Once you understand the potential of gold and treasure hunting in Indonesia, the logical consequence is the decision to buy a metal detector.
Back then, when I saw a friend of mine finding and retrieving a large chunk of gold from the ground, I too couldn't wait to get started.
And now many prospectors and treasure hunters here are actually making gold prospecting their source of livelihood. What was considered a hobby has become a serious profession for some. But I'm kind of jumping forward here. This you can consider later. Whether you want to use the detector as a tool for a profitable hobby or a profession, that's up to you.
Where exactly should you start?
You can take your detector anywhere. The opportunities are endless.
Indonesia is big. There is lots of gold. And lots and loads of treasures.
Every month hundreds of detector operators find objects that have high value. From gold in the form of Gold nuggets all the way to gold or ancient objects. Indonesia is unique because it is rich in natural resources such as Gold and rich in history as well. The discoveries are truly amazing.
Great Opportunity For Prospectors
There is still a lot of treasure waiting to be discovered, but some locations are more productive than others. Knowing the best types of places to detect can help. All it takes is a little research to identify the most promising and productive goldfields or treasure hunting sites to detect on.
There are many types of valuables that you can find with your metal detector, such as rare coins, ancient relics, lost jewels, rough gold veins and of course lots and lots of gold nuggets.
Nuggets are generally found in a different place than treasure such as coins, relics, or jewelry.
Examples of Gold Locations
Gold grains are usually found near to nature. In deep forests or mountains for instance. It is unlikely to find ancient coins or relics in such places. Ancient coins and relics are usually closer to the centers of ancient societies.
Treasure is near the people and their gathering. Usually.
Natural Gold is near to nature, away from the people. Again, usually.
Related info:
Examples of Treasure Locations
On the other hand, in ancient palace locations, you could not find Gold nuggets. But the area around ancient palaces, royal courts, ancient places of worship or marketplaces are very interesting to look for relics, coins etc.
So where you go to detect really depends on what you want to find.
Research Eligible Locations To Use Detectors
Ideal sources for research are local or old community libraries, ancestral stories/news, Government Mining Department, newspaper archives, local town plans, etc. The location of the palace, the ancient market, the port and the past are other important information for treasure hunters. You can get a lot of such info on the Internet too. Often Google is a sufficient research tool to gain important information about locations. It can be very helpful.
Don't forget to talk to the local elders. They will often tell you about popular swimming spots they used when they were young, areas that used to be sports fields or maybe a forgotten local market where money was exchanged. They often have stories about treasures being hidden due to conflict etc as well. So that's a starting point and important information.
These links to the past are all potential hot spots for you to use your detector.
Ancient / Old Locations
The older the site, the better – as your potential to find coins and relics from the past increases.
Always remember to get permission to enter and detect on other people's property please. Don't forget to socialize with the locals before you start detecting. If you own land and other people would enter there without your approval, you would not like that as well. Be polite and ask for permission. Only a few people will reject your request. You don't damage anything and you show proper conduct by asking.
Would you reject a person asking in a friendly and polite way? Probably not.
Social Media and Metal Detecting. A dangerous combination.
For this hobby, don't depend on information from Social Media in Indonesia.
Professional and smart treasure hunters will not share location related info as it would be dangerous to the project and could (actually: will) lead to outside interferences with his activities. Please only talk to close friends and property owners. Do not easily believe other people's posts, especially posts that mention the location. Maybe they are just being mean and want to lure you there. Your finds and your detectors are in acute danger to get confiscated then. It is not like in Australia, Europe or the US. Many people here will rather let you use the detector and wait for you to succeed harvesting your finds instead of using a detector themselves.
Be aware of it. Be careful. Use logic. If you find an extraordinary location, you will post the location on social media. No, right?
Treasure Hunt
When detecting coins, relics or jewels, use your logic and imagination. Where did people tend to leave things of the past? You will most likely have good finds in such areas!
Don't forget the spot right under your feet; You never know what you might dig up even in your own backyard. Sometimes there are discoveries in places that we could not have imagined.
Types of Treasure Locations
To help you get started, here's a list of generally more productive locations for finding coins, relics, or jewelry:
Stadiums and racetracks
Picnic and entertainment areas
Battlefields
Camps
Swimming pits
Waterfalls
Parks
Plowed fields
Grasslands
Forests
Markets
Harbors
Ghost towns and ancient city sites Old
Houses and public buildings of the past
Old graveyard that are not looked after anymore
Highly frequented beach
There are still many treasures to be found in many interesting locations around the world. Indonesia is one of the best places to find treasures.
Locations For Gold Prospecting
The best places to detect gold nuggets are where gold was previously found and the surrounding area with similar geology. So again, do some research to find out about the historic goldfields.
Typical Gold detecting sites include:
Mining tailing sites
Old Gold mines
Old excavations (areas where gold seekers dig for gold in ancient times)
In or near rivers
Areas where there is or has been gold panning activities
Dumps and slopes of old mines
There is a lot of gold waiting to be collected. Now that you know where to look, all you need is a good detector to get started.
Here are some other articles that can help you:
How to choose a gold detector for tropical locations.
Other sciences related to that theme are linked here too so that you too can succeed.
Conclusion
Getting started with tour gold or treasure detectors is really easy.
Detectors don't have to be expensive.
Do you really want to continue not knowing what's right beneath your feet?
Can you take that risk?
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