JUNE 2012 CONTEST

[pulltabsteve]

Have you ever touched a strangers life by metal detecting? I think I have. About 6 years ago at the old park I still love going to, I was detecting the field and noticed an old gent watching me. I worked my way over to him and we started talking. His name was Kevin and he was 83. His wife recently died and he was a WW2 vet. He has been going to this park since the 1940s. He said he always wanted to try metal detecting but he never did. I showed him some of my finds from the day and as luck would have it 1 of my finds was a 1923 Merc. He held the dime and smiled and said that was the year he was born. I gave him the dime but he said he couldnt take it. I MADE HIM TAKE IT! He shook my hand, thanked me, and said I was a very generous young man.

Every time I saw Kevin in the park I made it a point to turn off my machine and sit on the bench and talk to him. We must have talked 20 times in the last 6 years.

Two weeks ago I found out he passed away.

I went back to the park this past weekend and buried a 1923 Merc a good 2 feet deep in his honor.

This contest is simple. Tell a story about a strangers life you touched by metal detecting. Dont be shy, we're among friends here. The contest will run from now, June 1st 2012 thru June 30th 2012 at 9PM.

I'm not sure how I'll pick the winner yet. I may just let all the entrants vote on which is the most heartfelt. PM me if you have a suggestion.

The prize will of course be a 1923 Mercury Dime plus either a 1971 40% silver Eisenhower uncirculated silver dollar, Digging deeper with the DFX book, MXT edge book, hand held sand scoop or a shadow box. Winners choice.
HAVE FUN EVERYONE!
I'll post the prize pictures soon.
EDIT 6-1-12 I'm looking for 15 or more stories to make this contest official.

CONTEST IS OVER!

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

wow what a great story!
here's mine.
When i lived in upstate ny i had permission to detect a home built around 1920.
found some wheaties a few mercs etc.along front of house I dug a sterling silver crucifix.Upon cleaning i noticed a ladies name engravedRose Ann Coryer on the back side.
opened phone book.2 Coryers in phone book.called both #'s no relation. :-\
so,I used to carry this crucifix in my bag as good luck .
a month later I knock on a old brick house,woman answers.I say Hi ma'am just wondering if i can ask permission to detect your yard? I added if i find any personal belongings such as jewlery etc i'd glady return to you.she asks why do you find alot of items like this?
I said yes and for some reason i blurt out I found this cross with name engraved Rose Ann Coryer and was never able to locate her? her eyes widened when i said name :shocked03:
shes says do you still have it? i said yeah right in my bag.
her next response was Rose is my sis in law :omg:
she then says please come inside i will call her.she and her hubby retired & moved to Florida.
she looks in her book and proceeds to call Rose in FL.
Rose answers and the lady says Rose i have a gentleman here who may have found something of yours and she descibes item as shes holding it.
I can hear from acoss the room come through the phone against her ear &quot:daydream:H MY LORD!!!!
next she hands me the phone.I say hi Mrs Coryer.she says where did you find it?
I said 140 Oak st.she begins the story on how her hubby had bought her a sterling rosary beads for their 1st wedding anniversary.she used to wear it around her neck and was helping neigbor plant tulips in front of house.she got home and noticed crucifix was gone crying01
that was over 50 years ago she explained.
She then said I still have the beads and was wondering if i could mail it to her. Well DUH i said! just kidding rofl
anyways i mailed it and 2 weeks later i get a letter in the mail with a gracious letter & $12 enclosed.she stated $5 dollars for each of your kids & $2 to cover shipping & handling.
one of the most enjoyable moments I have ever experienced in my 25 plus years of detecting!

[pulltabsteve]

I was smiling through that whole story Dave! Thats AWESOME!! Its amazing how things work out sometimes. Thanks for being the first to post and getting this contest going |:cheering:

[POKIE73]

my story starts in around mid to late 1970s my uncle got me into detecting we went to all the local parks schools and other places one place in particular was a old dance hall amusment slash picnic grounds it had been in business since early 1900s and ran for thrity years or more before shutting down we must have found several hundred coins apeice there mostly barber and mercs we hunted there for 3 to 5 years and did well every time we went ther we pretty much had it to ourselves with one other freind for all that time wealso still went to houses and other locations together in about mid 1980s my uncle started having health issues so we did not get out to often later he was diagnosed with parkingsons disease we both kind of gave up on detecting after that he was getting to the point wher he was unable and i did not like to go alone so much over the years imy family grew had two boys and a girl i found myself always needing ma littl extra money i sold a few hundred dollars of my coins to help get us by my uncle never goet rid of one coin or ring all that time he has thusands of coins mostly pre 1964 and hundreds of rings to this very day to make a long story short i did not metal detect for m10 years or more but kept my detector in the closet all that time it was a whites 6000d series three well about 2 years ago i was talking to some freinds that i saw detecting one of the guys said he had one for sale i bought and was hooked again i would go out several times and would always go and visit wtih my aunt and uncle that got me started he has gotten to the point now wherre he can barly walk he needs help to get up and down but he loves to hear me tell about my finds the other day i asked my aunt if i should keep telling him about my hunts because i did not want to get him felling bad that he cannot go anymoere but she told me that he loved to hear the storys and would miss if i stopped every now and then he says that he is going to get his detector out and go with me even though he knows he cant he still has the desire to me that is what makes this story special to me he was th e main reason i got into this its hard to see him want to still go in his mind he wants tt get out again i only wish he could i should be a reminder to all of us that without your health we would not be able to continue with our hobbys to end this storu just last week i found a 1855 large cent at the school in my uncle hometown i sat and visited withe him and told him where i found it he told me that he left a few for me to find thats my story about how i got my start and by a special uncle that got me starte heres to everbodys health i hope you all well dennis

[CyberSage]

Note: The following story took place in July of 2007. Still one of my favorite finds to date.


A Very Special First Gold Ring

As Mondays go, it started out pretty normal. I was on my way to my first service call. I have my own business that caters to small business IT and network administration needs. In other words, I am a computer geek. My cell phone rang and, it was my wife. She told me about… and get this… a co-worker’s neighbor’s friend… who lost her wedding band in a local park over the weekend. I was given a phone number and name and asked if I could help. I made the phone call and a woman with a heavy British accent answered the phone. She was a little unsure at first of who I was, and how I knew about her lost ring. Eventually she gained trust of the phone call and told me of the weekends trials and tribulations. We made arrangements to meet at the park in a couple of hours. I finished my service call and stopped back by the house and grabbed my gear. As I pulled into the parking lot and climbed out of the car with my detector, a woman approached stuck out her hand and introduced herself. Joann was very upset about the loss of her wedding band. She explained how the day before she was hitting a volleyball back and forth with her husband in the grassy area next to a playground where their two children played. She wore 3 rings on her ring finger, an engagement ring, an eternity ring and finally her wedding band. She said all at once as she slapped at the ball with an open hand, all 3 rings flew off her hand. They quickly recovered 2 of the rings but the wedding band was nowhere to be found. Her voice saddened as she continued her story. They hunted the rest of the afternoon; her husband remained and hunted until dark.

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o187/CyberSageBH3300/park.jpg

I turned on the DFX and left the headphones unplugged so she could hear as I explained how it worked. She stayed very close as I swept the area where she found the first 2 rings. The DFX let out with a groan and she became very excited. I pinpointed and pulled up a pull-tab from the thatch of the grass. She told me that when her husband came home the night before after hunting until dark he had tried to console her. Like a true husband he had offered to melt down his heavy wedding band and make 2 smaller rings. This way they both could still share a ring from their wedding day. We continued to talk and search for about 15 minutes finding a penny and several pull-tabs. I dug everything in the area just in case. Just as we approached an area behind where she was originally standing I received a solid VDI of 34 and a solid line on the Signograph. I pinpointed and knelt down to look in the grass. Pressed into the mud and covered by a clump of grass was a ring of gold. I held up the ring and smiled... Joann cried. I stood up and she wrapped her arms around me and gave me a big hug. The tears in her eyes and the smile on her face are something I will never forget. She wiped her eyes, and put the ring back on her finger. She said she thought she would never see it again, and that it would be just a memory. Then… Joann cried some more. She wanted to give me a reward; I said a few pictures would do. She consented.


http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o187/CyberSageBH3300/WeddingRing2.jpg

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o187/CyberSageBH3300/WeddingRing.jpg

We shared the moment a little longer, she expressed her thanks and we said goodbye. My first gold ring will be a special one for me. I returned home and as I was putting away my gear I looked down at my collection of found rings. They looked different to me somehow now. I tried to visualize the faces of the people they once belonged to and, I had to stop and wonder...

...had someone’s tears watered the grass where they lay buried?

Keep Swing,in
Jack

[rsarge1]

This was from May of this year. While I was hunting at a local park a young lady stopped and asked if I would look for her husbands lost wedding band made of titanium and gold, http://www.americandetectorist.com/forum/Smileys/SoLoSMiLeYS1/wink.gif I said sure and gave her one of my detecting cards and said to give me a call, http://www.americandetectorist.com/forum/Smileys/SoLoSMiLeYS1/callme.gif her husband lost it while doing yard work the week before. This week I got the call and went over to her house. After a few questions and I used her ring as a test signal and sound, I started to search for the ring and she went into the house and within 5 minutes and before she came back I found the ring and gave it back to her as soon as she returned LOL. It came in at a 26 vdi and sounded like a pull tab which is easy to find in a front yard. As you can see from the pic she was very happy LOL. http://www.americandetectorist.com/forum/Smileys/SoLoSMiLeYS1/cheer.gif http://www.americandetectorist.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=10055.0;attach=216 38;image
http://www.americandetectorist.com/forum/Themes/default/images/icons/clip.gif IMAG0071.jpg (http://www.americandetectorist.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=10055.0;attach=216 38) (289.25 kB, 816x612 - viewed 99 times.)

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

some more great return stories.this is gonna be a toughy :confused: congrats to you guys for touching someones lives.what a great feeling huh? |:cheering:

[pulltabsteve]

some more great return stories.this is gonna be a toughy :confused: congrats to you guys for touching someones lives.what a great feeling huh? |:cheering:

It will be tough Dave and the storys are indeed special. I bet every one of us, when we got into this hobby, had dreams of finding the ultimate treasure. Little did we know we'd be making someone elses dreams come true.

[del]

while what i have to tell isn't as heart warming as some of the other stories , it does touch a few lives so i would like to share an experience i had a few years ago. I was camping on vacation with my family up in New Hampshire and knowing ahead of time that we would be staying a few days up in the mountains and then a few at the beach. So naturally i brought my dfx to hit the beach early in the mornings and late in the evenings , i happen to be on the beach late in the day one time and noticed a family watching me going up and down a particular stretch of beach. they seemed a little more than just curious to me and after my fourth pass by the gentleman walked up with his young son and asked me hello , my son and i have been watching you ... does that pickup all kinds of metal ?? . i said yes unfortunately it finds it all ... the junk and the good stuff as i chuckled , he said that he and his family just started their vacation and they had lost their set of keys earlier today on the beach . the key ring had their car and hotel keys on them and they have been stranded here at the beach for a few hours searching . he offered me money to compensate me for my time if i looked for them , i asked if he knows an about area they might be lost in . he brings me over to where his wife and daughter are , i greet them and said hopefully this won't be long . withing five minutes i was over a target that i was sure were the keys and i called them over , i asked the young boy if you dig right here buddy i bet you'll find those keys i gave his father a wink and a smile and the young lad proceeded to flail the sand away . the mistified look on his face and the relieved sigh his mother gave out once he pulled them keys up was very rewarding . the father , who introduced himself as James and explained they had just arrived here in town their first day of their vacation . he tries to give me fifty dollars for finding them , i told him that was very generous offer but declined and asked for just a handshake instead . James said absolutely and i recieved the handshake with a grateful smile and a sincere thanks . it is truely a great feeling to help someone out and make their day.

Dan

[pulltabsteve]

AWESOME story Dan!!! :clapping: Thanks!

[CyberSage]

These are all fantastic stories. I am really enjoying this thread a lot. Very nice!

[pulltabsteve]

Only 22 days left :grin: Get those cool stories in! :groovy:

[pulltabsteve]

5 very cool stories and pictures |:cheering: Only 2 weeks left. I still need 10 more entries or the contest will be void.

[JTGOLD]

my story takes place in 1976,and it is sad but had a good ending,I was hunting along an old brick sidewalk leading away from the old highschool befor it was torn down,I found a girl's 1960 class ring,later that year when school started I went to the highschool and looked at that year book,there was 3 girl's with the same S.E.R letters for their names.the first one had moved to Tenn.it took me 3 months to track her down come to find out she still had hers,the second one took me about 5 weeks to find her and she still had hers.the last one took almost a year and I had found her mother living here in town so I called her on the phone and told her that I had found something that I thought belong to her daughter,she said she didn't think that I had,I asked her if I could come over to her house and talk to her about it she agreed and told me where she lived,so I went there,and that is when she told me that her daughter was in a car wreck about two years ago
and she lost her life but her husband and two boys made it through the wreck
so I showed the ring to her and she started crying she remembered the ring.
she called her son in law and asked him to come over,when he got there I gave him the ring he was happy and didn't know what to say.they asked me what I wanted for finding the ring I told them nothing, returning the ring was payment enough. two days later I seen she had put a writeup in the local paper,and I called her and thanked her for the writeup.

[CyberSage]

Fantastic story JT! Great thread Steve, prizes or not I am enjoying the stories. This is what it's all about if you ask me. :grouphug:

[rsarge1]

yes I too am enjoying this I can submit another story if you wish LOL

[pulltabsteve]

Fantastic story JT! Great thread Steve, prizes or not I am enjoying the stories. This is what it's all about if you ask me. :grouphug:

You're right Jack, this IS what its all about. Having fun and sharing stories about a hobby we all love. Its not about whether we find a pound of gold or a couple of clad coins its about having fun, making friends and sharing stories of the people we meet. Its not about bragging. Every time I get out I have a blast, no matter what I find. Each time I go detecting I get stopped by at least one person wanting to know what Im finding or them asking what my best find was. I usually end up talking for 1/2 an hour and sometimes get some tips on new spots. I love talking history with the older folk I meet in the parks. They remember so much on how things used to be.

[Cheap Thrills]

Wow , there are some really great stories here that are truly really moving . I'm honored to be in the same forum with such great people . Mine is not such a moving story but It made the girl I returned the ring to and her Dad and myself very happy . I wasn't going to submit it except for the fact more posts are needed to keep the contest going .

Last January while detecting a local Baseball field accompanied by my Dog , I dug up a silver necklace with a High school ring on it . It was from one of the local High schools and had the owners name on it . It didn't take much time or research at all to locate the owner and she had it back that very night .

This ring was on the Forum Banner and made find of the month for January of this year (two achievements of which I am very proud) . More of the story and pictures are there for anyone who may want to see it .

This is a really great thread Steve a nice idea for sure . |:cheering:

[pulltabsteve]

Yes, I remember that story Sheik and it was a good one! Thats what this contest thread is all about |:cheering: Thanks for posting. :beerbuddy:

[pulltabsteve]

6 days left and 8 more stories needed or the contest is void.

[tanacat]

My friend Susan asked me to help her find her missing gold earring in her yard a couple years ago. She was standing on the front porch, eager to see how my new V3i worked. I was fooling around with sensitivity and volume when she said c'mon, c'mon let's see it in action!. I swung a few times and immediately got a loud excited signal but was going to disregard, thinking it was just a zinc penny, but she enthusiastically said dig it, dig it! And I was amazed to pull up this big chunk of gold with the year '36 and Cardome college. She looked at it in awe and shook her head and said &quot:daydream:h my goodness, this is my mom's class ring...

Her mom had passed away 10 years before, she had cared for her mom there at her house before her time had come. Susan showed me her mom's initials engraved in the inside M.J.M., she put on the ring and was deep in thought. She looked at me with puppy-dog eyes and said Can I keep it?... :cheesysmile:

I said &quot:daydream:h, of course! It was my first gold ring and I felt proud to return it to it's rightful owner. And as payment I kept the Franklin half, 2 rosies and wheat I found afterwards in her front yard!





http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t135/frogtopia/Metal%20Detecting/PIC_0158.jpg


http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t135/frogtopia/Metal%20Detecting/PIC_0162.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t135/frogtopia/Metal%20Detecting/PIC_0161.jpg

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http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t135/frogtopia/Metal%20Detecting/PIC_0164.jpg

[pulltabsteve]

Great story Tana!!! :perfect10:

[CyberSage]

:shocked04:verreaction:

OK, How do you expect anyone to compete with such an awesome story like that Tana? :wow:

lol

That's just so cool. :cool:

[tanacat]

Aw shux guys-thanks :embarrassed: I agree that it was a neat situation, considering it was the first thing I dug in her yard. It was like it was waiting to be found...

Did you notice the orb in the first pic, between the windows? Maybe it's her mom's spirit? :shocked04:stretcher: :angelic: Hey, you never know! lol

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's stories- great idea Steve!

[rsarge1]

that is just awesome I'll bet that warmed the heart wtg :perfect10:

[CyberSage]

Did you notice the orb in the first pic, between the windows? Maybe it's her mom's spirit? :shocked04:stretcher: :angelic: Hey, you never know! lol


Now your just giving me the creeps Tana! :shocked04: [size=24pt]BOO! lol

[pulltabsteve]

Out of all the contests that I've held through the years this is the first that was a fail. Pretty disappointing turnout.

Thanks to the 8 people who shared your stories. I thought they were all outstanding.

[Tony Two-Cent]

Sorry it didn't work out, Steve. I enjoyed the stories anyway.

I didn't enter because I just don't have a story that comes close to fitting the bill. I wish I did, but I've never had the pleasure of returning a lost item to someone, nor could I think of any kind of metal detecting story that seemed appropriate for the contest. I suspect that was the case for many people.

Thanks for offering the contest anyway. It was very generous of you.

[del]

hey Steve it still made for some great reading |:cheering: |:cheering:

[rsarge1]

awe, :hysterical: ow well I still enjoyed reading the stories and thanks for the contest.
sarge ::usaflag::

[CyberSage]

Thanks for the contest Steve! I really enjoyed the stories. You should not be disappointed. I think it was one of your best efforts to date. I think these stories should be preserved in another ongoing thread on this topic. What do you think?

[pulltabsteve]

Thanks Jack. Maybe I posted the disappointing turnout comment in haste. It was mentioned to me that asking for 15 stories may have been a bit too much. In any case, the stories were fantastic. Very heartwarming. I love reading posts like those. Some people are more private than others about what they say on forums. I respect that. As you are aware, I say what I feel ;) It would be nice to have a thread nailed to the top with those kinds of stories. A little inspiration for everyone.

[tanacat]

Awwww man, I was wanting to win that sand scoop :crying02: lol

[CyberSage]

I think you had the winning story Tana! :perfect10: Come on Steve, send her the sand scoop. ;)

http://www.americandetectorist.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=10205.0;attach=223 76;image

[del]

hey Steve , Jack gives me an idea ... :thinkingabout: :thinkingabout: why not let only the participants vote on the winning story with you being the tie breaking judge decission.

Dan

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

i'll take the merc! no sense letting it just sit there all lonely .he'll have freinds here! :grouphug:

[pulltabsteve]

i'll take the merc! no sense letting it just sit there all lonely .he'll have freinds here! :grouphug:

Believe me Dave, the Merc's not lonely. I must have at least 2 or 3 of them :grin:

[freemindstuck]

I have been only metal detecting for less then a year and I don't think I have a story that would have been appropriate for this contest. But I have to say the stories submitted were really great!

Thanks