Does anyone use a metal detector or is it waste of my time? If so what would you recommmed for a beginner as far as the type of dector and expensive one, or are they pretty much the same. I would like one thats sorts out the trash if at all possible. any comment are surely welcome.
Alright, well as far as beginners go, I would strongly recommend the Garrett Ace 250 (Like $200ish) or the Garrett Ace 350 ($300ish). I personally started out with the Garrett Ace 350 and love it. although the 350 will not tell you the difference between a silver coin and its clad counterpart. Now I want to upgrade to a more serious detector. A really nice semi-high end one is the Garret AT Gold (Around $700). The AT Gold CAN tell the difference and before you dig a target, you will have a much better idea of what the target is by looking at the numbers assigned to the target. Hope that helps!
Depends on what you mean by a waste of your time. It is an interresting hobby, that requires a lot of research and patience to do well. Will you find tons of valuable coins? , probably not, but you never know. As far as one that sorts out the trash, the problem there is that many of the old coins that are still out there are deep and hidden by trash. If you don't dig the trash, you'll miss a lot of deep old coins.
If you want to strike it rich fast, this isnt for you. I have been detecting for a few months and have found quite a few cool item such as musket balls, silver coins/jewelry, and even a sterling silver spoon but the silver melt doesnt even add up to $50 yet with all my finds. If you enjoy the idea and have good patience, then go on and have a blast!
VERY INTERESTING, Thank you all much, I thought it might be fun never thought about stricking it rich but after these comments I will pursue one.. any things on the dector not to get or make sure you get on them or are they mostly standard in 400.00 price range????
Stick with the name brands, Fisher, Garrett, Minelab, Teknetics,Tesoro, Whites, and look for the features you want. You'll get brand recomendations, some folks like one brand, some like others, it's sort of a Ford-Chevy thing. I have been happiest with Tesoro and Fisher, stick with the name brands and you'll be OK.
Over the last summer I was in the same boat as you. You have to look at it as more of a hobby then an investment. Not saying you can't score big, but don't get your hopes up. I bought a Minelab Quattro MP used for $200 during the spring. It was a great deal, but took me a while to learn the detector. Once I did that it was a blast to use. my first real hunting was on a beach in South Carolina and I did very well, but I was hunting for a week straight, probably 2-3 hours a day. Mostly found change and junk. You can filter out iron, but you still get a lot of aluminum bottle caps/tabs. I ended up finding 4 gold rings total which I sold for $450 after price checking a few scrap places. Covered my investment and I was happy, but it was a lot of work. I have since sold my minelab quattro for $600, which was a nice profit as well. I am probably going to try a newer white's next, maybe something underwater. Just keep everything in perspective and enjoy it. Good luck
OP, Missouri is a GREAT place for T-H'ing. You can find many Jesse James "buried bank loot" stories on the Internet, and most are in your back yard. Plus the general absence of banks until the 1880s resulted in pioneers hiding money around their homestead.
unless you live in an area that has been used for over 20 years. waste of money. i live on 20 acers that has been used for over 100 years. found a nickle, not buried. it was painted white and looked cardboard. found LOTS of barbed wire and fond an old soghn post. my favorite find: the old sighn post. it was bent and buried preety deep, which shaws sghins of an accident. a bad one.
