Ron Kamrowski has written this book to share the experiences of using a metal detector. Most writings of this nature deal with the workings of a metal detector, this work contains actual events to explain that there are literally millions of places to search. Untouched areas abound in the United States where history, although only dating a few centuries, can be discovered in your own backyard.

Metal Detecting: Learning How the Easy Way!

By Ronald J. Kamrowski

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2011 Ronald J. Kamrowski
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4567-4219-5

Contents

Chapter 1 Where to start?..........................................................Pg.6Chapter 2 New Places...............................................................Pg.9Chapter 3 The First Published Article-Right From the Start.........................Pg.13Chapter 4 You Never Know What You Will Find........................................Pg.16Chapter 5 The "New Machine-Pickwick Pickin's.......................................Pg.20Chapter 6 The First Barber Coin....................................................Pg.25Chapter 7 Pickwick, MN and Displaying Those Great Coins............................Pg.28Chapter 8 Iron and More............................................................Pg. 34Chapter 9 "Time To Team Up!".......................................................Pg. 39Chapter 10 Old School Sites........................................................Pg. 43Chapter 11 Lost Rings..............................................................Pg.46Chapter 12 More Coins To Be Found..................................................Pg.53Chapter 13 Rings and Things........................................................Pg.57Chapter 14 Internet Help...........................................................Pg.64Chapter 15 "It Was Worth It!"......................................................Pg.72Chapter 16 Vital Information About The Hobby.......................................Pg.76Chapter 17 Gold And Silver Conversion Charts-What Is It Worth?.....................Pg.88Chapter 18 Meeting Others In The Hobby.............................................Pg.91Chapter 19 More Outings And More Coins.............................................Pg.97Chapter 20 Guest Opinion...........................................................Pg.100Chapter 21 A Series Of Published Articles..........................................Pg.102Chapter 22 Looks Can Be Deceiving..................................................Pg.152Chapter 23 Lazy Days Of Summer-Detecting In Spare Time.............................Pg.156Chapter 24 Big Silver..............................................................Pg.160Chapter 25 More Lost Wedding Rings.................................................Pg.164

Chapter One

Where to start?

Comments from my family and friends have given me the encouragement to write this with the hope of giving you an idea of what it is like to get started in the hobby of metal detecting. Unlike other great books and magazines, this writing has the intention of sharing with you the items that are found with a metal detector, not the inner workings of the detector itself. I hope that you read between the lines, because whether you want them or not, there are helpful hints that I'm sure you will find useful when starting in this hobby. Close friends and relatives enjoy hearing about and reading the articles I've written for magazines, so I will pass on these experiences to you. These are actual events similar to what you will have almost every time you take a metal detector out to find buried objects of long ago. These "short stories" are not made up and have happened to me since I've started detecting in the spring of 1995. The earlier adventures may be a little "fuzzy" to say the least because I've started writing this in December of 2000.

It is hard to say when the detecting "bug" got me, probably when I married my wife Nancy and met my father-in-law, Bill McNelly, to whom this writing is dedicated. He was the biggest influence in my start with the hobby. He had been detecting for a number of years, starting with those detector "kits" that he basically built on his own. He showed me some of the equipment that he had made, detectors for underwater, different types of gadgets that he invented for all types of specialized uses. The rings and jewelry were my favorite things to look at, he found lots of coins but those were carefully put in holders and then put in a special place. The rings were found when some dredging was being done at a small beach near his home. Bill said it was an unbelievable experience to find so many rings in such a short period of time. There were High School class rings, wedding rings, and etc. all in a display that he kept near his special chair in the living room area. This small display caught my eye every time I passed by and I often wondered if I could find similar items where I live. Keep this in mind when you are driving about. There happens to be some dredging going on in my area now and it could be an interesting area to detect. There were literally tons and acres of dredged materials taken from the bottom of a lake near the area where I live. This in turn was scattered about for landfill and building purposes. I can imagine hundreds of coins, rings, and other types of valuables that are being pushed around by bulldozers at that site.

I asked Bill the usual questions and it was interesting to hear the stories of how he found valuables virtually on top of the sand. The "kits" that he used didn't have much for depth and I know because I purchased one from him. I lost a set of car keys in my yard and thought that armed with a metal detector; it would be easy to locate them. I knew that they would be on top of the ground and that I shouldn't even have to dig a hole. If nothing else, it would force me to cover the area thoroughly. No luck with the keys, but I ended up digging some holes because the machine beeped a few times. Darn nails! Oh well, it's a start! The keys ended up in the car buried in the seat. I chalk this up to experience and packed the detector away. I did try it a few more times but found the usual junk.

This happened back in the 1980's and the "detector" stayed hidden for quite some time - 10 years or so. In that time my family moved to a new house on a location that had an old foundation on it. In fact when we dug the basement for our present house we hit the old one that had been buried over the years.

In the spring of 1995, the urge hit me and I picked up a few copies of treasure magazines that were in a local bookstore. I was fascinated with the articles and the treasures found by the "seasoned" detectorists. I asked Nancy if we could buy one of the fancy machines that were advertised. I wrote a few letters requesting information from the top manufacturers and dealers. The material seemed to take forever to get to me, but when it finally arrived, I looked through it for a couple of days.

I then called some of the dealers in the area using the phone numbers in the ads and requested price lists. With this new information about the machines, we budgeted for low cost equipment and in a few days; I was ready to order my new machine. The "White's Classic III Plus" is what the dealer recommended; it was in the right price range and had the options he suggested that would be beneficial to me. It took three days to get to my home and when it finally arrived, I was ecstatic. When the box was opened, it didn't look like much; the special optional accessories were a digging tool, pouch, earphones and a few books on the hobby. I read through the owner's manual and practiced with the new toy on the living room floor with a couple of coins, rings, etc. to get a feel of the equipment.

The grass was green in the front yard and that was the next step. The Classic is a simple machine with only 2 knobs to worry about. Just turn the knobs to the "Preset" positions on the control box and start swinging!! Sure sounds simple, huh?? Well, after digging a few dozen pieces of tin cans and farm equipment, I realized that it wasn't going to be that easy! I had to really listen to the machine, "soft" signals, clicks, and different types of beeps all meant different things. The White's Classic is a good starter machine; it's reasonably priced, lightweight, and easy to use. I spent quite some time in my yard getting to know the signals, and yes I did find some coins. I forced myself to dig all types of different sounds in my headphones and was taken by surprise when I dug a signal at about 6 inches deep to find a 1918d wheat cent! What a day! I had found other coins from the 1970's, but to find a coin that was so old ... I had to quit for the day!!

This one find really got me going, I was detecting almost every day and had found quite a pile of iron and bits of tin. The routine got quite old after a while and I had to try some other places. I called my Mom; she said that I could detect in her yard where at one time there was an old house and where Indians camped in the back yard overlooking the man-made lake. I had to get there as soon as possible and check out the place. I started in the front yard near the sidewalk and I started finding some rusty bottle caps, pull-tabs and COINS! A couple of Wheat cents and then - a silver quarter - 1953d!!

Now things were going the way it should!! Right in front of my Mom's house buried in the ground were silver coins - UNBELIEVABLE!!!! I went on and just a few feet farther, dug another silver quarter - this was another first - a 1969 Canadian. All this was too much for me to handle, this hobby had me hook, line, and sinker!! I went back a couple more times finding a silver dime and some wheat cents, but there were a lot of rusted bottle caps that gave the same sounds and readings as the coins. This added to some of the frustration that was to come later in my expeditions. On one hunt in Mom's backyard, I dug a 1936-quarter then filled the hole and packed down the sod. Upon running the search coil over the same area, there was another signal, reopening the hole revealed two Wheat cents. This is what is known as a "multiple" recovery and was an important lesson for me - ALWAYS recheck your hole, multiple finds are common in the metal detecting hobby. Keep in mind that I spent a lot of time detecting before good things like this happened, you must get to understand your machine, and learn to accept disappointment when finding the bits and pieces of rusted trash that is inevitable.

Chapter Two

New places

By this time I had to find new places to search. Reading those magazines gave me encouragement and each day driving to and from work revealed another possible location. Passing a couple of parks and homes on the drive made me think of how old these places actually were, they dated back to the mid 1800's and had to have some good stuff in the ground. I started asking myself questions like - How about the parks in Winona? How about this house or that one? That yard has some big trees in it and I bet there's a lot of old stuff there! Literally hundreds of places came to mind, but the courage to ask for permission didn't come until later.

I got enough nerve to call the Park Recreation Department in Winona. I simply asked if metal detecting was allowed in the parks and the answer was yes, as long as I took care to cover all holes and pick up trash. The first outing in the park was really memorable. Pull-tabs, bottle caps, tin cans, tinfoil, and tons of junk are scattered throughout the grounds. The older the park is the more trash that is available for you to dig up. Some detectorists really go all out to dig all targets in these areas; I have yet to try this method although I have dug a lot of trash just to see what is there. I also found out that these parks have been hard hit over the past years. I kept telling myself that "I'm better than they are!!" Not only that but I'm really stubborn!

There is an old park in the center of Winona that I decided to try and I found a lot of clad coins. "Clad" meaning coins dating after 1964 and not made of 90% silver. Searching around the blacktop basketball court, there seemed to be a lot of nickels in the area. Working the "graveyard" shift gave me time in the early morning to go detecting before people started coming to the area. By 8 AM, I had found a small handful of coins; the day was sunny and warm so the children were coming in early. The first two kids came over on bicycles and asked questions about what I was finding. I received a signal that I was sure was a nickel and digging the hole proved that a nickel was indeed lost and found. The youngest child asked to see the coin and then asked if he could have it. Oh well, easy come, easy go, I gave it to him. Then the other kid wanted a nickel too! I reached into my finds, pulled out another nickel and gave it away also. Kids started coming out of nowhere!! Some on bikes, some came with their parents, some came with their baby-sitters, etc., it was a park and the weather was great so they were enjoying the day. At one time I think I had 6 children around me with their hands in the holes pulling out coins. Of course I had to give each child a coin, word spread and soon kids were coming over and not even watching me detect. They would simply come over and ask for a coin!

Trying to keep the detector moving with all the kids around my search pattern wasn't easy either. Several times I had to stop and tell one of them to move their feet to allow me to search. I don't know what it is that keeps a child's foot stationary when they know that you are moving in a manner towards where they are standing, I think that they want to see if the detector will sound off over their feet to detect their presence. I had to stop in mid-swing to ask them to please move, eventually some of the others would shove them out of the way, but it gets down right pesky after a while.

Going in ever widening circles around the basketball court, I finally found a target that had a quiet, soft tone that was repeatable in several directions. From experience, I knew that it was a deep target. I dug the hole and there were several hands in it before I could determine if the target was still in the hole or not. The soil was sandy and the kids could sift the sand through their fingers to find the coin. A Wheat cent came out of the hole and of course the kids wanted to keep the different type of coin. Rechecking the hole there was another signal and another cent. The boy who pulled this one out said that this one was a Canadian because he had seen some that his father had. Immediately I said that I saved all of the Wheat and Canadian cents for my own collection and was reluctantly handed the coins. I checked the hole again to receive yet another signal. This one was again a Wheat cent and there was no question about who got this coin. I kept these coins separate from the other clad variety to keep them from scratching and rubbing against each other. There still was another signal coming from the hole!! I had to open up the hole a little wider, but could not find the object. Sometimes this happens when you dig some of those deeper targets, you simply cannot find what is in the hole. Whether this is mineral content, a piece of metal that is buried real deep, or perhaps some smaller object that you simply can't see, who knows? There will be more discussion later in this book as I've discovered some ways to find these "objects".

I decided to call it a day after these finds, after all I had worked for 8 hours on the third shift and still had to get some sleep for the next night, it was already about noon. The kids hated to see me go because it was their entertainment for the day, but I was tuckered out! Getting home and cleaning my finds, the so-called Canadian coin turned out to be an 1891 Indian Head cent! Another first! The other Wheat cents were a 1920d and a 1919, I sure was glad I saved these from the clutches of the kids. Now something really was nagging me about the signal remaining in the hole and I made the trip back to the park the next morning. I found the hole easily because the sandy soil had made a mess from the kids sifting it through their fingers. Sure enough the signal was still there. I reopened it and this time really made a "bell-shaped" opening underground. At last, no signal in the hole but there was a signal in the removed soil. I searched carefully and found the coin, this time it was a 1916d Buffalo nickel!! Two great finds in one hole on two different days, not many can top that one.

Doing some research on the parks here has paid off; you must remember that not all parks were always parks and that not all homes were always home sites. The parks here have been available since the late 1800's. This encouraged me and made me realize that I could always have a place to detect. The County Historical Society is a wealth of information on festivals, parks, old home sites, celebrations, etc. Now I had to figure out more about the detector that I was using. The thing about the White's Classic was the ease of operation. I believe that this is why I started with this machine; there were 2 knobs and 2 toggle switches - that's it.

When you buy a metal detector, regardless of the brand, expense, or style, don't be afraid to play with the dials. You must remember that the factory sets the machine to enable it to detect in extreme conditions. If you live where those conditions do NOT exist, you can adjust accordingly to suit your area. I read and then reread the instruction manual to learn the ins and outs of the few knobs and switches on the control box. After reading the instructions for about the third time, I decided to adjust the ground balance screw on the inside of the unit. I took the machine out into the yard along with the instruction book in the other hand, and managed to balance it reasonably well. That was fine as long as I stayed in my yard. I took the machine to a local beach on the Mississippi River and had no depth at all. I couldn't find much of anything beyond a couple of inches. I was frustrated and discouraged. Upon getting home I tried the machine in the yard again and it worked great!! I learned two lessons that day:

Lesson #1 - don't go detecting without the proper tools to make the necessary adjustments to your machine. Take the owners manual with you if you don't know the machine adjustments by heart. Take the hardware needed to make your adjustments. A screwdriver and small pliers are items that I added to my arsenal of equipment to take along to the site to detect.

Lesson #2 - perhaps most importantly, ground is different when you have a machine that has manual ground balance. Some machines have automatic ground balance and even with this option, I would re-balance occasionally. This ensures you the maximum balance needed for depth. Wet, mineralized, salty, whatever the conditions of the soil, ground balance your machine before you start swinging the coil.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Metal Detecting: Learning How the Easy Way!by Ronald J. Kamrowski Copyright © 2011 by Ronald J. Kamrowski. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.