Blue-collar detecting paying the bills like nobody business.

[tigerbeetle]

Like all detectorists, I live for the finest finds – and I’ve scored some winners during my nearly 50 years of detecting. But, I now want to offer a video look at what finds are paying for my machines – many times over. This is my most recent load of detected blue-collar metals; pushing 150 pounds. I suspect I’m easily approaching $2,000 in scrap therein – and every single piece was found by my Fisher CZ-3D. I’ve already reached $4,000 in previous sales of my “highly mature” scrap. And there’s nobody doubting I got my metal fair and square. One look says there’s no funny business with this guy’s scrap.

 

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[Metal Magnet]

good thoughts. i've kept the brass, copper, and lead. i need to do a better job of sorting and keeping all of it. i want to up my $ for a detector or detecting trip! thanks.

 

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[Millerthebugkiller]

Saving my junk for a new coil nice vid

 

[treasurefiend]

bump*

 

[RobRieman]

Rick, this video is ONLY my old "canned" stuff, vintage metal, so to speak. I have loads and loads more -- not old, but still found with a detector -- to go to the scrap guy. I recently found over 200 feet of maybe 10- gauge copper wire behind an abandoned garage. By the by, I can quote metal prices in a heartbeat. I'll show the receipt after my next sale. Maybe do a video of taking it in. The boys love looking through my weird stuff.

So your saying the scrap dealers pay more for old scrap?

 

[tigerbeetle]

Rick. Not at all. I'm saying the folks in here sometimes think their old metal doesn't meet "scrap" standards. Sure, the cleaner, the better. But, just because metal has a heavy, uh, patina doesn't mean the yard won't readily take it. Clean and shiny gets the best buck for copper. Still, large brass/bronze dug items can win out, profit-wise, on overall weight alone. Then there's the "architectural salvage" value, which is a whole other value ballgame. Hunting behind a one-time fire department, I found 54 hose nozzles and couplings in a fully tarnished state. I first thought in scrap dollars -- maybe $250 for the load -- until I went auction on a couple of them. I reached that $250 in just 10 pieces, uncleaned. I'm just trying to draw detectorist attention to larger, dug items. Nothing more.

 

[Davers]

YEAH MAN...
I Been Scraping for years , even before I started MDing ( say in 1991 or 92 ) I recall striping wire I think I was paid around 50-70 cent a pound back then for #1 Bare Bright.
Then in the early 2000,s The local building boom was still going on , in almost every Neighbor hood the Electricians would leave their scrap wire on the floor of the houses being built or it was swept up into a pile out side or in the garage many pieces were 2ft or more in length, not to mention what the plumbers left behind.
At times I would have 5+ contractor bags filled with scrap waiting to be stripped . I would just stand in my living room &watch TV & strip wire for Hours , I could strip around 25-30 lbs (House hold wire) in 4-5 hrs. THEN
Copper price Jumped to $1 in 2004 "est" & went up from there to it's peak of $4.20 is the highest I was paid for bare bright in 2010 " that was my last big load (got around $700 & Bought a Sweet Glock 21 ; 45), by that time scrap was very hard to come by and took me over a year to get that much weight.
In the mid 2000's as Cu hit 2 then 3 Dollars a pound ,I would take in a couple hundred lbs every 2 weeks or so.
At this time Many builders & electricians Came to know me & some would actually set the scrap aside for me.
Then The Thieves came out & started Cutting the wire out of the homes sometimes on the night after in was installed also
the electricians & their Company,s started saving their scraps.
Needless to say my source ran dry Quick.
Now like you I save all my metals I dig , esp, the Brass I don't mind at all digging old water nozzles & other heavy Brass water or gas type Valves , heck I don't bother me to dig Cartridge Cases esp, The Rifle ones.

I have a few large (Covers) that are usually brass but are slightly magnetic ; I,m thinking these might be made of Nickel & weighing a lb or more each , would pay some pretty good money.
Is there a way I can tell if their pure Nickel? when I scrape them the metal under the tarnish is a Silver Color.
Maybe ill take them down to the yard & have them Scan them with their hand held XRF or XRL type scanner.

Sorry for the RANT.
Great Video & advice, Thanks
Davers.........

 

[Davers]

It all adds up! After a few years I turned in 30 lbs of bottle caps - lol

Man that's a lot of caps!

For what it's worth , I heard more Steel is used for making Bottle Caps in a year than Steel used to make Cars.

 

[park pirate]

That's cool..