THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 6, 1995 TAG: 9510040165
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Rick Brown, Peppy Owens and Paul Nelson own 10 metal detectors among them. Brown has two for finding relics, one for use in water and another for finding coins. But they want to make one thing clear: They do not hunt on public lands. They only use private lands with permission of the owners and they definitely don't dig holes on beaches that they don't fill up.
``Maybe many collectors get started like that,'' said Brown, ``but the serious ones move on.''
Brown said he'd done some beachcombing early on. ``I've been collecting since 1978 or '79,'' but wanted people to know that ``this is a legitimate hobby enjoyed by responsible collectors.'' Now he confines his detecting efforts to historical finds.
Detecting is a popular hobby and many fans like Brown, Owens and Nelson, belong to the Tidewater Coin and Relic Club, which was founded in 1973 and has about 50 members.
According to Brown, collectors include coin collectors, relic hunters and water hunters. ``I've been in water up to my nose,'' Brown said, tilting his head back.
What these three members of the Tidewater Coin and Relic Club do is research areas of possible bounty, then organize hunts, often to find Civil War relics. Usually, two or more members go on a hunt.
``We use maps, records, books to find areas of encampment,'' said Owens, who began collecting 15 years ago. ``There's an awful lot of detective work and historical reading to it.''
Still, finding a Civil War relic is gratifying.
``To realize when you hold a button or a belt buckle (from a Civil War uniform), that yours are the first hands to touch it in over 100 years, that's quite a feeling,'' said Brown.
Relic hunters uncovered artifacts at Custer's last stand that altered the history of that famous battle, Owens said.
The club will present a Civil War Show and Sale on Saturday and Sunday at Pavilion. Hours Saturday are 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sunday, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Admission is $3.
Besides researching, hunting, collecting and meeting, club members also find time for Good Samaritan work.
Brown recently found a class ring and returned it to a delighted owner. During a Caribbean vacation, Owens found a wedding ring that a newlywed husband had lost.
``We didn't speak the same language, but I could tell he was grateful,'' said Owens. ``And relieved.''
Owens said that he has probably returned 10 rings in the past year. MEMO: For more information on the Tidewater Coin and Relic Club, call Rick
Brown at 340-1877.For more information on the Tidewater Coin and Relic
Club, call Rick Brown at 340-1877.
by CNB