Treasure Hunting

Radio Prague, Czech Republic is reporting the story of a young relic hunter who tragically died two years ago in an apartment fire. When fire fighters arrived at the scene they saw an apartment “chock-full of strange looking metal objects.” There were more than 3,000 items in the man’s one bedroom apartment and with the help of experts from the Czech Academy of Sciences’ Archaeological Institute, the public is now realizing the man was an “amateur archaeologist,” maybe just another metal detectorist like ourselves.

On the black market these items, some of which are prehistoric, are worth millions of dollars. But as they have been found with no documentation or records about where they were found, they have almost no scientific value. There are bowls, cups, clips, bracelets, pins, rings, axes and more.

Miroslav Dobeš of the Archaeological Institute lamented lack of documentation over a spectacle-shaped pendant, one of the oldest copper objects found in Central Europe that dates back to roughly 4,000 B.C., has zero scientific value, and leaves historians baffled as to where it came from.

I’m not too crazy about the anti-metal-detectorist stance this article takes, but I do agree that it’s important to log where you’ve been and what you’ve found. And with today’s accessibility to digital cameras there is no reason us metal detectorists can’t keep good track of our relics and hunting grounds - if for no other reason than to show ‘em off!

The thrill of metal detecting, relic hunting, and coin shooting is about finding something significant to history sharing it with others. When you find that CSA belt buckle and see it lying in the same place a solder fell over 100 years ago you should preserve not only the metal object out of the ground, but the story of the solder that wore it - where it places him on the battlefield, among his troops and beside his friends.

I think now is as good a time as any to learn from someone else’s mistake and document your finds. Good luck and happy hunting!

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We all know parks, schools, and beaches are fantastic locations for metal detecting. Here’s a list of the top 5 places you may NOT have thought about hunting:

#5 - Farmers’ Fields - Farmers are usually willing to give permission to hunt their fields once the crop is off. Even though your finds will generally be less in quantity, they should yield higher quality. Many of the farm fields played host to Civil War battle activity, especially in the South, and East.

#4 - Construction Sites - Anytime dirt is being moved around, it opens the opportunity for you to explore what may have been previously unreachable. Old houses and buildings that are being torn down are also great spots.

#3 - Recheck the Hole - It’s been said, the best place to find treasure is where it’s been found before. You might be surprised at the number of coins or relics that are in the hole you just dug, so take a few minutes and recheck the entire hole, and the plug of dirt you’ve set aside. You might also consider using a pinpointer.

#2 - The Sidewalk Strip - The grassy area between the sidewalk and the street is commonly overlooked. Many times, these areas have never been hunted, and have been walked past for years.

#1 - Your Own Backyard - The number one misconception in metal detecting and treasure hunting is that there’s nothing to find in your backyard. You don’t need to travel to a far off, exotic location to find buried treasure - just go out into your yard. Keep in mind, wherever people have congregated, there’s treasure to be found!

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Searching through a few sites today, I stumbled across one that I almost passed by, but something made me dig a little deeper, and man am I glad I did. VirtualParks.org is one of the best sites I’ve seen for learning about new parks, which helps find new places to metal detect.

The home page offers seven choices to help you find your next metal detecting outing:

• Geography - Use maps to drill down
  to a park you want to view scenes of
• Theme - Scenes with a common theme i.e. All Lakes, All Mountain Passes, etc.
• Best Of - A gallery of the best scenes. A showcase of the 100 best panoramas on the site
• Alpha - Panoramas listed alphabetically. Look at all scenes whose names start with A, B, C, etc.
• Trips - Narratives of the trips. The story of how the scenes were shot
• Newly Added - Most recently added panoramas. Sorted by time
• Full Screen VR - High-res FullScreen panoramas. for a more immersive experience

I decided to try out themes. Clicking on themes gives you a large list of ….well, themes. I selected Ghost towns and ruins thinking it would be a good start, and have good potential for finding relics. There are links inside this theme, and each one has a virtual tour to show you the terrain. I’ve wasted about three hours so far, and will be going back to it when I’m done with this post. The virtual tours drop you right in the middle of the location, and you can almost imagine the areas you’d search if you were there.

If you’ve been planning a metal detecting trip, VirtualParks.org might be the inspiration you need to select a location. Give it a try, and tell us what you think. If we find anything else really interesting on the site, we’ll be sure to let you know.

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“What next?” is a very popular question I hear from my friends. They buy a detector, and after about a week of searching around their yard, they start to try and figure out where else to treasure hunt. Here’s a small list of places that might help get you started. This is by no means the most definitive list, so if you know of a good place to metal detect, tell us in the comments section.

BEACHES
The beach is one of the most popular places to go metal detecting, and for good reason. People will often change clothes when they arrive at the beach, or when they’re getting ready to leave, so there’s a good chance you’ll find modern coins a-plenty. People also spend a lot of time in the surf on the shore of the beach, so if they had change in their pockets, it’s easy for it to fall out. The soft sand at beaches is very easy to dig through, making it simple to locate items. Try hunting not only the sandy area, but also parking lots near the coast. Some beaches have regulations in place for metal detecting, so make sure you check the rules before you head out.

RIVERBANKS
Check your town’s history if you have rivers running through it. Some rivers had old bridges with toll booths on them, and many parts of the river might have been ferry crossings. You may also want to find out if there were any popular fishing spots. There’s plenty of treasure hunting to do on riverbanks, so make sure you give yourself enough time.

SCHOOLS
Let’s face it….kids lose stuff. Metal detecting at a school can be a fun search, but keep in mind the type of items you’ll find. Be prepared to walk away with modern coins, and a handful of toy cars. Try researching the schools in your local area. Some schools are built on older school sites. If this is the case, you improve your odds of finding something valuable.

CHURCHES
Churches are usually one of the first buildings constructed in a town, which obviously makes them the oldest in the area. Weddings and many social events are hosted at churches, so there’s no telling what you’ll find. If you’re lucky enough to live in Santa Fe, NM, you’re living next to the oldest church in the US.

NATURE TRAILS
Hikers usually travel with backpacks, and often stop to eat a snack or take a break. When metal detecting on nature trails, try to think like a hiker. Don’t just search the trail, try searching near big rocks that someone might sit on, or just off the beaten path.

Where are the best spots you’ve found? Let us know in the comments.

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