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Is it Possible to Earn a Living from Detecting?

G

Greg From Cape Town

New member
Just wondering....

Since I'm new, can you make a living doing this? Seems by looking at some of the finds on this forum, you can!

Obviously, it would have to be about scoring BIG treasure -regularly. What would an average income be per month in terms of gold, old coins etc etc? Also, can valuable finds be consistent?

Maybe I'm dreaming, that's what folks said, until I found 2 gold rings in a day!

Cheers,

Greg
 
It would be very easy but there are a few factors.

Have to work nights.
Have to be able to run like hell and drop everything you have.
Have to use very expensive detector that detects VERY Deep.

There is a lot of gold and silver buried in cemeteries..
 
Finding old and relics, I know will not pay my bills. I've been wondering the same thing as you, though...

Nothing of what I find goes up for sale, which means I still have to pay for my own beer and cigarettes.

Maybe Garrett will one day sponsor me? :)

HH
 
[quote pizzacoil]which means I still have to pay for my own beer and cigarettes.
HH[/quote]

That's the answer!!!:rage: Give up the beer and cigs and you don't even have to have a job. Just the chump change you find in the park will support you......:rofl: Believe me. I've thought about the same things....:goodnight:
 
Good ole Bass Ale and American Spirit cigarettes are what puts me in "The Zone"! A little of the ol' English and the American to help me pick up the vibes from the sites!
 
Only if you lived in Australia or could go back in time with a modern detector - otherwise you would starve to death. Just to many detectors out there anymore. Back when I started detectors were very rare and every where you detected where people were around you would draw a crowd that would follow you around asking a zillion questions. Ain't so anymore.

Bill
 
A lot of bodies also. :rofl: I used to work in one of those places and I buried quite a few. Also transplanted a few. Wish I had been into detecting then but detectors were virtually unheard of back then.

Bill
 
:rofl:

Very cool responses, especially the old American Beer and ciggarettes getting a detectorist in the Zone.

As far as making a living goes, how much could one get for a German Guter Pfenning from 1768? I found one yesterday above the "Old Zoo" AKA Groote Schuur Zoo, near Rhodes Memorial - on the Groote Schuur estate.

Don't worry, the park ranger's where cool and gave me full permission to detect on Table Mountain. Rules are very lax here in SA and when it comes to detectors, people think of the ones used to scan people for weapons....go figure!

Must get a decent pic for you guys, as it's a really tiny coin.
 
In short no, but if you like to torment yourself then there are some possibilities.
It can depend on the value of your coins. Here in Australia, we have $1 and $2 coins, which make that possibility a lot easier. In the US, they have coins that are of a lower value, which means that you have to recover far more coins. I don't know South African currency. I have met people and heard of people that live to detect (or was that, making a living out of detecting). the ones that I've met, passing through town, live in motor homes and travel around the country side, detecting as they go. Very annoying for us locals, as the next town is too far away, and these people breeze through town twice a year and pick the place clean while I'm trying to make a living.:rage::rant: I have heard of a couple of people detecting for a living in Sydney. they hunt for about 3 or 4 hours a day (husband and wife team). they find enough. in most cases, these people are semi retired and have a second income stream.
I have heard of a fellow who travels to a number of Pacific islands, detecting as he goes; and does very nicely. on one occasion, he hunted around Bali for 6 weeks and ended up with enough for six months wages, plus rings. A number of these places have not seen much detector action!
If you think a bit outside the square a bit, you can come up with places close to home that have a lot of coins, but are not in the general thinking of most detectorists. places like public pools, professional sporting arenas, that don't have public access and other places that require you pay to enter them. For these places, you can either, just ask to hunt in them, or you can increase your chances, by finding some leverage, that you can obtain entry. ie, offering a needle removal service (the Ace can't detect these). In schools in particular, I know for a fact, that School principals worry about this. I own a ferry floss machine, and I use it as leverage to get into spots that I can't detect other wise. There is always the ring and jewellery recovery service. You offer to find a lost ring for a fee.
Then if you want to use different detecting technology, then you can set up an underground gas line and electrical wiring locating business. It pays well, but has high insurance costs. ( I wonder why)
Anyway, like I said, if you want to torment yourself, there is just a few thoughts (and I didn't mention anything about gold hunting)
I hope you're sufficiently teased!:poke:
Mick Evans.
 
OK Thanks,

I'll see if I can find out more about the guy! I was just wondering of course, I'm not some lost youth trying to find his footing in life, blah blah blah.

Just wondered if there where any mavericks out there researching where the next great finds will be!

Cheers,

Greg
 
Very interesting perspective you have.

In South Africa we have 1 Rand, 2 Rand and 5 Rand coins. You could buy say a pack of smokes for 20 Rand.

Also the coins are clad, so if you find them on the beach, it's not uncommon to see that they have had their layers of silver ( or whatever it is) stripped off.

You're right about thinking outside of the box! My dad used to dive wrecks and said that research is key. Also, since I'm in advertising, thinking in terms of target market seems to work for me.

If you want coins or gold, I'd think a beach where rich folks hang out will be spot on.

If you want old finds, detect in places that are historic. Seems to have wored for me, found a VOC coin (1755) and something called a Guter Pfenning (176:geek: near Cecil John Rhodes' old zoo. Alas, they seem to be worth jack sh*rt as per eBay.

Shot for the response!

Greg
 
I recognise Mel Fischer from National Geo! He was the reason I asked the question "Can MDing make you a living".

So things have gone full circle, thanks for that! Cool!

Chow John D
 
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