Anyone make a side income from MDing?

Cutthroat

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Jul 2, 2009
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Seattle, WA - USA
As someone who is struggling in the recession, is it possible to make a side income with a MD? Do any of you earn enough clad and rings to make the time spent more than "pay for itself" and actually make a little profit?
 
Well I would say the majority of detectorists dont make much of a profit, if any. But most of us dont really intend to.

That being said, were not in it to get rich. Its just nice to get out and dig, and find interesting items and explore historical areas, and learn things.

Now, with the price of a decent metal detector and the time devoted to your hunts, it can be quite hard to justify that your going to make back your investment.

As long as you can come into the metal detecting world with the mindset that its a hobby and not a career you will prosper. But hey, your bound to come across great items sooner or later, and heck if you find something really valuable thats just an extra plus. Youll end up popping something awesome from the ground when you least expect it.

Also, You also mentioned the recession, Im not sure if people will pick up the hobby for financial reasons or not. What I do know is, this recession economy has driven people to take desperate measures. Apparently many people are once again packing up and heading out west to dig for gold, its starting to spark another full blown gold rush.

-Kyle
 
I bought my first and only detector in 81/82 (whites 5500d series 3). I sold the only gold coin I ever found with it for $150. When the Hunt family got nuts with the silver market, I sold a bunch of coins and jewelry for $350. In 2002, I sold more coins and jewelry for $325. I think I paid $429 ATT for the machine. A buddy and I hunted religously for 3-4 years and did well. Never thought of it as a side income even back then. But in reality, it is what it is. The clad I rolled and cashed in was immense ATT. So it is/was a definite side income without meaning to be. I have quit MD,ing and started other "coin related income". But still have the trusty (pristine condition) 5500d ready to go.
 
In a little under three years I've found about $1,700 in clad. I've found 17 gold items with a melt value of about $775 (assuming the price of gold is around $900). I haven't sold the gold though. I've found about 75 silver items though I doubt altogether they are worth much over $100.

I've spent a little over $1000 on equipment, so I've certainly covered those costs. But if you factor in money for gas to get to sites, it gets a little closer. I'm guessing I'm still "turning a profit" if a couple hundred bucks in three years counts as a profit. There is no question I would be MUCH further ahead if I'd spent that time working a minimum wage job.
 
I'm not trying to make it a sideline for income but the clad comes in handy for pop and snacks I would like to pay for my MD but not a priority. Howard
 
I don't really do it for the money, but certainly find my share. I concentrate on silver coins and jewelry in the dirt and never dig a zincoln. I usually use a PI at the beach and "dig it all".

Being retired, I have a lot more opportunity than many to hunt. I probably average $20/week in clad.
 
Toymachine said it all - it's fun whether one finds things or not. I make about 1500 bux per year. About 7-800 from gold/silver jewelry (refinery) and the rest from the coins I dig. Once in a while I find a token or such that has more value .
I wouldn't be surprised if some of the Canadian guys dig serious bux with the 2 & 3 dollar coins there. Steve in so az
 
I generally pay for my detector in the first 3 months of use. That's around $600 for the last one I bought.

Of course as I get used to the detector the finds mount up.

I don't sell the junk jewellery but I sell the good stuff once I've made a decent effort to find the owner.

In Australia, we have a lot of one and two dollar coins, so that makes it pretty profitable if you know where and when to hunt.

One way you could turn it into a part time job is to apply for a grant to look for needles in playgrounds, to make it safer for kiddies. These grants usually come thru councils here in Aussie, and it's something I'm keeping in mind if the recession really bites hard enough for me to lose my job altogether. Tho the writing sideline seems to keep me going well enough.
 
Just for myself I figure it like this..
The gas to get me there and wear and tear on the car....batteries and other essentials..
I figure, on a good coin shooting day I find maybe 80 cents an hour average.
some days a bit more....many days less.
Asking if you want fries with your order would be far more profitable than swinging a coil the way I do it.
Beach hunters and dedicated full-timers will have much higher per hour yield though.
 
At about 1 dollar an hour,I don't think that would pay my bills,but it is nice to have a little extra spending money now and then.

My car radio died two weeks ago,and I tumbled and rolled $80.00 worth of clad to get a new one from Crutchfield.Nice to not have to tap into house money for it!
 
....Since I started I have found enough $$$ and Jewelry to pay for FOUR detectors and have change to boot. I recently received a large reward for a Ring find and it was enough to replace the tires on my truck with Michelins!
I still have just a little over one ounce of gold in a mix of 10K,12K,14K,18K and 22K plus 8 grams in one ring that I will not soon be selling! My bride has claimed that one!! Having fun pays!!!
 
I am pretty new to this but I recently cashed in on the clad I found for about 5 months of hunting. It came out to $267. I went to a coinstar so it showed me how many coins that was. Sorry I forget the exact amount but remember thinking WOW that is A TON OF HOLES even counting the coin spills! Then I thought of all the hours I spent digging those holes. Ahh, but I have also found some rings, bracelets, silver coins, hmmm... more holes... more hours!

I never really intended to make a ton of money doing this. To me it is just a blast to dig a hole (or several thousand even) to find what hides under the dirt. Sure, every hole could be that one ring, or cache that says Cha ching and that is always on my mind but I really don't mind since I am having fun!

So, side income... most likely not for me anyway! However, that chest of gold coins and diamonds is still down there somewhere waiting for one of us to find! Talk about an instant salary increase! :D

HH
 
You certainly can make a side income if you apply yourself, but I don't know of anyone who has quit their day job as a result of a steady stream of finds... and my wife has no intention of letting me try either. :sniff:
 
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