After finding an old photo from Christmas 1976 I had proof positive of my first metal detector. Of course I headed straight to Ebay to see if I could find one. There are actually more of these still around than I expected. Found this one that was in it’s original box with manual. $19.95 later I was reliving old memories.Obviously this machine can’t hold a candle to modern detectors but it actually works good enough that I think you might be able to find a coin or two. It certainly works better than the Treasure Sensor 1000 that I bought with my allowance in 1979.

I’ve always considered my Treasure Sensor 1000 to be my first metal detector. It was, at least, the first one I bought with my own money. Even though I considered it to be first I’ve always had this fleeting memory of another detector. Was it my imagination? Was the Treasure Sensor not actually the first place winner?

Since I’m addicted to searching and with a love for history it was only natural that I would get bit by the genealogy bug. I spent about 2 solid years building a family tree. At one point I was looking for some lost pictures that the family claimed my mom possessed. Mom claimed she didn’t but sent me into her attic to look anyways. No pictures…none.

Fast forward a few years. After mom passed away my step-dad was cleaning out the attic. What he found wasn’t just the lost pictures but a whole box of photo albums. I set down that night to go through pictures. A vast amount of these photos I had never seen. One particular album was Christmas 1976. As I thumbed through this album of mostly unseen photos, there it was! The proof! My memory wasn’t a fabrication. It was offical. My first metal detector was a Radio Shack!