Treasure Hunting

Between 1413 and 1433, seven fleets of Chinese ships were sent out under the command of the legendary Admiral Zheng He, a contemporary of Christopher Columbus. The last of these expeditions sailed to the Straits of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf and were wrecked, and still lie on the ocean floor today.

Associate Professor Phil Mulhearn, from the Ocean Technology Group and School of Geosciences, designed the advanced underwater imaging system used to conduct the ocean floor surveys.

The first survey, conducted in 2009, uncovered another 10 sites where treasure might be found, and a second survey is to be completed in 2011.

These wrecks are so important because any discovered sea treasure will reveal hidden secrets about the exchanges between the Far East and the West in the early 15th century.

“Sea treasure is far better preserved than treasure found on land,” explains Professor Ian Jones, the Adjunct Professor for Climate Change in the Ocean Technology Group.

So, while artifacts found above sea level will have been weathered and degraded over time, treasure found underwater on the seabed will be in almost pristine condition.

Earlier this month, the Confucious Institute held a public seminar at the University of Sydney where Professor Mulhearn and Professor Changqing Hu presented their expedition findings so far.

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Schranzerwald Forest, Austria – Millions are yet to be found by treasure hunters of all sorts. A fraudulent German financial advisor Augustine whose name has not been officially released, was arrested when a amateur treasure hunter found a suitcase with $185,000 and Augustine’s passport buried near Innsbruck, the capital in west of Austria.

After trials, in early 2002, Augustine was jailed for the maximum six-years and is now living in Bavaria, Germany. After publicizing this case to the public, this led many to get out their detecting gear and head out to look for the treasure for a nice reward, ten percent of the amount found and an award of $815,000.

Local treasure hunter Walter Fritz searches for buried millions in Ebbs, Austria

German police officials believe there is more to be found; more than 5 million was embezzled and hidden from investors while Augustine was working for the BDA bank.

The small town of Ebbs, Austria has benefited from the influx of treasure hunting visitors hopeful to fine a new fortune. As the story spreads, more are expected to travel to Ebbs, and join the hunt.

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Well folks, this isn’t just a rumor any more. Fisher is going to release the F5 and F70 sometime in March. More importantly: JUST in time for Spring. I dug up some spec sheets on them and they look well-planned and thought out, as most of Fisher’s products do. But it appears that the F70 will be a less-pricey answer to their F75. Either way, we can’t wait until these come out.

Kellyco Metal Detectors is taking pre-orders for both of them now. Check out the F70 here for $649.00 and the F5 here for $499.00.

Enjoy these spec sheets - Just click to enlarge!

Shaun

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Finding old coins is certainly rewarding, but most metal detectorists walk away with more “clad” then anything else. Thankfully About.com has give us keepers-of-the-clad some hope and provided a list of the most valuable U.S. coins still in circulation.

The article describes 10 coins that could be jingling in anyone’s pocket right this moment, or buried just beneath the first layer of soil… waiting for a metal detectorist to come along and scoop it up. The majority of the coins are valuable due to errors in die varieties or mint marks, and they’re often overlooked by people because their distinguishing characteristics are small. The price of these mistakes range anywhere from $50.00 to $35,000.00 - so I highly recommend you take a look at this list, take a closer look at your change, and keep picking up that clad in your quest for treasure. And if I find a 1969-S Lincoln cent with a doubled-die obverse… well… you folks will be some of the first to know.

And here’s the link to the rest of the article and the complete list of top 10 most valuable U.S. coins in circulation.

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Mr. Bill, an admin at Find’s Treasure forums and owner of surfscanner.com, posted a photo of the soon to be released Fisher F2. Details are slim, but rumor has it, the Fisher F2 is due out this December. I don’t know how firm this date is, as this metal detector has been delayed a few times in the past.

We’ll keep you posted as the details come in.

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