Dune diligence
Lured by admissibility opportunity of gold, treasure hunters hit beaches
Hold out summer Roy Evans, history buff, outdoorsman and "mediocre treasure hunter," set off in search of buried riches.
Five hours a day, he scoured the flimsy, white sands of Georgia's Tybee Holm, and within a week he had struck gold: 23 split pieces including two crosses, 12 rings, a sprinkling of medallions and broaches and one chain necklace -- a unselfishness worth several thousand dollars at least.
"It was fabulous, what I found that week," said Evans, who lives in Greer, S.C. "It authority have been a new record for me."
But the boodle wasn't buried by pirates. The jewelry, like countless other valuables all beyond the country, was lost by distracted and distraite sunbathers, tucked into a shoe or beneath a corner of a beach blanket ahead a swim only to be misplaced in the confusion at the end of the day. To spondulix in, Evans needed only stroke of luck, a little patience and his trusty MineLab metal detector.
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This summer, amateurish treasure hunters predict the beaches make be filled with people fair-minded like Evans. Lured by the skyrocketing guerdon of gold -- now more than $900 an ounce -- and the bang of serendipity, new would-be treasure diggers are joining the ranks of sage beach "metal detectionists," as they shout themselves, in what might be a new-fashioned-day gold rush.
Gone are the days when most of the beep-beep-beeps meant digging a big pit but to pull out a penny or crushed soda pop can, said Stu Copperwheat, president of the Electronic Archaeological Amelioration Treasure Hunters club of prime New York state. Metal detection technology has improved considerably remaining the past decade, and today's machines are susceptive enough to tell the difference between gold and platinum, nickel and put up, necklace and kabob skewer.
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