Detecting Dishonor - An Ill Wind A 'blowing

As usual, I gotta get something off my chest about this expanding, but morally declining, hobby. There is a saying that postulates "Man carries the seeds of his own destruction" which is not dissimilar in the way the metal detecting hobby also carries the same seeds of its own destruction. Worst of all in my book, is the out and out theft of jewelry that is reported missing, usually in desperation, by an individual who put too much faith, I'm sorry to say, in the honor of a certain class of detectorists.  

Social Media's involvement in this enterprise is a double-edged sword.  One side offering hope and assistance to the owner, while the other has turned to sabotaging the same, using the location knowledge as an advantage to thrust the criminal agenda of thieves, and crooks forward. A sweet song of easy money, metal detecting predators are always hiding in the digital shadows, looking for a quick, easy score of gold in any form. Once the Social Media word is out, they are already in motion, even while the would-be recovery team is still discussing among themselves, online, plans for recovery. Detecting predators love this kind of advanced intel which sometimes will dictate their own plans for a quick dust-off and departure with the goods. According to my good friend and detectorist John Howland in sunny England, it is illegal to dig and keep a piece of jewelry, rings and whatnot. They must be turned in to the police who holds the item for 30 days, and if no one claims it, it is relinquished to the finder. Keeping a jewelry find is considered theft in England, and there have been many cases of detectorists failing to properly notify the authorities and have landed in jail charged with theft!

On the other side, many detectorists promote the hobby of metal detecting by unselfishly spending a good deal of their own time, using their own expensive high-tech gear while drawing on years of experience in the field, all the while making a herculean effort at doing good. And asking for nothing in return. And others follow their lead, because doing good and helping those that need our expertise feels good and shows the world most of us are not modern-day pirates or lowly thieves. And in a world where many things are so far out of our personal control, it's a privilege to wield the power to set things right once in a while. To bend the probabilities, if for only a second, toward the slim chance of returning it to its rightful owner. Just one look in their eyes when you hand them that gold ring inscribed with their grandfather's initials they thought was lost forever is enough compensation. Those who knowingly recover, then privately profit from a ring they found with information provided by the true owner, well, we are all in this together...except for you.

I Lost It Over There - I Think...

One of the best things we do as metal detectorists is return property, and usually very valuable property at that. Although sometimes the value is not monetary, but sentimental. One of the first questions a member of the Detecting Guild almost always asks, mentally if not verbally, is why you would take such a rare and precious piece of your soul into harm's way? There is never any real answer to this question, other than the obvious. Where else would you keep such an important reminder of lost love, loved people or long-gone technicolor memories? Right there on your finger or on a precious metal chain looped protectively around your neck. 

What we face, as detectorists, though, that the realities of human memory and perception are not always accurate, especially when clouded with emotion from the loss. I have been in the metal detecting hobby since 1965, yes, a bit over 60 years, and I have seen some things, as Hans Solo used to say. 

I think it may have slipped off my finger about here...

People sometimes don't even know when they lost it, let alone where they lost it. Recently talking with a good friend of mine, Bryan, he was telling me of a person who was seeking a lost ring in their yard. They just noticed it gone one day. He and several other detectorists made a valiant effort in Florida's knock-down-drag-out summer heat to find the piece without success. A short time later it was found at the bottom of the homeowner's pool. 

For years my wife and I have recovered a good deal of lost jewelry and possessions for folks and have faced a good many obstacles they unknowingly placed in our way. Usually it's the old "It's NOT over there, it's got to be around here someplace!!"  When you are not finding anything, and this is the continued response from the homeowner excuse yourself from the recovery and drive away. Don't forget in most cases you are DONATING your valuable time to this project and more than once during our work, the homeowner somehow got the impression we were her employees. Put an end to that sort of thing quickly. 

Number one in recovering lost items, especially small jewelry, you need to understand your machine and the tools, (i.e. search coils) it uses. Shallow recently lost small jewelry in a grassy yard (especially gold chains) need a small (6" to 4") concentric coil as the search tool, (your sensitivity turned way down to prevent sub-surface trash interference), as it is the most sensitive coil you can get. Sometimes jewelry is so small, even a pin-pointer won't pick it up. If you know your search technology, you'll realize a pin-pointer uses pulse tech, but you need VLF tech to get the goods in cases like this! Heavy gold rings and pendants can be recovered easily using 6" to 11" DD coils with little loss of sensitivity. 

It is always good to have a "physiology officer" along (in my case, my wife, as she is much easier to talk to, and more understanding than myself) Patti: "Let's take a walk around the area you think you lost it...we have a very high recovery rate if we get some good clues!" Me: "Why on earth would you take a 300-year-old, one-of-a-kind, rare gold pendent on a trampoline in the middle of an alligator infested pond...are you daft!?!?!"

Use your judgement, and know the capability of your recovery tools, when determining if a project is worth your time and the chance of recovery is possible within your own limitations. Never put yourself in danger (trying to scuba dive a toxic lake, detecting near a snake-infested area, detecting in a closed pasture where a "friendly" bull resides, hunting in extreme heat or cold) for any reason at all. Nothing is worth your ruining your good health or risking your life! 

And thanks to all those who do take the time to research and make a great effort to return someone's sentimental piece of the past, you bring immense good will to the hobby and boy do we need it now more than ever! Cheers!