Since 1982, I've had a detector that I acquired from my Father-in-law. I needed it to find a set of car keys that I lost. Of course, the detector had its share of problems and the biggest problem of all was the user! I didn't find the keys, but I dug tons of nails and other junk, and pretty soon I put the darn thing in a closet. There it stayed until the spring of 1995, when I saw it in a pile of boxes and other odds and ends. Well, I got it out again, and it was the same old story - more nails and junk. However, this time the "bug" got me.

We live along the Mississippi River, and our home is located on land that has been populated since the mid-1800's. The area has a lot of history and plenty of good stuff in the ground. I've lived here for all of my 43 years, and I can't recall seeing anyone swinging a coil in this community. With all that treasure waiting to be found, I just had to do something!

I started by purchasing W&ET from a local bookstore, and read it from cover to cover in a short period of time. After reading it, including all the advertisements, I finally got "permission" from my wife to purchase a new detector. After studying the advertisements and obtaining free literature from a number of dealers and manufacturers, I also carefully re-read articles on how to search junky yards, different areas to hunt, different detecting techniques, how to research, how to gain permission... in short, anything and everything about the hobby. After pondering all this information and how it applied to me, I made an extremely hard decision and purchased a White's Coinmaster 3 plus, with earphones, recovery tools, and books.

This all happend last May 1995, and I managed to get out detecting a couple of times a month during the summer, when it was below 90 degrees and I wasn't working. One day in early September, I stopped in at a local spot for a cold drink and met a friend and neighbor. We began talking about a story she had told me more than a year ago, before I purchased my detector.

She told me again the story of how she had lost a Black Hills gold anniversary ring off her deck, which is located above an open rock wall and a small lawn area. She also told me that she and her husband had looked for hours on their hands and knees for the ring. They had even tried a metal detector, with no luck.

I asked her if I could try using my new detector to help her locate it, and she gladly agreed. One day before work, I stopped at her home and asked her the approximate location of the ring. She then went up on the deck and demonstrated how the loss had occurred. She repeated the story of how they had looked everywhere, and added that they were under the assumption that the ring had bounced into the open rock wall. She then went into the house to let me get at the job.

I switched on the detector and used low discrimination to make sure that I wouldn't miss the ring. Sure enough, after finding only two or three pulltabs, I got the signal I was hoping for! It took all of about ten minutes! I switched off the detector and slowly walked up the stairs to the deck.

She came out and said, "You couldn't have found it already!"

I looked at her and said, "Well, it's going to be really tough. There are pulltabs all over!"

She took one look at my face and knew I had found it! (I can't keep a straight face when I'm kidding around.) I showed her the ring and asked if I had found the right one. The look on her face and the hug was a reward that I'll never forget! She was elated to have the anniversary present back on her finger after almost two years.

When she told me that I could hunt on their property anytime, I said, "How about right now!" I started by finding a cap pistol, which I gave to her young son (with her permission, of course). Then I uncovered an old wire-type bottle opener, which I gave to her husband. After picking up a couple of clad coins by the deck, I then went to the front yard.

Immediately I started finding Wheat cents. I found six of them, dating from 1911 to 1953. On the next signal, out came and 1891-0 Seated Liberty dime in VF condition! This was my best find since I'd bought the detector! It was also my time to be excited!

Following the "old pros'" advice in WE&T has paid off for me, as well as for my friends. In the few times I've been able to go detecting, I've found a lot of "interesting stuff" - coins, rings, buckles, toys (cars, planes, tractors, trucks, whistles, marbles), pocketwatches, keys, etc. The list is ever growing. This may not be too exciting for some of you who've done this sort of thing time and time again, but for this "rookie" it was one exciting summer!