So the wife said … “you spend too much on your own hobbies and I would like to SEE some jewelry !!” … so I took that literally and bought a metal detector. She is now walking around with a horse shoe on each ear. Very fetching 😉

I had seen the TV series “The Detectorist” with Toby Jones and cast and it was brilliant. The interest was definitely there and with a radio frequency background I understand the theory but, what about the practical ? So a metal detector was bought.

I initially picked up a Turkish metal detector called a Nokta Legend. It was excellent, menu was easy to understand and I was getting along well with it. The practical side of detecting was coming together. Only negative was it was fairly heavy with the large coil and after 4 hours I would be wanting to call it a day. Then I met a good friend who showed me his XP Orx detector and I could not believe how lightweight the XP range was. I then upgraded to an XP Deus II Master and could not be happier !!

The hardest part of metal detecting is obtaining land permissions. For some this is easy but for most we rely on clubs/groups around the area to join on a “pay per dig” basis. While that might seem excessive, two of the local groups I have ventured out with support Yorkshire Air Ambulance and I can easily live with paying towards a charity.

These organised digs are pretty good, some fields have produced good finds in the past and some continue to do so. In addition, you are among like-minded people who have a love for the hobby, some with the same detectors who can offer advice and others who offer a bit of well received banter. It all makes for a good (and knackering) day out in the fresh air.

Fields of Dreams together with “some friends”

Finds that completely make the day

Two “hammered coins” were the first discoveries made. The Edward 1st silver half penny, lower left with the hole in it dates to around 1272~1307. You cannot pass by without thinking who was the original owner 700+ years ago !

I have still yet to find something of significance that would warrant attention of the regional Finds Liaison Officer (FLO) but one never knows. You have to be innit to winnit 😉 ……. and on that note …..

Thanks to an organised dig by the fabulous Wolds Detecting group I have been fortunate to find a discovery of a lifetime … A bronze age socketed axe head dating between 1000 – 800BC. I am so grateful to this group for affording this opportunity. FLO approach and awaiting details for collection ….

Well, last week was the bronze age socketed axe head, this week has been another incredible find and today of all days (Friday 13th). Today’s best find was an Edward III gold quarter noble (1361~1369), the condition straight out of the ground was absolute remarkable. So much detail to be seen.

Mobile phone connectivity to automatically “Geo-tag” finds

Go Terrain app that syncs your phone to your detector over GPS the VDI numbers are the conductivity readings of the metals detected. This is also useful if you find something substantial that requires reporting to the regional FLO as it is accurate to within a few metres.

Finally, I have also created a test bed in the garden so I can tinker with program settings for different conductivities.