Metal Detecting Adventures: Can You Make Money?
Other
I took up metal detecting around a year ago and have to say I find it very enjoyable. I really loved the TV show Detectorists and that's what inspired me to invest in a metal detector
Metal detecting in the UK is a tightly controlled pastime and for obvious reasons you can't just go out and start digging holes in someone's field! You need special permissions and agreements in place to detect inland so I decided before investing that my metal detecting adventures would take place on my local beaches.
Any UK shore line owned by the Crown Estate can be detected on without prior permission, all you have to do is leave things how you found them, ie always refill your holes! There's a useful map online showing which beaches they own.
So to the first question on most people's lips: Can you make money? The short answer is yes 100% you can. So far I have spent around 40 hours and have found £39+ in spendable coins, although my detector (C Scope cs4Pi) cost 8 times that much so it will take me a while to get the money back! Also some of the coins are badly corroded by the saltwater and the shops won't accept them
Of course you also have the chance of striking gold, watch this short video filmed in a field very close to where I live in 2013:
I have not been that lucky and haven't performed the Detectorists gold dance yet! Although I have found a 9ct white gold wedding ring worth around £30. I have yet to find a single pre decimal coin but that's because most of them are found inland.
I do have some secret items that I won't disclose which are difficult to value, but if you take up beach detecting you should eventually find out for yourself!
So over a year I have done around 40 hours and have found about £70 worth of coins and jewellery. I think if I was to go out detecting for 10 hours per week I would've got my money back for my detector already.. and then some!
Anyone else enjoy this hobby? Maybe you would like to share some details about your finds?
Thanks for reading
First thing you need to ask yourself is do you know anyone who will let you detect on their land? If the answer is no & you don't like the idea of approaching land owners, then it's probably best to opt for a detector that can work well in saltwater environments (not all of them can), so you can use it on Crown Estate beaches straightaway.
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