Psychology/Mechanics of lost items and finding them

One of the great things I like about this forum is reading not only what Tom has to say but what everyone else can add to it from their own personal experience. I keep coming back because of a competitive spirit that this forum seems to continuously encourage.

We all can thank the reason we find the things we do to gravity. But how did that Quarter, dime, nickel , penny, ring, bracelet. etc.etc, get from his/her pocket to the ground where we found it? Was that clad dropped because someone was reaching for their car keys, was there a hole in their pocket, Who dropped it, and exactly how did it get to where we found it??

For everyone that finds really old metal items, its safe to say that if the date of the coin, predates the automobile, then they weren't reaching in
their pocket for car keys..........were they in a wagon, on a horse or mule..did they even have pockets on their person when they were carrying
their coins and lost them.??

Where does the smart detectorist begin his/her search in order to maximize their finds, I am fascinated by the way we lose things and know as I get older I seem to lose more and more items I seem not to have lost in my younger days...

Once I spent 2 full days looking for a remote control to the satellite receiver, found it in the freezer ( my wife still ribs me about that one)

I guess what I really want to know is, If we understand how we as humans lose stuff.......Can it/will it help us all to find more and better stuff when we are metal detecting.....???


Tri

Fascinating post, Tri. I think of those things all the time. Sometimes, things you find make complete sense why they would be there; other times, you have no idea "how" or "why." I am always trying to think "what caused a person to drop this object in this place," just like you said.

Steve

I think dialing in where more than how increases the coins in our pouch, however holding that extremely deep 1793 large cent I did wonder how was this person dressed, what was the circumstances and was a penny just a penny or did it cause a hardship on the loser as I know that barber quarter or half indeed did as imagine in that era could buy much more one does considering todays deflated economy..

Visiting Canada for several days with its one and two dollar coins and everthing down to a penny buying on the local economy soon had a pockeful of change and if living there might exchange suspenders for a belt to hold up my pants and now know why a avid Canadian detectorist has no problem paying for his detector pouching 10 or 20 bucks in an average park hunt.

Some of the rings I find are missing a stone so do they just throw them away. But for me there is a moment when I flash back in time when I hold the target. Our metal detectors are like time machines when I find history and that is what keeps me coming back.

LowBoy

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I often think about the time between loosing and discovery. The object was at rest in its hiding place for a period of time and had it not been for me it still would be a lost part of history. It is not so much how or why it was lost as it is who lost it. Who was the last person to hold it in their hand. Coins from the early 30's had to be very important to the owner due to the economy at that time. Never forget that Metal detecting is about saving history and never should be about making money. It becomes a Job when you are in it for the money and it starts to loose the fun factor.

Tom in SC

I think a lot of the stuff we find is thrown away, some is lost , thru dropping, like coins and jewelery, then some are just forgotten, like many, I look everywhere for last things, I do houses over and find things in walls under floor boards, and buried in the basement, like the saying says"one man's junk is another man's treasure", LOOK EVERYWHERE

I agree that the history of finds, especially you guys that are primarily CW relic hunters is much more important, than the worth of the find.
I guess I am just a coin shooter for now anyways. What have you learned that you may even consider your personal trademark ?, for example
sometimes out of just plain laziness, I will find myself loving to hit old gravel parking lots, especially the coarse gravel ones, because I know I will find a lot of clad and the ocassional ring or gold or silver chain ( I really like not having too dig far), But I have learned by looking for the concrete parking stops (if there), and concentrating my initial searches about 6 feet from them (which is where the door would be) and where the person would be standing when they reached in their pocket for their car keys, that seems to be the line where I find most of my immediate finds.

So if you and some of your detecting buddies go out from place to place, and he most of the time seems to find more than you on average, Is there something different that he does or "knows" , that gives him/her that little edge, even if they seem to have a detector that's (at least in your eyes) not as deep as yours??

Tom if you are reading this, I know as well as everybody else that has many years of experience There are those things that you do just because you have learned it maximizes your finds/satisfaction, You do them because its second nature, and may not even realize it until someone asks you "why ?".

We all have a method to our madness, What are your best overall hunting tricks for the types of detecting you do ??


Tri

VERY good thread. Tri.....a big 'YES'.

I could give a full seminar on the 'why'........and also the 'when' things are lost. Initially.....it was just simply speculation. But......after scientific analysis...........enough collected data ...and excessive repeatability............datum becomes 'validated'..........and.............most importantly.......... continues to be 'repeatable'.

Humans CONSISTANTLY function/operate on a repeatable Fibonacci pattern/frequency. This can be measured, tracked, predicted and 'applied' ((( to our benefit ))).

If only I had the time to write a book about this.

I am SO close to setting up a professional training seminar ..............for only a few folks at a time...................and start sharing the wealth.

NASA-Tom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> VERY good thread. Tri.....a big 'YES'.
>
> I could give a full seminar on the
> 'why'........and also the 'when' things are lost.
> Initially.....it was just simply speculation.
> But......after scientific
> analysis...........enough collected data ...and
> excessive repeatability............datum becomes
> 'validated'..........and.............most
> importantly.......... continues to be
> 'repeatable'.
>
> Humans CONSISTANTLY function/operate on a
> repeatable Fibonacci pattern/frequency. This can
> be measured, tracked, predicted and 'applied' (((
> to our benefit ))).
>
> If only I had the time to write a book about this.
>
>
> I am SO close to setting up a professional
> training seminar ..............for only a few
> folks at a time...................and start
> sharing the wealth.

Wow, EXACTLY what I was going to say, Tom. LMAO

Reminds me of how all the metal detecting books say to search the less obvious places. They've been stressing this for years & I'm sure a LOT of folks follow their advice. So, maybe it's time to start focusing on the OBVIOUS places again. Double reverse hunting psychology, lol.

P.S. - What does that Fibonacci guy know of treasure hunting anyways? He used to own a chain of pizzerias for crying out loud



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2011 11:09PM by njnydigger.

Back in '96 while working as a correctional ofc. , I read a series of books by John Douglas, one of serveral FBI agents who were working on the problem of catching serial killers. His original book, "Mindhunter", explained how they theorized if they wanted to catch these guys , they had to get into their heads. They did this firstly by taking the convicted killers they already had, learning everything about their cases (so when the BS started they could stop them before they veered too far from the truth), meeting them at their respective units (one on one) and stroking their egos, much like they were some kind of hero, and as the these guys opened up with the truth about "why" they committed their crimes The information the agents received was put into a database and cross referenced more and more patterns emerged, that morphed into a profile. As they refined their techniques and utilized the information, these "profiles" allowed the agents to look for someone meeting these criteria , they got so proficient that they could nearly tell such unbelievable things as, haircolor, age, what color car they drove, what job they held, if they had a wife or girlfriend, etc,etc. By properly using the database of info. this allowed them to find and prosecute the perpetrators efficiently and more importantly to save lives.

Now what does this have to do with metal detecting, everytime we go out we all make mental notes about the things we find and even the things we don't. Its all about putting them together., Tom, you write your book.....

PS If anyone wants to read a book , truly you won't be able to put down...Read "Mindhunter" by John Douglas.
and btw these same techniques are being utilized by online dating sites and corporate headhunters.....

Tom I know I want to see your seminar and read your book.......I know you will make the time.



Tri



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/12/2011 03:56PM by Tri.

???Time???

We have to consider we now have a different way of life now than then not to mention coins. Will they be worth investing BIG money on a machine in the future? Most people my age can say..... back when i grew up. People used to set out side more.... no AC. Our parks were designed differently.... not so many shelter houses, no street sweeper, we had fairs in the parks, softball was more popular than soccer and we just had more change in our pockets. Credit cards have reduced the amount of cash we carry. There were still tokens.... not computer generated coupons. A lot of these tokens found their way into our kids hands as did change. We didnt use wood chips.... there was grass. Then there came PULL TAB, screw caps, and aluminum juice tops.... we just had pop tops. What amazes me is when you do find some of the early coins is how much of their daily pay that represented by being lost. To understand the psychology you have to consider the many many changes thats going on in how we now live.... and the affect its going to have down the line to the hobby. Will what we are looking for change? Ive already noticed it has with the focus more on gold.

With moving to Fla by the first of the month, id defiantly like to arrange some time to make one of your seminars and meet you Tom. Your DVDs have been interesting.

Dew

Dew.......I'm not sure when my next seminar is; yet, they seem to happen about 4 times per year.

Thanks Tom .... ill keep an eye out.

Dew