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I Have
been metal detecting on and off for over 30 years. My first detector was a kit
from Radio Shack that I built when I was around 14 years old. It was $29.00!!
That was a lot money back then. It was just
a plain BFO type detector. No discrimination. It would find everything, foil, pull-tabs,
nails, iron, and just plain trash!
See
a 1972 RADIO SHACK Catalog page of it here
I used it
for a few summers but it finally went bad. I had tried to use it in a mud
puddle and water seeped into the coil because the connection was not very
well sealed. So I stopped detecting for about the next 10 years. At that time
in my life I had better things to chase (girls) than dirty old coins in the
ground. My next detector was one that I borrowed from a good friend. It was an
old T/R type. It had some discrimination but no depth. I had stopped again for
a few years. Then in 1989, I borrowed another detector while I lived down in
Hobe sound, Florida. This was a Brinkman Treasure Sensor 5000. Not a high end
machine by any means. But I was close to
the beach and this made it easy to go. One night I went down at low tide. This
is the first time I found something called "the coin line". All the
coins had shifted down into a single line parallel to the water line. I found
over $7.00 in 30 minutes! I was hooked again. I now knew I wanted a better
detector. I did a lot of research before I spent any money. I wanted something
primarily for land hunting, lightweight, but versatile, with target ID. I was
not yet interested in water hunting yet, just parks, schools and the sandy beach. So my next detector was bought in
1989, This was my Garrett
GTA-500. This machine paid for its self many
times over. I have been very hard at it since then. I never leave the
house or go on a vacation with out a detector ! In 1999 I happened upon a
good deal on a used Garrett GTA-1000. This was the next step in the Garrett
line above the GTA-500. I used that unit for about 2 years. Sold
it when I upgraded to the Garrett GTI-1500. I love the imaging option on
the GTI-1500. It's not a gimmick. It really does work. This helps a lot in
trashy areas or around demolished buildings. I don't do parks or school
grounds much anymore, the snowbirds keep those places pretty clean during the
wintertime. I only do those places when the beaches are not producing and I am bored
or there is no other place to go. I like doing research about old places. Like going to the library and looking at old
town photos and post cards. My favorite detecting is working demolition, old houses or even torn up sidewalks.
No telling what you might find or how old it will be. Finding
a single silver dime can make my day. Indian Head pennies and Barber type
coins are a rare find in this area. Not to many people living here when those
type coins circulated. It was all swamps and mosquitoes.
I have
found you just cant have one detector or even two. I have used many different
units over the years. I have found that different units offer different
options for each type of hunting. Once agian 1st and formost is the Garrett
GTI-1500. I know its an old detector, but I have 20+ years experience using the GTA/GTI detectors.
My first water machine
was a Tesoro stingray. I used it for years around Stuart, Florida and the
bathtub reef park. It was a great unit but it still falsed in the salt water
if you moved it around to quickly. It sure could find small up chains
like no
other machine. I still have that detector. But in late 1999 I got my first Minelab Sovereign
XS. But now I primarily use an
original Minelab Excalibur. This is a
waterproof version of the Sovereign. I do have an Equinox 800, but not taken a
liking to it yet.
As of 2017 I have been
using an XP Deus in England. It light weight, packs up nice for travel and fairly
easy to use.
For competition
hunting I use a Tesoro Conquistador uMax. It's lightweight and
has a quick frequency change selector switch for those really crowded hunts. I
have the early version with the frequency selector switch on the bottom
like a trigger. Tesoro made an updated version of this called the
Cibola.
I
still have my old Garrett GTA-500. But is is on the wall in the metal detector
room as a backup or loaner.
Other detectors I have
owned, still own, tested or used over the years. .....
Minelab CTX 3030,
Minelab Expoler SE, Garrett ADS, Garrett GTI 2500, Garrett
CXII, GTA1000/500, Garrett Infinium, Garrett
Gold Stinger, Whites Coin-Master, Whites Surfmaster 2, Whites PI Pro, Whites 6000di, Whites
Classic II, Tesoro Eldorado uMax, Tesoro Silver Saber I & II, Tesoro
Cortez, Tesoro Cutlass uMax, Tesoro Sidewinder uMax, Tesoro Bandito II,
Compass XP-350, Compass XP-Pro, Compass Coin Scanner, Brinkman 5000, Fisher
1212 and 1225, Garrett Ace 100 and 300, GTA-350, Garrett ACE 250, 350, Minelab
Sovereign XS and Elite. And there have been a several others.
Not much relic hunting
here in Florida. When at the beach I use a Minelab Excalibur.
I like these detectors because they do not false in or around the saltwater or
when swinging from wet to dry sand. It also has fantastic depth! And if it
starts raining, NO problem. Most of the
time I have a SEF 10x12" coil attached when beach hunting. I have
found many nice rings and jewelry items since 1989 when
I first stated water hunting. I live only a
5-minute drive to most of the 1715 Spanish treasure fleet wreck sites. I have
found numerous bronze spikes, copper sheeting and Spanish coins from the ships. And I have seen a few gold doubloons that have been found in the area. Susan goes
with me when she can. In 2000 using her Tesoro Silver Saber II, she found a
1/2 reale from one of the 1715 Spanish wrecks. Right on Wabasso beach! Ask me
about that story sometime.
My current active detector
arsenal.....
1.
Minelab Excalibur (Sword) for the Beach
2.
Minelab Excalibur II backup for the Beach
3.
XP Deus for England and Relic Hunting
4.
Garrett GTI 1500 for Coin Shooting, Parks,
Demolition. I have 2
5.
Garrett AT Pro for Relic and Fresh Water hunting.
6.
Tesoro Conquistador uMax for Competition Hunts
7.
I have a few other I use for loaners.
If you have any questions about
anything posted here or just have general questions about the hobby, please
email me and I will try to help.
SEND E-MAIL to mking11@earthlink.net
Here
are stories and pictures of some of my finds thru the years.
The Old Fort Pierce High
School
In
1998 I found the old high school in Ft. Pierce, Florida was being remodeled.
Built in 1914 it became one of the best places I had ever detected. I worked that
place for over a year. What a bonanza of silver and old coins came from the
ground there. The first weekend produced over 100 wheat back
pennies, and 20 pieces of silver, including 2 walking liberty halves! Later on
I got my first standing liberty quarter and Barber half-dollar there too!
Every weekend was different. All they had to do was dig a pipe trench and
there would be more coins to find. I worked it right up to the day they put
down the sod. Sometimes I think I could have worked it even harder. I would
never go there without finding an old coin. The last target I recovered was an
Indian head penny in early 1999. I made 100% of the recoveries using my
Garrett GTA-500. Here are some pictures using my first low-resolution digital
camera.
* WORKING THE "BIG FIND" IN FT PIERCE, FL. 1998
*
* ANOTHER PICTURE
*
* Click here for a partial list of items found there.*
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I caught the tide and conditions
just right in February 2005. Click here to read about a great day at the beach
finding lots of older silver coins and a unexpected coin find.
Big silver hit at
Daytona Beach in Feb 05
More beach stories
Another Daytona
Beach trip August 2006, Gold & Diamonds!!
Daytona Beach
trip #3 ... More GOLD !!
Big Silver in
the Surf !
Hurricane Nole finds
2007
Tropical Storm
Bonnie 2010
Hurricane Sandy
2012
Yes,
over the years I have found some Spanish treasure coins.
My
1st
EVER RECOVERED Spanish Treasure coin, A Two REALE
OTHER
RECOVERED 1/2 REALES
HOW ABOUT SOME 8 REALES
ALL GOLD AND SILVER KEPT IN MY SAFETY
DEPOSIT BOX AT THE BANK
I try to return as many
lost items as possible.
HERE ARE SOME OF MY RECOVERIES and RETURNS
Click here to read
stories of returning lost items to the owners.
(I lost several stories during a file upgrade.
I hope to recover them someday and re-post them)
METAL DETECTING TRIPS
TO
ENGLAND
Click on the link below to
see some of the fantastic finds I
have made
while Metal Detecting in
England.
England
Pictures Page
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I was Coin
Hunter of the year in England for 2008, 2012 and 2018!!
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For
information on Batteries and AC power in the UK, click here !
First Relic Hunt
In
October of 2002 I went to my first relic hunt, which was held near Vicksburg,
Mississippi. Actually on the Louisiana side of the Mississippi river near a
place called "hard times landing". This was my 1st time
"relic" hunting. Down in Florida there are not too many places for
that. I had a great time and met a lot of neat and interesting people. I used
my
Minelab Sovereign and my gruop took 2nd place that year. My other half Susan,
used a Team Bounty
Hunter and was a last minute fill in because of a no-show. We both found many
interesting artifacts. I found my 1st mini ball and civil war uniform eagle
button. Susan found a gold ring and a trigger guard from an Enfield
musket! This site was used by General Grant during his march to and siege of
Vicksburg during the civil war.
MITCH At
the Hunt SUE
at the Hunt 1st Eagle Button 1st
Mini Balls
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Both
Susan and I returned in October
2003 to Fredericksburg, Virginia.
This was called Waugh Point, This site was used as a staging area by
union forces that hade crossed the Potomac River. The area was in use as a
camp for most of the civil war.
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In
2004 I attended a hunt at Fort Powhatan in Virginia. I
found lots of really neat relics and my 1st Civil War period dated coin.
My 1864 Indian Head Penny
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I
did relic hunting 2005 and 2006,
I found more cool relics and had a great time. Garrett metal
detectors gave us great support. Thanks Garrett!!!
In 2007
I was in New England for a hunt and found Spanish Silver! This was also filmed for
and episode of Best Places to Find Cash
and Treasure
Pictures
from the 2007 Hunt
In 2008,2009 and 2013 I was captain for Team Garrett.
Pictures
from the 2009 Hunt
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Other Relic
Hunts
In March 2003 I was at
Fredericksburg, Virginia (Waugh Point). The site was used as a staging area by union
forces for most of the civil war.
In 2004 I again
attended a hunt near Vicksburg, Mississippi. This site was used
by a Texas raiding party and then later occupied union forces. We once again
traveled to the Louisiana side of the Mississippi river for this hunt.
Me
at the 2004 Hunt
In March of 2005 I attended
a hunt at Fort Powhatan in Virginia. There I found my 1st Civil
War plate. A Union soldiers Eagle breast plate.
Picture of my 1st
Civil War plate Me
at the 2005 Hunt
I also found an 1837
Large cent and 1856 Half Dime. Plus lots of Mini balls, dropped and fired.
Coin finds from the hunt
I also attended more
relic hunts in 2006,
2007 and
2008 and had more great finds.
Some 2007 finds
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GREAT SOUTHERN BEACH SHOOTOUTS
In May
2003 I went to the great southern beach shootout in Daytona. I did not win the
grand prize (2003 pickup truck) but found lots of silver, also a few gold
coins. I did not find a numbered token for a Top 50 prize. Met lots of friends and had a great time. This is a great and
well-organized hunt. If you never been to one, this is a great place to start!
My
Silver Finds from the 2003 GSBS at Daytona Beach
I attended once again
in 2004, but was just getting over a bad case of food poisoning. I could
barley make it down to the beach from the hotel room. So I did not do very
well. But my friend and fellow club member Ed, took home the $5000 grand prize.
I went again in 2005
and was disappointed at the hunt field sizes. They where so crowed all the
hunts that were supposed to last 1 hour were over in 7 minutes!! Again I did
not find a Top 50 numbered token.
I missed out in 2006. I
heard it went very well. I was set to go when my company called on a Thursday
night and said some equipment was down and someone had to go to Texas to fix
it. Guess who got the job?
Well I had a great time at the
2007 Great Southern Beach Shootout ! I found a key that opened a lock to a box
filled with 50 new Washington Dollars. Found lots of silver and finally found a
Top 50 numbered token that got me a brand new Garrett ACE 250!
Me at
the 2007 GSBS in Daytona
The 2008 hunt went very well. The only disappointment
was they did not plant any silver coins. Due to the price of silver, I understand.
Instead they planted lots of new dollar coins, about 2500 per hunt. I found 65
dollar coins in all 4 hunts. I found a numbered token on the 1st day that was good
for a leather-man type tool. I found a top 50 token the next day. This netted
me a Fisher ID Excel. Had lots of fun, and it always a pleasure to meet so
many other fellow hunters. A lady from the Florida Gold Coast Club won the $5000 grand
prize.
Me at
the 2008 GSBS in Daytona
2009 was
the last year for the Great Southern Beach shootout.
I
once again found a top 50 token that netted me a new Garrett Pin Pointer
Me at
the 2009 GSBS in Daytona
2009 was the last year for this event. These
events are no longer being held.
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Treasure Coast
Archeology Society
I am
currently vice president of our local metal detecting club. The Treasure Coast
Archeology Society.
And have been the
clubs master hunter of the year 8 times in 12 years.
Be sure to visit the clubs
website here.......TCAS
We hold an
annual hunt here in Florida every year. I showed up for this hunt for the
first time 1994. I was not a member of the club, nor did I know anyone there.
But I took first place in the competition hunt and second in the depth
contest. In the competition hunt, the field was seeded with 2000 tokens.
You have 1 hour to find as many tokens as you can. There were over 60 hunters
that year. 3rd place had found 90 tokens, 2nd place had found 122 tokens. I
took 1st place with 298 tokens!!! I have since
won that contest 4 more times. I no longer compete and now run the hunt since
I am the clubs vice president. Someday I will return, to see if I still have
it in me. I'm a little older now and there is always someone younger and a
little faster coming along. I plan on trying to make more hunts around the
country. If you are interested in our hunt, please see our clubs web
page. The hunt is usually held in mid March.
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