Has the hobby paid for your MD?

billb

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Feb 15, 2006
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I know it is not about the money, it is about the fun and the hunt as it is a hobby, but how many of you have actually paid for your detectors with your finds?

Around here, I would feel very lucky to find late 1800 coins, but don't ever plan on finding mid to early 1800's since Minnesota is not as old as some southerns and east coast states.

My guess for the best spots are along the lakes shorelines (we have alot of those!) and some of the older neihborhoods, which st paul is one as they have alot of late 1800 homes, but I can not just go threw peoples yards :( so parks will be my first hits when I finally get my first metal detector and the ground thaws out.

Just wondered how many have had there finds pay for the hobby, and how long it took.
 
Wife picks at me and tell me i haven't found enough to cover the sale tax on the detector yet LOL
 
In the last 9 months I've found about $150+ in stuff. Considering that I don't go out that much nor find any thing really incredible, I think I'm doing pretty good.
 
My first real detector, the Whites Coinmaster IV TR, was a bit over $250 in 75 plus the case. I think I paid for it in coins over the years. Now keeping batteries in it is another story; 14 AA. :D
pop
 
If I was to sell all of my quality finds and added in the clad I would be pretty close to a break even point on the equipment. Now if I added in gas, lunches, bugspray etc. I am at a loss for sure. :lol:
 
My first detector was a bounty $250. Paid for in clad in about 3 months. Bought a minelab exp ll paid for it self in one day. (note the avatar)
1806 quarter :yes:
Well, it would if I could ever part with it.
 
Considering how much I've spent on detectors over the last five years or so, I doub't that I'll ever show a profit, unless I find some substantial treasure.

I've never sold any of my finds anyway.
 
I'm about half way there on the new Minelab just counting face value. If you go by Red book getting close.
 
I'd have to say I'm on the plus side, but just buy a little. Detectors cost me a total of about $260.00 (a new ACE250 and a $40.00 used Bounty Hunter) plus batteries, digging tool and gas. I've found exactly $83.23 in clad, plus a few hundred in gold and silver jewelry, plus my antique bottles found in old trash dumps that were discovered with a detector. Only one bottle has any major worth (Kovels lists it at $300.00) but I don't think I could get that for it, as it was dug, and bottle values are really in the eye of the beholder more than what the book says anyway. But that's OK, because I'm not selling!!! All in all, I'd say I'm on the plus side. That's if I don't splurge on the GTI2500 with the 2 box or the water machine this spring, lol!
 
Let's say you spent $1,200. for an MD, divided by 12 months, equals $100. a month for entertainment. Pretty reasonable for entertainment! You could bearly have a night out for 2 for $100.
 
vansark said:
Let's say you spent $1,200. for an MD, divided by 12 months, equals $100. a month for entertainment. Pretty reasonable for entertainment! You could bearly have a night out for 2 for $100.


Especially if you went to the flick and got popcorn and a drink :lol:
pop
 
You could divide it by more than that! If you spent $1200, I doubt if you'd upgrade in 12 months!
 
Yes, my tectors have been paid for over the years with the Gold rings sold as scrap, minus the ones my wife, daughter & Grandkids have kept. Looking forward to the spring Gold to pay for the mods to my Excalibur by Minelab this winter and the purchase of a Patrick meter for my SOV/GT, I hope. H.H.:-)
 
Okay, so some yes, some no.

I plan on buying the Ace 250 and if it can find my property stakes, it will have already paid for itself since a land survey is ALOT more than the 250. Then I hope to find some decent spots up here in Minnesota, but have never seen anyone detecting up here, so I figure it must not be too great of a place to go hunting, but will give it a try.

thanks
bill
 
epi-hunter said:
No water detecting here, just land detecting. And nowhere close to paying for the detector(s) and supplies. But that was never my plan anyway. Would be nice to get there, though, just to say I did! (not that I'd ever part with anything)

Right you are. I haven't parted with anything.... I can imagine my kids faces when I gone. "What is all this crap?" :lol: Oh well ,we all have our crosses to carry...
 
my first detector was (is, i still got it) one of the original whites TR. it cost 60 bux brand new, and would hit on everything metal and hot rocks too.

i remembered when i was considerably younger i would go roller skating at a rink that was about a mile outside an ohio town. there was always a line of kids waiting to get in as soon as the doors opened. as luck would have it, not only was the rink still there, the owner was getting ready for an afternoon party. i asked to detect the gravel parking lot. they said no problem, but the party would show up in a few hours.

skate rental -25 cents
admission- 25 cents
coke, chips- 25 cents
everything- 25 cents

i detected and my wife dug. then she detected and i dug. by the time the party showed up we were both sore and tired.

we had PILED the quarters we found on the engine cover of our van until they started falling off, then we just started a pile in the back.

long story short... that night the wife said i could get one of them brand fire new units with a discriminator. a white 6000D. $495....

i told my son to go clean out the van. as usual he whined and complained until i told him he could keep all over $500. i never did ask how much he got to keep, but i got my new detector.

my newest detector is a whites MXT and i fully expect it to pay for itself in gold by mid summer.
 
I paid for my house, cars, detectors through finds but its so much easier if you live in Europe where a single find may pay the bills for a year or more and have an initial good find that allows you to give up work for at least several months.
Directly your not working if a beach is stripped you can work it none stop until the finds drop off or the sand returns and on land there's such a small gap between crops nowdays that if you have to wait till the weekend you find the grounds been re-seeded and you might not get on that site for another year. Then 'Sods Law' takes over and the farmer again ploughs/re-seeds mid week so again you don't get on.
 
I hope to find some decent spots up here in Minnesota, but have never seen anyone detecting up here, so I figure it must not be too great of a place to go hunting, but will give it a try.

Bill, I'd look at it as "these places don't get hunted very much at all, so they may be great places to hunt!!
 
I paid for my first 2 in clad. I've never thought about selling any of non clad finds. I just remind myself that I'm in it for fun and keep swinging. :grin:
 
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