Should I Buy a Metal Detector?

After a long day of work, endless meetings and a constant barrage of emails, I, like anyone else, love to decompress to some brainless trash TV. Lately, I have been watching Oak Island. The show, which is also kid friendly, examines the legend of buried treasure on some island in Nova Scotia. I am only one season four, so no spoilers. What caught my attention though, was when they brought in a metal detector “expert” who has allegedly found hundreds of thousands of dollars in buried treasure over the years. Walking around the property they found items you would expect like nails and other random shit. But, they also found an old coin dating back to the 1800s. That was pretty cool and it brought me back to the late 90s when my Grandfather purchased a metal detector. At the time, we used it to locate some lost arrows from target shooting with bows.

It got me thinking though, it would be pretty cool to set out and explore and look for some treasure with the kids. Which then led me to think: Am I too young to be doing something that seems pretty lame? Is this the type of person I could meet while searching for treasure?

Let’s look at the facts.

Am I kind of a nerd?

No, I am a super nerd.

Do I like to play with kid’s toys?

Yes, in fact a previous blog touched on just that topic.

Do I like treasure?

Yes, who doesn’t?

Do I care what people think about me?

Not really, I post all these stupid blogs that only 3 people read.

Based on the answers above, it would seem I am well on my way to being a treasure hunter. There’s only two remaining questions, cost and location. As I progress into the massively elderly age of my mid-thirties, I am subscribing more to saving money to get the quality product and not buying the cheaper option. So, naturally I went where anyone goes to buy anything: Amazon!

If I want to go cheap, then I could drop $100 and be well on my way. That’s not me. Why risk buying the cheap option and missing a million dollars of gold in the ground? No chance. I have to go quality and I would love for it to be able to tell me what type of metal is down there too. That way I can be picky before making my kids dig for something. CHILL. All kids love digging, that’s a fact. Based on my research, the best brand is clearly Bounty Hunter. I came to this conclusion simply by searching on Amazon and looking for less than two minutes and finding the coolest name. They have a high-end detector that is priced at $275. Problem is… it only comes with the detector. I forgot that during the show, they also had a hand held detector that helped find the object once you started digging. Upon further investigation, I found Garrett product that included the whole bundle! It included both detectors, wireless headphones, and A HAT. I am a huge sucker for a good hat. Price tag? $725.

Now. That is an investment. The coin that they found on the show was only worth $50, which is pretty surprising. If that’s the way things are going to go, I would need to find 15 coins to break even. That doesn’t take into account the cost to drive places and feed the kids (digging and food go hand in hand). Here’s where I start to second guess this idea. $725 is not chump change, at least for me and then I started to think: Where do I go?

A quick google search pulled up Maryland Free-State Treasure club. At first I was excited, who doesn’t like being part of a cool club? The guy on the home page looks pretty cool! Upon further investigation, they have organized hunts, which seems kind of counter productive, because why risk someone else finding treasure? After even more reading, I found that the whole thing is a SHAM. Organizers actually hide coins and stuff and then people compete to find them. I am not here to rain on anyone’s parade, but that is completely ridiculous! I am in no way interested in finding something that someone else buried, while they watch in enjoyment. I do that to my kids every Easter with eggs around the house. It is especially enjoyable when they keep walking past obvious eggs. I am not going to give someone else that satisfaction on my account.

I then jumped over to the Maryland State website. Turns out, on state lands, treasure hunting requires a permit, which requires some scientific or archeological degree or certification. So, you can’t go to state parks. You can’t go to the beach. The club is fake as shit. This leaves my house I guess? No shot. I will have to table this idea until I become rich and famous and buy my own island with a legend of teasure. Maybe then the History Channel will do a “reality” show on me.