Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Sterling Silver Swarovski Chrystal Ring Find by Mark G. |
I head from a detectorist who is still looking for his first gold. He hasn't got it yet, and said he has been blaming hiss metal detector, and has been told by others that there is no gold in that area and it isn't being dropped there anymore.
When he isn't finding anything, one of the first things a detectorist will likely blame is his metal detector. The second thing he'll blame, as Mark suggested in his email, is the presence of good targets. He might conclude there just isn't anything there.
We often hear that all the treasure is gone. And that is easy enough to accept if you haven't been finding any, but it isn't completely true. As I always say, there is always some place to hunt and something to find. Yet you won't find it continually and you might need to make some changes.
You can't believe everything you hear. Not all detectorists are interested in encouraging more detectorists to detect hit their beaches.
I told the story before about how one day I showed up at a beach and met a detectorists who was waiting for his friend to arrive. We talked for a while, and, out of the blue, he told me he had been finding a lot of coins to the south. He'd never offered anysuch advice before, and I immediately suspected that he was trying to send me south for a reason. So, I immediately went north. It wasn't long before I turned around and saw him and his friend coming around the bend in my direction. I wasn't surprised. They made a bee line to a spot they evidently planned to hunt all along, and it wasn't to the south.
You can't always believe treasure hunters. Some of them will try to throw you off. I think that was even more true back in the day, but I'm not sure it has changed that much. There was a time when detectorists went to greater lengths to maintain a level of secrecy.
I once did a post on the tricks of the old timers. Here is an excerpt from that old post that gives some of the old timer tricks.
They would carry a few pull-tabs or iron nails in a pocket, and when a good target was dug, they would leave a junk item by the hole so that anyone following would think junk is what came out of the hole.
When being observed, after digging a good target, they would make a motion that looks like the target is being tossed while palming the good target, eventually slipping the good target into a pocket unobserved.
After digging a piece of junk, they would stand there a few seconds inspecting the object as if it were the Queen's jewels and ceremoniously clean it off before sticking it in what would appear to be a goody pocket or bag.
They would make a show of digging some nice deep holes as if there were targets where there were no signals at all.
When nobody is observing them at the time, old timers not wanting anyone to know where they had hunted, would often hunt next to the water line or in a few inches of water when the tide is coming in so that any holes or tracks would quicky be covered.
They would sometimes spread junk over good spots to discourage others.
When being observed, after digging a good target, they would make a motion that looks like the target is being tossed while palming the good target, eventually slipping the good target into a pocket unobserved.
After digging a piece of junk, they would stand there a few seconds inspecting the object as if it were the Queen's jewels and ceremoniously clean it off before sticking it in what would appear to be a goody pocket or bag.
They would make a show of digging some nice deep holes as if there were targets where there were no signals at all.
When nobody is observing them at the time, old timers not wanting anyone to know where they had hunted, would often hunt next to the water line or in a few inches of water when the tide is coming in so that any holes or tracks would quicky be covered.
They would sometimes spread junk over good spots to discourage others.
Here are some more.
Some old timers would paint or put duct tape on their metal detector to disguise it and make it look like a piece of junk.
When asked if they found anything, they would always say nahhhh, and add that they never found anything. They might add that they didn't think their detector even worked.
It was not uncommon to hunt at night to remain unobserved, and if hunting in the water, using a snorkel to remain low profile.
There are more but I'll leave it at that for now. The point is that treasure hunters do not always want to tip off or encourage other treasure hunters so you can't believe all of them all the time.
Pay ore attention to behavior than words. Why would they hunt a beach if they believe nothing is there. Some hobbyist might do that but the sun weathered guys that are out there all the time might know something.
I've told you many times about people telling me there is nothing at a particular area. How do they know? Some people really don't know. Even if they are telling you what they really believe, they still might be wrong. Use your own observations, tests and reasoning.
Make your own observations. Look at the people that the beach. What kind of people are they. What do they have? How do they behave. If they are wearing good things, they will lose good things. Maybe a lot, or maybe a little. Some kinds of people will lose more than others. Young active people will lose more than others. And if they wear good stuff, they will lose good stuff.
Active people lose more gold rings - or gold chains. If they are turning cartwheels, frolicking in the water, or playing volleyball, they will lose more than if they are lethargically lounging in a beach chair. More will be lost in the water and around volleyball courts. People do occasionally lose things by their beach chair, especially if they take a ring off before going into the water or apply suntan lotion.
Take a look at the ring at the top of this post. It is a nice find, but it tells you something. If that ring is typical of what people are wearing at a particular beach, you won't find the highest quality of jewelry there.
Back in the 1970s through 1990s there was a TV program in which sports superstars from different sports came together and competed in things like weightlifting and swimming. Some of those years the program was produced at a North Miami beach resort. That is near the ideal. Wealthy active people gathering for days. That area produced a lot of quality finds, including championship rings. It helps to be in touch with local events and beach activities. That is a type of researh if you are interested in modern finds.
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No new storms developing and the small surf continues..
There will be a decent afternoon low tide.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net