My first impressions of Al Szabo were formed while teaching him the basics of detector use. I was giving a class to a group of new TH'ers and Al was obviously going to be the star pupil. He had already had his detector for several months, but in his work had only been "mildly successful." I later learned that he had purchased his detector from a dealer who gave a convincing demonstration in the shop, but didn't offer any follow-up field instruction. As most TH'ers know, the wide variety of soil conditions and hunting situations are vastly different from a controlled indoor environment.
My job as an instructor is first of all to erase any preconceived ideas or misinformation the student might have, and elaborate on the variety of hunting situations. Al was very eager to explore all aspects of detector use and gave his full concentration to the subject. By the end of the class, I knew he was going to be one of the best detector operators I'd ever known, and boy! Was I right!
Since June of 1982, Al and I have become personal friends and recently I was able to coerce him into giving me a fairly complete list of his finds for the last two years. I was not only impressed by the value of his collection, but also by the incredible quantity. I'm sure that even professional treasure hunter would admire this collection.
During this period Al has found over 15,000 coins. Of these about 1,00 have been silver. His ring collection now numbers over 170; many of these are diamonds and other precious stones, but for obvious reasons he is reluctant to give exact numbers or their value. He has over 50 other pieces of valuable jewelry, including gold chains, medallions, bracelets and watches. Again, several of these contain precious stones.
Having seen most of this collection myself, I'll tell you about a few of my favorites. There's a large man's 14K gold ring set with a beautiful, clear diamond weighing almost a full karat. From my own experience I know this ring has a value of well over $1,000. Next there's a gold St. Christopher's medallion about 1 ¾" in diameter with 12 sapphires set in its border. This stunning piece has a value in excess of $500. My wife's favorite ring from Al's collection is a man's ring. It has a plain gold band with two diamonds 9on either side of an incredibly rare Alexandrite stone. This stone is not only rare and exceedingly beautiful but has a color range including lavender, blue and green, depending on the surrounding light. I'd hesitate to put a value on this piece! One of Al's oldest finds is a Spanish piece-of-eight, dating from the id-1700's, which he found on a California beach after a storm.
I could go on and on, but now let's talk about how this fantastic collection came to be. Al is very pleased with his success, and in a recent conversation, I learned that he is more than willing to share his knowledge and expertise with others. All volunteered lots of information which hopefully will help you become a more productive treasure hunter.
First of all, regardless of the make or model of you detector, learn it well. Learn what the machine will do and how to make it perform at its bet. Al and I agree that the best possible way to learn to use your machine is by working with an experienced "pro" in the field. You can find these people through classes or referrals in your local area. Even though experienced detector users are hard to find and some may not be willing to assist you, their knowledge is well worth pursuing.
Al feels that one of the most important factors in his training was the class requirement that each student repeat and demonstrate each technique for the instructor as well as the other class members. He goes on to say that by being "put on the spot" one pays very close attention! Over the years I have learned that this requirement tends to bring out the shy or timid person who may have questions, but is afraid to ask.
The next key to Al's success is that he thoroughly enjoys the hobby. In addition to his finds, it's a family activity, affording sunshine, fresh air and exercise. In Al's case this is especially beneficial as he is diabetic. His physical condition prohibits the use of a heavy, cumbersome detector, but he can work for long hours with a hip-mount or one of the lighter detectors. In fact, he believes that some people lose interest because they're using the wrong detector. The wrong detector can mean one that's uncomfortable for you to use or one that's not designed for your type of hunting.
Al and his family have three different brands of detector; a "Garrett" ADS III with hip mount, a "Tesoro" Silver Sabre, and a "Turtle." He has an assortment of coils for the Garrett ranging in size from a 3 ½" co-axial to a 10" co-planar. On the Tesoro he uses a standard 8 ½", and on the Turtle a standard 8" coil. In his opinion, this array of detectors and coils enables him to pursue everything from Spanish coins on the Pacific Coast to Civil War relics 2,000 miles away his advice is to always buy the most versatile detector you can afford - you never know where this hobby will take you!
Once you have your unit and know how to use it, you can take some more tips from Al regarding where and when to use it. He says that swimming beaches and heavily-used parks are the best producers of valuable jewelry. Al searches dry sandy areas in a circular pattern. More specifically, after finding one or two coins or other valuable he starts an ever increasing circle around that point, with his discrimination level set to reject bottle caps. As long as he continues to make finds in this pattern he stays in the same area. If after three complete circles he's made no more finds, he moves to another area and begins again.
When working the wet sand or surf, Al uses his experience in reading currents and troughs. He also has a theory about the effects of the moon and would like to hear from other TH'ers who've noted a pattern of finds due o the moon's movements. On the wet sand or in the surf he uses no discrimination or very little. As always his search method is slow and thorough. He always uses headphones and is very attentive to the faint, deep signals that pay off so well.
Parks require a more exacting type of search and recovery. Since park surfaces are usually grassy, pinpointing and precise probing become a necessity. At the beach you an make several passes with your scoop to find a target, but in a park you must locate and retrieve your finds without damaging the surface. This is an art in itself! Practice at home first!
Al's method of park hunting begins with setting his discrimination level to reject pull tabs. Even though this level will cause the loss of some rings, he begins her in order to quickly locate productive areas of clad and silver coins. Once he finds these productive areas, he lowers his discrimination level to accept smaller rings, chains and other jewelry. Then the slow, methodical search begins. He knows it can be discouraging at time, but he says "Never give up!"
Always on the lookout for new sites whenever he goes, Al searches old houses and other buildings, parking strips and inter-city construction sites. The use of a co-axial coil is mandatory in all of these locations due to the predominance of metal used in construction.
Finally, Al keeps a logbook of all his searches. He includes items found, where found including permanent landmarks, date and time found, number of hours worked and brand of detector used.
As for the future, Al plans to continue to add to his amazing collection. He is also writing a booklet of concise tips for fellow TH'ers, and last but not least, he'll be joining my staff of instructors for out local treasure hunting course.
You may write to him at this address: Al Szabo, c/o The Gold Club, 3308 Midway Dr. #555, San Diego, CA 92110.
SOURCE: Treasure Found Magazine, VOL. 10 NO.4 Winter 1984. By: Danny Hanna