Gold coin collecting can be an exciting hobby to take up. After all, who doesn’t enjoy the lure of a shiny gold coin? Maybe you’ve watched movies where villains hunted down valuable Krugerrands, you could have a part of that too, only in your case, buying and selling old rare coins isn’t an illegal activity! Still, it is a hobby with a unique and thrilling flare.

Some of the old rare coins are the most valuable, but most legitimate rare coin dealers warn openly that dealing in the gold collection is more of a neutral investment for your money.

Don’t expect to land huge bargains or get great return on your Sovereigns or Brittanias. Dealers note that the market for gold has stabilized and won’t provide rich profits, but they also point out that gold remains a reliable commodity.

Gold coin collecting can be made even more exciting when the words “sunken treasure” appear. Common tales of pirate gold and sunken ships stir up all sorts of thoughts of riches and instant wealth for people, and some people know very well that sunken treasure and gold coin collecting can be an attractive lure.

It’s quite true that sunken treasure does exist, and rare coin dealers or collectors are always excited when treasure coins are dragged upwards from ocean depths. That doesn’t mean that every dealer claiming to have coins procured from sunken treasure has something you should invest in.

Banks are a great place to get additions for your gold collection hobby. For old rare coins, however, rare coin dealers are possibly your best option. Be careful, though. Some of the dealers also specialize in scamming customers.

While the overwhelming majority of them are honest and reputable, a handful of the dealers will give the entire industry a bad name. Be sure to do a good amount of research on the dealer you plan to use before purchasing any old rare coins.

Always look for dealers that subscribe to the Professional Numismatists Guild (commonly known as PNG) for your gold coin collecting. There are thousands of dealers all over the internet (and especially auction sites such as eBay), but these dealers do not always maintain the recognized code of ethics of the PNG.

The PNG requires many specific things for dealers to be members, making guild members a good choice to do business with. For buyers’ convenience, the PNG has a dealer directory to ensure honest business.

There is a wealth of information on the internet for gold coin collecting, sunken treasures, the commodity of gold, and rare coin dealers. If you’re planning to delve into the hobby of the gold collection, be sure to do your homework and research to know what you’re getting into.

Start small, don’t get too excited, and always be careful in what you’re investing your money into. Deal with reputable dealers or individuals that subscribe to the PNG, and avoid bargain offers that seem too good to be true or ones hyped up with tempting tales of pirate ship gold.

Mike Selvon has a passion for coin collecting, and his portal has the best information on gold coin collecting. Visit his portal for your free gift and leave a comment at his coin collecting blog.

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If you are like me, you never get enough of the hunt, whether on the search for rocks and gems, fossils, or treasure. Now that the cold, wet weather is putting a damper on outside searches for those in the north, it is prime time for indoor searches. After all, while you can, every once in a while, stumble upon a great place to hunt for treasure while just hoofing around in the wilderness, most productive treasure searches start inside.

The first task in treasure hunting is to figure out where exactly it is that you want
to hunt. It’s best to be realistic. You may have a dream to hunt in the South Sea
Islands, but if you have no means to get there you have much better ways to
spend hours and hours of research. Productive searching close to home may
just help you fund some of your dream searches. So to start, keep it close — somewhere you will actually be able to spend some time searching. Once you
have your target area pinpointed, it’s time to hit the history books and old
newspapers.

The information you are seeking is about old boom towns, mining areas, battle
areas or routes, ghost towns (whether structures still stand or not), town areas
leveled by natural disasters and never rebuilt, pilgrim migration routes, and
anything else that can lead you to spots that were once inhabited or attacked,
and are now deserted. If you are on shorelines, you might also be interested in
information about pirate localities, sea battles, landing areas, old settelments,
and anything else that might point you to buried artifacts along a coastline, or
even in the water if you are into underwater search.

Once you pinpoint the areas that look good to search you want to find out what is
on public land, and what is privately owned. The last thing anyone needs is
people roaming around private land without permission. Not only can this cause
trouble for you personally, but it can hinder all who want to search as mass
trespassing can lead to complaints that in turn lead to laws limiting searching for
everyone. City halls or a local branch of USGS will be able to provide you the
information about public and private lands, and will be likely to appreciate your
efforts to be respectful about searching. Chatting with people who have been
employed for long periods in these places can sometimes get you some bonus
leads, too, especially in less populated areas where people are more likely to
know in depth histories and legends from their areas.

When you find information of interest, you will want to dig up any old pictures
you can find so you can get an idea of what was located where. Some
landmarks may still exist even if the town itself doesn’t. County offices
sometimes have records of town layouts that will actually give you coordinants of
old buildings and other useful information.
Now that you have all the hard information resources you can dig up on battle
routes, massacre areas, stage coach robberies, settler camps, towns leveled in
natural disasters, and so on, it’s time to start using your imagination.

This
exercise just goes like this:

Hmmm. They never located the relatives when the old guy that lived there died
- I wonder what he may have hid or lost around his place.

Hmmm. There was a saloon located right there – I wonder where the outhouse
was. (A place where a lot of drunk men were taking their pants off might turn up
some quantity of nice pocket artifacts – especially old coins.)

Hmmm. Look at that rock right behind that train wreck in this picture – I know
where that rock is.

Hmmm. The Northern armies passed right through here in the civil war. I
wonder how many people buried money and valuables to hide them. I wonder
which of them never made it back to them.

Now you get to draw yourself a few of your own maps to take with you when the
nice weather comes back around. These maps can be valuable all on their own.

When your hunting season is over, you can add your stories about what you
found in the areas you have mapped and searched. By compiling these maps
and stories, you have created an archive which may be sold to other hunters, or
saved for future generations.

©2005 Sally Taylor: Sal is an avid gem and treasure hunter, explorer, writer, and is the owner of http://www.rockhoundstation1.com

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Where can you find hidden treasure? Almost anywhere. How can you find it? Here are some new ideas on that.

I was once involved in tearing down an old house. In the attic, hidden underneath the insulation, I found a glass piggy bank of old pennies. I also found a rare old magazine and a few other minor treasures.

Treasure is not always things of obvious value, though. Hidden in the walls of that house was a treasure that at the time never occurred to me: copper tubing. I later discovered that the water lines we paid to have hauled away were sold as valuable scrap by the junk man. It made me wonder what else could be “treasure,” and where else I might find it.

New Ideas On Hidden Treasure

Hidden in a warehouse in the small town where I used to live, was a mountain of old boxes. It was the leftover inventory of a wooden clock factory that had gone out of business. The owner of the clocks had let them sit there for at least ten years. Finally someone explained to him how he could sell them on Ebay, and he realized the treasure he was sitting on.

An old Mayan Indian we met at a hot spring in Arizona showed us how to find arrowheads and metates (used for grinding corn or mesquite beans) in the desert. They’re hundreds of years old. He sold one of his metates for $200 during a yard sale, but this may be illegal now. Check with authorities on this one.

I have hidden money several times in my life. Many people do. What happens when people die unexpectedly? The money and valuables they hid remain where they are until discovered. There is an estimated several billion dollars in hidden currency alone in this country, and who knows how much in silver, gold, jewelry and other things. Here are some of the places people have discovered these hidden treasures.

- Under sinks (money).

- Hidden inside the pages of books (bills).

- Buried in crawl-spaces (all sorts of treasure).

- Above ceiling tiles.

- Buried under the edges of cement patios.

- In walls behind outlet plates.

- In pump houses.

- Under floors in sheds.

- In old heating oil tanks (coins).

- Under rocks in highway rest areas.

That last one is a favorite hiding place for drug dealers and other criminals who need to hide cash fast. If they never get out of prison, or die, the money waits for a treasure hunter to find it. Sometimes you just have to look to find hidden treasure.

Steve Gillman has been hunting down obscure knowledge and useful secrets for years. Learn more and get a free gift at: The Secret Information Site (http://www.TheSecretInformationSite.com)

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An example of buried treasure? As a young man I buried 100 ounces of silver under my parents house. There was a crawl space that could be accessed from the basement. I pulled the plastic back that covered the dirt, and roughly five feet out from the west and south walls dug a hole. I put my plastic container with it’s ten ten-ounce bars of silver into it, covered it up and left it there for years.

Did I tell anyone where it was, or even that I had buried it? Of course not! The point of hiding things is so nobody knows where they are, right? By the way, I have long since dug the silver up and sold it, and keep my money in the bank now instead of the ground. However, what if I had died while I still had this buried treasure under my parents house?

My guess is that it would be at least a couple hundred years before anyone found the silver. there was no reason for anyone to be digging under that part of the house. There was also no way for anyone to know they should be looking. The obvious question arises: How many people have died and how many die every year without ever telling a soul about their hidden money or buried treasures?

Many. The treasury department estimates that billions in currency alone has “disappeared” in recent years. Where is it all? Here are some of the places to start looking.

Places To Find Buried Treasure

- Under rocks in highway rest areas. There are many reports of criminals and drug dealers to burying large amounts of cash under rocks in the woods at highway rest areas. Hide the evidence, get sent to jail, and what if he never comes out? Treasure hunting time!

- Under the edge of cement slabs. Look for sagging or cracked cement where the ground might have been loosened up.

- In old pump houses. People used to hide things in the pump houses, in the ground underneath, and even inside of pipes that connect to nothing.

- Caches buried near signs. The point was to have a way to remember where the treasure was buried.

- In hotel rooms. Hotel owners report that cheating spouses on business trips hide their rings before going out for the evening, and then forget them. Look under mattresses, on top of light fixtures, and behind pictures.

- In rivers, especially next to bridges. Criminals and kids throw things off bridges to hide them quickly. I have seen several bicycles laying in the bottoms of rivers, and I hear that guns are a common find.

- Inside old books. This has been a common place to hide money for years.

- Inside walls, usually by outlet covers. An outlet cover usually has just one screw to remove, and you might se something by shining a flashlight inside the wall.

- Buried under rocks in backyards. The rock is for remembering where the buried treasure is, and backyards are more common because the person is less likely to be seen burying something here.

Have you ever hidden anything? Do you have anything hidden now? If you wanted to hide money or other valuables, where would you put it? You can understand how things get buried and forgotten. Now start to think like the person who hides things, and you’re ready to search for buried treasure.

Steve Gillman has studied unusual ways to make money for thirty years. To learn more, including more places to find hidden treasure, visit his website, Unusual Ways To Make Money: http://www.UnusualWaysToMakeMoney.com

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Metal detecting can be a lot of fun, a wonderful hobby, and can also be a way to make money if you know what to look for. They’re a lot different types of metal detecting and a lot of different places you can go to metal detect. We will look at three different ways to metal detect water and beach detecting, gold prospecting, and treasure detecting.

1. Water and beach detecting

This is one of the fastest growing types of metal detecting as until recently metal detectors were not readily available for underwater detecting. Metal detectors can search at depths of up to 200 feet which is more than sufficient for your area river, lake, or pond.

If you happen to live near an ocean you are probably a big fan of both water and beach metal detecting. On the beach you have a vast area to search and the beach is very easy to dig through and locate your treasure.

2. Prospecting for gold

Individual who prospect for gold probably make of the biggest subsection of all the metal detectors. This group can be weekend warriors or people who actually make a living at metal detecting. There has been a lot of technology introduced that makes detecting at a deeper depth possible and recovery rates better.

Prospecting for gold can be a lucrative career or a good way to make some side money this is why people get involved to stay involved.

3. Treasure detecting

This is kind of metal detecting is the catch all section of metal detecting, more people are getting involved in looking for treasure, hidden relics, and old coins. This type of metal detecting can be planning a day trip or a weekend away just to look for treasure or can be just going in your backyard and metal detecting until your heart is content.

You can basically go anywhere and start metal detecting and find some type of treasure.

Where you metal detect and the places you go is completely up to you, but one thing is for certain there is a lot of treasure out there to be had if you’re on the lookout you can snag it.

J C Christian is an avid follower of metal detectors and how they work. He runs an informational site that follows Garret Metal Detectors, Fisher Metal Detectors, Tesoro Metal Detectors, and Kellyco Metal Detectors just to name a few. Go to http://www.metal-detector-guides.com
to find information to help with everything metal detecting.

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Originally the Indian Peace medals were made for the British Kings starting in the pre-revolutionary times, then progressed to having one for each of the US presidents until the late 1860s. They come in 2 main types — a normal, round coin shape that everyone is familiar with, and an engraved, oval type medal.

Since these medals were originally given to the various Indian tribes as a show of friendship, this is where it starts to get exciting for the treasure hunter.

The main reason is to think like this: Say you were given a nice shiny medal from a US government agent declaring their love of peace. Then, a few weeks later, sitting in your teepee minding your own business, that same government agent who gave you the medal comes in again and tells you they are relocating you and your family to the middle of nowhere. Well my first instinct would be to get rid of any thing that reminds me of the government as soon as possible.

Now most treasure hunters and metal detector users know that 90 percent of these medals that were lost or thrown away will be worthless due to where they ended up and what they were originally made of. We will concentrate on the ones that are not. Gold is really not affected by much, and did I mention the ones made of gold have sold at auction for around $100,000.00? Not bad for one swing of a detector!

So where do we start looking? Well, since the entire US was at one time inhabited by at least one Indian tribe, that covers the general question of “where do I look?” I have always concentrated in areas of Pennsylvania where arrow heads were found. Researching these places will narrow down your initial search area. Try contacting a club or a private collector in your area that will be willing to share more information. Reading everything you can about your local history will also help.

We now have a new dimension to add to our treasure hunting arsenal. As with any thing you may discover, be careful how you treat the items you’ve found and recovered until you know the value of your find. And it goes with out saying that you also need to be careful and considerate of the property you are hunting on.

One final thought… No matter what your treasure passion is, it all comes down to research and planning. If you fail to do these 2 things your chances of success will be slim. So do the research, have fun and good luck in all you do.

Greg Mulac traveled the globe 25 years pursuing Gold Prospecting /Treasure Hunting passions. Today, retired from an IT Career, he thrives in SEO and Internet Marketing ventures.

When you think of treasure hunting, maybe gold coins and precious stones come to mind, but it doesn’t end there. You can start in your own attic to see what treasures you find. Then you can check out some of the more unusual ways to go treasure hunting.

Diamonds In Parking Lots

Temperature changes getting in and out of cars and buildings cause diamonds to come loose from their settings. Because of this, parking lots are one of the most common places diamondare lost. An older couple I read about became experts at telling the difference (from a distance!) between the sparkle of a diamond and bits of glass. Now they regularly take early morning walks in mall parking lots for a second income.

Desert Treasure Hunting

An old Native American we met at a hot spring in Arizona showed us how to find arrowheads and metates (used for grinding corn or mesquite beans) in the desert. They’re hundreds of years old. He sold one of his metates for $200 during a yard sale, but for non-Native Americans this may be illegal. Check with authorities on this one.

Treasure In Vacuum Cleaner Dust

In California a man took the shag carpet from an a old theater being remodeled, saving the owners the cost of disposal. During the thirties the theater was a place where the wealthy went. Like all of us, the wealthy lose things, but perhaps more valuable things.

When he cut up and carefully shook out the old carpet , he found over $2,000 worth of precious stones, rings, and coins. Then, wondering what’s caught by vaccuum cleaners, the man arranged to take the full cleaner bags from several cleaning companies each week. They save disposal costs, and he regularly finds coins and small jewelry when he digs through the dirt.

Natural Treasures

My wife and I have sold sea shells we collected from Florida beaches, giant pine cones from California, and rocks we collected all over the country. We sold them at flea markets and craft shows, as is, or made into something crafty. I once met a man who sold “burls” (unusual growths on trees) for as much as $200 each.

Treasure Hunting In The Garbage

Our city collects large junk for free during a week each spring. We see good bicycles, furniture, games, toys, chairs, and more, in front of almost every house. Several people come with trucks and trailers to pick out things to sell at flea markets or auctions. It’s a regular source of income for some of them. I’m sure this happens in other cities too.

Treasures In The River

Both kids and criminals throw things off of bridges routinely. It’s a quick way to get rid of evidence. As a child I saw bicycles in rivers several times. I read about a man that makes a living using magnets and other tools to retrieve guns, money, and other things of value from the bottom of murky rivers, near bridges.

These are just a few of the ways to go treasure hunting. Will you make much money? Maybe, but probably not. I can tell you though, that it is a thrill to hear the metal detector start beeping, even if I do only find a quarter in the sand.

Steve Gillman has been studying every aspect of money for thirty years. You can find more treasure hunting ideas, and more interesting and useful information on his website; http://www.UnusualWaysToMakeMoney.com

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