All about the Ace 250 for newbies.

The Ace 250 is an ideal beginner’s machine especially if you know absolutely nothing about metal detecting. (Just like me when I first started)

I had read on many MD forums about what a fabulous machine it was and
the price was right.

Believe me, you will find stuff first time out.
For me it was a first class coin hunter.
Read the manual that comes with it several times before using it,
I know it’s hard to do that with a shiny new machine just out of the box. But, just do it.

The first mistake any learner will do is to set the sensitivity (sens) too high,
There are 8 bars of sens and the Ace is a very sensitive machine.
Tip No.1. Don’t set the sens any more than 4 bars until you’ve used the machine a lot over a period of at least a month.

You will also have the choice of 4 factory preset hunting modes,
and one custom mode (that is saved when you switch off so the custom mode is the way it was set before you switched off the last time) you can set how you want it once you’ve built up a bit of experience.

Tip No.2. Jewelry mode is a good mode to start with, (only discs out the iron)
and you will not miss any coins in that mode.

Tip No.3. Don’t be impatient to match other detectorists who’ve had
their machines for years. (They have had years of the 3 Ps.)

Tip No.4. Remember the 3 Ps.
Patience, Practice, and Persistence.
Also remember detectors all have their own language and it will take a very good deal of time to get to know and understand what your machine is telling you.

Be prepared to dig a lot of trash such as – bottle caps, pulltabs, and rusty nails.
Bits of foil such as gum wrappers etc.
Tip No. 5. If you find it’s too noisy for you in a high trash area, you can quieten
it down by using coin mode. That will notch out most of the trash for you.
Many of these items can fool a detector into thinking it’s a coin.
Try to concentrate on the sounds and ignore the screen as much as possible until you are more familiar with your machine.
Then only use the screen as a backup to the sounds you are hearing.

You will find with practice the Ace is simple to operate,
but is a first class machine and very easy to use for the price.

Tip No. 6. Listen for the bell tone, it sounds kind of like a
d ding d ding d ding in rapid succession. That is the sound of money.
Always remember any sounds or reading on the screen is only the machines best guess.
The 250 is sensitive to small objects and gold and you will find it performs like detectors costing three times as much – the reason for its popularity.
There are many thousands of experienced detectorists who are very happy and successful still using the 250.
The 9 x 12-inch coil will get you another 2-3 inches in depth and works the same as the stock coil. (6.5 x 9) inches.
Having never used the Sniper coil I can’t comment on it.

Pinpointing needs a bit of practice to get good at it, but once you’ve got it,
it will be spot on every time.
When using pinpoint remember it’s a press and hold button.
Just scan side to side to centre the target then drag the coil straight back towards you until the instant the signal stops and your target will be at the front inner coil tip.
Note if it’s a coin you won’t have to pull the coil back very far,
This can be used to size the target too, and that will come with experience.

De tuning in PP mode can be used to shrink the target for a more accurate Pin Point.
Once you have centred the target move your coil 5-6 inches
to the right of the target (if your right handed) then press PP button twice rapidly and hold it down on the second press while centreing and dragging back towards you.

Tip No.7. A deep coke tin will read as a coin, to check this –
While pinpointing if you raise the coil 6-7 inches off the ground and still get a strong signal 99% of the time it’s a tin.
If the target doesn’t sound after 3 or 4 inches it’s obviously a smaller target.

I feel I must warn you this machine beeps loudly and there is no volume control,
(I believe it could pull a crowd round you in the middle of a desert.) LOL.
So, if your going to use earphones to avoid the crowds,
make sure they have a volume control or you will have sore ears.

Enjoy and have lots of fun with your new 250 Ace.

Ian Pettigrew.

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Well when you take it out of the box… It looks plain weird, not really impressive at first. After a while I did get used to the looks of it.

You’ll note it’s easy to put together. And will need adjusting to your length, otherwise it’s going to feel real heavy. (i.e. arm cup, lower rod need adjustments)

It’s not to bad when you’ve done that.

Ok when skimming through the manual you’ll note there aren’t many adjustments, just more or less weird names for them.

Just learn them. Oh and it is a bit noes heavy, if to heavy opt for another coil.

In the field:

Park:

Well I start out at the park and play around a bit and soon I noted.. “I need a smaller coil!”

The trash was to much with a 10″ DD coil. So after getting the little Joey coil the hunt could begin!

Started him up and noise cancelled. Adjusted Auto Sens to 32 and gain to 8. And then slowly creeping around with the coil.

Started pretty quick to pick out much coinage, both deep and shallow. I was surprised what the little coil could give in depth!

After a while silver started jumping up around me, pretty much everywhere I went, boy I was excited!

This was thanks to a elderly gentleman who told us where they used to play poker back in the days. ~Hint~

Summary:

Ok well I finished our day in the park with 5 silver coins most from the 1930′s, a few early 1900′s copper coins and a 1889 copper coin.

It performed very well in the park.

Relic Hunting:

Moving to a older place of the park we went relic hunting.

Remembering the manual I turned on Ferrous sounds and began to dig like crazy!

I found to lower sensitivity among the iron and lowering disc helped significantly to find none ferrous objects among the iron.

Summary:

Some modern trash came through but a few buttons, coins and other strange things where found.

It did ignore the iron just by sound, I loved it! Very easy to operate.

Beach Hunting:

The park also has a small beach and a camping site near by, there we moved next.

Well I noticed a absence of targets so it was ok to put on a bigger coil.

Ok well targets where quite few, as expected on a inland beach.

Luckily I did get deep with the 10″ DD coil and got some coins none the less, and also my first gold ring was found then. (7.9 Grams)

The only thing I really noticed was.. The semi auto sensitivity is nice if your having a lazy day and the lack of tiny targets like foil.

Summary:

It works well on the beach to but lacks sensitivity on small targets, this might be changed by increasing gain.( I used 7-8)

Or do the opposite if much small foil is plaguing you, lower gain.

So all in all it’s a great detector, with minor flaws in balance which tends to make it feel more on the heavy side.

Some scream over slow recovery speed, don’t worry learn the sounds and slowly open the disc (iron mask) and voila! the masking problem is mostly gone.

Oh and a tip, dig ALL deep iffy signals. It might hand you a surprise.Wink

Also watch their behaviour sometimes they just jump in a general area, mostly in a sort of pattern. If you remember them it can help you dig less iron sometimes.

But sound is key, also if it sounds good which you’ll learn after a while dig it none the less. It’s still just a detector that can be fooled but it’s the operators call to dig or not.

You can learn the sounds quicker by looking at the display and associate a sound with a position on the display.Laugh

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So where shall we begin with this beast?

When you take it out of the box, it doesn’t really look much. But as soon as you turn it on and want to adjust things.. Whoaa!

Lot’s of adjustments, you could ruin a whole weeks worth of detecting if you’d start out right away and try to adjust everything.

In the beginning I really suggest you keep to factory programs and the manual.

Ok out in the field:

Park:

I start out my field test in a simple good old park.

First thing I notice, the adjustments are a blessing if you have the guts to stick with it. (but a PITA if you just wanna detect)

I of course find lot’s of targets, living in Sweden most parks have never seen a metal detector.

Much trash to comes out, I soon learn the so called “DC Phase” feature can help ID some coinage. (especially small coins)

The cans soon started to turn out to be a problem, scattered around the place both whole and cut pieces they where hard to seperate from coins.

I soon noted using VCO and doing a “+” sign over the target helped to ID some of them to my relief.

I did well with 2 hours and got well over 15 coins, inluding a few silvers and early 1900′s copper coins.

Summary:

Ok well it does very well in the park to say the least. Found several coins and various bobs and ends.

I think this is where it’s at it’s best.

Relic Hunting:

Now I bring it to a older part of the park where relic hunting is possible but much small iron plagues the ground.

Because of constant silence and a few broken signals (discrimination kicking in) I decide to lower disc so I get better tones on the none ferrous stuff. (stuff that isn’t iron)

Also recalling from the manual that Correlate frequency might help I changed it and re-ground balanced.

It was better now, the none ferrous tones where more crisp and not so broken.

Still it was beeping every second or so, so I slowed down and lowered volume which made it much more tolerable.

Summary:

It found very little but it did ok, just barely though. A smaller coil would have been prefered but none was available at that time. (forgot at home)

The heavy iron was a plague and that she was constantly chattering didn’t make it more enjoyable really.

Now I moved on to the beach at the camping grounds of the park.

Beach Hunting:

Re-ground balanced, switched to Best Data freq and made a few other adjustments then I felt ready to go.

I quickly learn much foil was at the beach but it was easy to tell by using the VCO pinpoint function as they had irregular shapes.Cool

The method was the same used on the cans in the park.

Not expecting much due to it being hit with my Explorer II I slowly remembered I hadn’t searched it all!

Now after I found the unsearched spot a while I started picking up some coins, I found one tiny child’s toy ring (which often the dentist gave kids back in the days) it was very small with a small green glass piece in.

Now I went to the hunted part of the beach and didn’t really find anything there, a few small pieces of scrap metal my Explorer missed was all.

That was quite expected.

Summary:

It works very well for beach hunting especially with a larger coil.

Note! It was written to make it stand out where the DFX excells, i.e. in which hunting styles it works best.

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-Mark

Dave

There’s allot of different styles, some work better than others, some work one day and not the next, some just don’t work on certain beaches or for certain people but here’s mine.

This was how I did it today.

First I found my detector, then I found a beach.  not funny hu?, hooked up with Jay this morning.

Jay

Before I continue, I have to say I hip mount on an ammo belt. I have a hook on my left side to hook the handle of my scoop that drags in the sand, I can tell exactly where I have been that way.

I start at the dune line and work to the water, do this a few times and you should be able to tell where the target area is.

Looking for the hot spot...dune to water line

Today I hit the low line first, crappy pic but I hope you can see where the digs are and how I tightened up the grid and didn’t even check the middle area.

Grid pattern and dig holes

I did this pattern for just over half the time I had out there than turned to head back in the high area.

Last night there were some storms move through and you can see how the sand blew into drifts, exposing some holes where the shells were showing.

fluffy sand is too deep

The fluffy sand on top was way too deep to find much but the holes were OK.

On my way back I saw Jay hitting the water….er actually I saw the 18 inch rollers hitting him

Jay fighting the surf

He was persistent, he worked on that target for 15-20 minutes but he did get it.

His PI did what PI’s do best, a deep iron hook   to add to a couple of tent stakes.

PI find in the surf

We were out there just under two hours.

Here’s my goods

Dave's finds

The ring is stamped OGSY, what ever that means, than .925 and has one Peridot in the middle and 21 of 22, yup one missing   stones that Ping green. Cool real Nitro and not CZ.

Dave's ring find

The three P’s. Patients, Practice and Persistence.

Happy Hunting

-Dave

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Carl Cladoff

DetectorStuff Member Carl Cladoff recently responded to my inquiry about reading beach cuts…and how to find the goodies therein.  His response (originally seen HERE) give great insight into the awesome dynamics of surf and wind…and how they factor into whether you finish a hunt with treasure…or nothing!  Thanks for allowing me to publish this Carl!  -Mark

Yo Mark!  I usually refer to those ‘sand cliffs’ you see primarily in the fall and winter as a cut…terminology may vary depending on where you are…

This was September at Kitty Hawk:

Last fall at Kure Beach

Pine Island last winter

The sharper the edges and the steeper the drop…the fresher they are…ideal time is when they are being created by the surf but it can be the most hazardous to your own safety…not recommended…choose the calm after the storm…hunt from the bottom of the cut to the surf line.

Rip in background, some may call it a scallop…notice deep hole by the darker shade of water…excellent area for a water detector if current is weak:

Cut with rock exposure Dec'08:

Another view of erosion:

This was extracted from the rocks:

Get on high ground. Look for ‘rips’ and ‘ horseshoes’ by standing on a lifeguard stand, a hotel balcony, pier, or beach cam. Rips can be very subtle and hard to see or they can be an obvious ‘riptide’. Watch the sea foam, especially for the subtle current. Most of the water line will have foam oncoming…look where the foam seems to be outgoing. A riptide may have
seaweed that you can observe going out. Do not get in the riptide for safety’s sake. Ask any of the quaded
mobile lifeguards where the riptides are located. They can tell you the street locations.  I discovered this last year.

The horseshoes’ and horseshoe cuts are much more noticeable in the fall. Tracking them
from the center of the arc towards the water usually reveals a line of coins, followed by
pulltabs and lighter rings, progressing to fishing weights and heavier gold jewelery. All
sorts of similarly weighted objects can be in the mix.

The last 2 weeks have been very slow for me due to the mid summer sand build up.  I have noticed small pockets of targets, mostly coins where I have found black sand.  Water hunted this weekend for 4 plus hours at low tide covering a mile stretch of troughs and holes…2 targets…a quarter and a pair of sunglasses.  Many many Blue Crabs in the water and in the shallow surf this weekend…bring a chicken neck, some string, and a poled net…can fill a bushel basket in no time!

Good hunting! CC

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Fisher’s World Treasure News 2009! 

Fisher was kind enough to send it our way for distribution…if our servers can take the downloads!  By the way, overlook the mediocre writer in there named “mark”

*Update* WTN is now posted for download on Fisher Labs Website…get it HERE!

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This desire by our members to have the ability to post reviews, tips, etc. was one of my motivating factors for moving to this new style site software….So, let’s do it!

Member Reviews!

Rules:

• You MUST have owned and used the metal detector or accessory you’re writing about for at least 1 year.
• Pointing out flaws is okay, but this is not a “bash-fest” (I’m sure y’all have seen what I’m talking about)
• Write your review with the idea of “How can I describe this machine/accessory to someone who has never owned one”
• Think of “helpful tips” that you’ve heard, learned or been taught by others.

You can submit your review/tutorial/tip list to me in two ways…

1. Email it in any document format to:  detectorstuff@gmail.com
2. Post it in the “Users Submitted Reviews and Articles Discussion” forum.

I will take your work and post it on the front page under “Member Reviews” with credit going to you…it will always be here!  Archived forever (or until I’m too broke to pay the site host!) for thousands to read and learn from.  Remember, my goal with DetectorStuff.com is to provide tons of cool information that is easy to find, helpful and good for the hobby.

One thing that may help you get started:  Pretend you are taking someone metal detecting with you who is using your same make/model metal detector.  Imagine it’s the first time they’ve ever used it and have a ton of questions for you since you’ve owned and used one for a long time…

Thanks!  I’m looking forward to posting your work and learning from all your experiences!

Mark

*DetectorStuff.com reserves the right to NOT post inflammatory reviews that help no one*

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What A Difference

A Day Makes!

By Tony Mullen

Minted at Charlotte, North Carolina in 1847, this gorgeous Coronet $5 gold piece was the find of a lifetime for Tony Mullen, now a proud member of W&ET’s exclusive “Gold coin Club”

Every treasure hunter has probably had this nightmare. You finally get permission to hunt a particular place that you have been eyeing for quite some time, and then something happens. Something you could never imagine is about to ruin your “perfect opportunity.” Well, that almost happened to me one weekend in March 2001. I hunt with a Fisher CZ-7A and had sent it in to Fisher for some planned maintenance, figuring that I still had time before the weather broke and the hunting season kicked in. I expected that, with transit time included, I would be without a detector for about two weeks. My wife Teresa figured that out, too, and the Honey-do list was a sight to behold!
The first week was not too bad. I was steadily chipping away at “the list.” Then it happened. My father, Frank Mullen, called me from Virginia. He had just turned up an 1852 silver 3 cent piece, having received permission to search a site that dates back to the l770s. We had been watching that place for quite some time. Needless to say,
____________
The look on
Teresa ‘s face was priceless. She just looked at me and asked, “Is it real?”
____________

I was thinking road trip! Then I remembered that my detector was on the other coast. Before we hung up, we made plans to visit the next weekend. My next call was to Fisher. I checked the status of my repair and told Cori Doninelli the Customer service representative, about our upcoming trip. She assured me that I would have my detector in plenty of time. Now for the hard part— waiting. On Wednesday of the following week I called again to make sure my detector was on its way. As it turned out, the detector was still being worked on. My heart sank. I thought, “There is no way I will have my machine this weekend,” but once again, Cori assured me that it would arrive in plenty of time. On Thursday morning I got a pleasant surprise. UPS brought my detector prepaid, next day air, early a.m. delivery. Thank you, Cori, for defining the words “Customer Service” with your actions.

On Friday I left work a bit early and made the 200-mile drive to Virginia. We managed to hunt at another site that we call “Frank’s Honey Hole” for about an hour and a half before it got dark. There was no doubt the CZ-7 was working. My first find was a 1926 Buffalo, followed a few minutes later by a 1941 Mercury dime, a 1947 Roosevelt dime, and enough Wheat (cents) to feed the Russians!
We headed out early Saturday morning to the old Colonial site. This was the moment I had been waiting for. A coin dated 1852 had already been found at this site, which had been occupied for 80 years before that coin was struck. We had high hopes of possibly finding some Spanish silver or Colonial coppers. Unfortunately, the site proved difficult to hunt, as parts of it are now wooded and the grass is probably mowed no more than twice a year. So, we slowly began searching acres of land.

If you could have heard my headphones, you would have said, “There ain’t nothin’ here but iron!” And there wasn’t. I found a couple of Memorial cents, and that was about it except for the occasional horseshoe and a couple of thousand square nails. Man, was I bummed. So, I packed up the family and headed back to North Carolina. Here it was St. Patrick’s Day, and my Irish Luck was nowhere to be found. But, oh, what a difference a day makes!

The following day it was just cool enough to be comfortable in a sweatshirt. As we drove home from church, I told Teresa, “I am going to find something good there today.” As I said those words, I pointed to the place I was planning to hunt that afternoon. I could almost hear her think it out loud: “Yeah, right. I’ve heard that before.” I got to the house, ate a quick bite, and headed out for the afternoon.

I found a couple of clad coins right off the bat. Then about 15 minutes into the hunt, I heard a rather odd tone in the headphones. I cut a plug about 4” deep, and when I flipped it back I saw a flash of gold. I literally said out loud, “Oh, great! Another arcade token.” I put my Lesche digging tool back in the sheath and started to reach for the “token” when I saw a reeded edge! I thought, “There is no way!” I picked it up and felt the weight. I was almost scared to look. Then I saw FIVE D.
I flipped it over and all I could see of the date was 7. I gently brushed away the black dirt… 1847!

A major numismatic authentication and grading service has certified Tony ‘s 1847-C eagle at a net grade of VF-30, with XF details, making it an extremely valuable find.

Well, let me tell you, it was on! As I told some folks on an internet forum, it was not exactly like you see on Riverdance. It was more like a fat guy stomping out a brushfire! What can I say? It was my first gold dance! Once I realized how ridiculous I looked, I calmed down enough to check the hole again. Nope, just the one! I had just found my oldest and “goldest” coin, an 1847 $5 gold piece minted in Charlotte, North Carolina.

I tried to hunt a little more but it was pointless. I had to tell someone. My first call was to my father. I wanted him to check the value in his coin book. No answer. So, I called my wife. No answer. I couldn’t believe it! I had just found a gold coin, and there was no one to tell! About that time I saw Teresa and my daughter Suzanne coming down the road for their Sunday afternoon, pre-naptime stroll. They knew something was up when I came running to meet them, grinning from ear to ear!
The look on Teresa’s face was priceless. She just looked at me and asked, “Is it real?” She asked me what I thought it was worth. I told her it would probably go up to $300. (When I found the coin, I was too excited to notice the Charlotte mintmark. Once I did, I almost stomped out Act II!) When I got back to the house, I suddenly realized that Teresa had a newfound interest in coins. She had pulled out my Red Book and had it lying open on the kitchen table. Suddenly I had a hunch that it might do a little better than $300!

So far, it’s the find of a lifetime for me. I can’t help thinking about the person who lost that coin. That was quite a bit of money back then. The coin has been authenticated, but I am in the process of having it graded a second time. This rare find has made a very nice addition to Suzanne’s collection. I recently read that less than 1 % of all the gold coins minted at Charlotte exist in any condition. What’s ironic is that I was having a conversation with a fellow employee on Thursday before that weekend, and in that conversation I said to him, “I will probably never find a gold coin, but if I do, I hope it has a Charlotte mint mark.” Who knew?

Since I “struck gold,” I have had plenty of offers from prospective hunting partners and numerous inquires as to exactly where I found it. I don’t want to be unfair to anyone. So, I’ve been telling everyone the same thing: I did not mug the St. Patrick’s Day leprechaun. I found it somewhere in North Carolina… near a tree.

TONY MULLEN may not be quite as rotund (fat) as the reader envisions from this article. it is a fact, however that he cannot dance.

Reprinted from Western & Eastern Treasure
2002

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By Tony Mullen

Have you ever had your sights set on a particular place to hunt, just knowing in your heart of hearts that it would be an awesome place to detect? Or have you ever tried repeatedly to get permission to hunt a particular place, but somehow never managed to track down the owner? Either situation can keep a serious treasure hunter on edge for a long time. This story is about just such a place.

I work in a small town in North Carolina, about 45 minutes north of Charlotte. There has been a lot of history recorded in the area from the French & Indian War, through the Revolutionary War and Civil War. The community has done well in preserving many of the structures that survived the torches of the Union Army, and a great deal of work and planning has been done to preserve the older houses in many sections of town. A series of historic districts have been established, and covenants and restrictions are now in place to ensure that they will continue to be preserved. In many towns, the older areas often turn out to be the “rougher” ones as well. This town is no exception. While the historical districts are having a positive impact, many of the surrounding neighborhoods remain high crime areas. Detecting around these older homes provides a great opportunity to make some nice finds, but it is in your best interest to take a hunting partner with you!

About three years ago, my hunting partner Allen and his friend Mike had received permission to hunt one of the beautiful Victorian residences in the historic district. They made many nice finds in the yard of the home that was built in 1887. In fact,
-

Tony and Allen soon began finding coins like these around the historic house— over 100 on the front lawn alone.

A fully gilt eagle cuff button fairly gleams, just as it did in the indian Wars era.

A surprising and highly prized find was this Confederate Army officer’s button bearing a “W. Dowler / Superior Quality” backin ark.
they have been able to search that particular site for a couple of years, and each trip back has yielded a nice surprise or two. I too had hunted a couple of sites on the same street, though with less than exciting results. However, there was one particular house on a side street that caught everyone’s attention. Allen pointed it out to me one day, and we agreed that this would be “The”place to hunt. It’s a large Victorian, a little over 6,000 sq. ft., and I got excited when I noticed a light on in the front hallway. Unfortunately, the excitement didn’t last long: Allen told me that the light had been on for a couple of months. He already had some information on the owner, but could never catch him at home. Anytime we got a chance, one of us would go by the house to try to catch someone there. We asked the neighbors about the owner and were told that he was living in Charlotte but generally came home on Sunday afternoons to check on the house. We made many trips to the house over the next couple of years, even writing a letter, but to no avail. Since I work in the town, I made it a point to go by the house whenever I could. This went on for three years! No one was ever there, but the light was always on. It became a bit of a personal challenge with me. I was so determined to meet this man that I got to the point where I was not worried about the permission any more… I just wanted to find out where he bought his light bulbs! Finally, our luck was about to change.

Things at work had gotten a bit crazy one day, so I decided I would get out of the office for a while. It seemed like a good opportunity to drive by the house and see if the owner happened to be around. When I drove up in front of the house, some activity from the house next door caught my attention. The house next door is a creepy looking, abandoned place. Built in the 1920s, it seems painfully out of place among the older Victorian homes. The city wants the house to be torn down, but the ownership of the house is a subject of much debate. The lady who lived in the house recently passed away, and she willed the property to her cat! Now the cat has died as well, so the courts are trying to decide what will happen to the property. (Honestly, every word of this is true!) After chatting with the lady at the house next door, I got permission to detect that yard. She also told me that the neighbor across the street had a phone number for the man we had been searching for all of this time.

After work that day I went back to the house to detect. I was really just planning to hang around out in front, see if I could catch the neighbor coming home from work, and get a phone number. When I arrived, I heard a lawn mower running. I walked around the corner of the house, and could not believe my eyes. After three years I had finally found Mr. Walker! I introduced myself, and as we began talking, I soon realized that Mr. Walker was not only one of the kindest and most generous people I had ever met, but he also has an incredible knowledge of local history. We must have talked for an hour or more. He told me how he had come to inherit the property. His wife’s family had bought it at a public auction in 1872, and at that time the farm was 40 acres. Some of the nearby houses we had hunted in the past were part of the original home place. There was also a house that stood where the current house now stands. Mr. Walker and his wife had inherited it in 1978, when no other family members wanted it.

Then came the big moment: I asked Mr. Walker how he would feel about us metal detecting his property. He said, “That would be fine”— and that was music to my ears! I couldn’t wait to tell Allen the news. I left without even detecting at the house next door! When I called Allen, I think he was stunned. Finally, we had permission! I had already called my office and told them that I was not going to be coming in to work the next day, and I asked Allen if he was going to join me. He too decided that a vacation day was in order. So, we met early the next morning.

The finds started coming quickly. First a few wheat cents and then a couple of buttons. Soon Allen started finding Indian Head cents, and I dug a silver dime and a Buffalo nickel. It was apparent that we were the first to detect here, as there were literally targets everywhere. We hunted on for a couple hours, unearthing more old coins, old keys, buttons, and various other items. Then we stopped to take a break when Mr. Walker came home, and Allen finally got to meet him after “stalking” him for three years.
Mr. Walker said, “Do you know why I let you detect my yard?”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because you asked me,” he replied. He then told us that he had seen people just walk up in his yard two different times, turn on a detector, and start swinging. Of course, he quickly invited them to leave. All they had to do was ask. He then told us that he hoped we found something very valuable, and if we did he wanted us to keep it. At this point I was thinking to myself, “Allen is having a dream, and I’m just in it!”

We continued to hunt that day, and went on to recover about a dozen Indian Heads, several Buffalo nickels, silver “war” nickels, and “V” nickels. We also found silver Roosevelt and Mercury dimes, a 1926 Standing Liberty quarter, an 1886 foreign coin, an 1828 large cent, several watch fobs, old keys, and assorted buttons. In all, we found around 100 coins during the first hunt— and that was out of the front yard alone!

Allen left for a vacation at the beach the next day, and was gone through the following weekend. After church on Sunday, I went back to the house owned by the cat to search that yard. It started raining, so I went into Mr. Walker’s yard to try to get out of the rain. I continued to hunt under the large trees during the downpour, and I was able to find another Buffalo nickel and an 1874 Shield nickel. After a quick couple of keepers like those. I did not want to leave, but a sudden flash of lightning convinced me to come back another day!
That day came about a week later. This time it was my turn to head to the beach, but we wanted to hit the yard another time before I left, so we met early on Saturday morning. The heat was pretty bad, but we hardly noticed it for all the mosquitoes! We finally got into the back yard, where we were expecting more of the same results we were having in the front yard. However, the mosquitoes won this battle, and we quickly abandoned the back yard for the time being. Allen had to leave early for a prior commitment. so I moved back to the front yard, reworking the areas where we had already recovered more than 100 coins. I was pretty embarrassed at the results of this hunt, though not for the reason you might think. I thought we had done a pretty fair job of cleaning the place out, yet I promptly popped up an old bracelet, a 1928 Mercury dime, another skeleton key, an 1891 Indian Head, and another dozen Wheat cents. I also found a small coin spill under a pear tree— two silver Roosevelt dimes, three wheat cents, and a steel cent. I feel sure there are more coins around that pear tree, but swarming yellow jackets sent me retreating faster than the mosquitoes!

I returned to the house a few weeks later when I realized that I did not have any photos of the site. I hadn’t really planned to detect that day, but the wind was blowing fairly hard, and the mosquitoes didn’t seem to be a problem. I didn’t have a lot of time, but I thought I would at least test drive my Fisher Coinstrike around the backyard for a few minutes. I only dug three or four signals that day as my time was limited, and after quickly digging a couple of eagle buttons I called it a day.

When I returned home, my wife asked if I found anything, and I replied, “It looks like some poor “Yank” lost a couple of buttons up at Mr. Walker’s place.” Later, when I decided to clean the buttons up a bit, the first turned out to be a fully gilt cuff button from the Indian Wars era. As I started cleaning the big coat-size button, I noticed there was no shield on the eagle. Then I started working on the back and was able to make out “W. Dowler Superior Quality” on the reverse. That’s when I realized that I had found a Confederate Staff Officer’s button, and an unexpected quote from pro wrestler Ric Flair uncontrollably flew out of my mouth. Whhhoooooooo! My 2-year-old started crying because she thought Daddy had hurt himself! What a surprise it was to pull that button out of a site like this!

After years of waiting, we have already made some very nice finds at Mr. Walker’s. We often wonder what may still be hiding in the backyard. Unfortunately, right now the mosquitoes and yellow jackets are diligently standing guard! But winter is coming, and Mr. Walker has invited us to detect his property any time we would like. So we don’t mind waiting. Even if we don’t find anything else this has been a great site, but we’re confident that the future holds more good recoveries. And more importantly, we have been reminded once again that, “Good things come to those who wait!”

TONY MULLEN, in addition to metal detecting, has a passion for helping orphans in the eastern European country of Moldova. For more infornation, visit
www.littlesamaritan.org

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By Tony Mullen

Frank mullen (left), Tony Mullen (center), and Tony's daughter Suzanne proudly display their hurricane treasures. Even though Frank and Tony had high hopes for their detecting vacation they never envisioned anything like this... over 1,000 coins, a 14K diamond & emerald ring, a 14K diamond & sapphire ring, pendants, charms, earrings a bracelet, scores of keys, and more!

My father, Frank Mullen, and I are relatively new treasure hunters, but after our recent trip to the Caribbean we came home feeling like old pros. Actually, the truth is we just came home feeling old! We have been detecting for about a year now; but it is difficult for us to get together to hunt since we live 200 miles apart. I live in Claremont, North Carolina, and he lives in Roanoke, Virginia. Over the last year, however, any excuse to get together and detect was a good one.

This particular story started with a phone call at work in late August. Dad called to see if I would be able to clear my schedule in October for a trip to the Cayman Islands. All of the details were soon worked out, and the arrangements were made; but now the most difficult part had begun: a month and a half to wait. That leaves a lot of time for a treasure hunter’s imagination to run wild! You know how it is – visions of pirate’s gold, not to mention modern coins, watches, rings, and other valuables literally littering the beaches, just waiting to be scooped up! Finally, the day had come.

On October 12 I loaded up the family, my wife Teresa and daughter Suzanne, and we met my parents, Frank and Barbara Mullen, at the airport in Charlotte. We all arrived safely on Grand Cayman that afternoon.

As you know, when you fly, the big question is, where will your luggage go while you are on vacation? So, we thought it best to take our detectors as our carry-on bags. That proved to be an interesting experience, as my bag and I got a great deal of attention from security at the airport in Charlotte. After I showed them the manual for this “device,” as they called it, they had no problem allowing it on the airplane.

Shortly after we arrived on the island, another visitor blew into the country. Her name was Irene. . . later to become the infamous Hurricane Irene. The rain squalls began before we actually got out of the airport. We arrived at our condo and settled in for our first topical storm on foreign soil.

We spent most of Tuesday trying to hunt between down pours, but with little luck.

Wednesday was about the same: 40+ mph winds and lots of rain.

Despite all of this, we still managed to find a few coins, but nothing to write home about. By late Wednesday, however, cabin fever was kicking in. Finally. we just decided to hunt in the storm.

So, we hit the beach, stopping occasionally under the Australian pines for shelter.

Although we began finding a fair amount of coins, after about an hour of hurricane hunting we decided to hang it up until tomorrow.

Thursday morning came, and we were up before the sun. As dawn broke we made our way to the beach, and our hearts sank when we saw what had happened. Rough seas had eroded the beach overnight, stripping away 2-4′ of sand. I thought, “It’s all gone now”. We were standing, looking over a 3′ drop- off into the water when we saw what we thought was a coin. I jumped in to get it, and my Fisher CZ-7A went crazy! There were coins everywhere! Dad jumped in with his White’s XLT, and we were scooping up coins left and right! After the initial rush of 20 to 30 coins, we decided to settle down for some serious, methodical searching. So, we spread out regained our composure, and began searching. After about two minutes of hunting, I heard Dad shout, “Bingo!” When I turned around, he was grinning and holding up a lady’s 14K ring with six diamonds and three emeralds… the first ring he had ever found. Not a bad start! The hurricane that we thought was going to ruin the hunting turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to us. All day long we continued to dig coins from the 250-yard stretch of beach. Even while we were digging, there were more coins washing up on the beach.

Money was just rolling in out of the ocean! We had never seen anything like it, and in all likelihood we probably never will again. Eventually, my mother decided to venture out, and she too began finding coins.. . without a detector! After a couple of hours we decided to head back to the condo for lunch. I couldn’t wait to tell Teresa about the morning we’d had. She was unable to get out that day because Suzanne, who is only 9 months old, was running a fever. You know how new mothers are about taking their babies out in hurricanes!

However, Teresa was not to be outdone. While doing some laundry, she had found a handful of coins in the washer and dryer at the condo where we were staying! That day alone netted us over 350 coins, three rings, a silver cross, and a pendant.

The next morning we were up with the sun once more, and, as before, the beach had eroded overnight. So, we decided to hunt the same area again. When I got to the beach, I headed south with high hopes. For some unknown reason, though, I turned around and began working my way back north. When Dad got to the beach, he asked me where I had turned around, and he started searching from there toward the south. About 45 seconds later, I hear the familiar, “Bingo!” You guessed it. There he stood, grinning again, holding up another 14K ring, this one with four sapphires and three diamonds. I could kick myself for turning around! As I said, we hunted the same stretch of beach again that day. and it was almost as productive as before. The real challenge was keeping our detectors out of the water. We were hunting in pretty rough surf that was ankle-deep one minute and waist-deep the next. It was amazing to see waves like that in the Caribbean.

As the week progressed, the weather improved. Unfortunately, as the weather improved the erosion stopped the finds decreased. Not only that, but our week was coming to an end. We were scheduled to return to the U.S. on the following Tuesday.

We decided to take an inventory of our finds before we left, and on Monday night we laid it all out and took pictures. At that time we had found 928 coins, five rings, a bracelet, numerous pendants, charms, earrings, 49 hotel keys, and a pair of sun- glasses that I wore home. (Mom wore the rings home!) After we counted the coins, we thought it would really be a shame to be that close to 1,000 and come up short. So, we decided to go for 1,000 We only needed 72 coins to make it. Determined to reach our goal, we set out early and hauled in 77 coins Tuesday morning to bring the total to 1,005 coins. We had never imagined anything like this! The heart-stopper of the trip was when Dad dug a Spanish coin dated 1792. But we found out later from a local coin dealer that the coin had been cast several years earlier for the Caymanian’s nationally celebrated Pirate’s Week.

We are now in the process of cleaning all those coins, many of which are encrusted and still unidentified. So far, we have coins from six different countries, and the oldest is a 1947 Wheat cent. However, with so many coins left to clean, I expect that we may have few more surprises awaiting us in the bunch.

The trip is over now. We have returned home to face reality once again, but we really enjoy showing the pictures and talking about all the treasure we brought home. The fact is, though, that I took the real treasure with me – the time spent and memories made with my family. The stuff we dug up was just a little bonus. Thanks for a great trip, Mom and Dad. Last but not least, thank you, Irene.. .

wherever you are!

Two happy hunters scan the sand at Grand Cayman! Thanks to Hurricane Irene, Tony and his Dad had a treasure-filled trip they'll never forget!

TONY MULLEN gave up golfing and started metal detecting about a year ago. He says he prefers detecting over golf because he takes out fewer divots!

-July 2000 western & Eastern Treasures

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