I think metal detecting is worth every penny invested in a detector.
First, don't get a really expensive detector. I own a Garrett Ace 250. It is great for finding coins and small (or large!) metal objects. By shooting for coins, you get a lot of practice. You will learn the basic motion when you use any detector. You will also learn the basics of reading the output.
If you enjoy that and really want to try to find gold nuggets, then you will have to invest in a more expensive model. I don't think the 250 will help you find gold nuggets so well. It just doesn't discriminate well enough unless you found a humongous gold nugget. My friends in a gold hunting club think White is a great brand. I am not really qualified to advise on that, but you can get the low down on the internet or a prospecting/mining store.
If you enjoy being outdoors and finding coins (lots of pennies) and the other interesting things like old nails, spurs, bridles, buckles, rings, etc, then you should move up. If getting better at using the detector bores you, then I would suspect you may not have so much fun using a higher priced instrument to try and find nuggets. Gold is hard to find; that's why it is so expensive! But, it is out there - I have found 2 nuggets by accident when washing, not with my detector. The most valuable thing I have found with my detector is a silver ring and quarters. I think it is great fun.
If all you are interested in is the value of objects, the time you spend hunting may not seem worth it - a minimum wage job may pay more. However, there are all kinds of things people over the ages have dropped, and finding one of those things could help you retire very early.
See if you get the fever with a cheaper model metal detector. The Ace 250 cost me around $250. The price may have gone up some recently, but I think it is a great model. If you get the fever, you need to invest some more money (which you will be happy to do). Good luck.
It depends what you're looking for and how you determine 'worth'. My experiences with metal detecting for gold were mixed. I spent a year doing it part time on weekends occaisionally. I never found any gold, yet it was worth it for me as I had fun trying. Of course it can be a very expensive hobby, the fuel and the equipment. For coins and rings I would say it is worth it. You may not get rich but most people pay there detector off 2 or 3 times over. I ended up giving metal detecting for gold up and trying other methods like sluicing, panning and hand pumping for gold. I found that much more lucrative and 'worth' it for me as I had something to show for it. Do it for the fun, i.e dont give up your day job, Im glad I never did.
by PhoenixV 11 years ago
Where Are The Best Places To Go Metal Detecting For Gold?What sort of places do professional metal detectors or prospectors look for gold?
by Rareobject 12 years ago
I am collecting information on what items, people have discovered while metal detecting and also where they found it. Please list all your items as other people may have found the same items close to where you found yours. I am sure you or someone you know has a story we all would love to hear....
by Steve 10 years ago
Is it worth getting a metal detector in the Pacific Northwest?Some guy just hit the motherload in Britain when he found a cache of like-new Roman coins. Obviously there will be nothing in Washington state that old since it doesn't have nearly as much history..but are there things to be found in...
by Nolen Hart 10 years ago
Is it legal to use a metal detector in public parks in Utah?I'm going on a trip to Utah and taking my White's metal detector. Is it legal to go metal detecting in public parks in Utah?
by Martin Shulc 6 years ago
I realy love metal detecting I have minelab extera 505 whit 7.5 coil what do you think about it ?
by chrissy86 15 years ago
i need some fresh ideas on where to go or stories from metal detecting hobbiest . Meeting people close by to go with and find treasures
Copyright © 2023 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. HubPages® is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.
Copyright © 2023 Maven Media Brands, LLC and respective owners.
As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.
For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy
Show DetailsNecessary | |
---|---|
HubPages Device ID | This is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons. |
Login | This is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service. |
Google Recaptcha | This is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy) |
Akismet | This is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Google Analytics | This is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Traffic Pixel | This is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized. |
Amazon Web Services | This is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy) |
Cloudflare | This is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Hosted Libraries | Javascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy) |
Features | |
---|---|
Google Custom Search | This is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Maps | Some articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Charts | This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy) |
Google AdSense Host API | This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Google YouTube | Some articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Vimeo | Some articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Paypal | This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Login | You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Maven | This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy) |
Marketing | |
---|---|
Google AdSense | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Google DoubleClick | Google provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Index Exchange | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Sovrn | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Ads | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Unified Ad Marketplace | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
AppNexus | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Openx | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Rubicon Project | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
TripleLift | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Say Media | We partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy) |
Remarketing Pixels | We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites. |
Conversion Tracking Pixels | We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service. |
Statistics | |
---|---|
Author Google Analytics | This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy) |
Comscore | ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Tracking Pixel | Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy) |
Clicksco | This is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy) |