What got you interested/ started in metal detecting?

Walrus350 said:

Soooooo... do you have an Equinox?
Thanks for sharing!

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Walrus 350: You got a bunch of "memory lane" going among forumites here ! No, don't have an equinox. Got one of the early releases (d/t was on a waiting list from months before they were even released). But after a week's playing around, decided it didn't do anything I couldn't already do. So I floated it on ebay and made a nice $300 profit. Doh!

Fulfilling a life-long dream

When I was a kid I'd always wanted a metal detector, but never got one.

Wanted a metal detector as a young adult, but there were other demands on my money (food, housing, car, backpacking gear …). And I never got one.

Wanted a metal detector as a grown-up, but there were - and still are - even bigger demands on our money (mortgage, insurance, kids, travel, college ...). We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, though.

I've always been into history. I got into the UK TV show "Time Team," which re-ignited my interest in what lies hidden beneath the surface. Then, two or three years ago, came "Detectorists." It's a slippery slope.

Finally, after maybe a year or two of sporadically checking Craigslist, I found an ad for a metal detector that fit the lunch money budget I had. It was even right close by. Destiny. I did some quick research, tried it out, and brought it home.

Ever since, I've been happily swinging away several mornings a week between dropping the kids off and buckling down to work.

For me, it was a combination of things. At recess while in elementary school in
1978, I found $250 under a quarter inch of sand - a kid had been tasked to walk the family's rent money across the playground to the landlord's house, but the kid got distracted and buried the money while he played. In addition to that, I grew up real close to Plymouth, Massachusetts and I have a Bachelor's Degree in American History. All of that combined so I have ALWAYS picked up coins and hardware on the ground, enjoyed finding useful things on the ground, and I constantly remove nails and screws from the roadway. All the while, I incorrectly assumed that a metal detector was a very expensive tool that was out of my budget. It wasn't until February 2018 that a coworker asked me to spend an hour detecting with him. He loaned me a Fisher F2 and I've been hooked ever since.

I used to do a fair amount of surfcasting. Haven't fished since I took up MDing, that was 6 years ago

My in-laws have me an Ace 250 for Christmas four or five years ago. Two years ago I found it in a store room while I was getting out my golf clubs for the season and it was sitting there still in the box. I thought that I would give it a try.

While in Jr. high I saw an ad in the back of a popular Science magazine for a free booklet about Oak island. It also included an ad for a metal detector although I don't remember which one. After I got out of high school I bought my first detector, a Jetco Treasure Hawk. I wasn't impressed but later I found a Fisher 555 at a pawn shop. I have been detecting ever since.

I've always been curious and found things, but metal detecting really started in 1981 for me. I received a Radio Shack detector like this for Christmas and spent many hours finding junk around the old farm property I lived on. Found several old tools, plows, model T Ford parts even a couple silver coins and a pocket watch. Life got in the way and it wasn't until many years later that I caught the detecting bug again. Bought my 2nd detector in 2012 and have been obsessed with treasure hunting ever since. ☻

Pretty interesting trend of people having gaps but still come back to detect.

Mom and Dad were coin collectors and Daddy used to go with a Family friend metal detecting (early/mid 70's). They finally started taking me at 9 or 10 yrs old. I'm 50 now. Started out with one of those neon orange Radio Shack machines. That's all he could afford at the time.

Went to several places in Mexico and searched caves and such in the hillsides. That's all long gone now, even if you still have the contacts down there, it's just too much Cartel activity. Really bad and sad situation.