Gib Thompson

Tuberale

Gold Member
May 12, 2010
5,775
3,447
Portland, Oregon
Detector(s) used
White's Coinmaster Pro
Just pulled my autographed copy of Gib Thompson's "How to Become a Professional Treasure Hunter," c. 1979 by Gib Thompson, Sweet Home, Oregon. Spent hours talking with Gib who was an early salesman for White's at Sweet Home. His book includes photos of 800 rings he found, as well as a collection of pistols, and even silver ingots from a wagon trail near Oak Ridge, Oregon.

The back of the book shows Gib with his 1975 and 1976 National Treasure Hunt trophies from Spokane, Washington. Carl Miller was an original, but so was Gib. Gib had a heart attack in 1977, followed by open-heart surgery that ended his treasure hunting full-time. But his skill with a detector and creative problem-solving were legendary. Case in point was the recovery of a body in Clear Lake at 130 feet by using a metal detector and magnets. The detector was used to locate the approximate site of the body. Magnets attached to ropes were used to fish for the diver's air tanks. Body and tanks found and recovered the same day, in August, 1978. Maybe not a typical treasure, but certainly an important one for the diver's family.
 

Boy, does that bring back memories! Gib was one of my hunting buddies back then. I remember he would call me up on a friday and let me know he was coming over. We went on quite a few hunts together and made some nice finds. Always enjoyed sitting at the table and talking detectors and hunting sites with him. I still have my book that he autographed for me in Jan. 79'.
 

Tuberale ,

800 rings before 79. WOW!! So you said you talk detectors with him now (present day). What does he say about our new machines. I mean his day was what BFO's? Just curious.

Stryker
 

Gib died in 1980, I think. It seems to be he died about a year or two after the book was published.

So, he didn't know anything about what we consider new detectors now.

Yeah, he was a master of the BFO (Beat Frequency Occilator). Wasn't too shabby with TR (Transmitter-Receiver) either. Wish I could still talk to him today: he might have been willing to tell me what he knew of Kenneth White Sr.'s meteorite.<G>
 

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