Treasure Hunting 101, Part III

The general impression everyone gets about treasure hunting is that it’s all about the treasure, holding that gold or silver in your hand and being independently wealthy. For the most part that’s why 95% of us got into this hobby but if you stick with the hobby, you learn that it’s more about the search for the treasure and anything you find at the end of the search is a bonus. Yea, OK, I’ll agree that digging up an iron kettle full of gold coins will put a smile on your face but getting to the point of digging that hole takes A LOT longer than digging the hole.

If you are doing it right, treasure hunting requires a lot of research and with that comes knowledge. You learn about the history of the area you are looking in and history in general, the REAL history and not what you see on that TV channel of the same name.

So how do you find a spot to treasure hunt in? Many years ago a famous treasure hunter once said that there is a treasure hunting spot within twenty minutes of everyone. With the way society has spread out over the years I would partially agree with that statement.

If you are a coin shooter then the treasure spots for you are endless and you should be able to find one within twenty minutes of your home. Remember, treasure hunting is more about research than anything else. A coin shooter has the option of hunting old homesteads, parks, beaches, fairgrounds, ghost towns and just about any place else people have gathered. One of my favorite spots to coin shoot is on the beach in Hawaii. I don’t find any old items but lets face it, if you’re on a beach in Hawaii you’re already having a very good day!

If you want to work a beach where you might find gold and silver coins then you need to be along the coast of Florida where the Spanish ship wrecks occurred centuries ago. These beaches are well documented and I will say, worked on an almost daily basis. This doesn’t keep people from finding things though. The best time to work one of these beaches is during hurricane season. The hard core hunters are on the beach just after a hurricane has come through and it’s still raining. The hurricane churns up the things sitting on the bottom of the ocean and brings them up to the beach for the lucky hunters to find. Keep this in mind the next time you are planning a vacation. Just don’t blame me if you spouse is more than just a little upset that you have taken them to Florida during a hurricane.

Ghost towns can be a bonanza for almost any treasure hunter. Keep in mind that a ghost town doesn’t have to be like you see on TV, one that died in the 1800’s and looks like a ghost town. “Modern” ghost towns, those that died out in the early 1900’s, are very abundant and are great places for coin shooters, cache hunters, bottle hunters and relic hunters. This all comes back to research, do your homework and find the places that nobody else has thought of. Old plat maps of these towns are available at the county appraisers office and will show you where the businesses and homes use to be. Check the old papers to see if the town used to have a city fair or some type of annual gathering and figure out where that was. Don’t forget to try to talk to any of the old residents that still live in or near the town. They can be a wealth of information and it’s free.

Cache hunters have a harder time finding locations especially if you are looking for the ever illusive outlaw, Spanish or pirate, Arrrggggg! treasure. Normally, you have to go farther out of town for these types of places. I say normally because I have done some hunting in places such as Arizona where just four miles from my hotel in the big city where I was staying was more treasure sites than you could ever wish for.

No matter what type of treasure hunting you do, it all comes back to research. Spend some time in your local library reading through the old newspapers to see what actually went on in your neck of the woods and when. You’ll be amazed at the type of information they put in the paper back then.

There are many types of treasure hunting and I can’t mention them all. I am trying to give information about the most popular types of hunting and I am just skimming the top of those. If you have any questions about what I am writing you can always e-mail me if you would like at redrvr@aol.com.


Please remember, you need to get permission to hunt on private land. Not having permission could cause you several problems including legal and financial woes and it makes the rest of us look bad.