Honolulu, HI

Last weekend I hunted for treasure at Waikiki Beach. I wasn’t even the only person doing it. My only tools: a waterproof metal detector and a sand scoop. By now the image of an old guy wearing headphones walking Waikiki Beach sweeping a metal detector over the sand as he goes is a familiar sight. After watching people do this over the years, I decided to try it for myself—with a slight twist—I wanted a fully submersible detector so I could go snorkeling, or even scuba diving with it—and I must say it has been a fun hobby.

Without fail, the first question everyone asks me is, “What have you found?” Well, the short answer is, “Nothing great.” This last weekend, for example, I found 10 coins, all ordinary change, with the exception that most of them are encrusted with calcium deposits and stained green from oxidizing in the ocean for years. But I found them in about four feet of water off Waikiki Beach while snorkeling, and there is something exciting about hearing that ‘beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep’ and knowing that something is down there; then digging it up and finding coins, that is just really cool. Other past finds include costume jewelry—I have found several sterling silver-coated rings, especially ones with Hawaiian sea turtles engraved on them (those are popular around here, and swimmers forget that when they enter the water, they get cold and their skin shrinks, making it easy to lose rings). Anyway, ideally I’m looking for super-old treasure, maybe a coin from the days of the Hawaiian Kingdom with King Kamehameha on it, but I haven’t been that lucky yet. I did manage to find a 1946 nickel. Once I found a bullet.
 
There are two main styles of metal detecting: sometimes I try just walking along the beach, the most common method, where you just walk along the dry or wet sand looking for things of value that have been recently dropped. This is what most metal detectors in Waikiki do, usually in the very early morning or evening. Most of the time, however, as I did this last weekend, I prefer to actually enter the shallow water and snorkel along, looking for things that are out in the water where less people are searching. Also this is fun because I see various sea creatures as I search—puffer fish, goat fish, crabs, and flounders have all come to investigate my sand scoop as it digs things up. I also like it because if I find any trash, such as old cans, I bring them out with me and throw them away, so I am cleaning the environment.
 
The funniest thing, though, is that one time in Florida, my wife found a diamond ring on a sand bar, just by randomly scooping some sand up with her hands! She sold it to a jewelry shop for hundreds of dollars. So to this day she loves to remind me that she’s found more treasure without a metal detector than I have with mine. But in the immortal words of Mel Fisher, “Today’s the day!”
 
Tips & info:
-if you don’t already own a metal detector, they can be purchased on Oahu at Radio Shack, (sometimes) Wal Mart, but for beach use, make sure you get one where the ‘search coil’ can be submersed
-fill in any holes you dig after you are done—even if underwater, since little kids can fall into these!
-remove any trash you find and throw it away
-detectors can be rented on island from a couple places
-Good luck!