Sensationalism vs responsibility

I think somebody needs to start looking at the bright side of life. There's so much to be excited about this hobby!

I got my first detector in the 70's, became an very active coinshooter in the 80's and have been swinging a detector since. Back in the 80's and 90's I belonged to a metal detecting club with a fairly large number of active members that had interests all over the board. Some hunted parks, some ghost towns, some ski slopes, some old private yards, some old picnics groves in the local national forests. I've hunted with US Forest Service Archeologists looking for Indian battle sites. I have hollered and jumped with joy when a friend and I found an 1881-S $10 gold piece while sifting the area around an old territorial era hotel in a ghost town during a club hunt. I've let out yahoo's when hunting a ski slope while finding silver dollars and silver halves. I have heard others do the same. I hunted with Monte along the old transcontinental railroad and received some of the best lessons on detecting ghost towns you can imagine. I've hunted with Jimmy Sierra in old Orchards searching for trade tokens. What a dynamic guy and a huge promoter of our hobby. I've made some wonderful acquaintances and lifelong friends.

What about posting finds? I want to see what my friends and acquaintances are up to, how they are doing. Back in the old days we had club meetings and members would bring their finds for a display. We had a chance to get together and socialize. Today, it seems that we are a little more spread out and meeting on forums. Some are posting videos on U-tube. Some of these videos are great, others not so much. No reason to waste my time watching the 'not so much' ones, watch the great ones. Learn something. Get inspired. I have followed the successes and stories of others and learned a great deal that has helped me become a better detectorist. I like seeing people post their finds on the forums, whether their finds are simple and just an old coin or two or a heaping pile of silver coins. I want to hear the story behind the finds. Can I learn something from their efforts? At the very least, I can get some motivation to do some research, looks for some site possibilities and then make some time for another hunt of my own.

Are the silver coins all gone? Are you serious? Have a look in a redbook and see how many hundreds and hundreds of millions of US silver coins were produced and try your hand at calculating how many were lost. Think all of the jewerly lost at the beaches has been found? Always being replenished. Think every confederate coat button has been found and there are no more? Of course not. There's more research to do, more property permission to seek. There's an old 1900's era home not far from me that I've been attempting to gain permission to hunt for a LONG time. Nothing yet. Still working on it.

I love to see people setting goals for themselves. Set a goal for silver coins, make a detecting bucket list and then set some goals to help you check off some of those items. Get off the couch if you need to, get out there and hunt. Goals drive us to improve our skills, increase our research, learn more of the local history and upgrade our equipment, work harder. I hope ALL of you are setting goals for yourselves, not just in detecting but in your lives.

I've hunted with newbies and shown them the ropes. I've been the beneficiary of people like Tom, those mentioned above and every forum member that posts their finds,they've inspired me and have increased my skills and knowledge. Dozens of times I've cleaned up unfilled holes and plugs in city parks. Myself and other detectorists have carried countless pounds of garbage out of parks, private residences, ski slopes, ghost towns, national forests and everywhere else. I've found and returned jewelry, keys and all sorts of other lost valuables for people. It's what WE do as detectorists. It's the benefit we offer to society.

We really have a great hobby. Concentrate on the positive. Be a positive. Enjoy it!

Gonebeepin'

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Just one more good target before I go.

Good write Gb.

X2

Yep! HH jim tn

Agree. Very nice!

Yep. Gonebeepin' just done a mic drop and walked off stage. Lol Awesome post.

Just had a peak over on FM in the e-trac section. DOUBLE GOLD. Some ambition, some homework, a civil war camp and a couple of gold coins.

What a hobby.


Gonebeepin'

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Just one more good target before I go.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/01/2016 04:18AM by Gonebeepin'.