I recently learned that a decade ago, an amateur hobbyist with a store-bought metal detector unearthed the £3.2 million ($4.5 million) Staffordshire Hoard. I began reading more on the subject and quickly found that many people actually pick up the activity in hopes of discovering the jackpot.
Journalist Emily Yoffe, for example, even called metal detecting "the world's worst hobby" after she failed to find her own treasure. However, I think that—as with most areas in life—if you enter it with a results-orientated mindset, you'll grow so frustrated by the constant beeping and let downs, you'll give up metal detecting as quickly as Yoffe. It's the process that matters.
The subreddit r/MetalDetecting highlights it perfectly. This online community has enthusiasts celebrating every step of their journey; whether it's a miniature of Squidward from SpongeBob SquarePants or an old Soviet motorcycle! Below are some of the most popular posts on the sub. Enjoy.
#1 I Just Sent Home "Jr" To California. The Family Are Thrilled And I Can Rest Easy Knowing The Right Thing Is Done
Image credits: steals-from-kids
#2 First Time Metal Detecting Found A Over 100 Year Old Time Capsule!
Image credits: Gtclem0
#3 The Ring I Found Earlier This Year Has Been Identified As Late Medieval Dating Around 1450. Due To Its Age And Material I Am Obliged To Report It And Auction It To Museums
Image credits: DohertyBS
#4 Parents Gave Me A Metal Detector. First Time Ever Detecting, First Beep I Heard. Found An Earring I Lost As A Little Girl (Probably 15 Years Ago) About 2inches Down. This Is Fun!
Image credits: subaw0067
#5 From 1 Beach With My Girlfriend The Other Night. Both Rings Are 18k, 1 With Diamonds. That’s 7 Rings In Total! All Were Shallow With The Equinox 800 And 15x12 Coil
Image credits: TTT334
#6 Motorcycle L-300. According To Archaeologists, This Motorbike Was Hidden By The Retreating Units Of The Soviet Army In The Summer Of 1941
Image credits: bikepost
#7 My Buddy Threw His Detector Down And Started This Wild And Crazy Dance. I Tried To Ask Him What He Found, But He Couldn't Speak. He Had To Point To It
Image credits: Buck_Thorn
#8 Finally! It Wasn’t A Pull Tab
Image credits: Djalohr
#9 Wow, This Was Really Cool. Landlady Saw Me Metal Detecting In The Yard And Told Me She Had Lost A Treasured Silver Ring She Got In Bali 5 Years Ago In Her Garden. I Found It In An Hour, She Was Almost Crying. Detectorists Are Your Friends!
Image credits: woodrodius
#10 So Excited! Was Toying With The Simplex's Settings In My Field Last Night. Found My First 10k. Grad Year 1967. My Brother And I Hunted Him Down By Initials. Called This Morning And He And His Wife Cried With Joy. His Mom Bought This For Him As She Was Passing Of Cancer. Was Stolen In The 80s
Image credits: marified
#11 Okay. Now That I've Stopped Screaming "Holy S*** Holy S*** Holy S***" I Can Actually Post This. I Just Found This Absolute Stunner Out The Back Of A Supermarket In Scotland With A Garret Ace 150. Ran Home To Clean It Detector In Hand Lol
Image credits: handyteacup
#12 Found In My Front Yard, Live About 5 Miles From Where The Carnival Was Held! One Of My Favorite Finds So Far
Image credits: fettyboi1738
#13 Easily My Weirdest Find
Image credits: 808snorkeler
#14 All My Silver Rings Found In 2019, Dated From 1900 To 2019
Image credits: reddit.com
#15 First Time Hitting Gold! Definitely Did The Gold Dance In My Head. Weighs 5g
Image credits: BobDucca
#16 Lady Of Lake Washington Seattle. This One Was Recovered In 12 Feet Of Water. Who Was She? Where Was She From? And What Was Life Like Then?
Image credits: lowtonedigging
#17 Random Find Of The Day... Squidward!
Image credits: pickledearwaxcake
#18 Found This Russian Ww2 Tt-33 Pistol In The Forest
Image credits: nekorashii
#19 So, I Was Advised By An Elderly Resident That A Local School Field ( School Is No Longer Open), That It Used To Be An Army Camp. Took My Detector Over There And Over The Course Of Two, 2 Hour Trips, I've Had These Coins. All Dating Back To Victorian Era, Up To Both King Georges. Wow!
Image credits: Lewks12
#20 Gold In The Snow!!!! What A Magical Day. A Medieval Gold Hammered Quarter Noble Of Richard II, Circa 1377-1399ce
Image credits: wayofthebush
#21 It's Finally Happened. My First Hammered. Henry III Silver Hammered Coin ~1250, England.
Image credits: wayofthebush
#22 One Of My Favorite Finds. Wwii Paratrooper Wrist Compass
Image credits: Wainsapain
#23 I Thought My Day At My Civil War Permission Yesterday Was Nuts But That Was Nothing Compared To Today's Finds. Found A Creek On The Back Of The Property And Decided To Detect Down In It And That Was A Great Decision Apparently
Image credits: American-Doggo
#24 Last Year I Found This Silver Annular Brooch. It’s Been Disclaimed As Treasure So I Can Now Wear It For The First Time In 400 Years!
Image credits: poshjosh1999
#25 Today Was A Good Day. 1715 Gold Guinea, And Two 1696 Silver Sixpences
Image credits: wayofthebush
#26 Metal Detecting In Australia, Minus 2 Gold Rings I Returned
Image credits: TTT334
#27 Local Police And Detectives Are Here. Called State Police Who Are Getting The Medical Examiners Office Involved. Human Bone Fragment + Handgun + Concrete Slab
Image credits: crossmod
#28 Found My First Gold Today!
Image credits: j1e2f3f
#29 Nice Little Nuggy With The Equinox 800 Yesterday. Gold-1, Sensitivity 22. Approx 6in Deep In The Victorian Golden Triangle (Australia). 12.4ish Grams After A Clean
Image credits: TTT334
#30 Take A Look At What I Found! A Dream Come True! The Gard From A Viking Sword Found In A Field In Norway. Look At The Intricate Design On This One. Found With Fisher F75+
Image credits: ElveMonster
#31 Was About To Give Up When I Found This Mega Upvote
Image credits: Fisepiss
#32 Finding Forgotten Easter Eggs At The Park
Image credits: 208Treasure
#33 Found This Pretty Brass Lipstick Tube With Bright Fuscia Lipstick Still Inside
Image credits: k8ie_kat
#34 We Found An Entire Civil War Burnside Carbine, A Soldier's Silver Spill, Two Spurs, Hundreds Of Bullets And More At A Civil War River Crossing I Found!
Image credits: deerhuntinghippie
#35 Not Gold, But Still A Really Cool Find!
Image credits: Scribblenaut95
#36 Found 320 Year Old Silver Today In The Netherlands!
Image credits: Openrefrigerator
#37 My Son And I Pulled This Out Of Our Front Yard Yesterday. Appears To Be An Old Toffee Hammer From (Presumably) One Of The Oldest Candy Companies In Western Canada
Image credits: jeckylla
#38 Bob Is Heading Home To Wisconsin Tomorrow
Image credits: steals-from-kids
#39 Found My First Bit Of Silver!
Image credits: 07Stocka
#40 A Handful Of History! My Silver Hammered Coins Dug Up Over The Last Few Years
Image credits: MidlifecyclistUK
#41 First Gold After Detecting 6+ Years. 1871 Victoria Half Sovereign
Image credits: Peenzy
#42 Dug This Lovely Small Viking Era Broach From Finland
Image credits: Puukkomies
#43 The Find Of The Day! Super Pumped My Dad Found It As I Was Digging A Belt Buckle 10 Yards Away.
Image credits: Redfeather1250
#44 Found This Brooch Today I’m Guessing It’s Victorian. I Think The Stones Are Amber And It Looks Like It Used To Be Gold Plated
Image credits: Eric9799
#45 Why Shouldn't I Keep It
Image credits: Dan20mey
#46 My First Metal Detector Find In Vietnam!
Image credits: Nidioty
#47 Found An Viking Age Arrow Today!
Image credits: Eric9799
#48 Best Clump Shot Ever!! Turned Out To Be A Turn Of The Century Gold Ring With Diamond!! Winter Detecting Paid Off
Image credits: Silverslingers
#49 Roman Snake Motif Ring - Favorite Find I’ve Ever Made (Southern France)
Image credits: HurricaneMedina
#50 Pulling A Gold Ring Is A Great Feeling. Popped This Sucker Out This Morning
Image credits: exorcized
#51 I Found A Dagger!!! How Old Do You Guys Think It Is? Can Anyone Identify It?
Image credits: yossigilbert
#52 Cool Find From The Backyard - 1930s Cast Lead Mickey Mouse
Image credits: urbanism11
#53 Found This Metal Detecting In New Hampshire. Small But Super Heavy
Image credits: foxpunch
#54 I Found This American Coin Far Away From Its Country, In A Quiet Field While Metal Detecting In Scotland
Image credits: randomWIGHT9000
#55 A Watch Collection
Image credits: subdetection
#56 Today Was Awesome! I Found A Nearly Complete German Trench Stove From Ww2!
Image credits: suskeenwiske
#57 I Was Flinging Out A Cast Net And Lost A Ring. This Lady Was Out With Her Detector In 16 Hours Notice And Found It For Me!
Image credits: chickenclickin
#58 First Ring Found!!!! Too Bad It's One I Already Own Lol... Lost It Two Years Ago At A Friend's Place, And I Wasn't Into Metal Detecting. Had The Idea Today To Go Back With My At Pro And As Always, She Did Not Disappoint! I Know It's Just A Tungsten Ring, But It Is My Wedding Ring And Means A Lot
Image credits: farnamae
#59 Finally Struck Gold
Image credits: Pluis65
#60 Found This Stainless Steel Michael Kors Watch Totally Buried In The Mud And Amazingly Was Still Ticking Away!
Image credits: watersigns
#61 Today Find - Mg42 Anti-Aircraft Sight
Image credits: PaSirda
#62 Found My Father In Law's Gold Ring He Lost 10 Years Ago In His Garden. First Gold Find And I Don't Get To Keep It!
Image credits: ROFLBBQLOLZ
#63 Wow. Just Wow. 23 Grams Of Almost Pure Silver. Napoleon The Third 1867. First Real Silver Coin And One Of My Best Finds Ever. Found In The Neterlands Of All Places
Image credits: suskeenwiske
#64 Aw, Come On! Who Puts 11 Pull Tabs Together Like This?
Image credits: Eric9799
#65 Found Metal Detecting In My Backyard
Image credits: Mslay36
#66 I Dug Up 4 Rings Today!
Image credits: Jewshitzu
#67 Me And My Dad Found Our Third Canonball Yesterday!
Image credits: NagyNL
#68 Find Of The Day
Image credits: That-Coin-Guy
#69 What I Thought Was A Roman Grot Turned Out To Be A Heavily Oxidised Denarius Of Titus Dating To Around 80ad!
Image credits: poshjosh1999
#70 Had The Find Of A Lifetime Today! 1795 Flowing Hair Half Dime!!! What A Day To Remember
Image credits: YEE_YEE_2015
#71 Dug This Up Yesterday In The First 15 Minutes Of Detecting. Pin Pointer Batteries Died Right After. Oklahoma
Image credits: danes86
#72 Found This Today
Image credits: Nikkinak003
#73 1 Year Of Tabs Next To 1 Year Of Gold
Image credits: Dan20mey
#74 I've Been Wanting To Find A Skeleton Key. I Got More Than I Bargained For Today
Image credits: VeryCasualPCGamer
#75 Found A Coin Purse From The 1700s. The Coins Were Buried In The Roots Of The Tree
Image credits: Kholmogory
#76 Oldest Coin I've Found To Date. 1660 Spanish 1real. Tidewater, Virginia
Image credits: theworthlesssnail
#77 I Finally Found My First Gold!!!
Image credits: kriticalj
#78 A Treasure From Sudetian Churchhouse Gard. It Was Propably Hidden By Locals Before Germans Were Forced To Move Out Of The Czech Borderlands. It Took Us Full Two Hours To Dig All Out
Image credits: piouschewrous
#79 My Father Passed Away Recently And This Is His Prized Metal Detecting Find. Found In Se Oklahoma. I Would Love To Have More Information On This. I Can't Find Anything Remotely Similar To It Anywhere Online. I Can Provide More Photos On Request. There Is Also What Looks To Be An "1872" On The Back
Image credits: TheRealSides
#80 Finally My First Ring After 2 Years Of Detecting!
Image credits: Hirmuleuka
#81 Portuguese 1000 Reis, 1733 Gold Love Token! Absolutely Over The Moon With This One
Image credits: 07Stocka
#82 Big Silver Score
Image credits: Smithr73
#83 Thiel. Ww2 German Pocket Watch
Image credits: Merakh
#84 Gold At The Beach!
Image credits: vbdad2
#85 Can't Believe This, Just Found A Whole Cannon Ball On A Hill Near A Revolutionary War Battle Site. Feels At Least 10lbs. Super Exited Now I Gotta Figure Out How To Get It Back Home!
Image credits: American-Doggo
#86 Eifel Germany
Image credits: oppertokkie
#87 My First Find On My New Metal Detector!
Image credits: ofeybuns
#88 Whilst Metal Detecting In The UK, I Found A Usaf Dogtag Belonging Peekskill A Pilot From Belmar Nj. He And His 4 Brothers Had Been Posted Over Seas In The Early 1940s, He Sadly Passed Away In The Late 80s, But I Was Lucky To Trace His Daughter And Return The Tags To His Family In New York
Image credits: andicurriemonster
#89 I Just Found A 500 Years Old Silver Coin
Image credits: SkartPT
#90 Over The Moon With This Find
Image credits: cuse13203
#91 I Found My First Silver Thimble Last Week. Today I Restored It, And Can Use It For The First Time In Over 100 Years
Image credits: poshjosh1999
#92 You Take Your Centennial Belt Buckle Or Your 500 Year Old Coins. I Found Some Jeans Shorts With A Kia Keyfob In The Pocket!
Image credits: GrammerSnob
#93 My 7 Year Old Son Found This Today And Two Pennies. We Bought Him A Kids Metal Detector For Christmas
Image credits: AKBrownCoat
#94 Cool Plates Found At A Farm Site. Farm Is Gone But The Relics Remain!
Image credits: MarshallMetalDetect
#95 Some 1938 Finnish Mosin-Nagant Clips Still In Cardboard!
Image credits: Kaketeus
#96 I Found An Old Pocket Watch Today! Really Happy With It. Found In The Netherlands
Image credits: Openrefrigerator
#97 Found A Set Of Silver Rings This Morning!
Image credits: Dan20mey
#98 A Ww1 Canadian Military Canteen That Has Been Sitting In 40 Feet Of Water For Over 100 Years
Image credits: Purple_Churros
#99 Camping, Metal Detecting, And Gold Nuggets. Not Many Hobbies Pay For Themselves
Image credits: reddit.com
#100 This Silver Pendant I Found Metal Detecting Is Dated 227 Years Ago Today
Image credits: Silver_Winged
#101 My Dads Little Metal Detecting Museum
Image credits: Wessel-P
#102 This Brooch I Found While Metal Detecting
Image credits: NormIslandRandom
#103 Ferrari, Lesney Collection, England
Image credits: subdetection
#104 Found Metal Detecting Southeast Oklahoma. Some Type Of Valve Manifold
Image credits: hobnailboots04
#105 Bronze Age Socketed Axe Head
Image credits: OnePuzzleheaded3675
#106 Found My First "Treasure" Today
Image credits: fugubros
#107 Went Out To Take My Mind Of The Corona Virus, Found This Old Lead Seal
Image credits: mdsign
#108 Also Found The Coronavirus Vaccine While I Was Metal Detecting Today
Image credits: tjohnsonjr0109
#109 Y'all Are Always Posting Damn Coins And I'm Digging Up Bottled Tomato Sauce
Image credits: MrDurka
#110 Roman Ring
Image credits: Marshal_SRB
#111 My Grandfather Was Metal Detecting For Stones With High Metal Content And Came Across These 2 Jars. A Few Coins Were As Old As The Late 1800s
Image credits: billychester
#112 Not A Bad Day Out!
Image credits: deerhuntinghippie
#113 After Hundreds Of Broken Nails And Cat Food Cans I Finally Found Something Interesting
Image credits: TheFancyTurtle
#114 Todays Finds On Roman Field
Image credits: Marshal_SRB
#115 Of All The Things We Could Dig Up, We Found A Shovel
Image credits: maisgah
#116 Might Only Be $.02 Worth Of Slag Metal, But My 5 Yr Old Thought It Was A Million Dollars Worth Of Aztec Gold!! He’s Hooked
Image credits: Smokeybearvii
#117 My Best Find In 3 Years Of Detecting, A Groat Of Philip The Fair Minted In 1295!
Image credits: Brilliant-Nobody
#118 Water Hunt At The Same Spot, 6 More Silvers
Image credits: TTT334
#119 Found Capped Bust Half Dime Today In The Pa Woods. 1833. Good Day
Image credits: racc828
#120 Just Bought My Very First Metal Detector Today! Found This Buried Next To A Creek. Was Not Expecting This
Image credits: hoodiebeanie
#121 After A Little More Than A Year Of Detecting I Finally Got My First Gold Ring! It’s Only 10k But Gold Is Gold And I’m Excited About It!
Image credits: ImTheGlue
#122 First Find Of 2021 And It’s A Medieval Coin!
Image credits: Brilliant-Nobody
#123 This Is Why You Don’t Give Up On A Hole. Signal Kept Jumping From The 50s To The Upper 80s. Dug About 6 Inches Down And Just Kept Finding Little Scraps Of Aluminum Dug Over A Little And There It Was 1 Oz Sterling Spoon
Image credits: Tslo12
#124 1920s Condom Tin (3 Merry Widows Prophylactic)
Image credits: lostcosmos
#125 My First Big Hit! 250 Years Old Silver Coin
Image credits: Shunaia94
#126 Yay! My First Silver Coin. It’s From 1740
Image credits: Eric9799
#127 Contractor Doing Work In My Pre-Civil War Era House Pulled This Union Officers Civil War Belt Buckle Out Of The Ground. Needless To Say I Bought A Metal Detector!!!
Image credits: cuse13203
#128 My Son Found His First Coin Spill
Image credits: Gdsmith504
#129 I Got About Half Hour In At George Washington's Friend's House Before It Started Pouring. Good News Is It's Never Been Hunted!
Image credits: kriticalj
#130 Finally! My First "Big" Silver!!!
Image credits: Midknight81
#131 Ink Bottle I Found In My Great Grand-Parents Backyard
Image credits: Fly---Away
#132 I Found This Tiny Elizabeth I Penny Today! It Was 10 Inches Deep With The Xp Deus And Weighs Just 0.6 Grams! It’s Cleaned Up Well!
Image credits: poshjosh1999
#133 I Was Clearing Out A Spot For A Doggie Pool When I Found This About 6” Down In The Georgia Clay
Image credits: Yakasaka
#134 Oldest Coin I’ve Found, And In Fantastic Shape
Image credits: Jimithyashford
#135 My Best Find A Ww1 Luger
Image credits: bigboialex6969
#136 Some Grenade Pins From A Recent Hunt - Australia
Image credits: TTT334
#137 Silver Denarius Of Julia Denma Found In South Gloucestershire On Sunday!
Image credits: OnePuzzleheaded3675
#138 Last Week I Posted About The Shrapnel In My Garden, Today I Found The Likely Culprit. A 4.5" Naval Shell From 1940!
Image credits: 07Stocka
#139 Find Of The Day. I’m So Excited!
Image credits: MrCheesyfuntime
#140 Possibly The Best Morning I’ve Had! All Found Within A Couple Of Hours In Norfolk, UK
Image credits: MidNorfolkSearcher
#141 Poor Bird
Image credits: kgff
#142 Found An Old Model T Ford Key Today! Made Between 1919-1927. It Was Super Deep, Probably About A Foot Down At An Old Church
Image credits: CoinsNStuff64
#143 First Find Scouting A New Spot. Hopefully It Brings Good Luck
Image credits: 808snorkeler
#144 Killer Mid 1800s Skeleton Key Comes To The Surface
Image credits: Imyellow33
#145 All My Good Finds From A 1880s Hotel
Image credits: The3ndSovietUnion
#146 Here Are More Pics Of My Portuguese Buckle Of A Military General, From The 1815-1830!!!
Image credits: reddit.com
#147 Always Nice Finding M1 Garand Clips
Image credits: struwex
#148 The Oldest License Plate I’ve Ever Found
Image credits: Jazulupoopoo
#149 This Cool Makeup Tin From The 1920s Was Found On Our Property!
Image credits: MLM35
from Bored Panda https://bit.ly/3fqDYmS
via Boredpanda
