachcomber. I had bought a kit detector at a rummage sale prior to the gift. It was good at finding large pieces of iron, but it still got me hooked for life. My Grandma always told me to walk looking down, she said you might find a lost coin or two. I guess that is what first got me interested in finding lost coins. I wish she was around today to see what I'm finding after all these years.
Started in my teens, me and my brother wanted to be like the Hardy Boys and hunt for stuff anyways, but then we got a chance to meet JIMMY (SIERRA)and saw what he had found, and we were hooked. Both of us got a compass detector," the big green box," and went to the beach and found rings our first day. Everyday after that, it has been a illness to land hunt for the unknown. We may not solve crimes like the Hardy Boys, But we still get to live the adventure and the discovery, and in some cases get to be detectives when we find a class ring.
sandnsea49
Member
I started out many years ago with a Heathkit detector, but lost interest very fast as I wasn't finding much. About 25 years ago, I met a guy detecting on land and when he showed me what he had found I wanted to try it again. So he told me what kind of machine to get ( one that discriminates ) I was hooked the first time I found an old coin. I still love land hunting and do so when I get back to Ohio, but when I'm snowbirding down here in sunny Florida, I water hunt. I started out dry sand hunting but after seeing what guys were finding in the water, soon bought a water machine and the rest is history.
S.S.Tupperware
New member
Well i have an old 5500/d Coinmaster I have had forever, mom bought it at an auction... had fun finding stuff on land, but found 1 junk ring on the beach and that was all it took. I actually took it out camping this last weekend since the old girl has been in the closet for a while since I got my DFX. I left my 6x10 coil at the condo and just had the super 12 for the DFX, what a pain with the big coil and trash, so I cranked up the coinmaster with a lot of disc, since I was only interested in finding coins, and I think that old analog machine has a better audio than the DFX...even though its a single tone machine... But I sure love my DF, gonna hunt the beach all weekend, since there are such negative tides with this moon coming up.
Harold in NC
Member
[size=large]Well i got interested when i was a young Lad, my mother was always interested in treasure hunting, i guess i was 9 or 10 when she first bought a whites machine, it was a bugger getting it set up but once we did we were finding all kinds of stuff, and i'm 66 now and still loving it, as long as i still can move and God lets me stay on this earth i will be detecting, i do mostly water hunting now, Love them Excals, Harold in Fla.[/size]
TRIPLE-SSS
Well-known member
I do allot of wade fishing and one day I met this fellow who was working the beach with his metal detector about waist deep. We had a conversation about each others hobbies and he showed me all the different things he had found that day. I was very impressed with this real nice diamond gold ring that he had found. I showed him all the fish that I caught that morning and he was also impressed. We both shared our experiences with both his metal detecting and my fishing excursions and later became good friends.
I told my wife about this guy that I met on the beach and all the interesting things that he finds. It takes me about 90 minutes to get to the beach and I only stay for the in coming tides to fish and 90% of the time I max out my limit in just a couple hours. If I get lucky, I'll fish 2 in coming tides and so I have allot of down time between those timeliness. I told my wife , that it would be a good idea if I used that time to mess around wit a metal detector and see what I could find.
Well,on Fathers Day, The family pitched in and bought me a metal detector and the rest is history. I took to this hobby like fish to water. Now when I go to the beach, I get the best of two worlds.
HAPPY HUNTING
TRIPLE-SSS
I told my wife about this guy that I met on the beach and all the interesting things that he finds. It takes me about 90 minutes to get to the beach and I only stay for the in coming tides to fish and 90% of the time I max out my limit in just a couple hours. If I get lucky, I'll fish 2 in coming tides and so I have allot of down time between those timeliness. I told my wife , that it would be a good idea if I used that time to mess around wit a metal detector and see what I could find.
Well,on Fathers Day, The family pitched in and bought me a metal detector and the rest is history. I took to this hobby like fish to water. Now when I go to the beach, I get the best of two worlds.
HAPPY HUNTING
TRIPLE-SSS
I got started last April, I used to be a trapper, and have developed a good eye so to speak regarding the travel patterns and seasons of critters. Trapping is all about LOCATION and SPEED...
It can be profitable, depending upon how serious a guy is, Well, I havn't been able to dedicate the time and resources to trap for a few years, and needed something to fill that niche in my life, fishing is OK, but many times even an experienced fellow can come home with little to show for all that effort and expense...So I got a Metal detector, just like that, completely green to it and never once reading these forums or anything, just an "impulse Buy"...I can tell you the awareness for how and where people lose money, jewelry, etc. is a lot like reading the signs when trapping...I'm pretty danged hooked...heres a poem I wrote to express that.
The Perfect Life
Oh to live carefree in the Phillipines, and sweep a beach each day, where Asian tourists bask and swim and lose their 24K!
Or in the Outback harsh and sere where nuggets can be found, not the ones that post a penny weight, the ones that post a pound!
Alaska, Yes! In summertime 'neath retreating glaciers tread, pulling globs of gold from gravel big as a babys head!
Oh joy a solid signal! A low and subtle tone, as sweet as Sirens singing to my auditory bone.
Perhaps a golden wedding band? An ancient Roman hoard? A pulltab, or a nickle, a nail stuck in a board?
Oh sweet anticipation! You are a cruel God! I need some shine from time to time to keep me busting sod!
What is this grand Obsession? A hobby or a sport? A mental abberation or addiction of some sort?
Chores neglected at the house, still yet this coil swing! Two steps from a bracelet, three steps from a ring!
Four steps from the silver, five steps to the gold, six to pirate treasure and riches yet untold!
At least thats what I tell myself with optimism high, chip kicking through a tot lot sweeping fields and beaches dry.
The Perfect Life a vision, swinging coil wild and free, a diggin' holes in heat and cold 'til one is dug for me.
It can be profitable, depending upon how serious a guy is, Well, I havn't been able to dedicate the time and resources to trap for a few years, and needed something to fill that niche in my life, fishing is OK, but many times even an experienced fellow can come home with little to show for all that effort and expense...So I got a Metal detector, just like that, completely green to it and never once reading these forums or anything, just an "impulse Buy"...I can tell you the awareness for how and where people lose money, jewelry, etc. is a lot like reading the signs when trapping...I'm pretty danged hooked...heres a poem I wrote to express that.
The Perfect Life
Oh to live carefree in the Phillipines, and sweep a beach each day, where Asian tourists bask and swim and lose their 24K!
Or in the Outback harsh and sere where nuggets can be found, not the ones that post a penny weight, the ones that post a pound!
Alaska, Yes! In summertime 'neath retreating glaciers tread, pulling globs of gold from gravel big as a babys head!
Oh joy a solid signal! A low and subtle tone, as sweet as Sirens singing to my auditory bone.
Perhaps a golden wedding band? An ancient Roman hoard? A pulltab, or a nickle, a nail stuck in a board?
Oh sweet anticipation! You are a cruel God! I need some shine from time to time to keep me busting sod!
What is this grand Obsession? A hobby or a sport? A mental abberation or addiction of some sort?
Chores neglected at the house, still yet this coil swing! Two steps from a bracelet, three steps from a ring!
Four steps from the silver, five steps to the gold, six to pirate treasure and riches yet untold!
At least thats what I tell myself with optimism high, chip kicking through a tot lot sweeping fields and beaches dry.
The Perfect Life a vision, swinging coil wild and free, a diggin' holes in heat and cold 'til one is dug for me.
West Central Fl Les
New member
I started in 1973 with a Whites 2DB, after a monthI got a 4DB. Got hooked bad finding silver coins from the middle 1800's in Louisiana.I would go to old sites after work and come home late. My wife even put the detector under the bed sheets trying to give me a hint.
Did a lot of relic hunting until I returned back to Florida in 1989 and started water hunting. Got addicted even worse and purchased water machines after finding gold rings. The rest is history!!
Did a lot of relic hunting until I returned back to Florida in 1989 and started water hunting. Got addicted even worse and purchased water machines after finding gold rings. The rest is history!!
crackerjuan
New member
when i was kid i used to ride my bike and look on the ground for money to go to carvel and buy ice cream , about 4yrs. ago i found gold bracelet on the ground and i said look at this i wonder what else i could find so i bought the mini pulse, and my GOD did it ever get into my blood. like dig i grew up in a fishermen family(shrimp boats,clam boats,dredge boats) all the stories that go along with it, so going to the beach is big part of life here in FL