It was the summer of 1992. I was 10 years old. The Goonies were my idols, and the quest for “One-Eyed” Willy’s treasure a pipe-dream... or I thought so. After watching The Goonies (the recorded-off-televison VHS tape) for the hundreth time, I began gearing up to become a real life treasure hunter, explorer, adventurer, and like my hollywood heros, a rebel.
After a game of neighboorhood soccer, my best buddy and I stopped at his house for a quick pull of hose water. On our way out to give the fifth graders a second licking, this time in sandlot baseball, we were stopped in our tracks. The culprit, a dirty mound of rusty trinkets his father found after a days hunting.
“Hunting?”, I asked my friend. “What kind of hunting produces this?”
“Treasure Hunting”, he replied.
“Whoa, what?”
Sifting through his dads score, I discovered a half-dollar sized field token used to call heads or tails at the start of sporting events. It wasn’t old. It wasn’t worth much, but this amazing tarnished gold artifact featuring an enameled soccer scene caught my attention. It fueled my curiosity. It sent adventure running through my veins. It started the fever that keeps me up at night. The fever a lot of us suffer from. The treasure fever! This was for sure the coolest thing I’d ever seen. But it wasn’t just the object that intrigued me; it was the way it was discovered.
“A metal what?” I asked.
“A metal detector,” his dad replied.
After a crash course on his Garrett “Green Machine,” I was hooked. That year for Christmas my father gave me my very first metal detector: a Fisher 1225x. After seeing what I found in the half-frozen ground the first couple days I had it, my father bought one for himself. In our own backyard I discovered a Roy Rogers toy cap gun and a few silver Mercury dimes. Come to find out, our neighbors’ property was once the site of a farmhouse, dating back to 1930. Right there and then I was convinced: treasure could be found anywhere and with a little research, one could be very successful!
Fast forward to today. After years of unearthing so much cool stuff, I feel my job now is to take it one step further: to repay the hobby that has brought me so much joy and satisfaction year in and year out. To pay it forward. To spark joy. To bring excitment to you, your family, your friends, your neighbors.
What makes metal detecting so awesome? It’s a non discrimitve, individual sport that puts you in touch with nature, history, yourself, and your community. Also, it pays for itself over time with all the cool stuff you find. Plus there is no better place to expereince it then the great state of Michigan where MMD™ is rooted and proudly representing every day. There is so much history stemming from Detroit, into Mount Clemens, along the Clinton River, following the shores of each Great Lake, and tucked into the Upper Peninsula. There is so much potential and undiscovered treasure right below our feet, and there’s no better feeling then rediscovering local history and finding treaure that people before us once cherished. It’s fun putting yourself in their shoes; imagining how that gold Double Eagle was dropped, or what happened the moments before that 1931 Northeastern Detroit High School gold class ring slipped off the star quarterback’s finger and found itself in your treasure pouch 87 years later. They couldn’t have done very well after explaining to their father how they lost such a valuable possesion during the Great Depression.
MMD’s™ mission is to promote metal detecting and living. To us, it’s not about making money. It’s about finding it. It’s about promoting the sport. It’s about getting people off the couch, out of their house, off their devices, outdoors and into reality where life really is. This is what truly makes us happy. Seeing people be people and finding treasure on top of it!
We thank you for taking the time to read this. Help support the organization by purchasing quality treasure hunting products on the website, and you too can start your own story! If interested in pursuing the hobby, but just out of reach due to expense, let us know, and we’ll work with you and help figure out a way to get you started. No person shall be denied the gratification treasure hunting has to offer.
We thank the great state of Michigan and the story of The Goonies where our energy, ideas, and inspiration come from. This can be seen in our mission statement and in our designs.
And lastly, thank you Mr. McCarthy. Without you this would not. I would’ve never had the chance to experience the pure excitement I get everytime I unearth a lost treasue.
Please feel free to post your discoveries on our Finds of a Lifetime group page. It only sparks more interest and enjoyment for all! Plus, we’ll be giving away prizes each month to the best entries. Follow us and keep an eye out for the Michigan Metal Detectives™ tent at local events, charities, boy/girl scout outings, etc. If you see us, stop by, say hello, look at some of our finds, and test out a metal detector.
Mikey from The Goonies said it best. “Come on, guys, this is our time. Our last chance to see if there really is any rich stuff. We’ve got to”.
And now YOU’VE got to! It’s YOUR time to see if there’s any rich stuff! It all starts here. It all starts now!
EXPLORE x DISCOVER x FIND TREASURE!
Michigan Metal Detectives, LLC