My Story
It was 2009 I was vacationing in Clearwater, Florida. After watching an incredible sunset I sat watching as all the people passed. A young man in his late 20s came along with a metal detector, which I later learned was the Minelab Excalibur II. He had been metal detecting in the water. Just like all the other people on the beach, I struck up a conversation with him, asking the well-known question, "Do you ever find anything good?" to which he tugged on his neck and showed me a beautiful gold chain with a medallion.
Well, that made me think that I had to try metal detecting. I had lived all over the world for most of my adult life and after moving to the Treasure Coast I finally decided to give detecting a try with a pawnshop purchase of a Whites Prism 4 metal detector. I took the detector over to the beach and immediately began finding coins and some small jewelry pieces. After about six months, I found my first gold wedding band and was hooked for life. Of course, I upgraded to a Garrett AT Pro, the Excalibur II, and later the Minelab CTX 3030.
Do you know why I'm writing about this? If you have never metal detected, you will only understand once you have tried and succeeded. The idea that at any moment in time, you could possibly find something ancient or modern is quite the thrill, I find the most satisfaction I get is when I am able to return something that might not seem to be of great value to me but could mean everything to someone else. A few examples would be the story I have on my blog, where a man from Brazil lost his wedding band. Two weeks later, we were able to return it to him. What a great story, The band had belonged to his father and mother, representing 83 years of marriage. They had passed it down to him and his wife when they were married.
Another memorable return was a girl who lost her 2015 Notre Dame class ring. It was blessed by the father of Notre Dame,
You can imagine what that meant to her. It could never be replaced. I have returned wallets, iPhones, Iwatches, class rings, university rings and many other items. The only thing I asked when returning something is a photo of them holding the object returned. I don't charge to find them and I don't charge to mail the item. I just asked that they give me a photo of them holding the item and that they will help a stranger in need some time in the future.
Metal detecting is the best hobby ever created. You get great exercise, find incredible things and make friends that last a lifetime. Every day you are metal detecting is like having a birthday. You never know what your present is going to be.
If this is the first time you have purchased a metal detector I encourage you to learn, have patience, and stick with metal detecting. You will dig trash, pull tabs, bottle tops, and all sorts of aluminum bottle tops that will make you think you're on to a good find. That is part of metal detecting. If you stick with it, you will make some incredible finds. Explore, use google maps, read, and join metal detecting blogs such as treasurenet.com and findmall.com. Join metal-detecting groups on Facebook. Have a plan of attack no matter where you are going or what you're looking for. If you do these things, you will be successful.
I have such a passion for this hobby I opened up a business to promote it. I want everyone I talk to and deal with to succeed. Giving back occasionally is also a significant part of the hobby. Happy Hunting. Stay safe out there.