Digging History

Father and son metal detectorists bring the past to the present

While it’s true that history is all around us, a lot of it is out of sight. This calls for people with the equipment and know-how to seek it out.

Jim and his son Mason, of Barrington, New Hampshire, have been metal detecting together for the past two and a half years, and documenting their hunts and digs on YouTube under the title of Mason Merc Metal Detecting.

The duo visit farms and forests, old taverns and private residences, beaches and abandoned cart trails searching for coins, buttons, buckles, bottle-caps; anything their detectors pick up on. Their YouTube following has grown and propelled them to publications and recognition. Jim credits their good fortunes to Mason, as viewers love learning about the hobby of metal detecting, and the history of what they find, along with him.

I’ve long had a nagging feeling that my property in Milton might have some surprises under the ground, and a few years ago I bought a metal detector of my own on Amazon. My son and I tried to see what treasures our land might have hidden away, but I got what I paid for and we could barely detect a thing.