Thirteen Cents
contests, Stuff I hate August 14th, 2009We have a winner! Kristin correctly guessed that the What’s That Wednesday item is a metal detector.
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The part shown was from the base of the unit. Please don’t ask me what the hole is for. I know nothing about metal detecting except that I’ll never do it again.
My husband Dave spent some time with it a few years back and found a ton of coins, a few rings and incidental items, enough to keep him interested. The most valuable coin he found was a mid-1800s three-cent piece, worth about $75 today.
Me? I tried it once and found a dime and three pennies, worth thirteen cents today. I simply do not have the patience for something like this. After scanning the ground for an hour and not finding much, I quickly lost interest. The device isn’t too heavy at first, but it feels like a bar bell when you carry it around for a while.
Has anyone ever gone metal detecting? Did you enjoy it? What was the coolest thing you dug up?
Thanks for playing! I love this series because your guesses are so good and are a blast to read. Kristin, I’ll contact you shortly about your prizes.
Stumble it!
August 14th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
My brother found an ancient tomahawk head right in the middle of downtown Memphis when we were kids.
.-= misspiggytoes´s last blog ..All the Albums You Thought You Wanted for Ten Dollars =-.
August 14th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Woohoo! 😀
August 14th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
That’s thinking outside the box..
Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
.-= Dorothy Stahlnecker´s last blog ..Video Post =-.
August 14th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
I never have, and never will either. Like you I would hate trudging around and finding zilch. I just know that’s what I’d find 🙂
Congratulations to Kristin!
.-= babs – beetle´s last blog ..She’s no Eartha Kitt! =-.
August 14th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
I would never have guessed (and didn’t!)
Sniffie and the Florida Furkids
.-= Sniffie and the Florida Furkids´s last blog ..Friends on Friday???? =-.
August 14th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
WAAAA – I want to win!
August 14th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
My kids use the durn things, but even they don’t use them too often. My neighbor used it a LOT… allll over MY yard, which looked like an army of prairie dogs have chewed it up, after he was done.
We’ve found coins in the yard after the kids dug a dry well– 25-feet long and 3 feet deep. Heh heh. The prospect of more coins kept them a-digging. I have plans for more dry well trenches…
.-= Crabby Blogging LAdy´s last blog ..Slacker! =-.
August 15th, 2009 at 1:42 am
A thousand guesses and I wouldn’t have come up with that.
.-= Chris´s last blog ..Hermie and Baby Bear: Where Are They Now? =-.
August 15th, 2009 at 3:38 am
See, I’m more of an observer than a doer. For instance, while up at the lake you would not find me water skiing. Ever. I would most often be under a shady tree on the lake shore with a beer watching the skier, or less often you might find me in the back of the boat with a beer watching absentmindedly to see the skier wipe out.
.-= Barb – WillThink4Wine´s last blog ..The family that eats together… =-.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:48 am
misspiggytoes – Very cool! The prospect of finding something old and valuable is enticing, but it so often involves luck. I’m too impatient to wait for luck.
kwr221 (kristin) — Congrats on the win! This was evidently way too hard to get without the limerick clue, but kudos for getting it with that. Lots of others didn’t.
Dorothy Stahlnecker — More like roaming around my garage looking for something to jump out at me.
Babs Beetle — I don’t know how Dave put up with me, walking around whining “I’m not finding anything!” He never asked me to join him again. He was perfectly happy to get back to metal detecting being a solitary activity.
Sniffie and the Florida Furkids — Which is why I think I need an easier object next time. But not too easy!
Document Scanning Services — Don’t worry. You’ll have plenty of chances to win. Although, if you’d come to BlogHer, I wound up handing magnets out like candy to lighten my load. Shoulda been there!
Crabby Blogging Lady — Shame about your yard. My husband was always very careful to reset dug-up grass/dirt exactly where he took it out and tamped it down to fit again. It’s nice to have an area dug up for another purpose and then go looking. Dave would often joke whenever he saw a construction site that he’d like to go metal detecting there. He hasn’t for years, though.
Chris — Sorry. Next time will be easier. Swear.
Barb — Me too. When Dave was detecting more often, I’d join him and bring a textbook from whatever college class I was taking at the time. I’d plunk myself down on the grass and read while he beeped and dug all over the place.
August 15th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Dang. Congrats to Kristin. Even with the detailed pictures I STILL don’t see it. I think it’d be fun to try one of those gadgets, but I’d be pretty bummed if I only got 13 cents after an hour of hard work.
.-= JD at I Do Things´s last blog ..I Will Be Cremated so you don’t have to be =-.
August 15th, 2009 at 8:41 am
hi Kathy,
I bow to Kristin, sage of deciphering limericks. Congrats to her!
~ Steve, the trade show guru
PS. Now you’ve got me thinking I should get one on these thingies. I didn’t know there was so much money to be made!
.-= steve, trade show guru´s last blog ..Trade Show Kinsella =-.
August 15th, 2009 at 8:49 am
I thought I guessed that, too! She must’ve guessed first.
August 15th, 2009 at 9:54 am
When I was a kid my Dad and his father in law (my grandpa) bought a metal detector together. I think they thought they were going to get rich. It was sort of fun at first but then it just was put in the closet for some time.
.-= Michelle Gartner´s last blog ..Vintage Movie Ads from a 1950 Motion Picture Magazine =-.
August 15th, 2009 at 11:18 am
I never have done it, but have passed on it a few times. I would not want to get addicted to it. I already don’t have 1/2 the time I need to do what needs to get done.
.-= Will´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday 8-12-2009 =-.
August 15th, 2009 at 11:33 am
We have a metal detector, but my Mommeh is too embarrassed to take it out and use it anywhere. (But pushing me around in a stroller is not embarrassing).
.-= Daisy the Curly Cat´s last blog ..Photo Hunters: Artificial =-.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
I think it would be kinda fun to have one but digging up concrete sidewalks – well, that might be more work than it’s worth.
.-= Grace´s last blog ..Irrational Irksome Things =-.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
One Christmas (my husband’s family) we walked in the door to see my then 5-year-old niece with her brand new metal detector. She was so psyched, and it cracks me up to this day.
Thanks so much for reading my flash fiction, btw. Can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.
Pleasure meeting you at BlogHer. xo
.-= Ann’s Rants´s last blog ..Mock ‘N Mime! =-.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
I have one of those metal detectors but I haven’t used it much. Never found anything worth mentioning. I need to get it out and use it again one of those days.
.-= grannyann´s last blog ..Maxine for President =-.
August 15th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
The ONLY reason I got it was because of the clue! 🙂
August 16th, 2009 at 2:19 am
Hey Kathy, long time no visit–my bad. As for metal detecting, never tried it but may have to to pay for all my recent dental work.
peace,
mike
livelife365
.-= Mike Foster´s last blog ..When in Doubt, Yank ‘Em Out! =-.
August 16th, 2009 at 8:46 am
I’ve got to say, that was HARD. Made even harder for me, when I saw the whole, entire photo and STILL had no clue what it was. See? For ME (in the future) you can just show me the whole thing and I still won’t know what it is.
(This cannot possibly be good.) Now, I have to text everyone I showed the photo to, and they won’t believe me and have to see for themselves. FAB post, Kathy!
.-= kathryn´s last blog ..Where’s My Walker, Whipper-Snapper? =-.
August 16th, 2009 at 9:08 am
JD at I Do Things — I would have settled for minimum wage. Wasn’t even that!
Trade Show Guru Steve — If you have weeks of time to kill, go for it. Although it’s nice if you want some solitary time with no guarantee to get anything. Like fishing I guess.
Muskrat — Yes, she guessed first and first always wins. Better luck next time? Or, if you write me a limerick about how sad you are for losing, I’ll send you a magnet. Geesh, I could have just handed you one at BlogHer!
Michelle Gartner — It always happens, doesn’t it? It’s like panning for gold. Highly boring with only the slightest chance of striking it rich.
Will — Which is why I’d only pick it up again if I hadn’t a single other thing to do. Fat chance with the blog and everything.
Daisy the Curly Cat — Well, both activities do get you your fair share of stares, don’t they? We used to take one of our cats out for walks on a leash. People though we were a little bit crazy.
Grace — Ha! Maybe. Hell, digging up dirt is hard enough. And then you have to put it back. Feels too much like work.
Ann’s Rants — It has the potential to be fun, but only if you don’t mind not finding anything for, oh I don’t know… a month? I loved your story. Any couple married a while would relate. You “do dialogue” very well. I liked it!
grannyann — You should, just for the novelty of it. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find the magic spot and dig up a mint.
kristin — This one taught me one thing. Make it easier! I’m not writing limericks anymore. Gave me a headache, although thank God for Google. I found a good rhyming words website that helped me.
Mike Foster — I’m guessing you wouldn’t find anything in the ground more valuable that what’s in your mouth. Got any gold in there?
kathryn — Oh, no. Your friends will probably say I’m insane for thinking anyone would get that. Tell them to come back when I use a household item, not something hanging in my garage.
August 17th, 2009 at 10:44 am
I’d imagine the hole in the sensor pad would let you stick a screwdriver, or like object, into the ground upon finding the strongest signal. This way, when you lay the detector down, you’ll know exactly where to dig. Which is helpful when you have something small to find like a dime and three pennies.
.-= Geakz´s last blog ..Tweekers Anonymous =-.
August 20th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Geakz — OMG. I think I’ve seen Dave do that. He would carry around a trowel for digging purposes and stick it where the hole was hovering and signaling. Geakz, you’re so smart.
August 21st, 2009 at 11:06 am
Thank God you resolved this mystery. I thought my brother was going to have an anneurysm trying to figure it out. Great puzzle Kathy… keep ’em coming!
.-= Jeff´s last blog ..I’m back… and you didn’t even know I was gone =-.
August 22nd, 2009 at 2:03 pm
That one looks particularly heavy. I think there are simpler ones that are lighter. I think I could get into using a metal detector. I have the patience for that kind of thing.
.-= James´s last blog ..Problem solving activities for toddlers =-.
August 23rd, 2009 at 12:25 am
My girlfriend owns a metal detector. We tried it for a couple of hours and found a few old pennies 80-100 years old, but that’s all. Unfortunately, metal detectors are banned from anywhere interesting.
.-= John | English Wilderness´s last blog ..North Landings, Yorkshire =-.
August 23rd, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Jeff — Nothing makes me happier than to be the cause of a possible aneurysm. That sounds bad. You know what I mean.
James — It’s also about 15 years old. I’ve no doubt they’re making them lighter and lighter. They really have to. It’s a real bear to carry around for an hour.
John — Yep, that’s about how it goes. As for being banned, there were a couple times my husband had me “stand guard” while he tried quickly scanning some abandoned properties. We felt like such criminals.
September 2nd, 2009 at 12:54 am
This is definitely hard, it is hard to find a place or a spot to start off with and if you find nothing it’s absolutely waste of time. Imagine after detecting the something, you will then dig it then wait if it’s worth the time you’ve spent and digging. I’m wondering though how deep can this metal detector detects?
October 5th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
The ONLY reason I got it was because of the clue! 🙂
January 14th, 2010 at 5:38 am
Stumbled across your post here about metal detecting. It’s not for everyone though the ones it does bite it seems to bite hard. Ive been involved in the hobby of metal detecting now for more than a decade and cant imagine giving it up any time soon.
Ive found numerous valuable, both historically and monetary, items throughout the years. Some of those items include a bronze seal ring from the 1600’s, pre-revolutionary war relics, tons of collectable silver coins and crap load of other goodies.
If you’d like to get started metal detecting I developed two sites to help beginners and seasoned hobbyists alike that you may find worth while. Metal Detector Reviews and Price Comparisons and DetectorX metal detecting tips, information and resources.
Good luck and happy hunting ….
.-= Metal Detector Dude´s last blog ..Teknetics T2 =-.