About Metal Detecting
This page contains information and tips to help treasure hunters keep this great hobby positive and enjoyable for everyone. Some of these points may seem painfully obvious, but keep in mind that some of the folks reading this are new to the hobby and may not have thought much about these themes, if at all. This page is intended to be modifiable work in progress, so if you want something included, send us a note via email and we'll do our best to include it. We have already received some great information, so please read on...
- Why We Hunt for Treasure
As you know, KG, Ringy, Bones, and T.O all hunt treasure relentlessly and with great passion, and although we have assembled what some would consider awesome piles of coins and artifacts, the truth is that after a lifetime of treasure hunting, the cost of equipment, gas, food, and other expenses outweighs the true value of the objects by a landslide. In other words, we are not in this hobby to make a living off of the objects we dig up, and we couldn't, even if that was indeed our goal. First of all, it is extremely rare for us to sell anything we find. In most cases, we become too attached to the historical aspects of the finds - even to some of the "completely worthless" ones. Instead, we got into this game because we enjoy the thrill of the hunt and the tangible history that comes with digging up, say, a well-worn 1897 Barber dime. While worth next to nothing and easily obtainable at the coin shop for a few bucks, it is precious and incredible to us, because we can hold it in our hands, feel the smoothness of the coin, and imagine who might have lost it and why. Although common and perhaps laughable to any major museum, finds like that 1897 dime provide excitement, learning opportunities, and an adventurous connection with the past that cannot be replicated by reading a classroom book or looking through a glass display case. Such a small, insignificant find can be the spark to ignite a lifetime of passion for history, collecting, and learning. Metal detecting provides so many benefits beyond monetary value that it would take multiple pages to fully elaborate on and do them justice. Being outdoors with friends and family, exercise, fresh air, and being away from the TV for a while are just a few off the top of my head. Local finds can also be shared with classrooms, libraries, websites, and small town museums for all to see. It's even one more healthy activity to interest and include a kid that might otherwise feel isolated and turn to drugs. We're always glad to drone on about the topic if anyone dares ask. Most people are immediately sorry when they do, and after a few minutes, their eyes glaze over and they wish they were anywhere else, but many are genuinely surprised when they find out that the hobby is so much more complex and rewarding than just coldly walking out the door to find and sell objects for profit.
- Get Permission Before You Hunt
Always ask the landowner or homeowner before you hunt a site. This should really go without saying: Trespassing is illegal. If you don't get permission, you are breaking the law. Note that state and federal lands are usually off limits, as well as national monuments. Some city parks and public beaches are open to detectorists, but you need to check for possible restrictions before hunting on any particular public site.
- Fill in Your Holes / Clean up After Yourself
Every site is unique. The terrain can vary from loose sand to rocks, yards, lawns, fields, beaches, etc. Landowners are also unique. Some don't care if you if you dig trenches, while others have meticulously groomed lawns that they don't want disturbed. No matter where you hunt, go into the site planning to leave it looking better than when you arrived. Fill each hole so that it looks like you were never there, regardless of whether the landowner is concerned with the site's appearance. Take your dug trash, as well as any other trash you encounter with you (whether it's yours or not). Note that there are many ways to dig an object from the ground. If it's shallow enough, you can pop it out without even digging a traditional plug. In rocky, dirt fields, you often can't dig a neat, traditional plug, so you need to adapt to the terrain and so the best you can. YouTube has several "how-to" videos if you are interested in different digging methods and techniques. As mentioned above, even in ranch fields where there may be little concern for appearances, you should fill your holes in smoothly so livestock or other animals (including humans) don't later stumble or twist an ankle.
- Return Lost Items
If you run across tools, keys, or personal objects specifically lost by the landowner, be sure to return them. Before you hunt, ask them if there is anything they might have lost that you could help them find. It's just one more way to be helpful to your neighbors, and you will likely be invited back with such behavior.
- TV vs. Real Life
In case anyone is unaware of this fact, it sometimes takes thousands of holes and targets before you find anything really worth talking about. On TV and in our DVD series, we show the cool finds because that is what is interesting to the viewer. Nobody wants to watch us dig up nails and beer tabs on a regular basis. Because there are severe time constraints on television programs, we don't always show a hole being covered back up, or the removal of trash, etc. Our television show is not intended to be an instructional video (there are already plenty of those out there), so viewers will have to assume that we clean up after ourselves and do the right thing at each site, based on the information provided here and just using good old-fashioned common sense. Some of you have had great suggestions regarding these "TV vs. Real Life" issues, and we will begin including tips in future shows and DVDs to address some of these concerns that may not be as obvious to non-treasure hunters.
- Get Rich Quick Myth
No matter what you have heard, hobby metal detecting is not a sensible "get rich quick scheme" any more so than buying a lottery ticket is a sensible retirement plan. By the time you add your gas, food, time, batteries, and other expenses, you will almost always lose money on a day's hunt, even if you find something interesting or "semi-valuable". While it is wonderful to find silver and gold, you are bound to be disappointed if you are not out there for reasons beyond financial success. As stated previously in the introduction, Team ATC rarely sells or trades anything we find, so we are obviously in this for the love of history, adventure, and the general idea of having fun with friends. If we were in it purely for profit, it would make much more sense to go to the coin store and just buy coins as an investment.
- Archaeological and National Historic Sites
Archaeological dig sites should be left alone. Plain and simple. While most of us have absolutely no interest in intruding on such sites, looting national monuments, or raiding tombs, I am including a mention of it here anyway. These sites have been determined to be of particular historical significance, and should be left to professional archaeologists to study. This includes our national monuments and other highly important and/or ancient sites. While extremely unlikely, there is always a chance that you could stumble onto a potentially significant or important burial site or find. If you run into anything you believe is of serious historical importance, please contact the proper authorities so they can determine how best to handle the site. Many hobbyists have made incredible finds that have contributed to our historical knowledge base, such as the ancient gold hoard found in England a few years back. While there are many differing opinions on what should and should not be considered off limits to hobby detectorists, ranging all the way from nothing to everything, please respect the current laws and sites. Only detect where you have obtained permission to hunt. This will help ensure that detectorists will continue to have access to the practically infinite number of yards, fields, and other sites of lesser importance that will never become archaeological dig sites, and to potentially important sites that would never be discovered without us. Volunteering at archaeological dig sites is another way to contribute in a win-win scenario. While hunting a site with archaeologists in northern Montana, Bones marked a signal which turned out to be a crossed-cannon military hat pin, possibly the most interesting find of the entire project! It would be nice to see more examples like this, where each of the sub-groups of those interested in history are helping each other.
- Coin Cleaning / Coin Scratching
Any coin you believe is extremely rare or potentially valuable should be professionally cleaned, if cleaned at all. Obviously, over 99.9% of the coins we dig up are worth way less than $20, so we are not always as careful as we could be during the excitement of a dig. If we see that we have a wheatie or a rosie, and we know it's not going to be worth a million dollars, we generally don't feel the need to treat it like the crown jewels. You, on the other hand, may treat each of your finds as delicately as you deem necessary. We're just sayin'...
- Running out of Treasure
The so-called "issue" of popularizing the hobby so much that we will begin running out of treasure to dig up is laughable. There are so many objects in the ground that none of us could ever find them all in 100 lifetimes, and they are constantly being replenished. Even as I write this sentence, someone is unknowingly dropping a coin or a gold ring onto a sandy beach. It has been written (no, not by me) that there are more coins in the ground currently than there are in circulation. Do the math. Believe me. You are not going to run out of signals.
- Detector Choice
Garrett/Minelab/Fisher/Whites/etc. There are lots of different and excellent brands of machines that are capable of finding buried objects. There will be no tolerance on our sites for bashing another detectorist for his choice of metal detector brand. (Unless, of course, it's really funny). Team ATC uses a variety of brands and models. Yeah, we're a Garrett dealership, but we don't discriminate (pun intended). We have, and continue to use, several different brands. The guys here in Montana can help you with questions about certain Garrett, Minelab, and White's detectors. For advice on other brands, we recommend you talk to an expert user of that particular brand.
- Planting Coins
The answer is no. We do not plant stuff. Everything shown in the TV show, videos, and books was really found by someone in Team ATC. In our EMD DVD series, we sometimes take a peek before grabbing the camera to make sure we have something worth filming, but we never stage finds. Anyone who buys coins and claims they dug them up is starved for attention and needs to find something else to do. If we were planting coins, I would have "found" a gold coin or ten by now! K.G., Bones, T.O., and Ringy. None of us have a gold coin yet. We all want one, but we're not pathetic enough to plant one and fake it. We tell people on camera in the EMD series all the time, "I saw part of this and I think I know what it is" It's real life. Sometimes the batteries run out, or we forget to bring a camera altogether. It is what it is.
- ATC (Anaconda Treasure Company) Lingo
Juice, Nectar, Ster, Roundness, Civ, Rev, Richard, V, G, Tweazable G, Jugable Nug, MQ, HV, Toke, Pennish Hue, Nick in the Pock, Boer Wars, etc. The list goes on. It's ATC lingo. It's our own language. It's how we talk because it's pretty funny sometimes. People that "get it" from all over the world have sent us gaggles of home videos and emails that use and contribute to our ever-evolving "ATC Dictionary". We love it! Even better, we've had countless laughs watching everyone else get all worked up into a snit over it. Seriously, dude... a sense of humor and an appreciation for history are not mutually exclusive in ATC Land. In fact, I'd be willing to venture that most ATC members appreciate the unearthing and historical significance of day to day finds as much or more than any of the tightly-buttoned office stiffs complaining about our vernacular. No one says you have to use or like this lingo. They are just words, acronyms, and phrases just like other "real" words. All words, including those in the ATC universe, were created by humans. And yes, although there is some anthropological doubt, we here at ATC, are also human beings. Therefore, get on board or stay on shore and get left behind in Boring World. (From now on, that will be "BW" in ATC-speak.)
- ATC (Anaconda Treasure Company) Facebook Postings:
Just a quick note about our Team ATC Facebook page : Team ATC has always been about the positive side of treasure hunting, and it will continue to be that way. Our Facebook page is not intended to be an open forum for debating issues pertaining to the hobby or for abusive language. There are thousands of other websites and forums suited for those kinds of posts, and you are welcome to post there if you wish. Negative or offensive posts on our sites will be deleted. Simple as that. We want kids and everyone else to feel welcome on our pages. It is a place to share and discuss interesting treasure hunting photos, stories, and adventures. If you want to discuss or debate a legitimate concern, please email us directly and state your concerns politely and concisely. If we are able, we'll address it on this designated page and/or you can post it on some other forum suited for debate. On a related note, please do not post links to unrelated advertising of products without our permission. They will also likely be deleted.
- Summary
Treasure hunting is a great recreational sport that should be enjoyed by anyone that wishes to participate. It should make you feel like a kid again - like you are on that cliched quest for buried pirate treasure. The detecting experience should be shared by friends, talked about, and laughed about. In doing so, respecting private property and obtaining permission will go a long way to keeping sites open for detectorists. As Patrick Swayze said in Roadhouse - "Be nice". Has it ever occurred to anyone to just be nice to people? Ask permission, clean up trash in the parks you hunt, even if it's not yours. Close the gate. Help an old lady across the street. Just be a decent person. It will go a long way to getting you into some private, awesome spots. Sure, the world is full of grouches and mean old geezers that will slam the door in your face, but there are also some good people that realize that they will never go to the effort of detecting a yard themselves, so they'll give you the go-ahead. It can sometimes even be fun and interesting to the homeowners as well. If you're not careful, you might even make some friends.
Happy hunting from all of us here at ATC (Anaconda Treasure Company) .
