The metal detectorists in other parts of the world sure seem to have all the luck.   The Europeans can find Roman coins in almost any farm or field.  Chinese and Russian coins from Asia date back thousands of years.  The Middle East section of Africa is full of finds from the beginning of civilization as we know it.    

 

If you are metal detecting in the United States of America, you just might feel left out from time to time.

 

However, that is not always the case.  There have been some amazing finds here in the US.  Swords and rifles from the Civil and Revolutionary Wars.  Viking treasure that proved Columbus was not the first outsider to land here.  Gold nuggets the size of footballs.  While you may feel left out from all the fun they are having on the other side of the globe, fret not, there are great things under our feet to be found still

 

You just need to know where to look...

 

BEACHES

This beach find could very well be on the top 10 list for oldest coins ever found in the United States.  How it got here is anybody's guess.  The coin from Parthia dates to 120 - 80 BC.  While that is well after Cyrus and Alexander the great ruled the territory, it is still extremely old by metal detecting standards.  

 

According to TreasureNet forum user waseeker,  it was found on a beach 12 miles west of Portland Oregon.   

 

Used with permission.  Fair Use and CC 2.0 guidelines.  

 

UNDERWATER

Weighing in at 600 tons with 24 cannons ready to fire, the Santa Margarita was a Spanish galleon that sailed off the coast of Florida in 1622.  It carried over 10000 pounds of silver and 560 pounds of gold.  Spain eagerly awaited the return of the Santa Margarita, and the fleet she sailed with.  They need the treasure each ship carried to help keep their place as a world power.  It was not to be however, hard storms hit the fleet before they even left the New World.  The Santa Margarita and 5 other ships in the fleet broke apart and sunk off the Marquesas Keys in the Florida Straits.  

 

Almost 400 years later in 2008, a treasure diver named Mike DeMar decided to take his metal detector down there for an adventure.  He came back to the surface with a solid gold chalice worth 1 million dollars.  

 

Fair use for educational purposes.  CC 2.0 guidelines

 

OLD PARKS AND SCHOOLS

Many parks and schools in the United States have been around since the 1800’s.  Tear down the old school, build another right on top of it.  This means the grassy areas surrounding them have some great history and drops.   Great news for us detectorists.  

 

In Colorado, a friend of mine has pulled over 120 silver coins from one park alone.  An astounding number that I was always envious of.  However, a few months later I got a bit of bragging rights myself.  I pulled a 1850’s French Centime out of a nearby park.  About the size of a half dollar and a mere 2 inches below the surface, we had both passed it up a half dozen times in our earlier visits there.  A few weeks before that, a Model T valve stem cap just a few feet over.  I love parks and schools a consider them my personal favorites for detecting.  The older the better obviously.

 

My 1850’s French Dix Centime

 

PRIVATE PROPERTY

According to most metal detectorists, the best finds can come from private property permissions.  Key word there is permission of course.  Trespassing is not allowed.  

 

Many properties have been passed down from generation to generation.  The finds there can date back to colonial times if you are on the eastern coast of the country.  1600’s finds are not common - but not unheard of either.

 

Many Civil and Revolutionary Wars battles were fought on a grassy area that now sits as a backyard to somebody's house.  Ask nicely, and you just may get permission to hunt it.  Make sure to leave it in pristine condition - and always offer something you found to the homeowner.  You just might be invited back.  

 

GOLD CLAIMS

Like private property above, you must have permission to hunt on a gold claim.  Metal detecting a gold claim that is not yours will break the law and make you a claim jumper.  I might as well mention this is the hardest metal detecting there is.  Some spend thousands of dollars on equipment to never find a speck.  Others get lucky and strike it rich their first day out.  Gold is almost always associated with the worst soil you can imagine.  Steep rocky hills and a hot beating sun are usually the norm.   Many give it up after their first day out.   

 

Gold nuggets the size of peas to baseballs are not out of the realm of possible however.  Your best bet is to join a gold prospecting club like the GPAA.  They have hundreds of claims across the United States that you can visit for your gold detecting fix.  

 

These are just a few examples of great places to hunt in the United States.  Obviously some historic battlefields and sites are off-limits.  So are the National Parks.   However, with a little research and a little luck, you just may dig up the find of a lifetime here in the USA.  

 

Hope you enjoyed the blog.  TheHunterGT signing off - I will see you - on the next blog.