Treasure Hunting

These are the kind of events that makes Metal Detecting a truly honorable hobby.

Black Mountain, Asheville, NC — A group of metal-detecting enthusiasts helped police find some stolen jewelry last week.

The jewelry was stolen in a string of home break-ins last month. Five town residents were arrested in the case. The Police Department approached the metal-detecting hobbyists and gave them the approximate location of where they thought the suspected criminals disposed of some items.

The treasure hunters did the rest of the work.

“They did a good job,” police Sgt. Rob Austin said.

Mike Post, a Swannanoa Valley resident and dealer for Minelab brand metal detectors, recruited members of the Blue Ridge Metal Detecting Club and posted a message on Treasurenet.com, a website for hobbyists. They converged on the site Aug. 5 at the end of Vance Avenue and Montreat’s In the Oaks campus, and began sweeping the area, Post said.

Another man out for a walk discovered some jewelry boxes after the searchers told him what they where looking for. They were able to use their metal detectors to uncover the jewelry hidden beneath the leaves and dirt.

“It doesn’t take long for this stuff to bury itself,” Post said. “It settles once it rains and the wind blows.”

Club members came from as far as Sylva, and one man who was traveling through the area from Illinois made a detour to attend after seeing the post on Treasurenet.com.

“It was a good idea,” Austin said. “It panned out.”

The jewelry is now being processed as evidence. Austin is reviewing descriptions from police reports filed immediately after the break-ins to match the jewelry with the owners.

He said the case underscores the need for homeowners to document their possessions with photographs and record the serial numbers of possessions. Having photos can help homeowners claim their stolen goods if they are recovered, and serial numbers can help law enforcement officials track items through nationwide databases.

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Hey folks,

Check out this new group I created: Modern Day Treasure Hunters Group on BlogCatalog.com. I put it together early this morning and Rob over at DumpDiggers is my first member.

Here’s the link: Modern Day Treasure Hunters Group.

About the group: “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure! Modern-day pirates, thrift-shop junkies, estate-sale addicts, metal detector enthusiasts, history buffs, dirt diggers, treasure divers, beach combers, coin collectors and garage sale shoppers are ALL welcome here!

Modern day treasure hunters are, more often then not, metal detectorists. But treasure hunters of all kinds are welcome here! I hope to make some friends here and learn more about hobbies of all kinds while we dig life up!”

I think that all of us behind TreasureHunting.com want to bring our enthusiasm for metal detecting and treasure hunting into the new technology available today. The internet is a great place for reviews and forums, and we see our fellow treasure hunters using those every day, but there is SO much more we can do to create a sense of community.

This blog, the Modern Day Treasure Hunters Group, our Flickr Group… these are all the ways that we are trying to bring this hobby to a new generation and new technology. Please join our group, subscribe to our blog, leave us comments, and help us spread the word on this great hobby!

~ Liz ~

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Are you an avid metal detector enthusiast? Do you have friends that are also interested in metal detecting or treasure hunting? Why not start a club?

Here are 7 very easy steps to starting your very own metal detecting club:

1. Talk to Your Friends
   Try to get everyone you know that enjoys treasure hunting onto the same page. Get them excited about the idea of starting the club, and delegate small tasks to those that want to help.
2. Start Spreading the News
   You’ve got your friends behind you, but now it’s time to get more members. The internet is a great place to start. Many sites will allow you to post classified-type advertisements or announcements online for free. The largest site for this is Craigslist. Make sure you find the craigslist for your area, and add your announcement that you’re forming a club. You should also visit metal detector forums to announce your group. These are very simple, free ways to find members.
3. Announce in Newspapers, Radio, and Television
   There’s a good chance step #2 will have provided you with plenty of members for your group, but if came up short, try putting an ad in the newspaper, or going to your local radio and television stations and asking if they can mention your group. These might run you a few dollars, but are an effective way of growing your group.
4. Get Organized
   Now that you have your members, you need to get the group organized. This is where you come up with a name, establish goals, and figure out a voting system. Decide how structured you want the group to be, and if you are really serious, make a set of bylaws, or objectives for the group. Decide a meeting schedule and post it. Try to get a list of all your members with email address so you can send them a calendar or any group related news or events.
5. Find a Place to Meet
   So you’ve made your meeting schedule, but now you need a place to meet. This could be a restaurant, a member’s house, a club house, community center, or even a church. It doesn’t matter where you meet, but it should be consistent so the members aren’t overwhelmed.
6. Take Me to Your Leader
   This might be the most challenging part of starting your club. You need to select the leaders for the group. Decide if you just want to appoint members, or if you want the members to vote on it. Keep in mind, you’re starting a new group, so it might be difficult to have a vote this early in the game. You should have already decided if and when new leaders will be chosen, so you might select the original leaders, but have a vote a year later for new leaders. It’s always a good idea to find someone to take minutes from the meeting and email them to the members. Another idea would be to make a website for your group, and post them on the site.
7. Have Some Fun

With all the boring stuff out of the way, it’s time to do what you started the club for in the first place - get out and hold a group activity. You’ll want to do this very soon after forming the club. Try to get everyone involved, and make it fun. The more fun your members have, the more interested they’ll be in staying members, and possibly bringing new members to the club. If any members bring cameras along, you can start a flickr group to share the photos, or you can join Treasure Hunting’s Flickr Group, and just upload the pictures there for everyone to see.

We’d be more than happy to announce your club on our site, so if you have a group and need new members, or if you are trying to start a club and want us to help spread the word, let us know by emailing us, or posting it in the comments section.

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