Building your gold investment fortune with no money – (Or, Alchemy - how to turn lead, copper, brass, silver and steel into Gold)

It is very simple.  There are no big secrets, only common sense.  Here it is on only one page.  This is my gift to you.

Equipment:  A metal detector ( It does not have to be expensive, even the cheapest will find gold), digital scales, a magnifying glass and access to the internet.  This is all you will need.  Anything else you provide with your own body and mind.

Step 1:  Find metal for free.  It can be found almost anywhere for no cost.  Collect copper, brass, lead, silver and steel wherever you can find it.  Check skips, waste ground, old houses or go metal detecting on beaches or historical sites.  Save small change.  Check for hallmarks on silver.  Weigh it and check prices on-line before selling

Step 2:  Sell copper, brass, lead, silver or steel on ebay or at your local scrapyard.  Cash in small change at banks.

Step 3:  Buy gold with it.  You can buy 0.10g or 1/10^th of a gram on dealers for less than £5 (See "Bullion by post link below this article.)  Check gold prices on-line before you buy.

INFO:  Gold has been the most stable commodity for thousands of years.  Invest in it and you will make profit.  100 years ago you could buy a horse or suit of clothes with one troy ounce, the same applies today.

Investing in gold is a long term game.  Ten years from now you will be glad you did it.  Check out gold statistics on-line.  In just ten years the value of gold has increased more than tenfold.  Imagine what it will be worth in another ten.

Do your research, Google is your friend!

Food For Free

Food For Free

Let me introduce you to this amazing little book called "Food For Free" by Richard Mabey.  It is a pocket-sized guide to nature's own larder.  Inside there are full colour illustrations and written descriptions of many edible plants and other forageable foods around Britain's hedgerows, hills and coastline.  With foraging becoming more popular due to people returning to nature and trying to feed their families on a tighter budget than ever before, you could consider Food For Free a new food bible for finding fresh, nutritious produce out in the wilds.  Though not strictly "Treasure" in the context of this website, it will give you a guide to food that you have probably walked past a thousand times without realising what it was.  When I'm out treasure hunting I always enjoy a tasty snack or two from nature and save on food bills at the same time.  Click on the image to go to the purchase page.

Investing in Gold, Silver, Bronze and Copper Bullion to Beat Inflation and Recession

The economy seems to be heading in a downward spiral to nowhere.  Governments are borrowing ridiculous amounts of money from banksters to "Get out of debt" and the value of our cash is plummeting.  Almost every sector is feeling the pinch and a few countries have gone tits-up in Europe following our most recent financial crash which has people wondering whether the whole thing was engineered by the banksters themselves to grab real wealth (land, property, homes, gold and silver etc.) in exchange for their almost worthless cash.

Conspiracies aside, there is something that you can do to protect your cash nest egg or savings and that is to invest in precious metals such as Gold, Silver, Bronze, Platinum and the new rising star, Copper which I recently blogged about regarding pre 1992 2p and 1p coins.  Recent price rises due to scarcity have seen metal collectors reap huge rewards as the value of their metals double and sometimes triple over the past two decades.  So in spite of a fluctuating financial market, precious metals have consistently held or increased their value while other commodities have been subject to major bouts of turbulence.

Investing in bullion may seem a million miles away for the average person with limited funds but there are ways to invest without hurting your pocket too much.  There are many Bullion dealers on line from whom you can buy most precious metals in very small amounts ranging from 1/10th of a gram to 1 Troy OZ and more.  You'll need to find a reputable dealer, so its best to do some careful research before you take the plunge.  When you do however, you can be fairly certain that your savings won't go down the pan even if the banks do

IN MY NEXT POST: .How to get started investing in Bullion when you have no spare money.

Copper Pennies - Don't Take Them at Face Value.

Like many people, I have at home a "coppers" jar where I throw my loose change when I get home from work or shopping.  Until recently I put them all in the same jar without a second thought.  Then I found out that copper coins made before 1992 are almost pure copper as opposed to the stainless steel copper clad coins made from 1993 onwards.  With metal prices rising yearly it could be a worthwhile investment of time to separate your small change into pre and post 1992 lots as eventually the price of the copper will be worth more than the face value of the coin.

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.