metal detectors - anyone use them?, page-5

The plan was when travelling around Australia in the motor home, to purchase a gold detector and search the gold fields of Australia. So I bought a SD2200D when they first came out in 99'-00' for $4,400.

After spending 3-4 months in the gold fields of Victoria (Golden Triangle etc...) and still no luck I gave up. Tried going out with old timers, and well yes they would find a 1,2, 4g nugget here and there, where Dad and myself would be left holding bullets, bullet casings, buttons, lead, pull tops, spam cans, tent pegs and other useless shoot!!! Everything but the gold I tell you. It was very disheartening.

So in the end it got packed up and put in storage under the motor home, till one day we were camped beside a playground in the town of Kumbia. Was bored and thought I would detect the playground just for the fun of it. After 30mins I found $9.55, 3 matchbox cars, 2 beer bottle tops and a small genie lamp.

Well from that day on I was hooked in looking in playgrounds, over the next 4yrs while we travelled I would detect I playgrounds right around Australia. Plus, the money I found keep my Bundy rum supplies in a healthy state.

In the end after 4yrs of travel, I picked up more than $7,000 in coins, dozens of gold rings, necklaces, bracelets, couple of watches and countless other charms, matchbox cars (would fill a 2ltr ice-cream container each month, then hand it to a kid just to make his day), badges, trinkets etc.. etc.. etc..

I've posted a few picture of the items I found in playgrounds within the first 5months.

If you were going to just use a metal detector in playgrounds though, the metal detectors of today are certainly an overkill. Though if looking for gold it pays in my opinion to buy the latest, cause if you aren't finding any gold you can't blame the detector then.

Mark