Incredible Metal Detecting Discoveries: True Stories of Amazing Treasures Found by Everyday People

by Smith, Mark D

  I decided to take my son on a real adventure. He loves to explore, so I asked him if he wanted to metal detect an old island, one that had most likely never been detected. He only had one thing to say, “When?”

  We left that day. We had to take a boat to get to the island, and at the front of the island was a small exposed beach. This would be the place to check first. People frequent the island, and they are always right on this small strip of beach.

  We hit the beach and started getting signals immediately. They were only 1-2 feet apart, and some were within inches of each other. We were finding a lot of fishing tackle, and a lot of older clad coins. We were also finding some really interesting things that we could not identify. They were small discs that looked like they could be really old coins.

  We both glanced at these things, threw them in our stash, and kept hunting. It had already been a couple of hours, and we were almost done with this tiny stretch of beach. It was hard to believe that two hours had already gone by.

  I got a big signal, and I mean big as in size. It sounded like a can. It was too big to be anything else. I told my son, “Hey, there is a big target here, but I would just leave it. It is a can.”

  He grabbed the scoop, and started digging. I shook my head and started searching the beach again. A few seconds later I hear him scream. It was a good scream. I turn around and he yells dad, “It is a huge sniper bullet.” In his hands was an unfired .50 caliber round. It was huge, and I thought to myself, “Could he have possibly fired this thing if he hit it with the scoop just right?” I suddenly did not want him to dig any more targets.

  He was holding a very old .50 caliber bullet, and he was thrilled. He looked at me and said, “Good thing I decided to dig up that can, huh dad?” Smart-ass! This was one of mine, and one of his best finds. Here is a picture of that old shell.

  On that day I learned a couple of very valuable things.

  There is live ammo out there.

  Never assume a target is garbage until you dig it up.

  I have since made even more great memories treasure hunting with my son. My daughter has now caught the treasure hunting bug and she is always eager to go out for a hunt.

  Boom Boom!

  There have been so many wars and battles on our planet that many metal detecting enthusiasts actively seek out old war relics. These types of relics can be easy targets because they are so abundant, but these are not the types of treasure that most kids actively search for. In fact, most kids don't know war relics when they see them. Such is the case with these two amazing finds!

  7 Year old Sonny Carter from King's Lynn was busy opening his morning Christmas presents. To his surprise, one of them happened to be a metal detector. Sonny's parents thought he would be finding some spare change here and there, but they had no idea what he would come home with on his very first outing.

  Sonny and his older brother Marley decided to try the metal detector in their garden. It did not take them long to locate their first target. Eagerly, the two boys started digging up what they thought was a treasure chest full of gold. What they got instead was a large mud covered rusty piece of iron.

  The two boys took their prized find inside to show their dad Jem. The excitement of the find spread through the house like a wild brush fire. Jem started cleaning the mud away from the find. Within a few seconds, Jem knew that what he was holding in his bare hands was not made from gold. It was an old World War II era bomb. Jem quickly phoned the authorities.

  The authorities told Jem to place the bomb in a bucket of water. Because of their location, the authorities were concerned that they may have uncovered an old German phosphorous bomb. These bombs were nasty business and they were designed to detonate when they dried out. One phosphorous bomb would release a white hot wall of flame. Maybe this story should have been under the frightening section of this book?

  The police and the bomb squad showed up at the house to take care of the bomb. As it turns out, the bomb was not armed. It was simply a practice bomb that was used for training purposes. Needless to say, I think I would have needed to change my pants if my son walked in the door with an old World War II bomb.

  A couple of kids in Folkestone England had a similar experience in January of 2014. Kane Byrne and his buddy Alex Taylor were busy exploring on their day off from school. They were outside looking for buried treasures with a metal detector.

  They unearthed what looked like a large metal bottle of some sort. The two boys brought their find home and gave it a good cleaning. They still had no idea what they had found, but they decided to go back and look for more.

  To their surprise, there was another large metal looking bottle object buried right next to the first one. Once again the two boys brought the item home and immediately went to work cleaning it.

  Kayne was eager to show his father what he and Alex had uncovered. Kayne's father Karl tried not to panic when he realized that the two boys had unearthed two World War II anti tank shells. If these shells detonated, nothing in a 6 foot radius would remain but smoldering ashes.

  This is where this particular story differs from the first. These two World War II shells were not practice shells. They were actual live shells that could have exploded at any minute. Maybe this story should have been located under the frightening section as well. Luckily no one was hurt. The two shells were disarmed by the local police and the bomb squad.

  Civil War Relic History Lesson

  Seven year old Lucas Hall from Clarke County Virginia has decided to show us all up by making an amazing find within his first week of metal detecting. It seems young Lucas became very interested in metal detecting after speaking with a neighbor who was a seasoned relic hunter. His neighbor was even nice enough to give Lucas a few choice Civil War bullets. That was it. Lucas was hooked before he even got a chance to swing a coil.

  When his 7th birthday rolled around, what do you think young Lucas asked for? He did not ask for an Xbox. He wanted a metal detector. His parents made his dream come true by giving Lucas a Garret Ace 150 and it didn't take Lucas long to start recovering some of his own relics.

  Lucas, along with his sister and his father set out to find some real Civil War treasures on private property. The area surrounding Lucas's home is rich in Civil War history. There were six epic battles in his hometown alone. It did not take them long to start locating plenty of relics. Some of the relics were quite obvious, while others were not. Lucas held on to all of them.

  One Saturday afternoon, Lucas and his dad set off on 4 wheelers looking for a new place to hunt. Lucas saw a spot that looked good to him and they started hunting. It did not take Lucas long to locate a good sized target in the ground. His dad told him that because of the size, it was most likely an old fence post or something.

  Lucas was determined and he kept digging. Together the two of them unearthed a once in a lifetime Civil War relic. It was a Civil War sabre! Lucas and his father could not have been happier with their new discovery.

  Lucas and his older sister are both homeschooled. His mother has created history lessons from all of their finds. On a recent trip to a Civil War museum, Lucas and his sister were able to identify some more of the items they uncovered. Each item has taught them a little piece of history. Now Lucas and his sister are learning from every single relic they recover.

  It did not take long for news of the great Civil War sabre find to spread. Garrett, the company who manufactures the machine young Lucas was using caught wind of the find. They sent him a new metal detector that was a step up from his current one. Lucas plans on giving his old metal detector to his sister so the two of them can hunt together.

  This is one great metal detecting story that has taught valuable history lessons and brought the entire family together. Congratulations Lucas. You deserve it.

  Space Treasure

  There are different types of treasure out there. Some of us eagerly look for old coins. Some of us get bitten by the gold bug. Some of us look for old relics t
hat help rewrite history and some of us hunt for space treasure. This space treasure comes in the form of meteorites. Some scientists even believe this is how gold arrived on our planet, in the form of meteorites.

  Meteorite hunting, just like any other form of metal detecting can become quite addictive. How often do you get to hold a 10,000 year old rock from outer space in your hands? For most of us this opportunity never arrives, but that was not the case for Jansen Lyons.

  Jansen, a 13 year old homeschooled boy became very interested in meteorites after reading a book that explained them in great detail. The book captured his imagination and he started examining every single rock he could get his hands on.

  Seeing his determination, Jansen's grandfather designed and built the boy a metal detector. You read that right. His grandfather did not go out to the store and purchase a metal detector. He built his own for his grandson. How cool is that?

  Jansen quickly went to work using his homemade metal detector and in September of 2011 he came across what he thought was a two pound hunk of space treasure. The only problem was that Jansen had no way of identifying or authenticating his find. It sat in his room for a year before he got scientific proof.

  Jansen and his mother learned that the University of New Mexico had a museum of meteorites, but the museum was closed for months while a new security system was being installed. It seems that someone broke into the museum and stole a very high profile meteorite that was worth a large sum of money. Go figure. Thieves are everywhere.

  Once the museum reopened, Jansen and his mother were granted a private tour. Jansen brought his space rock with him. He was eager to show it off and find out what it was. Their tour guide was convinced Jansen was carrying around a two pound rock. It was nothing special and it definitely was no meteorite.

  Meteorites are very rare, and one of this size has never been found in his home town of Rio Rancho. It could not possibly be anything but your average New Mexico rock, but Jansen insisted that his rock was no ordinary rock.

  Finally, the museum agreed to test his find. It would take the museum a few hours to determine what the rock was so Jansen and his mother went home where they waited for the phone call.

  When the phone rang, the house fell silent while the news was delivered. His ordinary rock was no ordinary rock at all. It was an L6 ordinary chondrite. A rare meteorite and it was over 10,000 years old. Jansen has agreed to put a small sample of his two pound space treasure on display at the New Mexico Museum.

  Jansen's story is not one of beginner's luck, but one of hard work, determination and passion. This is something that every single one of us can learn from.

  Can you believe he found his monster two pound meteorite with a homemade metal detector? It just shows that hard work and determination are well rewarded. Awesome!

  Beginner's Luck

  Jansen Lyons proved that hard work and dedication are always rewarded, but there is such a thing as beginner's luck, and that is exactly what three year old James Hyatt experienced on his very first metal detecting outing with his father. His incredible find has become the envy of many people. Here are the details.

  Sunday, May 17th 2009 was an epic day for young James. James and his father were searching for adventure using an entry level metal detector when the machine gave them a good signal. They were searching a field in Hockley, Essex England.

  The two started to recover the find when the dad saw a glimmer of gold in the bottom of the hole. Their treasure was buried a measly six or eight inches down, but it would turn out to be the find of a lifetime.

  Image courtesy of Portable Antiquities Scheme

  When they finally recovered the treasure, they knew it was gold, but they had no idea the age or value of the item. It would be a year before they found out what they had uncovered.

  They had unearthed a gold pendant from the first half of the 16th century. The front of the pendant was engraved with a picture of a female saint holding a cross. This image is believed to be the Virgin Mary.

  The back of the pendant slides open to reveal a cavity, but it was damaged and could not be opened. It is believed the pendant was designed to hold a religious relic.

  Curators at the British Museum created a special probe and used a microscope to repair and remove the damaged rear lid. It now opens and closes along the grooves cut into the side panel.

  Inside the pendant, researchers found matted root hairs and small outer stems of unprocessed flax. It is believed these were pieces of locally grown flax plants.

  Three sides of the pendant were engraved with the names of the three wise men and the fourth side was engraved with leaves. What a magnificent piece of history. The estimated value of this find is: £2,500,000 or $4,100,000.

  Wouldn't it be great to uncover something like this with your children? There is no reason why you can't. Get out there and have some fun metal detecting with your kids. You could find something even better.

  Incredible Ring Finds

  Sooner or later every person with a metal detector will find a ring. Hopefully it is not a cursed demon ring like the rings of the Thetford Hoard and hopefully is not the demonic ring from The Lord of the Rings movies. My Precious! Although it may be a copy of that infamous ring. I did find one on a playground once. It fit perfectly on my finger and the world went dark when I put it on. Then I noticed the gold plating peeling away from the side and my little daydream was shattered. Oh well, off to the next target.

  Rings are a somewhat common find. Beach hunters are lucky enough to dig up hundreds of them every year. They may be made of platinum, silver or gold and they may be covered in jewels. They may also be nothing but costume jewelry. Either way, finding a ring is a great experience. It doesn't matter if you are waist deep in the water and you get a glint of gold in the bottom of your beach scoop, or if you remove a freshly cut plug and spy a hint of silver peeking out from the dirt. Rings are on the top of the “gotta find” list of almost every single person wildly swinging a metal detector.

  Rings have been used by people for over 6000 years. Most rings are used as symbols. The circle means infinity. It goes on forever and that is why rings are used as a symbol of marriage. They symbolize one person's never ending love for another. Cue the romantic music and dim the lights. Here are some of the most incredible metal detecting ring finds!

  I have been fortunate enough to find several rings on my metal detecting adventures. It is something that I never seem to grow tired of. The next two ring stories are my own personal stories. They are from my book entitled: Metal Detecting the Beach. Enjoy.

  A Big Ring and A UFO

  When Summer rolls around, I prefer to hunt the beach right before the sun goes down and continue after the sun has set. It can be exhilarating to be on the beach on a clear Summer night. A nice breeze to keep things cool, and plenty of things to dig up in the dark.

  I remember one evening in the middle of the Summer when two strange things happened to me. I was walking North along the beach and my plan was to hunt where everyone had parked on my way up the beach, and then when I turned to come back, I would work the low tide line. According to the local weather reports, it was going to be a perfect night.

  By the time I was halfway through my hunt, I had already found two nice gold rings where people had been parking their cars. I was in great spirits and the sun was setting. Soon I would have the beach to myself.

  The sun went down, and the stars lit the sky. It was beautiful. I was getting tired so I decided it was time to turn and head back. I could hit the low tide zone and keep my feet wet.

  I approached the low tide line eagerly, and that's when I saw it. It was a shooting star. I was lucky to see such a good one, and then out of the corner of my eye, it flew back up into the sky. What the heck was that? I had never seen anything like it. There it was again and this time it fell again just below the horizon, and a few seconds later it rose back out of sight. I was baffled, but It looked like I was getting closer to this mysterious object
in the night sky.