Clay pipe bowls, pipe stems and old pottery shards are visible surface clues that tell you a site could potentially hold what you are searching for, if you are really lucky you will find an un-broken clay pipe.
When you search river banks and beaches in areas with a little history you will often eyeball clay pipe stems and clay pipe bowls in the mud or sand, the white of the clay stands out from the surrounding mud or sand.
I eyeballed these clay pipe bowls dating back to the mid 1800s on a river bank in Lincolnshire England, one pipe bowl is in the shape of an eagles claw holding an egg and the other is a royal antediluvian order of the buffaloes pipe bowl.
Themed clay pipes were very popular back in the Victorian era, the RAOB is a fraternal organization formed in the UK back in 1822.
I have recovered thousands of clap pipe bowls and pipe stems all over the Caribbean, North America and Europe, I do not smoke but I love finding discarded trash from smokers.
These clay pipe bowls are some of the earliest I have eyeballed at old sites, they date from the late 1500s, some still have burnt tobacco remains inside the bottom of the bowl.
Pottery shards, clay wig curlers and doll parts are other non metallic often recovered on or close to the surface at older sites, visible clues that tell you a site is worth searching with your metal detector.
If you do not find any old coins you still have some pretty neat finds to take home that make excellent display and conversation pieces.
I spend a lot of time researching areas with the potential for hidden history and I spend just as much time walking areas trying to eyeball surface finds to prove my research.
Beach combing is an important but often very over looked aspect of beach treasure hunting, I like to use my eyes and ears in combination when metal detecting and I am not talking about looking at darn numbers on a metal detector screen!
Keep your eyes on the ground and pick up anything that stands out from its surrounding, search slowly looking for different colors, straight or curved lines, anything out of the ordinary on the surface you are walking over.
If something catches your eye, bend down, pick it up and put it in your finds pouch because you never know it could turn out to be a top pocket find.
Some of my favorite recovered treasures in my display cases are non metallic finds, discovered while searching for old coins metal detecting.
Plenty of my non metallic display case finds are the beginnings to some cool Bobby Dazzler story endings.
One eyeballed older non metallic find may not lead to immediate coin or jewelry hunting success at a site, but if you bide your time and revisit the site during or after a storm you may still find what you hope is in the area.
I also have many potentially smoking hot inland sites I keep an eye on just in case a construction project opens a window of opportunity for me and my metal detector.
Clay and porcelain can just as easily lead you to gold and silver if you understand its relevance to a search area.
www.garydrayton.com
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