Hobby, History and Humor By Stephen L. Moore

Montana Detecting Duo Uses Keen Wit and Serious Searching to Discover the Past George Wyant had found his fair share of significant treasures during the past four years. This warm September day started like countless others as he powered on his Garrett GTI 2500 metal detector and began sweeping the earth near the remnants of an old homestead in southwestern Montana. George stealthily swept out away from the crumbling old rock foundation which had once supported a pioneer’s cabin. As he moved about 40 yards into the adjacent field of tall grass, he suddenly picked up a solid signal which captured his full attention. “I was plowing my way through the tall grass when I got a strong hit,” he says. “I popped the target out of the ground quickly because it was only a couple of inches deep. As I began wiping the dirt off, I saw the big U first and I knew exactly what it was! I had seen these Civil War-era U.S. buckles in books but I had never found

Montana treasure hunters George Wyant (left) and Tim Saylor call themselves Team ATC (Anaconda Treasure.com). Their love of metal detecting has produced some significant finds and has led them to produce a book and DVDs about their hobby.

one before. It was pretty awesome.” George excitedly called his longtime treasure hunting buddy Tim Saylor to encourage him to hurry out to the site. The two continued to work the area around the old homestead and were able to pull out two more worthy artifacts of yesteryear: a an 1897 “V” nickel and an old military button. Tim and George claim that they are primarily coin shooters but the sites on which they hunt

often produce pieces of history which are far more valuable. “We don’t really focus on military stuff, but we’ve sure pulled a pretty good collection of it over the past few years,” Tim says. George came to know Tim about six years ago when Tim moved into the area. Tim’s craze for metal detecting was renewed in early 2004 when he found his old 1970s-era metal detector while organizing things around the house.

Front and back views of the Civil War-era U.S. buckle which George found with his Garrett GTI 2500 in September 2008. “I could have fell over when I pulled it out of the ground,” he admits.

“My wife Susan was on the phone with her friend Lori Wyant,” recalled Tim. “She told Lori, ‘My husband is such a geek. He’s out in the backyard with some metal detector he found.’” George, overhearing the laughter from his wife about metal detecting, quickly picked up the phone and introduced himself. Thus, a friendship was born and from it came a driving desire to dig up history. Tim and George began metal detecting on a frequent basis and soon began turning up enviable masses of early American historical artifacts. “Once we became serious about our hobby, we did some research on detectors,” says Tim. “We settled on the Garrett 2500 because we wanted something that was top of the line. We didn’t want to have to move up later. All major detectors can find a coin but the difference is how much time you’re going to spend doing it. With the GTI’s graphic imaging, you can tell by the sizing whether it’s a coin or not and how deep it is before you dig it.” In short order, they began compositing cases of their great discoveries and putting them on display for the citizens of their hometown. The earth around Anaconda and the settlements near Butte are loaded with early American history. One of their

collection boxes is displayed at the Anaconda Railroad Museum and another display of historical memorabilia is housed in their local library. They are fond of recovering trade tokens, which range from those used by miners and railroad workers to saloon

tokens which were redeemable for one drink, one cigar or “5¢ in trade.” Other prized token discoveries include delegate badges, political pins, law enforcement badges and tax tokens. One of Tim’s favorite pins discovered with his GTI 2500 is

Hunting around the ruins of this old stagecoach stop, Tim found a 1917 Mercury dime and George pulled some Indian head pennies.

From more modern silver to early U.S. and Canadian minted coins, Tim and George have dug thousands of coins in the past few years. (Below) This copper political pin discovered by Tim shows the dome of a capitol building and reads “Anaconda, the capital of Montana.” State voters ultimately chose Helena as the capitol of Montana, making this a rare collector’s piece.

one from 1894 which promotes Anaconda as “The Capital of Montana.” Tim found this historic pin while detecting near an old homestead in Anaconda. “I got a quarter hit with my GTI 2500 using the big 12.5-inch coil and my reward was this copper political pin that shows the dome of a capitol building and reads ‘Anaconda, the capital of Montana.’” In the late 1800s, two of Montana’s “copper kings,” Marcus Daly and William Clark, fought a famous and controversial political battle over where the state capital should be located. In 1894, voters chose Helena over the town of Anaconda. The Montana boys have also found a number of military buttons, hat insignias, Masonic coins, badges, crosses, crucifixes, lockets, pendants, hundreds of

rings, silver dollars and other coins dating back to the 1850s. “This is just such an historic area,” Tim explained. They credit their degree of significant recoveries to their countless hours in the field and familiarity with their machines. “We’ve had our Garretts so long that we definitely know when to dig,” Tim adds. “When we’re working a trashy area, some of the targets don’t hit from both directions. Normally, if I swing the coil and the target hits from both directions, I’ll go ahead and dig it up.” Some of the trashiest areas have paid off with careful use of discrimination. Tim found a silver dollar cache in the rubble of an old home that had burned and collapsed. Among the ruins, his detector picked up silver and the remaining shell of a brass-edged fake book

which had likely been kept on a bookshelf to hide coins. Tim and George are quick to tell you that research is the key to making great discoveries. “Most of the ghost towns around here are protected and metal detecting is prohibited,” explains Tim. “George grew up here and knows lots of people. Most of what we do is on private land where we obtain the owner’s permission.” Research is just one of the four keys to success that this treasure hunting duo readily share with those who show an interest. Tim recently published a book in conjunction with George to help share their experiences and knowledge gained in metal detecting U.S. history. The title alone is a clear indication of the light-hearted approach they bring to their sport: Treasure Hunting with

This 1897 Liberty Head nickel and old military button were found at the same site as the U.S. buckle shown on the front cover of this magazine.

Team ATC displays a recent collection of coins, jewelry, silverware, crosses and other artifacts.

Team ATC—Stories, History, Pictures, Lessons & Ignorance. Team ATC’s book is a compilation of photos of their great finds, illustrations of early Montana history, comedic images and even some serious advice at times. Among such tips are the four principles which Tim and George advise a treasure hunter to possess or employ in order to be successful: desire, focus, research and persistence. The fourth trait is one that both men undeniably possess. They are in the field as often as their jobs and family lives allow. Tim, a computer programmer by occupation, also serves as Team ATC’s website developer in his spare time. George works in a Butte copper mine and also runs his own rain gutter business. “But we still get out to metal detect every chance we get,” he testified. “If it’s good weather, we’re out two or three days a week,” said Tim. “My records show one streak of nine days straight searching. We slow down when the weather here is freezing for two or three months, but we have been known to chisel through frozen ground.” Tim and George favor their GTI 2500s but also keep Garrett ACE 250s and pulse-induction

Infiniums in their arsenal. Tim’s 10-year-old son Ian and George’s daughters, 11-year-old Emily and 8-year-old Morgan, often tag along. “They go with us all the time,” says George. “A lot of times they grab one of my ACE detectors and I just run around and dig holes for them.” Their children often find excitement in unearthing any type of treasure target. “The first time I took Ian with me, we went to an old place by the river,” Tim says. “He took the ACE and pulled out a nice dime. Now he wants to come along whenever George takes his girls out hunting with us.” Team ATC references the Internet, library or old-timers before setting out. “I don’t really care to dig up the new stuff,” admits George. “I go to an old, old place and try to find something really good. That’s where we usually find our really old coins.” He routinely visits with the elders of the communities because “they have more information than you can use. We aren’t afraid of competition because we know there’s just so much out there to find.” George’s research paid off with another old buckle he found on an old ranch in the mountains of Montana. “This one had my detector ringing good and I retrieved it from

In the center of this display of artifacts are George’s recent U.S. buckle and his 1851 cavalry belt plate. The other military buttons, pins, cap insignias and badges range in age from more recent U.S. Navy pieces to early American military era.

Tim and George hunted this old homestead and then had a close encounter with a large black bear moments after snapping this photo.

about eight inches,” he says. “We were able to identify it as an 1851 cavalry belt plate which we guess was probably used during the Indian Wars of the late 1800s in Montana—most likely by someone involved in the Battle of the Big Hole in 1877. This battle pitted the Nez Percé Indians, under the leadership of Chief Joseph and Chief Looking Glass, against the U.S. government troops of Colonel John Gibbon.” Team ATC began filming its recoveries and eventually released its own treasure hunting DVDs. “We bought a couple of cameras in 2006 and started carrying them with us,” says Tim. “We wanted to get a person’s real reaction because we had watched too many videos of people making staged recoveries. We wanted it to be real and to be fun.” The result is a light-hearted DVD series showing Team ATC making real recoveries, injected with a heavy dose of their own brand of fun. Such antics include their signature post-recovery move of kissing or putting their tongue to any significant gold or silver treasure. “It’s disturbing to many and embarrassing to our poor mothers,” Tim jokes. Although their humor may not suit all folks, their ability to recover treasure goes without question. In the end, desire and perseverance usually pay off for this Montana duo. Their treasure hunting efforts can be compared to other sports such as fishing. “If you’re outdoors enjoying what you’re doing, it’s always fun,” they say. Finding a real keeper makes it all worthwhile.