About: Detecting

Metal detecting is the process of locating objects made of metal (aluminium, copper, gold, iron, lead, silver, titanium, uranium, and zinc.)

Generally you need a metal detector and a device to retrieve your find (shovel, knife, or any other scoop or digger). Other gear you might want to get are gloves, knife, first aid kit, spare battaries, spare coils, headphones, and pouch for your finds. Usually you also need some knowledge about the treasure you are trying to find and the area where you are going to search.

Anywhere!

Seriously

Playgrounds, beaches, picnic areas, groves, athletic fileds, parks are among the favorites. Any place where many people have congregated. If they exchanged money, it is likely they had lost some.

Look for different vegetation which does not belong in the landscape to find sites of old buildings. Old buildings might have money caches hidden somewhere.

Before searching, make sure that you have permission. This is especially true if you are on private property. Approach the owner of the land (best in person, but writing also works) and ask for permission to detect.

Best way to learn is by watching someone experienced detect. But if that is not possible, here are some guidelines.

• Scanning

  Keep the coil as close as possible to the earth, without touching it. Move the detector from left to right, or vice versa, keeping the coil level. Any objects located in the area covered by the coil should be picked up by the detector. Step forward, overlapping the area covered by a few inches. Repeat. This process can be very tedious, especially if you do not find anything for a while. It is extremely important to develop a habit of keeping the coil level during the entire sweep and overlapping the previous sweep's area. As you gain experience this process will become automatic, allowing you to focus on signals and enjoy metal detecting.

• Audio responses

  Whether you are using headphones or not, the detector will give an audio signal if it comes across an object in the ground. A faint sound usually means the target is deep in the ground. A solid sound usually means a good target (coin, jewelry, etc). A broken sound usually means trash target. Notice I had said usually. Different targets in different situations may give unpredictable signals. As a beginner it is important to dig up every target and note the sound the metal detector has given. As you gain experience, you will become better at recognizing sounds.

  Some detectors offer target ID displays, showing you the object in the ground, along with a graph of a response. Target ID is not 100% accurate! Treasure Hunters who rely too much on target ID miss some excellent finds.

• Discrimination

  Discrimination is probably the most important control of the metal detector, available in nearly all professional models. Discrimination rejects some metals (based on conductivity). The higher the discrimination, the more metals are rejected. As you turn up the discrimination, iron gets rejected. Next comes aluminum, along with gold (note, if you eliminate one, you are eliminating the other as well!) Last are copper, silver, nickel, and other metals, which you typically wouldn't want to reject.

• Pinpointing

  If you come across a signal during a sweep, you must locate exactly where the signal came from. Some detectors have a trigger which puts the detector into pinpointing mode. Press the trigger and move the detector in the area where you heard the sound. You should hear an audio signal. The location of the strongest sound is the target.

  If your detector does not have a pinpointing mode, and you have not purchased a pinpointer, the best technique is to make an imaginary cross (X) on the ground. Sweep the coil in one direction and make sure you receive an audio signal. Sweep it in the other direction, and make sure you receive a signal. The intersection of the sweeps is the location of the target.

• Recovery

  The way to recover the target depends on the type of soil you are dealing with. If you are searching on a sandy beach, you can try using a … . Otherwise, you can use a shovel, knife, garden trowel, … . Remove the section of the soil (or sod) approximately the area of your coil. Move the piece of sod in front of your metal detector to determine if the target is there, or still in the ground. If it is in the ground, remove some more soil from the hole and search for the target. It is extremely important to leave the area as if it were untouched. Make sure all soil you remove goes back into the hole, and the piece of sod you had removed goes back the way it was removed.

Research can lead you to treasure. And it can be quite fun. Once you gain some experience in the process of metal detecting, and done some research, you are ready to go after the big treasure.

• Maps

  One of the most fun aspects of research is searching the maps. If you can find old maps, they are even better. Look for old buildings, villages, or even towns, which do not exist today. Look for places where people could have congregated in numbers.

• Local library

  Find old newspapers or magazines from your area to find out what was going on, where people went on weekends or holidays.

• Local historical society

  Become a member and you will likely learn about the area's historical sites.

• Local people

  Local senior citizens can tell you lots of stories about their past. It is likely they remember some places where the town people went on the weekends. Perhaps they will remember some picnic places not mentioned anywhere else.