Владетель магазина металлоискателей в штате Делавэр рассказывает о 50-летнем увлечении поиском сокровищ

It’s all about the beeps. Metal detecting as a hobby, according to Eastern Shore Metal Detectors owner John Rebman, often springs from related interests. In his case, it was “digging up old bottles” with friends that kicked off a hobby he’s now been involved with for more than 50 years. Rebman, whose shop is in Seaford, gave a presentation on metal detecting at the South Coastal Library in Bethany Beach on Aug. 5. He said he found his lifelong passion as a young boy, when a friend was given a metal detector. Within months, he said, his great-aunt — who had a metal detector business in Salisbury, Md. — “sold me my first metal detector.” Soon after, Rebman said, “I was hunting old churches, schools, yards … wherever I could go. “I remember my first silver coin I found. I remember my first gold ring I found. Part of it’s about finding treasure,” he said. “Part of it’s just the thrill of the hunt. I don’t do this for the money,” he said with a hearty laugh. “I’d probably starve if I did. But I’ve found a lot of really cool things over the years.” Rebman said he hunts anywhere he thinks he might find something interesting, whether that’s a piece of land that’s been farmed for generations or a stretch of sandy beach. “Right now, we’re on the beach ... we’re in the water, we’re in the surf. It’s too hot and too buggy in the fields,” he said. While summer metal detecting naturally shifts to the beach, Rebman said that, in the fall, after fields are plowed, farms can be fertile hunting grounds for metal detectors — particularly after the fields are plowed. “The plows does all the work for you,” he said. “Soybeans are wonderful, because they cut them so short you don’t have any stumps or stalks,” as there would be in corn fields. “I’ve literally found colonial copper coins on top of the ground” in a plowed field, Rebman said. “It’s just laying there. It got kicked out, and the rain washed it off.” Some people, Rebman said, just like to look for coins. “We call it ‘coin shooting’ — just pulling up coins. See how many coins you can collect in a day…” he said. “There’s also ‘water hunting.’ That’s a whole different animal. That’s getting in the water — waist-deep, chest-deep water. It’s not even just swimming holes,” he said. “We’ve detected old landing sites, where old ships have come in. Roads that have ‘landing’ in the title often lead to former landing sites for boats carrying produce and different supplies, and there was trade happening. We’ll find old coins and relics in those environments.” For those who are interested in trying metal detecting as a hobby, Rebman said the first, most obvious, question is “What equipment do I buy?” While metal detectors come in a wide range of price points and levels of technology, Rebman said a decent starter detector can be bought for around $300. Most in that price range will help filter out small bits of iron, which is the most “prolific” metal found in the ground. However, he said, “If you get a cannonball, it’s probably going to show up” on even the most basic metal detector. Modern metal detectors assign numeric values to different metals, which appear on the detector’s readout, according to Rebman. There will also be corresponding beeps — “the higher the number, the higher the pitch” of the beep, he said. One of the most significant differences in types of metal detectors is the shape of the coil — the part that sits above the ground at the base of the detector. Detectors with concentric coils are usually less expensive, while those “double D”-shaped coils will detect deeper targets. Beyond the actual metal detectors, Rebman said a “pinpointer” is “invaluable.” The small electronic tool does exactly as its name implies — when stuck into the ground where a metal detector is indicating a target, it narrows down the area where the object will be found. In the last 10 years, Rebman said, metal detecting technology “is a whole new world,” thanks to the more compact size of the equipment. One major change has been the addition of lithium batteries, allowing for the detectors to be much lighter. The advent of headsets that now connect wirelessly to the metal detectors has been another gamechanger, Rebman said. He emphasized that spending hundreds more dollars on equipment won’t make for a better metal-detecting experience, particularly for beginners. “It doesn’t really matter what you use. They’re all pretty good. You just have to learn how to use it,” he said. Over the years, Rebman has detected all over the United States and has also had quite meaningful experiences detecting in Europe. Detecting in England, he said, “was a gamechanger” for him. “There’s 4,000 years of history” there, he said. He noted that in the United States, the general rule is that “if you find it, it’s yours,” but in England, certain finds have to be turned over to an antiquities agency for assessment, and the item may or may not be returned. At the local level, Rebman suggested joining online metal-detecting groups to help get started, including Facebook groups such as Delmarva Metal Detecting and Metal Detecting Maryland. There are also local detecting clubs, including the Shore Seekers in Salisbury, Md., and the Eastern Shore Treasure Club, based on Kent Island, Md. As a hobby, he said, metal-detecting is a great stress-reliever. “I unplug when I’m out there. You’re just out there, you’re in nature, you’re finding stuff. “Usually people who like to fish like to metal-detect,” he said. “We actually call it ‘dirt fishing.’” For more information on metal detecting equipment or clubs, call John Rebman at (302) 628-1985.