Sooper Dave
Bronze Member
My son and I went out after work looking to get a quick relic hunt in before dark. We drove out to a park a couple of towns over where I have found Civil War relics at before. My hopes were to luck up on a bullet so my focus was on those type of signals. We hadn't walked far from where we parked and my second signal was a 12-31 on the Etrac. I cut the plug and could see what I thought was a gold colored twist cap off of a liquor bottle. I quickly picked it up to put in my pouch but was blown away to pull out this huge chunk of gold and to see I had just dug my first class ring. I called for my son to come over and we shared the excitement as I took a bunch of photos of it there in the dirt. I was anxious to get home, get it cleaned up and start searching for the owner.
The first search my wife did took us to the right guy and with a little more searching we were able to find phone numbers and even an address. I didn't want to just call him or reach out to him through social media because I wanted to surprise him in person and to see his reaction first hand. I was trying to get a message to his wife and to set up a way to meet for the return but we couldn't find that much info on her. I found a place he used to live and thought that it was his parents house going by the name on the tax record. I drove by there on Friday but it looked as no one lived there. I was ready to get this ring back to him so today I took the drive to where he lives and knocked on his door but no one was home. I jumped in my truck disappointed and was thinking I may have to just call and set up a time to meet. As I was heading out of the complex I see a guy pulling in that looks like him based on photos I have seen on his social media pages. I quickly turned around and parked a few spaces away and waited on him to get out. Sure enough it was him and I started a conversation explaining who I was and that I metal detected for relics as a hobby and as soon as I said I was looking around this little park he excitedly asked if I had found his ring! He was in disbelief and was very shocked that I had found it and took the time to track him down and return it to him.
He tells me that he lost it 24 years ago during his senior year. His class went down to the park that is only a few miles from the school he attended. He said he knew he had lost it and the teacher and other students spent some time looking for it. Also a friend from church went there with his detector but didn't have any luck on the recovery. He figured it was lost forever. I was thanked several times and he even offered to pay me. I told him his thanks was plenty enough.
It was a thrill to find this but I enjoyed finding him and seeing his reaction to a ring he never though he would see again. I've always wanted to do this and I am so happy I got an opportunity. I love seeing when others have done the same. It's such a fun and rewarding hobby that never gets old even after many years of searching for treasures! HH-David
The first search my wife did took us to the right guy and with a little more searching we were able to find phone numbers and even an address. I didn't want to just call him or reach out to him through social media because I wanted to surprise him in person and to see his reaction first hand. I was trying to get a message to his wife and to set up a way to meet for the return but we couldn't find that much info on her. I found a place he used to live and thought that it was his parents house going by the name on the tax record. I drove by there on Friday but it looked as no one lived there. I was ready to get this ring back to him so today I took the drive to where he lives and knocked on his door but no one was home. I jumped in my truck disappointed and was thinking I may have to just call and set up a time to meet. As I was heading out of the complex I see a guy pulling in that looks like him based on photos I have seen on his social media pages. I quickly turned around and parked a few spaces away and waited on him to get out. Sure enough it was him and I started a conversation explaining who I was and that I metal detected for relics as a hobby and as soon as I said I was looking around this little park he excitedly asked if I had found his ring! He was in disbelief and was very shocked that I had found it and took the time to track him down and return it to him.
He tells me that he lost it 24 years ago during his senior year. His class went down to the park that is only a few miles from the school he attended. He said he knew he had lost it and the teacher and other students spent some time looking for it. Also a friend from church went there with his detector but didn't have any luck on the recovery. He figured it was lost forever. I was thanked several times and he even offered to pay me. I told him his thanks was plenty enough.
It was a thrill to find this but I enjoyed finding him and seeing his reaction to a ring he never though he would see again. I've always wanted to do this and I am so happy I got an opportunity. I love seeing when others have done the same. It's such a fun and rewarding hobby that never gets old even after many years of searching for treasures! HH-David
