What if...

Z --

Well said! I had similar thoughts. I am not convinced that the person in question on the other post is a scammer.

Harley-Dog

Harley-Dog said:

Z --

Well said! I had similar thoughts. I am not convinced that the person in question on the other post is a scammer.

Harley-Dog

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Well, I do think the probability that everything on is on the up and up is pretty remote, but it did get me to thinking "what if?"

what if a frog had wings ????????????

what if worms carried machine guns ???????????

I'm sorry, but such trusting thinking is what has led many into financial ruin. The reason certain scams continue to flourish is that they work, and they work because they are presented with a degree of legitimacy and believability, as well as the fact that there are people who are far too trusting. Mind you, this doesn't make them stupid, for many who have fallen for scams are quite intelligent, but it definitely puts into question their wisdom. Generally, greed is the motivation in such cases and it is what gets folks into trouble.

The post in question did raise many red flags, hence the cynical comments. Is it a scam? There is a very minute chance that it isn't, but absent any other legitimate and clarifying information from the poster, leaning on the side of it being a scam is the wise choice.

The vast majority of us on this forum are amateur treasure hunters--we look for dropped pocket change, jewelry, civil war relics, and the like. It's a hobby to us, a time to get outdoors and have a little fun scratching around in the dirt or the surf. Most of us don't have a problem seeking a hunting buddy or two--spread the fun. Everyday we post our findings--$3.00 in clad, a couple of junk rings, the occasional IH or large cent, a few mercs or Barbers, and some .925 or 14K from time to time. In the grand scheme of things, these are all so ordinary...so average. But because we're all pretty much in the same league, we genuinely share in each other's finds. Hey, I really do get excited when I find a clad quarter...that's the same as digging 25 half-rotted zlincolns at only 1/25 the effort!

I'm not trying to belittle our MD'ing accomplishments, but lets face it, when I go out and dig 75 coins during a 4-hour hunt and I come home with $5.00 in dirty clad that I have to tumble before I can even spend it, in the grand scheme of things, that really isn't much. The high school kid working part time at McDonalds makes more than that in 1 hour!

So...why do I detect? Why am I so obsessed with this hobby? (And I really am obsessed!) I do it for the POTENTIAL of what I might find. I do it because maybe...just maybe...I'll find that old mason jar full of seated dollars that was buried in someone's back yard 140 years ago! Maybe...just maybe...I'll find a cache of civil war rifles. Maybe...just maybe...I'll find that 1916-D Mercury dime, or that 1909-s VDB Lincoln, or any number of other very rare coins who's value could make a couple of house payments.

Now, getting back to your original primise that someone with knowledge of a cache needs assistance in looking for and recovering it....how would you or I go about finding the 'right' individuals for the job? The last thing anyone in that position would want to do is spill his guts...tell all he knows in a public forum. There'd be dozens of MD'ers moving in as quick as they could, with no intention of sharing any of the goods with the very one who volunteered the vital info that made it all possible in the first place.

How many of us have posted the caches that we've found? How many of us have ever even found a cache? -- Extremely few! I guess what I'm trying to say is that this person with the knowledge of a cache is not going to settle for just anybody to help him find it. He's going to be extremely cautious. His caution could very easily be misconstrued as "he's up to something...he's trying to scam somebody." Let's face it, somebody with genuine knowledge of a cache isn't going to come along everyday asking for your help or mine. How else should we expect him to act?

Well I've certainly rambled long enough. And before I get any hate mail from anybody else on this forum...again, let me add, I LOVE THIS HOBBY! I really do get excited over every coin I dig. I'm just trying to be a realist at the same time. I ain't Mel Fisher recovering $250 million from a sunken Spanish galleon....I'm just an everyday husband, dad, and grandfather prowling around in parks and schoolyards armed with my Prizm III and my Lesche. It's the most I can hope for at this time in my life.

Harley-Dog

p.s. Remember, the title of this thread is "What if...?"

Harley-Dog

I should have been more clear in my original post. I don't think for a second the other post was on the level. It just got me thinking what I would do if I somehow learned about a cache that may be somewhere too far away for me to get at. That's all. What would I do in that situation? What would the rest of you do? I'm not saying I expect to happen, I'm just wondering out loud here.

I would probably keep the info to myself until I found someone on a forum like this that I felt I knew and trusted enough to give the info to. Even if I didn't expect to get a share, I'd want someone who shared my obsession to have the thrill of digging it up.

Many times we see people post on this forum to reveal sites they think would be great for MDing that they are now too far away from to get to themselves. Even I have PM'ed people in other locations I used to live at with places I thought would be great for detecting. We do this because we all share the ridiculous obsession with "scratching around in the dirt or the surf" as Harley writes, finding trinkets and silver and maybe an old coin but all minor little things really.

Again, forget about the other post if you care to respond - it's not what I'm talking about! It only got me thinking, that's all!

Harley-Dog, your post is dead on. And man, I'm right with you in the obsession. That's what's so great about this forum. There is no one in my daily life who can come even close to understanding what I get out of this hobby, but here on the forum, people understand!

What if you send an email to this guy, giving him your IP address, and he and his hacker buddies get into your computer and:
A. Steal your Identity and banking info
B. Give you the virus from hell
C. Put you on their other buddies scam list
D. All of the above.

Think about it..Is the 1 in a billion odds that his guy is on the up-and-up worth all the damage and pain he can cause YOU??????

Tvic25

tvic25 said:

What if you send an email to this guy, giving him your IP address, and he and his hacker buddies get into your computer and:
A. Steal your Identity and banking info
B. Give you the virus from hell
C. Put you on their other buddies scam list
D. All of the above.

Think about it..Is the 1 in a billion odds that his guy is on the up-and-up worth all the damage and pain he can cause YOU??????

Tvic25

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Did you see the part where I wrote:

"Again, forget about the other post if you care to respond - it's not what I'm talking about! It only got me thinking, that's all!"

And not for nothing, there's not much anyone can do with an IP address. It's not that hard to get anyway.

z118 said:

I should have been more clear in my original post. I don't think for a second the other post was on the level. It just got me thinking what I would do if I somehow learned about a cache that may be somewhere too far away for me to get at. That's all. What would I do in that situation? What would the rest of you do? I'm not saying I expect to happen, I'm just wondering out loud here.

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Going back on your original thought, at present I'm not sure what I would do if I were in that position, though I know it wouldn't be posting it in an open forum.

There are some other considerations too. Like, how trustworthy is the person being provided with the information? What is the likelihood that a true report will be given? In such a situation, greed and temptation cannot be ruled out.

user18 said:

Harley, this is one of the best posts I've seen in a long time.

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Definitely! It's a reminder that this is for the most part a hobby, but one that we enjoy very much. I know I have spent many hours detecting with nothing tangible to show for it, and yet I loved every minute of it.

Z118 your initial post makes sense because no one would just blurt out "hey, I know where 20K worth of gold is buried and need someone to go pick it up" on a public forum. That just doesn't make sense to me.

Just to let you know Harley... If I ever have knowledge of; or need help with finding a cache in your neck of the woods, You will be the first one I call. Very nice post.

Keep Swing'in
Jack

I know of a place with hundred of thousands of tabs. Be will to declose to a select few

booker said:

I know of a place with hundred of thousands of tabs. Be will to declose to a select few

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I already know where your secret tab place is, and I've been looting it regularly!!!

booker said:

I know of a place with hundred of thousands of tabs. Be will to declose to a select few

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Hey Booker! Good to hear from you. How you been? Count me in on the pull-tab cache, or are you calling it the TAB HOARD?

Keep Swing'in
Jack

Hi Jack been pretty good. Just too busy I need to slow down
Hobbes Hope you take all you can find

Very thought provoking thread you started Z!! I think most of us dream of the "cache" that is just under the next swing of our coil.
Harley - Dog: Your post is right on!! I may just print it out and keep it as a reminder of why I love this hobby so much when all I am finding is pull tabs, bottle caps & foil!