Trash or treasure? Either way, this group is digging up Ohio's lost trinkets
http://www.wcpo.com/entertainment/cincybuzz/trash-or-treasure-either-way-this-group-is-digging-up-ohios-lost-trinkets
OREGONIA, Ohio -- There's a surprising amount of history lurking just inches below our feet.
There's also an astounding number of aluminum cans downs there.
Members of the Ohio Detectorists Association seek out these treasures and also take away the trash they find wherever they search between Cincinnati and Dayton.
Detecting is mostly an individual pursuit, but the association's members sometimes go out "hunting" together. The club also gives members an opportunity to swap tips, share their different areas of expertise and show off cool finds. The association's 60-ish members range in age from 12 to 80-year-olds, and include men and women of all skill levels.
The association recently began meeting at the Camp Lebanon Retreat Center in Oregonia after losing their former home, the now-closed Holly Hills Golf Club in Waynesville. The camp includes a mix of fields and wooded areas, as well as some local history.
On a recent hunt at the camp with a newbie detectorist/reporter in tow, association President Christopher Rhoden, Vice President Gary Fishman and former President Jeff Filaseta discovered some historic coins, a key, bullets, old toy trucks and other items. The reporter found a bunch of "canslaw" -- the detectorists' term for shredded old cans -- and a couple pennies from the '80s.
Filaseta compares metal detecting to fishing. It requires patience, but there's a jolt of curiosity and excitement when getting a tone on the detector that's similar to a tug on the line.
"If you like fishing, you usually like this hobby," he said.
In pop culture terms, members of the club say the experience is less like National Geographic's flashy reality show "Diggers" and more along the lines of the understated BBC comedy "Detectorists."
"No traffic, no yelling people - it's just nice," Rhoden said.
Most of their finds are not worth much money, but some of them hold historic value. Members show off finds like a Civil War officer's belt buckle, rare old coins, a Ford Model T ignition piece or a token advertising Abraham Lincoln's presidential campaign.
"They think you're finding big bucks, but you're not," Filaseta said.
"It's all about history," Fishman added.