Metal Detector Stories



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Saturday, April 30, 2011

Metal Detecting In Minnesota

Metal detecting in Minnesota is something most of us will never read about in a treasure magazine.At least from my experience hitting the parks & beaches with my Spectrum xlt metal detector.

It could be from reading to many of those dang treasure magazines growing up,that makes a guy,or gal for that matter wish we could be finding relics of a little bit more older in age.At least when it comes to older coins.

I know.It all comes down to where we are hunting for relics.It's to be expected that your average park will have coins with an average age in the ground of no more than 20 years.

Whether the older stuff has already been dug up from a previous metal detector enthusiest,or the targets are just to deep due to landscaping projects over the years.

I can't answer that question,because the question has more than one answer.

I guess it comes down to some spots are better than others I guess,or perhaps better said,spots that have not been tampered by prior detector enthusiasts.

I use an older spectrum xlt.It's a good detector,and I'm pretty familiar with it.Actually just in its original settings are good enough.

Yea..it's what? 15 years old,but it competes just as good in my book as the 2011 metal detectors.But then again..I haven't used any newer,or 2011 metal detectors.So take the good with the bad,when you here me rambling on at the mouth..hahahahaha..:)

So far,no huge break-through has happened since the mid 90's as far as detecting the value of a possible target in the ground.

Yea..yea..there are some better ones,and metal detectors made for specific purposes.They can't get any worse,but believe me.There are alot of us old timers still using are old dectors,and still managing in finding a quarter or two..hahahaha..:)

I guess I just love my Spectrum,and using it through the years..It gives me a pretty good enough idea if the target is worth bending over for to dig up.

Believe me..Can you imagine digging up every penny target?..I suppose if you're in a back yard,or it's an old school yard or something.

But in a public park?..Oh Lord..You'll be there till h_ll freezes over getting them out,and odds are your back would give out before the freeze..hahahaha..:)

Of course it comes down to what a person is looking for.

In parks I usually pass up pennies.Same goes for beaches.Anywhere else though I did the penny targets up.

Another thing a person has to keep in mind,is pennies don't always fare as well as silver coins in the ground.

So if you get excited digging an old penny up..remember the condition goes a long ways determining its value.

Gold & Silver coins on the other hand?...They are a nice find,and worth bending over for.

In some cases it's a good idea to dig up junk targets as well.A person could be looking for relics,or a specific location..and objects that your metal detector picks up..can give you a good idea of a location.

Such as finding an old lost forgotten lumber camp back in the woods,and if in any field in Europe it could be a roman coin.

Yes..an old Roman Coin could very well show up as a junk target.It wouldn't give a signal to your metal dector like anything you've ever heard before..or a particular reading on your meter.

In most cases after many hours of getting use to our metal dectors..we get a pretty good idea what coin we are about to un-earth...But keep in mind,that coins a 100 years old could vary a little bit.

We're use to digging up things 30 years and newer..:)

When it comes to jewelry we are forced to dig up junk targets in alot of cases.

Please keep in mind..I have a "Spectrum XLT Metal Detector"..It will identify rings great..but old washers,pull tabs..and other crap can give you that same signal.

I think that pretty much goes the same for any metal detector one might be using.When it comes to jewelry it's a good idea to dig up a few of those junk targets your metal detector detects in the ground.

It goes both ways sometimes...It can either tell you that it's a possible high value target,but also says.."I could be a pull tab"..maybe an old bottle cap..Heck even a washer for that matter,and I've dug up enough JB weld chunks to re-sink the titanic.

Even a flattened aluminum can in the ground a half foot under,can make a guy think he's possibly stumbled on to something.

I'm not on the ocean hitting those beaches that we all read in those treasure magazines..hahahaha..:)

Actually it's been 15 years since I've even read a treasure magazine.They really don't mean squat to us here in Minnesota..:)

This is Minnesota Metal Dectecting we're talking about here.Not the beaches in Florida,or some old Roman Settlement that's now located in some farmers field in the United Kindom..Old England.

But anyways...when it comes to detecting for jewelry we have to dig up the junk targets.

The 60's-90's put enough false ring signals with the quanity of pull tabs in the ground to make most metal detection enthusiasts give up the hobby.

The bad habits of so many through the years have really left alot of trash in the ground.Bottle caps,pull tabs..cans..metal etc etc..People burried their trash etc.

Some of the best places to metal detect are so burried with trash metal targets,that pin pointing a penny in the midst of it is impossible.

Metal detecting when it's enjoyable really comes down to a clean area.

Even campsites as attracting as they are,are so filled with crap...That every square inch underground has a bottle cap,a tent stake,a pull tab,an old can of spam,a beer can etc.Places like that need to be escavated..because metal detecting a ground of trash below the ground just don't work...hahahaha..:)

So it's a challenging hobby...Maybe better said when you see us out there metal detecting,and holler out loud.."Have ya found any pennies yet"?..Please know that,and those dam pull tabs are the last thing we're looking for..hahahaha..:)

Now a change of subject.

That's another thing us metal detector fanatic have to deal with.

Is the public...Whether it be kids at the park,or just some guy who has to come distract you.To watch you etc..

We really hate that...hahahahahaha..:)

I've had to leave parks several times,because the children have flocked me on occasion,and you can't even metal detect anymore with 7 kids wanting to dig up the target,and they are just about breathing on it when you try to dig it up.

I love kids..and am the most friendly you can imagine around them.But on a couple occasions I've just had to pack up,and come back to the park at 5 AM.

Then every so often is the very occasional smart ass.What other way is there to describe them.

They think that everytime the see some guy/gal with a metal detector that we're out looking for a treasure.

Oh look..there is some guy wasting the day away out digging up pennies.What a fool.

That kind of mentality.

Those of us who love metal detecting are in it for the find.We're not out there looking for a pot of gold.We love finding things lost.We have a rush digging out that quarter in the ground.

There is alot more to it..when describing us as just "treasure hunters".

It's a great healthy hobby,and not only gives us some fresh air..but a little exercise at the same time.

I think alot of us have adventure in our bones who enjoy metal detecting.

I've spent 1000's of hours in my younger years looking for arrowheads,and other Indian Relics.

I just love un-earthing history.

A person really never know what they are going to find,once they turn that baby on and start prospecting the ground.

Yea...many of us if reincarnation was real..we very well could have been prospectors,and maybe many of us should have went to school to become archeologists.

There is something deep inside us,that even words can't describe.This is not about treasure for us.It's the rush of the find.

Maybe some of you are asking yourselves now..what I have found while out metal dectecting.

Hahahahaha..:)

To be honest..nothing to write home about.

BUT..I've had good days where I've pulled 50 bucks in quarters out of the ground on several occasions while hitting the parks,back yards..beaches,and any place else where I can get away metal detecting without causing to much attention to myself..hahahaha..:)

I've found many rings..mostly all silver though,and alot of other silver jewelry.

Nothing to overly old coin wise.That really depresses me when it comes to the lack of the old coinage not being dug up.

That's why I think metal detecting in Minnesota can be a challenge at times.

It's not the oldest state in the nation....and an old coin back in the days when it was first minted had value..A dime could buy alot of things back in the day.

Here is an example.

I metal detected a soccer field her in town,and I found 40 bucks in quarters alone on the playing field.

This field was maybe 15 years old at the most.

Now imagine an old football field from the 1920's that was only around for 15 years.You'd find some old coins,but you have to remember people held a little tighter onto their money in those days..Because them losing that quarter was like losing their lunch money for the week.

Now 40 bucks in quarters lost in that old 1920's field..would be like everything combined at that time with that specific economy would be like 2 months rent at an average house in the cities.

To find 40 bucks worth of quarters now days from the early 1900's might value up to two months rent in value at todays standards.

I guess I'm saying the ground you dig up..alot of it will be coins within the last 30 years that is was minted.

So when you find a 1950's..or something older..or silver coins made before 1964..that's a nice find.

I know this all sounds confusing on what I just said,but don't hold hopes out that you'll end up finding some place like "the field of dreams" now days while out scouting with your metal detector.

Even a park that has been there for a 100 years...Keep in mind that 95% of the coins in the ground have been lost within the last 30 years.

Don't ask me why..that's just the way it is..hahahaha..:)

I love metal detecting,and what I shared with you gives you a pretty good idea on what kind of metal detector guy I am.

I'm in this for the fun..and the adventure,and the addiction of finding something lost.

I could happily do this for a living if someone paid me an hourly wage,and whatever I find goes to my employer.

I'd get the rush of finding it,and getting paid to do so at the same time.That pretty much sums up my loyalty when it comes to metal detecting.

I'm not in it for the money..or the treasure.It's the rush...:)

I metal detected Whiteside Park in Ely Mn this last summer.

It's a pretty good sized park..several acres at least.It's where they have the Blueberry Festival etc...

My oldest coin was a 1941 quarter..I assume someone lost it in the 70's...because my second oldest quarter was a 1961..and everything else early 1980's and newer.

I left the pennies there in the ground...and believe me..there are quite a few there..hahahaha..:)

But other than that..I pretty much metal detected every square foot at that park...Took 5 days...and about 100 in quarters...and a bunch of dimes,and 3 silver rings.

A beach on average 12 bucks in change..and hopefuly a silver ring.

I have found nothing to convince anyone to take up the hobby...hahahaha..:)

But..if a person is looking where to buy a metal detector? Keep in mind money talks.

Get a good one..A few hundred you can get a good used one,or a new one for 500-600 dollars that should do the job.

Yes..there are cheeper ones out there.They'll let ya know that a coin is in the ground..but those cheeper ones don't let ya know it could be anything.

As an example..Remember I just told you about my Whiteside Park prospecting in Ely.

Well with a 100 dollar metal detector..I'd still be in the sandbox..digging up junk from here to China.

Be ready to spend a few hundred bucks.

I won't go over brands in this post,because a person gots to get the metal dector that's right for them.I'm not a dealer..and where you live..the soil,is it beach prospecting..or just strictly gold is what you're after..Coinds..Jewelry etc..

But you get what you pay for....Those cheep ones are only good for locating land mines in my opinion.

But..on the beaches in the 70's..those cheeps ones found alot of stuff.Those who did alot of metal detecting back in those days probably can't bend over to tie their own shoe laces anymore..but dang.They found the goods.

Maybe some of you ask how have metal detectors gotton better over the years?

Well..alot of them can discriminate a whole lot better between pull-tabs/junk targets..and a high potential target.

With my Spectrum XLT..and if I'm out coin hunting...I'm 95% right on any coin I choose to bend over..and dig up.

I know if it's a pull tab,or trash..or a bottle cap...So if I'm out coin hunting..look out.The spectrum is the best metal detector for coin hunting.

You can't beat it in my book.

I've had 1200.00 metal detectors that are great in some areas,but you can't beat a spectrum xlt for coin hunting.

It's not the best beach metal detector...but great for soil,and the beach too.So don't get me wrong when I say it's not the best beach metal detector.I'd find anything on a beach to with it..but they make metal detectors specifically for beaches...I'm not the expert in this..so talk to a dealer about the best beach metal detectors.I'm in Minnesota...so for those of you have metal detecting knowledge..I think you know where I'm comming from.

Now metal detecting for jewelry is another topic that I'll just lightly brush up on.

While metal detecting beaches I dig up any possible targets when my detector is set on jewelry mode.Almost every target...

I'll detect a 100 foot section...If no good signals come up,I may just dig up a few of the borderline possible junk signals.After all...digging in sand is so easy,plus it gives you a good idea on how your metal detector is registering stuff in the ground.

It is reassuring digging up junk..when your metal detector said it was junk to begin with.

With a new detector..and a reputable one it is correct most of the time when identifying something in the ground...But always dig up a few of the junk signals when it come to metal detecting for jewelry.

If you're metal detecting in sand..dig up the pull tabs...It's only sand,and in alot of cases you can just use your feet,and kick the sand over..Or better yet-->

If all you do is metal detect in sand.Then make a scoop screen with wire mesh...Dig..sift..Move on.

Metal detecting in Mn don't give us the full time option of beach metal dectecting like those that live on the ocean.

Another cool thing about metal detecting on beaches on the coast..is the tides always are moving..un-earthing..and rebury objects.

I wish the beaches here in Minnesota offered potential....I metal detected the Shagawa Beach here on the edge of town in the spring.I went back in the fall and found an additional 35 cents.

Now on an ocean beach...I could metal detect the same mile..over..and over again.With the potential that every day would be a different day...I guess it's safe to say that Minnesota Metal Detecting is having to cover a lot of ground.

Where I'm currently living now...I've metal detected my whole area.I have no place to go any more to to metal detect in the area where I live.

What got me so good with my detector..is I went and dug up all the junk signals at places I'd detect at a later date...No..nothing worth mentioning on the finds,but it really gets a person comfortable..and trusting with their detector.

No one likes to second guess themselves when trying to cover a lot of ground..for more so of the potential targets.So getting to know..and trust your metal detector goes a long ways to using it in the field..:)

Anyways..this is my first post on my metal detector blog that I hope is just not only of my adventures,but I'd like you to share your advertures as well.When it comes to metal detectors in Minnesota looking for something a few inches underground..even a junk target excites me.

I'd love to hear of your finds,and your adventures while out looking for stuff.

For now on I'll be documenting all my Minnesota Metal Detector Adventures.

I'd like to start a following of others that are into our hobby..and start the Minnesota Metal Detectors Association.

Beer..Food..and Pot Luck Gatherings where we all get together and talk adventure.

My fiancee & I love metal detecting.

It sure would be fun getting together with others in the hobby for a picnic/potluck type gathering.

So I guess the purpose of this metal detecting blog is to find friendship above ground as well.

So I'd sure love hearing from any of you who read this post in Minnesota.It always seems like starting a blog is a place where the blog owner talks out loud to himself..making nothing into news.

Hahahahahaha..:)

So all you metal detectors in Minnesota get a hold of me.

Let's get some conversation going...:)

Hope to hear from you....:)