Why we’re sending Lord Marcovan to England.

laurentyvan

Why we’re sending Lord Marcovan to England.

Has a nice ring to it, yes?

What was once a passing fancy is now (thanks to many of you) a dream half-realized.
The dream? The one we all have of detecting for precious coins and metals in special places,
of treasure hunting, of discovering secrets.
The dream which children have when they are young which remains with us into adulthood
is seemingly about to come true in a major way for one of our own-
Robertson W. Shinnick, Numismatist, better known on these forums as Lord Marcovan.

When I joined these forums years ago, Rob presented something of a unique figure to a know-nothing newbie.
The holey hat and vest were mightily impressive, and the breadth of knowledge he possessed
and the talent he had for communicating made for a rather larger than life figure.

I discovered that Rob had a passion for metal detecting,
something he’s probably passed on to many a forum member.
He’s written many times over the years about his digging experiences,
weaving a slow, delicious tapestry of words into a body of work.

I enjoy his digger stories and have always looked forward to his next installment.
Over those same years I also discovered his compassionate nature and observed him
(on more than one occasion) performing kindnesses large and small for many of the members,
myself included.

So, recently when a suggestion was made to send Lord M to England
for the purpose of turning over the Queen’s sod, I appreciated the karma.
I thought it would make perfect sense for Rob to go and treasure hunt,
then write about the trip and report back to us daily in word and image
so the forums might live the dream with him, in real time!

I started a thread asking for contributions. The positive response was immediate.
It was also off-topic, and we had to move the thread.
At this point fate intervened in the form of Spoon,
who was able to create a blog to continue the effort (almost overnight)!
Without him, none of this would be happening and he is owed a huge debt of gratitude.
His is the knowledge that fuels this effort.

As a result, today we have: http://diggersdiary.numispedia.org/
with a total so far of 52 forum contributors
who have purchased 135 shares at $15 apiece for a total of $2045
(gathered in about two weeks) which I think is remarkable!

However, at this point the dream is only half-realized.
We’ve got at least $2000+ to go and only a couple of months left to do it in.
To help us, please visit the site and click on the link "How you can help support the trip" for specifics.
Look at the contributors list and join your brothers and sisters
from all over the world in sending Lord Marcovan to England.

Wear the yellow smiley!
Please participate in our numerous and on-going giveaways!
Thank you Don Willis for permission to post this here and for wishing us good luck.

laurentyvan

Last chance to bid on the ASE and the gold $1 coin over on LordM's trip site. Remember,
all those proceeds go towards buying a metal detector for a givaway for trip contributors.

I believe strong thanks are due to Zot of this metal detecting forum who from the chilly but sun-drenched
hills and dales of Finland pledged $150 for 10 shares towards the England trip.

Paljon kiitoksia my friend!

lordmarcovan

Aw, shucks.

Have I mentioned how much all this has blown my mind, and is simultaneously both an ego boost AND a humbling experience?

Yeah, I guess I have.

Thank you, again, to everyone. If this long-held dream ever becomes a reality (which it is starting to become, thanks to all the support), then I will owe it all to all of you.

At first I was a tiny bit embarrassed about being the recipient of such generosity. I guess I still am. I've had to adopt an "aw, shucks" attitude about the whole thing. But on the other hand, I suppose it would be rude of me to turn down such a high compliment, and silly not to answer the door when Opportunity knocks. She's knocking, now. Thanks for sending her over. Left to my own devices (and budget), this trip might not have happened until I was too old to swing a detector, if at all.

I do hope that nobody thinks I am going over there to make them rich. If I DO find anything worth a ton of money, the shareholders will benefit proportionately, of course. But hopefully everybody is in this for the vicarious adventure of it alone. I shall do my best to write it up and take pictures and maybe shoot videos as much as possible, when I'm not swinging a searchcoil. This is about adventure and history and opening up a time capsule or two, NOT about monetary gain. (Hm. It's easy for me to say that when it isn't my money payin' for the trip, huh? But you knowhutimean.)

Thanks again. Though I've met few of you in person, you're my finest friends. Really.



PS- It's good to see Zot around. He actually had a huge influence on me writing my first Dig Diaries. I really enjoyed some of his past posts about hunts in Finland, with great narrative and pictures. And a shout-out must also go to Millennium, who happens to be from my hometown. Almost thirty years ago, he let me follow him around a local park when I was just a skinny fifteen-year-old kid, and when he dug up an 1820 dime before my astonished eyes, it lit a fire in me. Jim Dalton of Black Mountain, North Carolina was my first detecting mentor, but Steve/Millennium was my first inspiration and the one whose footsteps I wanted to walk in. I still do, in many ways. His finds consistently put mine to shame.

There are many others here who deserve my gratitude- you know who you are. Forgive me for not listing you all.

I haven't forgotten that I'm not the only detectorist out there, and certainly FAR from the best detectorist out there. In fact, there are several on this forum and two just in my own small hometown who put me to shame! Nor am I the only one who writes about treasure hunting. So I am all the more humbled by all the attention.

softparade

I have read about this and not just on this forum ... and still don't fully understand. With that said it sounds like a blast for all. Is there a plot of land chosen to match the hype of this ?

Omega

Anyone have an update?

lordmarcovan

Update- the trip was off but now it seems it's back on again, at least in the vague planning phase. Laurentyvan's disappearance from the forums due to health problems (not to mention my own due to, well... mental health problems) sort of threw a wet blanket over things for a little while.

Now that Laurent is back and we've gotten assurance that everyone's donated funds are still secure, I suppose I'd better resume planning.

As much as detecting England (or somewhere in the British Isles or Europe) has been a near-lifelong dream of mine, it might end up being more feasible to have me do a series of stateside trips, say to New England perhaps. Somewhere in the 13 colonies where there's a significant amount of history. If any forum members own colonial-era property up north (old houses, farmsteads, stuff like that) or Colonial/Civil War era property in Virginia or the mid-Atlantic, and wouldn't mind us invading your turf, digging things up, and writing about the finds, then hey, let us know.

I still am thinking about England or Wales, though.

Sorry I haven't been among you much lately, my Digpeople brethren. I've been in coin collector mode a little, but haven't gotten dirt under my fingernails since around Thanksgiving. Found a few modestly interesting artifacts then, but nothing fantastic, and practically nothing on the coin front.

laserart

Forget New England, I live there and everything is all gone.

ricko

If you hit enough places - in the U.S. and England/Wales - it could become a book, Tales of a Holey MD'r, or some such title. Cheers, RickO

kiyote

Isle of Man!

lordmarcovan

I just watched a TV show on the Staffordshire Hoard again, and it got the juices flowing.

(If you're not familiar with the Staffordshire Hoard, dig yourself out from under the rock you've been living under and Google it.)