Can You Really Make Money With a Metal Detector?

Some detectorists serve as volunteers for local law enforcement. In June 2021, members of an Ohio metal detecting club called the Dayton Diggers helped solve the mystery of who killed 22-year-old Joseph Kancy in front of his Lebanon, Ohio, home. Dayton Digger member Jared Shank of Beavercreek, Ohio, found a cell phone thrown into a ditch by Hemilio Castro, 20, of Miamisburg, Ohio. Castro pled guilty the following April to involuntary manslaughter in Kancy’s death, according to WHIO TV.

Gearing up  

Most metal detectors look like a frying pan on the end of a long pole. To find objects, you wave the round search coil that’s located at the end of the shaft over the ground. The coil radiates an electromagnetic field. If the magnetic field encounters an anomaly underground, a signal is sent to the control box near the top of the shaft and a tone is emitted. Typically, the louder the tone, the greater the likelihood that there’s something underneath the detector. The pitch of the tone can indicate the type of metal below ground. When you get a strong enough tone, you start digging. 

Metal detectors can range in price from $100 to $5,000 or more. (Bill Wyman’s model costs about $160.) Some current models can distinguish between gold and iron and ignore aluminum can pop-tops, the bane of detectorists. Most metal detectors can find objects 10 inches or so underground; others can sense as deeply as 18 inches, depending on the soil type.

The hobby takes practice: Different soil types can yield different tones, and more sophisticated detectors have several different modes for finding gold or silver or iron. Underground electric dog fences or power lines can easily interfere with your detector. “There are so many variations; you never know what you’re going to run into,” says Ellis. 

Metal detecting requires a bit of research, too, says McCullough. Not every vacant field is going to contain coins or cannonballs. “You’ll find better things if you have some idea of how the land was used in the past,” he says. One big help: Google Earth allows you to overlay current maps with historic maps.

You can also use metal detectors to find things underwater, says Ellis, a certified scuba instructor. Typically, this requires a special type of detector, but there are some types of detectors that can work on land and in limited water depths. “I’ve been getting a lot of calls lately,” Ellis says. “People keep dropping their iPhones in the Occoquan,” a popular recreational river in Northern Virginia. True underwater metal detectors, the type used by shipwreck hunters, can cost $5,000 and more.

Where to go

If you’re eyeing private property, you should ask the owner before you start digging for treasure. State property may require a special permit for metal detecting, and some states prohibit digging on state property. Be sure to cover up any holes you dig. It’s illegal to use a metal detector on federal land.

Beaches are a favorite spot for treasure seekers, in part because that’s where people tend to lose coins and jewelry. But sometimes the sea releases bigger treasures, particularly after storms. In 2020, detectorists in Indian River County, Florida, found a trove of Spanish coins from a 1715 shipwreck.

Civil War buffs can find relics throughout most of the South, ranging from bullets and cannonballs to buttons, buckles and ID tags, the precursor of the GI dog tags still in use by the military today. Although most major battlefields are on protected property, many minor battlefields are not — and there were plenty of places where the 3 million Union and Confederate soldiers camped.

If you’re interested in history, you can find something with a metal detector where people have lived previously. People have been losing things throughout time. “Don’t get discouraged, because there’s still a lot of stuff that’s buried that people haven’t found,” McCullough says. “People have been doing this detecting since the ’60s. They’ve pulled a lot out, but there’s still a lot left.”