Treasure Hunter 

As the holiday season approached in 1979, Anne asked me what did I want the girls to give me for Xmas?  I never really knew why, but I blurted out, "A metal detector."  They usually gave me tools but my tool box and bin was overflowing.  I could think of no tool needed.  As for a metal detector, maybe I had been in a Radio Shack and picked up one on display on a whim and gave it no further thought, but it surfaced at Anne's question. 

Anne charged me to buy one but to spend no more than $50.00.  A search of the yellow pages found two or three sources, the nearest having an auto repair shop name.   A few days later, I visited it to find only two detectors in stock from different manufacturers, both bottom of the line models.  The only problem was they both had a price of $129.95.  What was I to  do?  After a few minutes demonstration by the owner, he convinced me metal detecting might be fun so I decided on one of them using appearance only.  I would make up the money difference.  

Returning home, I began to take the detector from the box but Anne stopped me.  No!  This is a present.  Wait! 

At the time, I was doing sales work, visiting small towns in a radius of 75-100 miles of Atlanta, traveling main and back roads.  Many days before I was allowed to remove the detector from the box, I began to look around for places to metal detect.  My guidance was my imagination which later was proven wrong.   I will say this now.  The choice of a metal detector for my present was one of my life's better decisions! 

On Xmas Day, 1979, I metal detected in the front and back yard of my home.  Luck was with me.  I found about 20 or so coins.  The previous owner of my house, a doctor, and his wife, traveled a great deal including visiting foreign countries, leaving behind  two youngsters with a grandparent.  These yard playing youngsters lost five different foreign country coins for me to find that first day plus a couple of US silver coins, by then a rarity.  

The metal detecting "bug" had bit me! 

Before venturing away from home to metal detect, I decided to see what more I could find out about the hobby.  I visited several magazine newsstands and learned there were monthly magazines devoted to metal detecting.  I subscribed to three of them and read them cover to cover.  I bashfully hunted in my yard several more times but fearful of neighbor's curious questioning.  I continued to find a few coins there. 

Reading the magazines, I visualized two categories of metal detectorists.  One who hunted for coins, a "Coin Shooter", and one who hunted for old artifacts, mainly from the War Between The States (Civil War), a "Relic Hunter".   I could not visualize the joys of finding old artifacts, besides it seemed it would be more difficult, so I decided to be a "Coin Shooter," a delightful experience I had already enjoyed around my house.  Little did I realize that while hunting for coins, I would find jewelry consisting of rings, bracelets, pendants and necklaces, bullets of many caliber including Civil War Minie balls, artifacts of trade and state sales tax tokens, novelty advertiising pocket watch fobs, buttons of a variety of sizes, even a gallon pickle jar brimful with keys of every shape.  Along the way, without trying, I would find a "Relic Hunter's" ultimate goal, and more.  (In the photo on my Home Page, I am holding what would be a Relic Hunter's delight.  It is a very rare Confederate States belt buckle, described as being a solid-cast Brass CS Belt Buckle, background painted with  gloss black enamel(Tennessee Type.)  It was the byproduct of unsucessfully hunting for coins at a very old house. It was found July 8, 1992.) 

Finally, I decided to go to an old one room school house I had spotted on a back road in my travels as a salesman. I went to hunt for coins.  All I found was three aluminum drink cans.  No coins.  I had a couple of other places in mind which I visited soon.  They, too, were out of the way places especially picked so I wouldn't be seen and embarassed if bad luck continued.  Again, junk was the only thing I found. 

One day my oldest daughter in a tiff with her husband threw her wedding band into their yard but soon made up.  When they searched for it, alas, it wasn't to be found!  I was called to help them find it with my metal detector.  As luck would befall me, I was successful.  The metal detector magazines had articles and letters to the Editor about  such finds and others.  I sent a short letter which was printed.  The first of many printed items during my metal detecting days. 

One day there was an article in the Atlanta newspaper about metal detecting and its virtues and a seminar to be conducted by a representative of a major manufacturer.  I didn't feel qualified to attend but called the rep later who invited me to his house.  Arriving, I found my "letter to the editor" on his wall. I ended up buying a "top of the line" detector made by another manufacturer at a bargain price.  Two or three unsuccesful forays with this machine resulted in a telephone call to the seller only to find the line disconnected.  

I was aware of a big dealer in Stone Mountain, GA.  I decided to see if I could get help there.  I offered one of the partners $25.00 hour, minimum of two hours guaranteed, to tell me if the machine was operating properly and show how to use it in a nearby area.  He took my detector, turned it on, did a little tuning, dropped a few different objects on the floor, and began swinging.  After a couple of minutes he said the detector was fine.  What I should  do was join a club and get a hunting partner.  No charge!  

The Stone Mountain Treasure Hunters Club was nearest to my home.  I joined it.  The name signified the area where the club was formed and not an area being hunted.  I became a member in April, 1983.  I regularly attended its monthly meetings. Listening closely and trying to make friends.  In November, I asked one of the members if he would like to go hunting with me?  He was  about my age, sitting on ready, and we began a hunting in a partnership that lasted for years. We hunted together, two or three times per week for periods of several hours a day,   We became active in the club, made thousands of coin finds, rings and other jewelry, tokens, artifacts of many description.  We both submitted and had many articles printed in the hobby magazines.  In the yearly club competition for "finds", we often finished 1, 2 or 3.  

 Three trips were made to England for the purpose of metal detecting. Two with a small number of club members.  One trip to to metal detect with an English friend.  

In about 2002, almost 20 years after I began metal detecting, I gave it up.  I now devote my hobby time to the 69th Infantry Website.  

These are a very few of my many "finds".