| When you think of treasure hunting, maybe gold | | | | arranged to take the full cleaner bags from |
| coins and precious stones come to mind, but it | | | | several cleaning companies each week. They save |
| doesn't end there. You can start in your own attic | | | | disposal costs, and he regularly finds coins and |
| to see what treasures you find. Then you can | | | | small jewelry when he digs through the dirt.Natural |
| check out some of the more unusual ways to go | | | | TreasuresMy wife and I have sold sea shells we |
| treasure hunting.Diamonds In Parking | | | | collected from Florida beaches, giant pine cones |
| LotsTemperature changes getting in and out of | | | | from California, and rocks we collected all over |
| cars and buildings cause diamonds to come loose | | | | the country. We sold them at flea markets and |
| from their settings. Because of this, parking lots | | | | craft shows, as is, or made into something crafty. |
| are one of the most common places diamondare | | | | I once met a man who sold "burls" (unusual |
| lost. An older couple I read about became experts | | | | growths on trees) for as much as $200 |
| at telling the difference (from a distance!) | | | | each.Treasure Hunting In The GarbageOur city |
| between the sparkle of a diamond and bits of | | | | collects large junk for free during a week each |
| glass. Now they regularly take early morning | | | | spring. We see good bicycles, furniture, games, |
| walks in mall parking lots for a second | | | | toys, chairs, and more, in front of almost every |
| income.Desert Treasure HuntingAn old Native | | | | house. Several people come with trucks and |
| American we met at a hot spring in Arizona | | | | trailers to pick out things to sell at flea markets |
| showed us how to find arrowheads and metates | | | | or auctions. It's a regular source of income for |
| (used for grinding corn or mesquite beans) in the | | | | some of them. I'm sure this happens in other |
| desert. They're hundreds of years old. He sold | | | | cities too.Treasures In The RiverBoth kids and |
| one of his metates for $200 during a yard sale, | | | | criminals throw things off of bridges routinely. It's |
| but for non-Native Americans this may be illegal. | | | | a quick way to get rid of evidence. As a child I |
| Check with authorities on this one.Treasure In | | | | saw bicycles in rivers several times. I read about |
| Vacuum Cleaner DustIn California a man took the | | | | a man that makes a living using magnets and |
| shag carpet from an a old theater being | | | | other tools to retrieve guns, money, and other |
| remodeled, saving the owners the cost of | | | | things of value from the bottom of murky rivers, |
| disposal. During the thirties the theater was a | | | | near bridges.These are just a few of the ways to |
| place where the wealthy went. Like all of us, the | | | | go treasure hunting. Will you make much money? |
| wealthy lose things, but perhaps more valuable | | | | Maybe, but probably not. I can tell you though, |
| things.When he cut up and carefully shook out the | | | | that it is a thrill to hear the metal detector start |
| old carpet , he found over $2,000 worth of | | | | beeping, even if I do only find a quarter in the |
| precious stones, rings, and coins. Then, wondering | | | | sand.Steve Gillman has been studying every |
| what's caught by vaccuum cleaners, the man | | | | aspect of money for thirty years. |