One thing that I discovered when I was younger was my love of silver and gold. Just the sheen that the metal has excites me. I used to gravitate towards the silver, gold and even copper crayons. Though not practical to color most things with they were always my favorite. When I was about ten I was on an Andover Youth Services trip to Good Times in Somerville, MA when it happened. I was getting some quarters out of the machine when I noticed one of them was a slightly different color than the others. Curiosity got the better of me and I kept it, not an easy thing for a kid that age to do. Upon turning home I gave it a further inspection and noticed the edge was missing the copper 'ring' present on most coins. I knew right then it was different. I showed it to Mom and she told me it was 90% silver. I was amazed, to say the least. I'd flick it up and down only to hear the sweet ping that it made, easily recognizable from a distance.
I knew I would like to have more of these coins but didn't really know how. The seeds I planted then would wake up a couple years later when I would happen upon an add for White's metal detectors two years later. I was fascinated by them. I begged Dad to buy me one and after renting a cheap one he finally gave in, purchasing a used White's Spectrum XLT for $525. Probably the best investment he ever made. He would take to to houses he was buying and I would hunt in the yard. My first silver coin, coincidently, was a quarter dated 1942 in decent shape. The color of silver when it leaves the ground is usually a distinct whitish-gray, fairly obvious even to a first timer. I ran up to find Dad and popped the coin in his hand. He was just as surprised as I was.
Over the next 12 years, and still continuing until this day (and probably until I can't walk anymore) I have hunted parks, beaches and homesites and everywhere in between. I have found thousands in coins, jewelry and collectibles. My biggest find came at a beach with my water machine, the White's Surf PI Pro, in the form of a diamond wedding set. It appraised at over $5,000. I also got listed in two magazines for my find. The first was the Western and Eastern Treasures annual best finds issue and Silver & Gold, which is an annual for stories related to the best finds of the year. My article had pictures and was around four pages long.
I have also helped a lot of people with the hobby. Many come up to me on the beach and ask me to find things for them, which I do free of charge, although most throw a few bucks at me anyways. I have returned a couple class rings and one I currently have from the Class of 1969 in Ohio that I am working with a newspaper and trying to find the owner. I'd appreciate if they would hurry up, because its melt value is around $150, which I could use right now. In fact last time out in a park last Friday the 18th I found a nice 14k wedding band worth $100 scrap gold. Not bad for two hours of fun in the sun.
So what does this have to do with AS? Well, everything really. In many ways this is the perfect hobby for me. Outside, exercise, around people, reading and understanding electronics and patterns and changing situations. All of that and it is very challenging and gives you respect for both public and private property. My machine is like an extension of my arm when I'm out there. Every little nuance I process and determine what it means. True, I have an expensive ($1,000) and advanced machine but I also had to learn how to use it properly. Put plainly, I'm very good. Even on the beach with my water machine the guy following behind me said "You don't miss much, do you?" with a smile on his face. "Nope, I sure don't" was my reply.
When I was younger at the beach I would first start away from the people and walk towards them. This let them see me and then they would go back to what they were doing. That or walk over and talk to me. I usually keep my sunglasses on to avoid their eye contact. I don't give too much info away and don't show finds off to them. This can make it so you get taken by them, or someone else overhearing the story of the find and its key elements. (this has been done by scammers who describe the item perfectly then run away with it, although I haven't been that kind of victim. I only show to the other hunters out there. I sometimes wish the people would go away. I can nearly meditate when I'm out there, only stopping to recheck a signal or dig a hole, which I fill in afterwards, don't worry ;). It's an alone hobby unless you have a hunting buddy or belong to a club, which I do not.
All the discipline and learning my machines have paid off for me, in more ways than one. After digging 30 pull tabs you want to give up, but hope allows you to press on. When that silver or gold does come up it makes it all worthwhile. Sometimes I spend 6-8 hours on the beach, which all depends on the tides and what I'm finding.
I don't always find what I want to but I ALWAYS find something worthwhile.
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