Metal Detecting in South Carolina - 7 Places to Search

Being from South Carolina, I almost feel an obligation to publish this interesting article from Frank Pandozzi. Frank is a highly experienced detectorist, and you can trust that he has done his research. South Carolina, of course, was the site of the first shot of the Civil War, and was a pivotal state in the Revolutionary War. The number of relics and coins still buried in South Carolina is enormous.
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South Carolina has hidden treasure to be found. You can locate these treasures. But before you begin your search, there are a few things you need to do.

The first thing you should do is research the treasures I have listed in this article. Take the information I have given to you and research further. Use the Internet, historical societies, and the archives. "Knowledge is power." Especially when you are searching for a lost treasure. Professional treasure hunters never attempt to search out a treasure until they have enough information. Sometimes the research takes more time than the actual search.

The second thing you need to do is to purchase a metal detector. Do not spend a lot of money. A quality, new, metal detector can be purchased for between $350 - $450. You don't need a detector with all of the bells and whistles either. Once you learn how to use a less expensive model, then you should move up to the more expensive detectors. Read the owners manual as well as practicing using your metal detector. By doing so you will become proficient at locating items.

Here are seven areas to begin your search for lost treasures in South Carolina.

Drayton Hall - located on the Ashley River, near the intersection of routes 57 and 61. This colonial plantation was built in 1738, and later occupied by the British during the Revolutionary War. Supposedly, a few buried treasures are in the area.

Hunt's Bluff - located on the Great Pee Wee River near route 57, approximately five miles west of Blenheim. During the Revolutionary War, a large barge carrying military supplies for the British troops, overturned near this spot on the river. A military payroll may have been part of the supplies.

North Island - located in Winyah Bay. In 1781, a group of Tory raiders buried a large amount of their stolen loot in different areas. Much of the buried treasure is gold and silver. Before they could get back to the treasure, the Tories were caught and killed. Over the years, some of the treasure has been
recovered by treasure hunters.

Mulberry Plantation - located on the Cooper River, approximately thirty miles north of Charleston. In 1715, during the Yamasee War, a band of renegade Indians buried a large treasure of gold coins and jewelry in the area.

Fort Carey - located on the Wateree River, just south of Camden where the I-20 bridge crosses the river. During construction of the newer bridge, workers found artifacts and coins along the river bank. The coins may have been a part of a buried treasure. Many soldiers would bury their personal belongings for safekeeping.

The Williamson Plantation - located on route 322, approximately four miles east of McConnel. In July of 1780, the Patriots attacked and killed the ruthless Tory Captain Huck, and his raiders. Over a period of five years, the raiders accumulated a large amount of plunder. They supposedly buried it in the area.

Congaree River - located in this river near Columbia is a massive amount of cannons, rifles, muskets, ammunition, and more than one million musket balls. The supplies were thrown into the river by General William T. Sherman after he captured Columbia. He did not want the supplies to fall back into the hands of the Confederates. These relics are treasures worth in the millions.

It is important that you always ask for permission when entering private property. If you are going on to State or Federal Land, in search for lost treasure, be sure to check with your State laws about any digging.
Good luck in your search for hidden treasure.

© Frank W. Pandozzi

Frank W. Pandozzi is an author, TV Producer of Exploring Historys Treasures TV series, and a popular treasure hunter. He began his treasure hunting days thirty years ago. To learn more about Frank, please visit him at his website http://www.metal-detecting-ghost-towns-of-the-east.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Pandozzi

Shifting Sands

Wow.. there are so many topics to discuss. I've thought about this, my next post.. and wondered what direction to go. I've decided to try to keep to the basics, as I don't want to put the cart before the horse. My last post was all about research, and this one is about attitude.
 It's easy to think that a local park or school ground may not be worth your time and effort, as you have seen detectorists scanning the area on numerous occasions. Closing these areas off, in your mind at least, turns into an excuse to stay home.


I heard one detectorist ask another recently..." you still searching ___ ____?" . The second one just shook his head affirmatively. " I don't see how you're getting anything out of there, as much time as you and Bill spent searching there last summer." The second guy just continued to nod his head up and down, never offering an arguement and never defending his actions. I could tell the second guy was holding out. He WAS still finding items, but didn't want to invite competition. He was content to have others think the area was tapped out.


The ground is ALIVE.. Just as the beach shore constantly changes with the shifting of the sand and the rise and fall of the tides, the ground we search inland changes as well, just not quite as fast nor quite as obviously. I was raised in the country. I have gone into the pasture and picked up rock after rock and tossed them into a trailer pulled by a tractor. In a year or two or three we'd have to go back into the same pasture and pick up rocks again. 


I learnt early on that the earth is constantly pushing things out of the ground. I remember wishing that I could see how this worked, but I accepted the fact that nature was constantly re-arranging underfoot. On the other hand, nature also covers some items, making it impossible to see things that were visible only a few years earlier. So, I suppose  the best word would be 'FLUX'.. Nature is in a constant state of flux and rearrangement.


That's why detectorist's search the same locations over and over.


When they search a third and fourth time much of the 'junk' has already been removed, cutting down on the false reads. Yet, coins and relics that were not detectable months earlier have now moved enough, due in part to rain and heat and cold,that they are picked up by the detectors.


I won't even bring up the fact that one detectorist, searching directly behind another, will find items the first one missed. Maybe their detectors were set on different levels of discrimination, or maybe they simply misread the signal. Who knows...


I do know that the top practitioners in the world will be quick to tell you about the amazing finds they have unearthed the second or fifth time they searched a site.

So remember... NO excuses..   
  

Where to Find Real Treasure..

Metal Detecting is just like fishing... if you don't know WHERE to fish, I hope you enjoy the outdoors... because that's probably the only enjoyment you're going to get....

Oh.. you can probably find something of value almost anywhere. I'm not trying to be a killjoy. But a little research can go a long ways.

Although I've made a comparison between Metal Detecting and Fishing, I think you'll find metal detecting much easier. Fish move. I have a friend who does some serious striper (Bass) fishing. He lives about an hour and a half from the closest major striper lake. If he knows that he'll be on the lake the next morning, he will call several landings and get a heads up on where schools of striper are located. Then, he'll call a couple of friends who live on the lake and see what they have to say.   The point is... he does his research. Last time I went fishing with him, we caught our limit of striper, 10 each, that weighed out at 212 pounds. That's an average of almost 11 pounds each. As soon as we got the boat on the lake, he took off to a certain cove that was a solid 30 minute ride from where we put in. I didn't ask questions, because I knew he knew where to go to locate the fish. 

Have you been to the library to research local history books? They'll give you a great idea where businesses stood a hundred years ago. With a little research, you can discover where banks stood, where mercantile stores stood, and where people gathered to socialize, worship, work, and play. 

Here's an example of what a little 'extra' research will uncover...   

I'm lucky to live in a city that housed cantonments in both WWI and WWII. If you are into relic hunting, one of these locations would seem ideal. A quick search online will find you maps and detailed information about both camps.  One of the camps, Camp Wadsworth, served as one of America's primary army mobilization centers. Over 100,000 soldiers trained there from 1917 to 1919. In addition to the infrastructure necessary to support a vast number of soldiers, over 1000 wooden buildings, there were rows and rows of barracks (walled tents) and over eight miles of trenches for training purposes.

Aside from the infantrymen, who trained with the M1903 Springfield bolt action rifle, The 27th Division's 52nd Artillery Brigade was armed with three principle weapons; the French 75mm field gun, 155mm Schneider howitzers, and the British Stokes mortar. The French field gun in particular fired a shell that burst over the enemy and covered the immediate area with shrapnel.

Anyone currently searching this encampment with hopes of finding artillery shells will probably leave disappointed. Although they trained with live ammo, it was entirely too dangerous to train in the general location of Camp Wadsworth. 

They overcame the problem by building Camp Wadsworth's primary artillery and rifle range some 26 miles away, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Artillery weapons were stored at the range, located some 5 miles from Glassy Mountain, now home to Cliffs of Glassy golf course (consistently rated one of top 5 Most Beautiful Golf Courses in America). Soldiers routinely had to hike the twenty-six miles to the range, effectively killing two birds with one stone.  The Artillery crews fired their rounds at Glassy Mountain and Hogback Mountain, while the infantrymen took aim on a rifle range constructed in the same area. 

A little research disclosed the church near where the artillery and rifle ranges were located. ( Oak Grove Baptist Church in Gowensville SC) The church is active to this day, so, it was easy to discern the exact location of the two ranges. Since it took the soldiers a full day to reach the range, it stands to reason that they had to continually pitch camp in the immediate area. This is where you search. Not Camp Wadsworth itself, but the secondary locations where soldiers actually ate outdoors, slept outdoors, and discharged their weapons. If the US military is good at one thing, aside from fighting, it's erasing any trace of their footprints at training  and data centers.

Again, all it took was a little research.

Like my friend with the boat, I want to hit the ground running. You can too, with a smidgen of insight...      

Metal Detectors - Where Do We Start?

I suppose the best place to start is a quick discussion of metal detectors for beginners. I'm not going to get into a discussion of specific metal detectors and what you should or should not buy. That's like trying to tell you to drink Pepsi instead of Coke, or drive a Ford instead of a Chevrolet.

In all honesty, if you are a beginner, I recommend going to a site that sells many different types of detectors, Kellycodetectors.com for example, and reading the reviews for the various detectors. Sites like this do not tend to 'play favorites', as they want to maintain their relationship with ALL their suppliers. Yes, you will get a wide array of opinions from the readership, but you eventually begin to see a 'trend' among those offering advise.

You are going to pay somewhere between $150.00 and $250.00 for a good, basic detector. Don't get sucked in by all the many features. (Use the KISS principle... Keep it Simple Stupid) Your first detector doesn't need all the bells and whistles, since you don't know what features you REALLY need and which ones you can live without. What IS important is that you buy a detector that will find treasure and has a quick learning curve. You don't want to go out your first few times and not have a clue what you're doing. That's a sure-fire way to become discouraged before you experience the joys of discovery. 

Look for a 'name' brand metal detector - something like a White's Coinmaster or a Garrett Ace 250 in the price range I mentioned.  I speak from experience. The reviews for both of these detectors are consistently good. Also consider Tesoro, Bounty Hunter, Fisher, and Technetics.   

Oh, there's always the odd sort who thinks that any detector less than $500.00 is junk, but you can ignore their diatribe.   With ground balancing preset at the factory, you can literally cut the unit on.. and start detecting immediately. You'll discern the fine points as you go along, but you'll have a blast in the meanwhile.

Although I'm not putting down or ignoring other brands, White's and Garrett, by virtue of their many years in the industry, tend to have a higher resell value if you decide you want to upgrade. But, like most serious detectorist's, you'll most likely keep your unit as a back-up, as you and your detector will have shared many a finds.

One last 'rule of thumb'... instead of trying to see how cheaply you can purchase your first detector, buy as expensive a unit as you can comfortably afford. As I said, this will probably become your back-up unit if you decide to upgrade. But, then again, this unit may prove to be all you need....     

Welcome to 'Metal Detecting For Fun and Profit'

Hi All... This is our first post, and the first of many. We are all about metal detecting, especially for the beginner to intermediate users who still have a gazillion questions and a real thurst for knowledge. Expert users will discover new tips and tricks from others as well. We want to include everyone of every skill level in the discussions.

Look for more posts in the next few days, as we set up the site design and layout. My names Rick, and I sincerely hope to be your guide into the world of metal detecting for fun and profit.