Do you think metal detecting is worth the effort?

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:shock: :shock: :shock:

I've been wanting to get one for my wife, since I'm in the water digging for the gold, she can work with the detector. :p
Thru the years I've heard & seen the results of some metal detecting enthusiasts. I've seen reports on national news of the success of some folks who prospect using this method. And here, again, you show us another such case. WOW!
 
HAuCl4 said:
Luck is not of he who looks for it but of he who finds it!.
Maybe,But the more you look for it the more your chance of finding it.
Knowledge is the key here.I have done volumes of research on places that I want to metal detect and it has paid off.But you can't "find" luck if you don't get off your butt and look for it.
 
mic said:
HAuCl4 said:
Luck is not of he who looks for it but of he who finds it!.
Maybe,But the more you look for it the more your chance of finding it.
Knowledge is the key here.I have done volumes of research on places that I want to metal detect and it has paid off.But you can't "find" luck if you don't get off your butt and look for it.

Of course you are right. But at less than 1% of millionaires as a percent of world population, makes a strong case of "finding" over "looking". I can assure you than more than 1% are working hard on something.

You need a lucky break every now and then, and nobody can control that. You can also get "lucky" while having fun and not working... 8)

How about that?, :shock:

X=A+B+C

X=success
A=work
B=play
C=keep your mouth shut.

The above equation is by Einstein, not me!. :lol:
 
This has been all over the UK papers. It was apparently found by a student on a farmers land on which he had permission to search, not all luck ,his father has been researching for years so I reckon that's why they had luck, the farmers not doing too bad either he's in for half the money and I gather Christies wick make a few bucks :roll:
 
There are coins out there. Small little coins only one or two ever found which pushes their value well over couple of millions. I bet that those kings struck many of them. If you will be lucky few grams of gold or silver will buy you tens of kilos of gold or tons of silver. :)

As far as metal detecting goes you might be just lucky to strike gold but you will be lucky if you do some research and choose spot carefully. I know about people studying aerila photos as they may show you hidden features not visible from ground, man in Spain doing comfortable living by combing beaches every morning looking for loose change or jewelery, people looking for gold nuggets around places where gold was found......
It can be almost said that you get what you paid for... I have very good detector from Minelab paid 1400 euros for that and it is sitting in a box as I do not have time to put it in good use... Well may be I will some time in the future. I have found say about kilo of coins and some silver rings. I am still waiting for my first gold :)
 
Contrary to popular belief the more ancient something is it doesn't always cost a fortune. Especially if they were struck in thousands. I am just stuck at the fact that a roman helmet would cost as much as 3 million british pounds. Unless it belonged to a guy called say Julius?

I could imagine people with large metal detectors scavenging all around Athens :lol: Under these millions of tons of concrete put throughout the years who knows what lies. The metro stations are full of them. The 'mole rat' was stopping every now an then when they came across an ancient graveyard, temple you name it! :shock:
 
GrailSeeker said:
Contrary to popular belief the more ancient something is it doesn't always cost a fortune. Especially if they were struck in thousands. I am just stuck at the fact that a roman helmet would cost as much as 3 million british pounds. Unless it belonged to a guy called say Julius?

I could imagine people with large metal detectors scavenging all around Athens :lol: Under these millions of tons of concrete put throughout the years who knows what lies. The metro stations are full of them. The 'mole rat' was stopping every now an then when they came across an ancient graveyard, temple you name it! :shock:
.

The value is due to it's rarity only three helmets ever found here in the UK the other two are in museums and this wasn't for soldiers to wear to war but for ceremonial purposes. This is possibly a once in a lifetime chance to acquire a true ancient important piece of art work and there's plenty of money to buy such things even in these tough financial times, and as an investment it could fetch £10 million next time it comes to market.....
 
I for the most part have stayed away from metal detecting, it is time consuming and if a fella dont have the "right" and newest tool for the ground he is working, then he can scan right over a valuable object, which is not to say that someone with the newest and latest gadget out there who is not running it correctly is gonna find it either.

Now that being said i do have a couple low end detectors which are decent enough to find a coin or even a nugget or even a tool that i lost in the mud or water, but I have not been able to crack open the wallet and fork out $5-7000.00 for the newest detector that is suppose to work well in mineralized soils and not be interfered with by the cell fone towers that are everywhere. Though i have been thinking harder on ground penetrating radar and computer imagery for a safe i know is underwater that was stolen back in the 1950's....... GPR also works underwater.

If i was going to get a new MD, I would take a serious look at the Garrett line first, and then the Minelab, the high end Garrett is around $2000.00 while the newest minelab is about $7000.00 with everything i would want to have with one, and from what i have seen of them, it is a toss up if one will out preform the other in certain conditions.

And though the Garrett appears in the catalog i have on my website, i have not committed to purchasing 3 units a year just to be able to sell one and then have it be outdated and hanging on the wall...... not many folks in these parts are into detecting right now. So my opinion about Garrett, is from research and not from a retailer standpoint.

William
Idaho
 
blueduck said:
I for the most part have stayed away from metal detecting, it is time consuming and if a fella dont have the "right" and newest tool for the ground he is working, then he can scan right over a valuable object, which is not to say that someone with the newest and latest gadget out there who is not running it correctly is gonna find it either.
You've missed the point completely. How many items would one find by using *no* metal detector?

Better you find a steel 1943 US penny than nothing.

It's like playing the lottery. Not a good chance of winning, but the chance is greatly improved by buying a ticket.

Harold
 
well if you dont look, nope you wont find and yes a detector will greatly increase your odds of finding an object beneath the soil......

so i suppose if you dedicate looking once inawhile and have fun at it, it is worth the time.... same as fishing, if the fish dont bite, you still had a decent day just getting away from the hustle of life for a few hours.

I guess i didnt realize what you were trying to get at, sometimes i can be pretty dense, according to my wife anyway ;-Þ

William
Idaho
 
Correct. People that use a metal detector may enjoy finding a toy lead soldier just as well as finding a piece of gold. To many, it's the hunt that holds intrigue and interest.

It's not always easy to understand what brings joy to the other guy. I like classical and jazz---yet many wouldn't be caught listening to either of them.

It is likely safe to say that precious few will ever find anything of substantial value---but it's fun. Besides, you can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket. :lol:

Harold
 
I had a professor borrow mine to find a set of keys that fell out of his pocket in his front yard. (Forgot to mention this was in Alaska with 2' of snow) I find shell casings and prospecting food cans as well as old steam lines under the tundra from early prospectors. Have also located property corner monuments that were covered in moss & dead leaves. Some day maybe a nugget.
 
I have been metal detecting since 1993 when I bought myself two of the top-of-the-line detectors to search for coins, rings, etc. The detectors have paid for themselves several times over. I have found way more gold in jewelry form than I have using a gold pan or sluice box. As a hobby, yes, metal detecting is worth the effort - at least for me. I work full time as a government biologist and metal detecting helps me forget about the office and any problems at home, plus I find something each time out. It adds a bit of excitement to my life. After work I can go metal detecting for an hour or two, whereas the nearest place to find decent gold is a two hour drive. These mini after work adventures are great stress relievers. I recently added a White's GMT gold detector to my detector stable and will be swinging that this summer in some of the better gold areas on Vancouver Island where I reside.
 
I have had some great luck with my detectors. I just moved from an area that was a lake community with a swimming hole. They drained the hole for various reasons every year and I was able to hit the bed for two springs in a row. In that time I recovered 9 gold rings as well as a gold chain, a gold cross and a few silver items. the best part is that I was able to find the owner of 3 of the rings. One was traceable because it was a class ring. the other two were actually reported lost and never thought they would be recovered.

Worth the effort? That is relative. I made some good money( sold 5 gold bands for scrap), got some exercise and made some friends, and the best was being able to return the 3 rings that I was able to find the owners for.

Above and beyond the good finds besides the massive amount of change, were the nails, bottle caps and other hazardous items that I removed from the beach.

So, yes it was worth the effort to me, but as I said before, it is all relative and to me was very rewarding.
 
Metal detecting is fun, just make sure you have the right machine for the environment your searching. I purchase a Garret Infinium that has proven itself not good for parks and like ground where thousands of people have trod and discarded bottle caps, pull tabs and gum wrappers.

The Infinium is way to sensitive to that type of ground, I have dug bottle caps from 30" down and well rusted, the Infinum begs to be used searching streams and old tailings piles for nuggets or searching wooded areas where very few people have been before.

For city and park work buy the proper metal detector that has some discrimination unless your prepared to dig everything, using the Infinium in the city you'll be doing plenty of digging.

Regards
Gill

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you have dig it all to find the gold most(if not all) detectors cannot tell the between gold and a nickel or small metal objects, silver that another story you can cherry pick gold and copper but you hve dig a thousand pull tabs for that one gold ring.
I know a lot of guys the would rather find a old bullet or old buckel more that a coin.
 
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