My First Day of Metal Detecting!!!

I'm such a five-year-old boy.

After researching metal detectors for a few weeks, I finally pulled the trigger and purchased one last Saturday.  After reading numerous reviews, opinions, experiences, etc., I made the decision to go with a Garrett Ace 250 and even bought a Garrett ProPointer to go with it.

And then the hard part came.  I waited...and waited...and waited...only to learn that my metal detector had not even been processed as of Wednesday!  How disappointing!  I called them up immediately and asked why.  They said the units were on backorder...grr!  I had been looking forward to metal detecting this weekend.  I was pretty disappointed on Thursday.

But then I logged on to FedEx this morning to see when the package was due.  It said today!!!  What?!  I can dig after all!  And this is where I became a five-year-old boy.  It's hard to explain as a 30-year-old man, but I had an excitement that was just downright FUN!  I was waiting for a gift!  Eager expectation!  I'm not goin' to lie, the expectation was just as exciting as the actual gift!

The package went on the FedEx truck at 10:58 A.M.  Woo hoo!!!  It's on its way!!!  Would it come straight here?!  How many deliveries were before me?!  I could get several hours in today yet!  So fun!  But I waited...and waited...and waited...

Sigh.  My exciting afternoon turned into a disappointing afternoon.  Oh, the ups-and-downs of metal detecting!!!  And I haven't even started yet!!!  Noon.  One o'clock.  Then two.  Three.  Four.

Sigh.  I was so excited that I had even checked to see when the sun set today.  6:27 P.M.  I was now down to little daylight left.  What a bad day!

Then for reasons unknown to me, I happened to glance over at my front window.  The FedEx truck was here!!!  But leaving?!  Oh no!!!  I rushed outside!  No package!  I hurried to get my shoes and see where he was going to chase him down in my truck.  How could he have missed me?!  Why didn't he knock?!  Nooooooo!!!  I rushed out the side door only to see a delivery sticker!  Why?!

I pulled it off the door and noticed an arrow.  Pointing to my backyard.  ?!  Could it be?!

Sure enough, the FedEx guy just threw the box in the yard, put the sticker on the door, and chose not to knock.  I'm sure he's able to get a few extra deliveries in each day doing that, but c'mon!!!  Had I not see him leaving, I would have missed it until tomorrow!

But the box!!!  Oh how tiny!  Did it have everything?!  That was my first thought.  The box looked so little, and I was afraid that my entire shipment hadn't been met.  Grr!!!  But sure enough, it was all there!!!  Really?!  Could it be?!

The next five minutes were a frenzy of me tearing open the boxes and necessary parts.  I had already read the instruction manual online earlier today (did I tell you I was excited?!), and the installation was a breeze...and quick.  It came with batteries!  Should I play with it first?!  Agh, forget it!  Outside we go!

And just like that, I was in my backyard trying to figure out what in the world to do with this thing.

Thankfully, the Ace 250 is a VERY easy-to-use metal detector.  Within just a couple of minutes, I had found my first hit...in my tiny backyard.  I dug it up.  A nail!  ha!  My first find was a nail!  And then the beeps just kept on coming as fast as I could swing that detector.  Nail, nail, nail.

Agh, this is going to be rough!  Was it because I was searching too close to the house?  This is just...silly!  Nails are not fun!  But I kept on going.  I knew darkness would hit VERY soon, and I just wanted to play in the dirt!  The box arrived at 4:40 P.M., so I had less than two hours to do everything.

Ting.  Beep.  Beep.  This detector was picking up all kinds of signals!  And then...it happened.

I dug the beep and I wasn't prepared for what I found.  A PENNY!!!

My first coin!!!  A penny right there in the middle of the hole.

Looking back, this is so silly to even write, but I can't tell you what that penny did for my morale!  I was that five-year-old boy all over again!!!  Right then and there, I knew I was hooked.  I won't lie, the nails were disappointing, but as soon as I found this tiny beat-up and bent-up penny, I was in love with the hobby.  All because of one cent!  It's goofy, mildly embarassing, but oh so true.

It wasn't even anything special.  The date is unknown, and it's not even a wheatie!  Just a simple penny.

My first coin!  A beat-up penny.

But the dig was on now!  I was eager to find EVERY piece of metal in my yard!  And frankly, that's what was happening!  I mean, EVERY piece of metal.  I would hit it all.  I was still learning my new metal detector, and I was overly eager to just dig it all up!  But it was just lots and lots of nails and screws!  But I was quickly learning that my tiny yard was just full of metal!  I couldn't believe it.

So many stories to be told from every piece.

But then I found another penny, and that made me want to dig even more!  I tell you, those nails get do discouraging, but those pennies just keep you going!  Nail, nail, nail, nail, penny, nail, nail, nail, penny, foil, junk, nail...

That was basically how my day was going!  And the sun was quickly setting.  I needed to get everything cleaned up.

But I just couldn't go in yet.  I NEEDED to dig one more.  And I'm so glad I did.

Beep!  Beep!  That was a nice signal.  Beep!  Hmm.

So I dug.  And I was just floored at what I found.



By far the best find of the day!

The ring covered in mud

I couldn't believe my eyes!  A silver ring!

On my very first day of digging...in my very own backyard...I had found one of the most exciting finds I imagine a digger gets!  Right there, clear as day, covered in mud was a metal RING!!!  A ring!!!  I am so glad I wanted to find just one more!!!

Night was setting in soon, so I had to call it a day...and category my findings!!!  I was shocked at just how many items were found in such a short time.  And those pennies and ring?!  This is just too fun.




13 nails, one screw, one unidetified triangular metal piece (top center), one wire, three pieces of foil, one button or clasp?, five pennies, and one ring!  Not bad for an hour and a half!

I cleaned the items of value up.  None of the five pennies were wheaties, but I didn't care!  That's five cents back on my hobby!  And, frankly, it's worth so much more than five cents because it really DID instill a love for this hobby.  And that's priceless.

I also went ahead and cleaned up that ring.  It's sterling silver!  Oh how fun!  After further research on the -->M-H<-- marking, it appears that this was made between 1951 and 1980 by McGrath-Hamin.  Found on my FIRST DAY!!!

My first ring!

All in all, I just had a blast.  Even though the box arrived late, I was thrilled to get an hour-and-a-half of searching in.  It was just fun.  Five pennies and one sterling silver ring!  I can't wait to dig my backyard tomorrow!!!

The valuable finds of Day One!  Five pennies and one ring!

It feels good to be five years old again, doesn't it?

[My house is located in Cleveland and was built in 1939, so the history under the soil could have potential!]