Apr 21 2008
The World of Metal Detecting - Others Are Catching On!
It looks like others are catching on to our favorite hobby. With the price of gold and other metals increasing to the highest levels ever recorded, it should come as no surprise. But what is a surprise is the amount of media attention metal detecting is suddenly getting.
I found an article in Smart Money Magazine Online titled “Welcome to the World of Metal Detecting.” It’s two pages long and features a quote by our sponsor Kellyco Metal Detector’s founder and CEO, Stuart Auerbach: “Stuart Auerbach, founder of Kellyco, the nation’s largest metal-detector store, with $15million in revenue, estimates a 50% increase since 2002″ [in metal detector sales].
The article goes on to describe some of the hard-core treasure hunters who “who drive to the shore in hurricanes just for the chance to hunt a beach swept clear of the top layer of sand — they tether themselves to their cars when the wind blows hard.”
It also mentions a popular hunt we’ve heard a lot about - DIV (Diggin’ in Virginia): “Relic hunters who specialize in historic sites attend national gatherings like the annual sellout “Diggin’ in Virginia” convention, where hundreds spend the weekend combing a rented field for Civil War artifacts; teams sponsored by detector manufacturers compete to uncover the most eye-popping finds and win cash prizes.”
Perhaps most interesting is that, while the author of this article is no metal detectorist, she knows of the on-going feud between archaeologists and metal detectorists.
“While most detectorists say they dig on private property only with the owner’s permission, some accuse them of messing with historic areas and pocketing materials that belong in museums; some towns have passed laws banning the use of metal detectors on public property.”
This is a common disagreement between the two groups and one I encourage us to overcome by documenting our finds and sharing them with local museums whenever possible.
Check out the entire article at SmartMoney.com and get ready to share your hobby with a lot of other folks! It looks like the rest of the world is finally catching on to ours!
- Shaun
[...] article, Shaun totally blogged about it on TreasureHunting.com a few weeks ago - Treasure Hunting - A Metal Detector Enthusiast’s Guide And it mentions Stu! We work so closely that sometimes I forget the rest of the world thinks he’s [...]