Treasure, Gold, Coins - Metal Detectors - What Are We Looking For?

Metal detecting is one of those addictive hobbies. Fortunately, along with treasure hunting for gold, coins and the like, a good spot of exercise is also thrown into the bargain. It's a fascinating hobby, many would say geeky, but it can provide good family entertainment and lots of days out in the fresh air.

So what are metal detectors (or detectorists) looking for? I think the simple answer we can give here is TREASURE.

If you've never got out there with a metal detector, then I suggest you buy or borrow one and you won't look back.  Some tips:

1. Make sure the detector you are using is suitable for the terrain you are searching.  There are waterproof detectors, land/beach detectors and more.

2.  Go for a practice run first, to get the gist of the sounds and what they indicate.  The beach is the perfect place for first timers.

3. Don't completely waste your time.  Research your local area, find places which have been searched little if at all, pay attention to the season and the weather.  Detecting in the rain might seem like a drag but your detector can treasure hunt more deeply in wet weather.  All of these factors will make the experience so much more worthwhile.

4.  Accept that a fair proportion of your finds are going to be plain and simple rubbish.  Keep a bag handy for your rubbish finds, it helps if anyone bothers you as well.

The absolute basics are:

• The metal detector (and headphones if they aren't included)
  
• A small spade for digging
• A piece of material (doubles as a way of collecting any soil you displace, and if you are fortunate, to safely contain the spoils of your trip)

Metal detectors have various settings depending on your treasure "target". In fact, models range from basic to seriously complicated. You want to maximise your chances of finding treasure with your metal detector, but you don't want to pay a fortune for the machine unless you're going to get a lot of use out of it. The reality is you more or less get what you pay for.

Many, many fabulous historical finds have laid hidden for years and then been uncovered via the metal detector - gold, coins, historical artefacts, silver and many non-metal objects which were unearthed as an adjacent lucky find. There are complicated laws about what happens if you do find gold or treasure when metal detecting, but if you find anything (in the UK) you must report it to the police, and your treasure will then be assessed.

So how do you define treasure anyway? Well in England, treasure must be:

• at least 300 years old
• made of at least 10 per cent of a precious metal – gold or silver - if it is not prehistoric.
• made of precious metal in any amount if the object is prehistoric
• coins that are least 10 per cent gold or silver.

Most detectorists are looking for that big find. However, you are not usually entitled to keep your find, it is in fact considered the property of the Queen, but after valuation, the finder is rewarded a share of the assessed value of the treasure, along with the landowner and occupier of the land. The beauty of metal detecting is that even in the event that you don't find a Saxon hoard of gold, you may unearth a little piece of history and that is, I believe, what most people are ultimately looking for.