Magazines on a rack in a convenience store, 1983 and bought my Garrett Deepseeker ADSIII from KellyCo Yep, KellyCo has been around a while and they are still here = great company, spent a day in their store in Florida a few years ago and got to meet our friend and Moderator Supreme - TreasureHunter = great guy for those who never had a chance to meet him. I have an ADSIII now, but not my original.....
Micronta 3001 from Radio Shack in 1978. It was 36 dollars if I remember right. Found my first Buffalo nickel and first silver coin which was a 1939 Merc. Other than that lots of big iron stuff. (Photo borrowed from internet)
My first detector was one I bought off a man on my paper route in 1983. It was a Bounty Hunter 840. I found a lot of stuff with that old machine. I no longer have the original one but have one just like it for display
Mine was a cheap Bounty Hunter that my girlfriend at the time (she's my wife now ) got me for Christmas many, many moons ago. I don't remember the model, but I did find quite a few silver coins with it. I threw it in the trash just a few months ago, it had stopped working years ago. Next was a Tesoro Sidewinder Umax, then the AT Pro, now the EQX800. I was pretty much hooked from day one.
Current: Black Vaquero w 5.75" Con & 11x8 RSD, Compadre 8" Donut, T2 w 11"DD, Ace 300i w 7x10", Vanquish 440 w V10, & Simplex+ SP28.
Past: Whites 4000D Ser 3 w 8" Con, Radio Shack 3001 Micronta 18Khz.
Like most others mine was a Radio Shack Micronta 3001, where I grew up in my back yard literally filled a large pickle jar filled to the top full of way too many pennies, then dimes, a few dozen or so quarters and very little nickels.
Current: Black Vaquero w 5.75" Con & 11x8 RSD, Compadre 8" Donut, T2 w 11"DD, Ace 300i w 7x10", Vanquish 440 w V10, & Simplex+ SP28.
Past: Whites 4000D Ser 3 w 8" Con, Radio Shack 3001 Micronta 18Khz.
The Radio Shack Micronta back in its day was no slouch. Precise although not deep, and hit on ever singnal you knew what popped out was a coin every time, and batteries lasted a long time too. Easy grabbing pennies every time then on to the next quickly thus didn't take long to fill that large jar. Thing is you just keep on swinging the area over and over again different directions, always was able to pick up something in my old back yard, and again if I did to this say I would want to take just something just a simple say the Tesoro Compadre if I could just not sure the old man would want me to dig up his perfectly now groomed back yard now that he spend thousands replacing nearly 40 years ago to have me destroy.. but I was always good at burring my holes afterwards.
AT Pro, AT Max, AT Gold - Tesoro Euro Sabre - Tesoro Bandido II uMax - Troy X2 - Tesoro Stingray - Mojave - Fisher 1280X- Fisher 1235X - and many more.
I bought my first detector in 1983, a Garrett American Series 2. Believe me when I say that detectors have come a long way since that one. Don't have any pics of it though and it was put out to pasture in 1984 when I upgraded to a White's 6000di.
First detector was a magnet on a stick. I was fascinated in meteorites and still am. I eventually picked up a bounty hunter 202 and moved on to minelab.
an El Cheapo TC 1023, it paid for itself in 60 days. I then upgraded to a Fisher F4 because I wanted (1) to see target ID numbers, (2) the ability to notch, & (3) a larger coil which was also a DD type.