DetectingWales.com

come on guys what's your story ,what was your reason for getting in to metal detecting

My daughter lost her ring so I went out got a cheap detector to find the rind, then it went from there, I found detecting wales website after doing research, got a Garrett ace 250 worked my way through loads of detectors, its a very addictive hobby.
Al

I have always loved history and bought a detector I love the fact  that when you find stuff it kind of makes history more real if that makes any sense and then once you find  stuff you hooked ;D

Because I didn't know any better :D :D

Detecting has been the chosen hobby for my dad, uncle and friends so iv grow up with it really, my brother never liked it he never went out once, he would rather sit at a lake for 3 days looking at a float bobbing about lol where he is now ;D to me that's boring, but he thinks im mad digging tiny bits of lead and buttons, so many people start the hobby, but give up after a few months its not for everyone.

The thing with detecting is how it leads to other things like research when im not detecting or on DW im researching the items I find, the village I detect, even the names of local places interest me, its all history and called it for a reason.....It just goes on :D il stop now ;) 
 

i always loved history and finding stuff so that's how i start to do metal detecting .

Always dreamed of hoards of treasure since been a kid then I had a major accident and the physio said after 3 years of ops and physio I should quit fishing and try metal detecting. It's all gone down hill since then hahahaha.

I love it.

boredom and something to fill up the time,1 day I just thought I will buy myself a metal detecter,,then I went obsessed for a while now the pills have worked and im much more chilled out on the topic these days ;D

i was fascinated watching a local old boy finding stuff on a field near my home in the 70s so when i saw one in either a janet fraser or kays catalogue and was soon the proud owner of a c scope bfo machine.

4 years I u to dig old bottles when I was out fishing from the river banks  and out rabbiting my best find in a rabbit hole a ,,,16century silver cockrel

keeps me off the drugs beer and wild women,well off the first two anyway lol  ::)
 oh aye and im adiccted to gold.its the thrill of getting something for nothing i supose ;D

lol Mike, I've cut down aswell :D :D

A interest in history especially local history.

Guaranteed exercise and the pleasure of walking close to the natural world that others fail to see in their lifetime. ;) :)  Jerry.

some great answers keep them coming guys and gals
i started in december with no interest in history , i never dreamed of large hoards or bags of gold coins , and to be honest i couldnt care if i never find gold , the reason it interested me was i could not fish anymore with the problems in my spine and i needed a hobby , so after a bit of research and pestering people (chef geoff) lol i came to the conclusion i wanted to start metal detecting to get me out of the house and try to lose some weight , now im hooked and love to get out as much as possible , im more interested in history now than i ever have been and love researching the things i find (when i find )
i have also meet some great people who i class as friends and also enjoy their company and i hope they enjoy mine too

Was on hols in Cornwall in 70s when the hippy beach bums used to sign on dole in Devon and Cornwall and just spend the summer surfing etc. (cos in those days they could)
Met a guy with a BFO machine who was doubling his dole money with coin finds in the soft sand. Probably some jewellery  as well but he only showed me pocket full of coins.
Bought a cheap machine when I went home and started that way, mainly on local beaches. Used to bottle dig as well with a local guy who has since become the area historian and is well respected.
My work used to take me abroad a lot so I detected in France, Spain and other parts of Europe when there were few restrictions.
As people say, it is a love of finding history, even a grotty old penny. Gave up for many years but have started again because a grandson is keen.

The psychiatrist at the High security prison where I was an inmate, suggested that I get a hobby, so he gave me a detector and a
spade, first signal I dug was so deep it took me under the prison walls, I haven't looked back since. I joined DW and its just
like being back with my fellow patients.

Curiosity I guess..... I also met a very nice fella on Porthcawl beach named Alan known as ThePastFinder on dw. I recently learned he has since sadly passed away and all my finds up until now I dedicate to him. He pointed me towards dw.com and from there I became more interested in the historical side of detecting and learned so much more about the hobby. The sheer variety of objects that come out of the ground and anticipation of what will come up next keeps me going  ;)

Folks,

My wife thinks that anyone who detects is pretty much crazy....lol.....so here's a tune for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkOsjxh0htU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkOsjxh0htU)

Having been interested in history at school (probably the only subject)  ;D I suppose the seed was planted then, one way or another, then I met a chap who had recently found a hoard of Siliquas who told me he had found them in the bank along side a lane which I could see from my house, for the next year or so I thought that if he had found it may be I could find some treasure as well, I started purchasing treasure hunting and that was it. Up until then fishing was my hobby,but it was not long before the rods and reels went and I was the proud owner of an Arado 120, that was it 30 years later, it's my life as far as hobbies are concerned  :P :P :P ;)

I had the Arado 120 for many years also. I knew that machine so well and it used to talk with me through the tones. Only really needed the meter for deep iffy signals. Had the 95 as well for beach work but still preferred the 120B

Paul you said he found the Siliquas in a bank, its surprising how many hoards are found in banks, I know of a small groat hoard found in the bank splitting two fields, when the hedges was pulled out to increase the size of the field that's when it came to light.
Im waiting on a book now about all about hoards it should be interesting..... but with out doing research I think the name bank we use today comes from the day it was buried in banks ( the bank of its day literally) ;)

Don't you start with that rubbish :o It's the longest lived bit of tripe in metal detecting ;D....Bank, financial, is the Lombardic word for counter and nothing to do with earthen banks end of.
This little gem is my pet hate and the next person that even mentions an association gets......(http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv294/Chef_02/gun-gif.gif)
 :D

Calm down dad .watch the blood pressure

I got into it because i find it very calming and good for my stress levels which have been high for the past 6 months.
whats more relaxing than sticking headphones on and digging your worries  away  ;D

Dale it was a slope not bank ;) and I agree a lot is found in them, I'm not disputing with Geoff, that guns bullets he put up could take someone's eye out ;) of course he's rite thou  ;)

LoL can I put my hands down now?

i was a great believer in blood sports fishing,shooting,hawking even spear fishing and a really good friend of mine and musket ball off DW were out all the time i was constantly taking the mickey telling them to get a proper hobby.
Then 1 nite they talked me into going down to one of the local beaches after a really heavy storm as the shovel boy the finds they where pulling out was amazing i,ve always loved history from roman to norman and after that i was hooked rods and guns haven't surfaced since.

Also i would like to note that an elderly gentleman told me that one day the blood thurst would leave and i would prefer to see the little animals alive in all there glory instead off killing them.
i don't no if hes right and i,ve grown up or detecting has taken over time will tell i suppose.

p.s i even swerve to MISS the rabbits these days lol

I s'pose it was a natural progression for me.  I was always a Tom Boy and a collector of all things a bit different. I don't think I've ever been able to get back home after a walk without something in my pocket.
I saw someone with a detector and said I'd love to try that and guess what,  Father Christmas brought me one. Unfortunately I didn't have the confidence to take it out on my own and it languished in the cupboard for about 4 years.  Then one day I saw a couple detecting on the beach and wondered over to speak to them about it. He agreed to meet up with me and introduce me to some proper detecting. I found a couple of old coppers and a shoe buckle and that was it, I was hooked.
I wish now that I'd had the confidence to start earlier. I love the hobby, the history, the identification of the most obscure bits and the freedom of being out in a field in the Sunshine with the birds singing and some beautiful scenery to look at when I stop for a breather. And, of course there's always the hope of finding something nice.

Val

great storys thanks all :) :)

I've always been interested in metal detecting but did not have the time, not a lot of free time untill I went semi-retired in work
and could then devote some time to the hobby, I brought a whites coin master and joined a club,the coin master was replaced with a
second hand Explorer SE not that the Coin master was no good it's a great machine for the money, but every one else was using Minelabs so I thought that I should have one.I love metal detecting and hate not being able to go out detecting it's like an addiction
and makes me look at history in a different light.

I used to go digging for bottles on a Victorian rubbish dump back in the 70s and early 80s my dad must have taken notice as one Christmas I had a C-Scope 100 Metal Detector which I found quite a bit with especially when the local park lake was dredged for the first time . Since then I was hooked and have been detecting ever since it will be 32 years this year that I started detecting . I am also glad that my son (CUT/HALF) has taken up the hobby the best hobby in the world !!!

Started as a teenager but give up when i discovered girls and beer,. Started up again as i was putting on to much went after a change in jobs from building  foreman to ebay seller , the wife suggested long walks but i hate walking with no purpose , hence metal detecting , the weight is falling off me and i love the hobby, so a win win situation . ;D

Joan Allens book 'glittering prospects ' Joan has been gone a long time although her name lives on at the shop in Kent .why did Joan get into detecting i dont know ,she knew a lot to write a book in the 80s