Metal Detecting for Cash

I recently purchased a metal detector.  Its at the very low end of the budget scale but it still detects up to 16cm depth which for my purposes (finding recently dropped coins and jewellery) is fine and its discriminating, which helps when detecting shallow depths to avoid the inevitable horde of pull-tabs from pop cans.

So far I've taken it for a few test runs, a couple of times to a local wood and to the beach and have found modern clad coins, jewellery, silver spoons, bullets, shell casings and plenty off stuff I can't identify.  No Gold yet but I'm finding stuff, which is the main thing because every piece of dug-up treasure is worth something to someone.


The local wood is a well used dog walking venue and an ancient drovers path with some very old stone building foundations, stone walls and a copper mine that so far I have not been able to find. I know the woods quite well so had a good idea of which places I would hit.  There are several popular camping places where the locals go during Summer to spend an evening under the stars.  These sites proved to be very profitable and I made some good money without having to dig down more than a few inches.

Once I had mined out the camp sites I moved on to the paths, sweeping my detector in front of me as I walked.  This method found me digging up spent shotgun cartridges, flattened bullets and the odd penny every few seconds-Not as profitable as the camping sites were but I'm sure I can get some cash for the flattened bullets if I get enough of them.  Next I tried my luck next to an old stone gate post and had a nice surprise when I dug up a hall marked silver spoon weighing 13.4g and cashing in a almost £8.00.  A very nice find !


At the beach, pretty much every hole had a penny or two in it, every third or fourth hole would usually throw me up a 20p or 50p and every tenth maybe a £1 coin. In six hours I earned around £3.50 which at least paid for my lunch.  Six hours may seem like a long time to work for such a small amount of money but at this point I was still getting the hang of the detector and figuring out where the best places to search might be. If I went back now I estimate at least that amount per hour plus the chance of finding something golden now I know where to look.

What I've learned so far:

Look for places people gather such as camp-sites, parks, paths, elevated ground, shelter, old trees and places people have to put their hands in their pockets.

Every hole is worth digging.

Its not just about the money, Its also about the game.

Dig fast scan slow.

Keep working the same areas. The more you clear, the more chance you have of finding the diamond in the rough.

Wear Gloves - Dog shit smell lingers on the fingers!

Beaches are best after storms or a busy day in Summer.

There is treasure EVERYWHERE!

The downside to metal detecting is that in the U.K, all land is owned by someone so you absolutely have to get permission, in writing if possible. This also applies to U.K beaches, fortunately the land owner is very easy to reach (Its the Queen) and permission can be requested on-line via an email which you can print off and take with you.  You can find a full guide to beach detecting and U.K Treasure law at The Crown Estate website.