Dan and I purchased two fairly inexpensive metal detectors about eight or ten years ago, sure that great wealth in old coins was in our future. I even subscribed to a metal detecting magazine which featured wonderful finds by amateurs.
We never got around to spending much time at it. There are several problems with metal detecting. One, permission. Certainly it is right that permission must be granted before walking over private land, but it takes time to find agreeable owners. Second, since we do not have expensive models, we find a lot of pop top tabs, bottle caps, and nails when we do get out.
No permission is needed for public land, so last Saturday Aaron, Adam and I set off for the swimming beach at Clinton Lake with new batteries in our dusty metal detectors.
Our hopes soar when Aaron finds a quarter right after we get out of the car. In the end, that quarter is all the money we find, even though we end up with a treasure trove of metal.
The beach itself yields the usual trash. Aaron decides to wonder off the beach and around a curve. The water is down significantly right now so there was quite an area where water usually covers. In that exposed area is where our metal treasures were detected. I think it must have been an old farmstead from the evidence of concrete laying about. We found pottery chards, metal connectors for horse harnesses, and other old pieces.
Probably none is really worth anything, but all three of us were excited to actually find something old. All the grandkids will be here during the Thanksgiving Holiday. I’m trying to think of a place we can go treasure hunting again. Has anyone done much of this? Any suggestions?
