Metal Detecting & Relic Hunting
Coins, jewelry, and history — six inches under the grass.
About Metal Detecting & Relic Hunting
Metal detecting is the most accessible form of treasure hunting there is — no boat, no dive cert, no five-figure gear budget. A decent VLF detector runs a few hundred dollars, and productive ground is often closer than you think: old home sites, colonial-era commons, Civil War encampments, Depression-era fairgrounds, and any beach that's been swum at for the last century.
What you find depends heavily on the site's age. Pre-1965 silver coinage still turns up regularly in yards built before the mid-60s. Colonial and Revolutionary-era sites can yield King George coppers, cut Spanish reales, and uniform buttons. Civil War camps still produce dropped Minié balls, buckles, and buttons. And any site with foot traffic since the 1920s reliably gives up class rings, fraternal pins, and pocket watches lost decades ago.
This guide covers the whole arc: picking a detector suited to your target ground, learning discrimination settings that actually matter, and figuring out which soil is worth your time before you swing over it.
Detector Guide — Honest comparisons of entry-level VLF machines (Garrett ACE, Minelab Vanquish, Fisher F22-class) versus pulse induction detectors built for iron-heavy or mineralized soil.
Settings & Techniques — Ground balancing, discrimination, and sensitivity — dialed in for beach sand, clay, and iron-contaminated old home sites, which all behave differently.
Hot Spots — Reading old plat maps and aerial photos to find pre-1900 home sites, forgotten fairgrounds, and abandoned church lots.
Identifying Finds — Telling a 1943 steel wheat penny from a worthless slug, and knowing which class rings and fraternal pins actually carry collector value.
Forum Discussion — Trade site leads and target ID questions with detectorists who’ve already logged the false signals you’re about to hit.
Getting Started Tips:
Start with a quality entry-level VLF detector (Garrett ACE 300, Minelab Vanquish 340) rather than overspending before you know what you enjoy hunting.
Read the manual and ground-test in your own backyard before your first real hunt — nearly every detector has a learning curve for its tones.
Research local laws and always get explicit permission before detecting private or historic land — many Civil War and colonial sites are protected and off-limits to digging.
Old home sites, fairgrounds, beaches, and public parks built before 1960 are consistently the most productive starting points.
Always cut a clean plug and fill your holes — the fastest way to lose access to private land is leaving it worse than you found it.
Join a local club. Access to private land and decades of local site knowledge come from relationships, not forums alone.
Communities and Clubs
Federation of Metal Detector & Archaeological Clubs (FMDAC) — the national umbrella organization for metal detecting clubs.
TreasureNet’s Magnet Fishing forum — an active sub-forum on one of the internet’s largest and longest-running treasure hunting communities, with regular threads on gear, techniques, warnings, and finds.
Videos & Seminars
Videos (evergreen, for self-paced learning):
DigFellas (Bill Ladd) — real Travel Channel show; Bill Ladd was called a “metal detecting legend” by Josh Gates on Expedition Unknown. Colonial New England relic hunting and cellar holes.
Relic Recoverist (Jocelyn Elizabeth) — real YouTube channel documenting relic-hunting finds.
WWII Metal Detecting channels — real channels covering WWII battlefield relic recovery.
Detectorists (BBC) — the beloved, well-known scripted comedy-drama about amateur detectorists.
DALLMYD (Jake Koehler) — a real, hugely popular YouTube channel (13.9M+ subscribers) combining scuba diving, magnet fishing, and underwater treasure hunting.
Adventures with Purpose — a real, well-known channel built around magnet fishing and underwater search and recovery.
Seminars & Live Events:
Diggin’ in Virginia (DIV) — a genuine, long-running organized relic hunt on leased Civil War-era farmland in Culpeper County, Virginia, held each spring and fall. Search for current registration and dates rather than listing a specific date here, since it changes each season.
