UK Media Encouraging "Plunderers"?

"A new television series describing the exploits of metal-detecting Britons has come under fire from archaeologists fearful that it will encourage treasure hunters who can damage ancient sites.

The British Museum has become embroiled in the controversy after opening its archives to the programme-makers and providing expert help.

Diana Friendship-Taylor, the chair of Rescue, otherwise known as the British Archaeological Trust, said: "We are, frankly, astonished, that the British Museum is prepared to lend its considerable weight..."

Read more HERE.

Image Credits: Getty Images

SANBORN FREE until March 27!!!

Another freebie for all you folks who missed out on the one that ended Mar 17th... this one is active until March 27th!!!

!!! EXPIRED !!!

Click HERE to have full access until 3/27/2011.

SANBORN Next Two Weeks FREE

James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA (and where my cousin is currently enrolled) is offering a trial subsription to their students, why not jump on the bandwagon and get those maps you really need!!!

!!! EXPIRED !!!

Click HERE to have full access until 3/17/2011.

Treasure Mapmaking

"Dr. E. Lee Spence, a marine archaeologist and modern pioneer of underwater exploration, has had a lifetime fascination with treasures and maps. He describes his maps as the “natural byproduct” of his research to locate sunken ships.

In 1970, Spence discovered the submarine H. L. Hunley, which sank on Feb. 17, 1864. His maps proved to be more than a natural byproduct. They were a necessary tool for preserving his discovery before souvenir hunters could destroy it."

Read more HERE.

Image Credits: Myriam Moran

Treasure Seekers Looking for Long Lost J. C. Kellogg

"Cross your fingers everyone. Dave Freeman believes he has found its "resting place". He's been overlaying old maps onto Google satellite maps using the measurements taken by the scuba divers who found it back in 1970.

We now have Steve Hartman from Redding on board to help us - he's the local distributor of White metal detectors. Steve will use a special detector that can penetrate 20 ft. into the ground. Steve is away on business and won't return for a week, so we have to patiently wait for him."

Read more HERE.
An even better article HERE.

Army Wants GPR + MD in One

"U.S. Army researchers are canvassing industry to find companies able to design and build a vehicle-mounted ground-penetrating radar system that can detect and mark buried improvised explosive devices (IEDs) made from metal, plastic, wood, conventional explosives, and homemade explosives.

The Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., released a sources-sought notice Thursday (W91CRB-11-R-0005) for a vehicle-mounted ground-penetrating radar system able to process data in real time to enable the vehicle operator to detect targets 10 feet in front of his vehicle."

Read more HERE.

Get That Silver for Free... well, Less than Spot Anyway

This is a good article to read, give it a go if you're into 'out of the ordinary' sources for finding silver coins.

"Sir, First, from one veteran to another, let me thank you, like so many others, for this outstanding blog. I would like to share my experiences with my like-minded brothers and sisters in the hopes that they too can fill their coffers of coins and silver bullion for free or pretty darn close to it.

We most certainly all know the importance of tangible assets at this critical juncture in our Nation’s history. But with upward trend of gold and silver as of late, who wants to pay $23 or more for one ounce of silver? Not me. So I don’t. Now, I may not be able to fill my safe twice over with this method but it most certainly can help out. And the contacts and friendships made can be invaluable."

Read more HERE.

Map Links

Just thought I'd share a few newer links to different types of maps that can be used to hunt down all those old properties and buildings that give up the goods. I've never really gotten into the whole old map thing, but they really do seem to be invaluable with concern to serious research. Hope these can help!

-David Ramsey Map Collection
-ACME Mapper 2.0
-Old Map Research

Finds Journal

Hey folks, I felt I just had to share this with you. As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of Ginkgoware's i-Detect software. It really is the perfect cataloging software for our hobby. But don't think for a second I don't write down most of that stuff before it ever gets digitized.

While at the 2010 Colorado Renaissance Festival this past weekend, I stopped by a vendor called "Under The Mango Tree". Owned and operated by "The Journal Guy", this place was packed full of amazing, handmade journals that use wonderful "tree-free" 100% acid free cotton paper.

I chose the nice small pirate clasp journal because well, it seemed to suit the hobby perfectly. It's full of hundreds and hundreds of pages, and if it ever gets full, just contacting The Journal Guy and sending it in can result in it being refilled.

For all of you "pirates" out there who keep hand written records of your finds, why not invest in an artfully crafted item to log it all down.

Mystery Coin Reproduction

A friend in the Navigation on my boat from Malaysia saw me looking at some coin finds at American Detectorist and said he found a coin on his plane coming to the states at the beginning of June.

He brought it down and I started the search. The text on the coin reads:

MONETA DOMINORVM PRVSSIE
HONOR MAGRI IVDICIVM DILIGIT

Latin sure, but I can't translate it and no luck online. I found references to some deutch coinage from the 1300s with the same text and same coin design, you can see them in these pics.



This coin is gold in color, and 28.18mm in diameter according to my electronic calipers, and 1mm thick. It has a smooth edge.

I told him moneta is money, prvssie is sweet, and dominorvm is like a dominating lady, haha... so it's a hooker token from Germany... he thought it was funny I know that's not what it is... maybe someone can find some better info?

It's definitely a reproduction, and new'ish.

UPDATE: Perhaps a modern token for the German Order of The Teutonic Knights?

UPDATE #2: Dan, a buddy of mine from the MD circles things maybe the inscription translates as follows:

MONETA DOMINORVM PRVSSIE = MASTER OF PRUSSIA
HONOR MAGRI IVDICIVM DILIGIT = HE ADVISES TO BE LORD

UPDATE #3: Possibly a better translation from a German source of the text?

MONETA DOMINORVM PRVSSIE = Money of Prussian Lords
HONOR MAGRI IVDICIVM DILIGIT = The honour of the master loves justice

Sanborn Blues Got You Down?

Everyone's favorite historical map source is getting harder and harder to access these days for free. Many frequently visited online forums have removed any references to Sanborn login credentials and I'm sure if you're like me... that was your primary source for arguably some of the best old time maps in your MD goodie bag.

But not to fret!

I've found reference to a link of a fellow blogspot member who has a list of online resources that are FREE to use and have FREE access to a number of Sanborn maps from a variety of states. It's not the complete library, but hey, in a pinch it works. So if you don't have a local library with access to the maps, and don't know a working username/password combo for the Sanborn site (http://sanborn.umi.com/), then go ahead and visit THIS LINK and just click your state to access the maps :)

As always, you're welcome. And a note to some of my readers... if you do know any current Sanborn login combinations that work for the full library, shoot me a message. Thanks.

For ones not listed, try a Google search of "Sanborn" + "your state or city" and see if any library or college sites have free access to the maps.

Skunked at Silver Site, But Still Goodies

Around lunch time today I headed back over to the lots off of Witchduck Rd. Thankfully, the old houses that stood here not too long ago are still visible in Google Maps, so you can get the orientations of where driveways and yards were to get a good feel for the hunt. Not only that, but I used a great website (www.zillow.com) to aid in my research. Zillow allows you to pull up an address and get lots of info on it, including square feet, lot size, bed/baths, how much it last sold for, what it's estimated market price is currently, and most importantly, the date in which the house was built! I noticed a few early '50s lots at the corner of Amberly, so that's where I decided to spend the next couple hours.

Wouldn't you know, I found nothing. Not even a single modern clad coin! I found some big trashy items scattered about, but nothing worth my time there that day. I don't think I've had a completely skunked day like this in a long time. It was sort of depressing.

On the way out, I drove past my local gun shop, The Armory. I usually buy ammo from the spot, but had never actually purchased any of my weapons here. Today that would change. About a year ago I stopped in and they had M4/A3 style AR-15's for between $550-$700, a sweet price range. Sadly, deals like that did not exist on this trip. But I did manage to pick up what I wanted, a Rock River Arms (RRA) LAR-15 with a 2-stage match trigger and Tactical Rail/Handle. I got it in a .223, mostly because it's the same as my M16 from the Army days, and it's relatively cheap to shoot compared to a .308, actually 5x cheaper. While in there I saw something else that had caught my eye, and felt I just had to have. It looked like a miniature mash-up between a AR lower and an AK upper... and in reality, that's what it was. They had one bored in .223, but this thing was a "pistol", and that seemed a little much so I picked it up for $200 cheaper in a .22LR. It's a Kel-Tec PLR-22. It used a modified AR clip and holds 27 rounds, which is pretty sweet. And being a .22LR, the rounds are like a penny a piece, so it's going to be really fun to shoot.

Law Enforcement and Your MD

Throughout the past year I've seen many discussions on hobby related websites about the use of metal detectors to find things for law enforcement. Most of these discussions generally stem from curious hobbyists who wonder if by chance, anyone has ever dug up a body. I've heard stories of shallow graves being unearthed because of a watch found with a metal detector, or other personal effects made of metal. Surely, it's bound to have happened at some point, right?

Many police districts across the US that have forensic divisions, employ their own people, in what some call FET's, or Field Evidence Teams. These teams are law enforcement officials specially trained in gathering evidence. And many of these FET's have metal detectors in their inventory, and are trained to use them. A simple Google search of items such as, "Evidence Recovery + metal detector" will net thousands of results on the different types of FET's and the equipment they use. And let's not forget, this isn't just for use on land, they have dive teams trained in the use of dive machines as well.

In some instances, departments will employ third party volunteer teams, also trained in the nuances of evidence gathering. For the most part, these are known as ERT's, or Evidence Response Teams. And from what I have seen, most are made up of a select group of members from metal detecting clubs in the police departments area.

But how does one join a ERT? As a hobbyist, volunteering your services could surely get you in good with the authorities, and might open up some opportunities. I recently set out to inquire to a few of the local PD's in my area, just to see what they said. Out of the three I wrote to, only one had responded by the time of this entry. It was a one line, simple response about how they do not use third party ERTs as they have on staff personnel, who also happen to be recreational users, trained in evidence recovery with the use of a metal detector.

So I really see two options. One, go to local police websites and send them an inquiry about the use of ERT's. Maybe it will open their eyes to a new thing and it will land you some face time. Otherwise, become a member of a local group, and have the groups leaders contact the department officially showing interest. The worst they can say is no.

I wanted to end by giving some props to a few members of FMDF who are on call as members of an ERT, or otherwise have helped law enforcement personnel with their machines. If you guys are reading this, hats off. The image heading this entry was provided by Rudy, an admin at FMDF and ERT member who has been utilized by the FBI in searches. Thanks!

I've also provided two links to a couple of ERT events that actually took place. Nice pics and good stories.

ERT Link 1
ERT Link 2

Sanborn Maps Update

For all you people out there who rely on Sanborn Maps for researching old hunting grounds, and have noticed that the username/password combo of sanborn/welcome no longer works... I have good news.

I know one that does :)

Username: proquest
Password: welcome

Your welcome!

Walter Breen Encyclopedia

Hey friends of my blog. Surely, most people reading this are coin collectors to some regard. Whether it be in world coins, US coins, or metal detecting. Being as such, I thought I'd tune you in to a great resource online for not only being able to ID US coins via the web, but also learning their history, and how they came to be.

Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of US and Colonial Coins is available in a full version online, completely free to the coin collecting community. In my opinion, it's a great resource for those who don't actually own items like the RedBook... plus I mean, it's free!

Currently at the website you must register for a free username and password, which also means you have to agree to receive newsletters and other possibly spam type emails. HOWEVER, I have the answer for you. Just as there are username and password's circling the net for access to Sanborn Maps, as is there to this. So please friends, feel free to use it and indulge yourself in knowledge.

5/23/09 UPDATE: BREEN BOOK ONLINE IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE DUE TO SOME UNKNOWN ISSUES.

VIEW THE ENCYCLOPEDIA HERE

USERNAME: breenbook2
PASSWORD: welcome

Winter Research Campaign

Ever year it comes. It's completely inevitable, so get used to it. Sadly, the winter means that MD'ing season is over for many enthusiasts across the country. The ground is frozen too hard to dig, snow is covering everything, and temperatures are just too darn low to stand more than a few minutes of swinging your machine. So what do you do?

Sure you you can browse your favorite online forum (FMDF) and enjoy all the finds from those lucky enough to live far enough South to MD year round. Or maybe you can update your MD finds database in your fabulous iDetect software, or however else you keep track of your finds. Making charts, comparing month to month numbers and all that jazz.

But what about doing something proactive, that will increase your chances of finding all that old silver coinage, relics, and other old trinkets? Yes, I'm talking about research. The winter months are a perfect chance to use the time you normally would be MD'ing, to hunt out those old areas and get the goods. That being said, I felt I'd offer you a few options to aid in your quest.

- Wikipedia.org
I'm sure many of you are familiar with Wikipedia and it's vast database of knowledge. And yeah, it's true that there are many things found within it's pages that are unverified... but odds on, your town's history is pretty safely rooted in fact. Just entering in your town/city name as a search inquiry will be all you need to start learning. If it's a well written history, it may provide outside links to other informational resources, and a bibliography of books used.
LINK

- Local Library
As I lead on with Wikipedia, books. Books are research gold. Most local libraries have sections dedicated to State and local history. Just walk in and ask for finger pointing in the right direction. You can't go wrong with this option, but it may take a little time to get down to what you want.

- Local Government Webpage
Most town and municipalities have a webpage regarding their local government. Information here usually includes things the names of local officials, tax rates, etc. But odds are you can find some sort of brief on the history of the area, and maybe a link to local historians who may also be able to help you in your quest.

- Sanborn Maps
Trying to find old home sites or gathering places that have long since been forgotten? Well tread on over to the online version of Sanborn Maps. Here you can view and print maps from your town, and surrounding towns dated back many many years, and get a feel for what the place used to look like. An invaluable tool when wanting to locate those old items that make your 1929 Wheatie look like a 2008 Memorial.
LINK
Username: proquest
Password: welcome