When Did You Start MDing?

I started detecting for nuggets back in the early 80's ,,I have since upgraded machines a few times and now use a machine I bought over ten years ago ,,but it gets the job done .Whites Eagle Spectrum .

Mostly into coin shooting now ,, I get out as often as I can .

Metalman

Casey - Roman coins? That sounds awesome! By old I meant late 1800's to early 1900's, not 2000 years old, but that still qualifies ...

Metalman - does 'coin shooting' mean specifically looking for coins?

nohope - I have seen some of your finds on here. I really enjoy seeing what you, as well as anybody else, pulls out of the ground. It seems like you're the best at posting though so keep it up!

Thanks to all who replied ...

CP...Roman coins are very common over here if you live in the right part of the country. Where I live now in North Wales there are not so many so I have to go to the outskirts of Chester ( Roman town of DEVA ) if I hope to find any. I've actually found a few coins even older, from the Celtic period though I no longer have those in my possession. Roman brooches are another common find.

A Roman Well sounds interesting. The Romans used to throw coins into water, especially at fords, wells & gathering points so you might well find something amongst 2000 years of mud & muck. This is where we get our tradition of throwing coins into wishing wells for good luck etc. The roads you talk about pre-date the Roman era & go back to ancient British times so you stand a chance of finding Celtic there as well.

CP, I have a few of the rings, religious medals, gold chains, and one sharp-shooters medal, left over from when I did a little Detecting. I always went after "wharever comes out"! It has never been the "What" so much as the "finding". The thrill of the hunt. Same thing when prospecting for gold, and finding "pickers", or just "Sweeping the feeders" in the desert, and other areas. Running the concentrates thru the dry-washer, and finding the "yellow iron", as the indians used to call it. My first detector was a Whites "Treasure Hunter", (I believe). Could have been the "treasure finder". It had tubes, and large "dry batteries". It was used in the US, and Mexico. Same results in both cases. Not much of anything. I will admit, there was a lot less tin foil in Mexico. It was Treasure hunting, that got me into coin collecting. World coins, Mexican coinage, and after I retired, US coinage. Buying "lots, and collections" on ebay. I guess I have 90% of the "culls" that have been sold there! So there is hope for you! I don't buy any more, (from ebay).Metal detecting is not "an old mans hobby" There are a few "old ladys", swinging the "loop", also! This hobby is for all ages, and good exercise. Just remember, IF YOU DIG A HOLE, FILL THE HOLE"!!! That way, if you are in private property, (with owners permission), then you likely will be able to return. Besides, if you fall in one of your holes and break your leg, WHO are you going to blame?
Happy hunting!
Dick

Bump!

CP, at first I was in disagreement with your assessment of the age of treasure hunters. But then ... this morning I wandered down to the grade school a block away and spent the morning digging a lot of junk ... and three pennies, one right on top of the ground in plain sight.

Then I realized what you were trying to say.

Kids don't regard anything less than a quarter as money; in my school they throw coins at each other and never bother to pick them up (but guess who does?). When I leave the building via the front door to go home in the evening, I make sure that I scan the ground on either side of the sidewalk ... and almost every day I can pick up not only coins but pens, pencils, keys, etc. That should tell you what value today's kids place on useful but common objects like coins and pencils.

So when I picked up that cent that was in plain view, near a jungle gym and in a high-traffic area, I knew that it had been seen by a goodly number of kids, and not a one of them bothered to pick it up. It took an old codger like me to bend down and drop it into my bucket.

Frankly, I probably did a lot more good picking up trash (including a 40-ouncer, an empty cigarette pack, and a Rolling Rock bottle, and a handful of sharp, rusty nails and junk) than by bringing away ... three pennies from the school playground. I also learned not to bother to hunt in ground-up wood chips placed under playground equipment; after digging in a few spots under a set of swings, I realized that the wood was full of such small pieces of metal that I couldn't readily see it. I thought I really had a honey hole for awhile!

CP, I don't know how old you have to be to enjoy MD'ing. You tell me. But unless you get a kick out of digging up pennies and dropping trash into the school dumpster, I bet you're not old enough yet!

I'm 39 years old.......got plenty of family who've been M.D. hunting for decades and decades....Grandpa and Dad mainly though.....always had the interest through them.....and now I have my own. (i have my grandpa's old M.D. too.....)
Since I've purchased a White M.D. late last fall......I've only been out I think about 3 times. And so far THIS YEAR, I keep forgetting that I have one in my closet ! Ha Ha LoL ....
I have only found rifle casings......a copper pipe.....and metal trash...
Yes, I got the "medium priced White" metal detetector that has the functions to eliminate metal trash......but it still "Beeps" on it....so I guess I'll just have to dig up EVERYTHING it beeps on....no prob !!
Soon as I get time........I definately plan to give it the ole' college try again !!.......I'll settle for a 2006 Lincoln Cent or a HSN ear ring.......ANYTHING !...

I actually started in August of 2007. When my wife passed in 1995 I had to spend almost all my time raising my two daughters. They are now grown and I have nothing but time now. I started just to get me out of the house and now I can't get enough of it. My oldest daughter thinks I spend too much time MDing. She thinks I need too spend more time looking for a female companion. I totally disagree.