coin shooter

n. a person who hunts for lost metal money (using a hand-held metal detector). Also coin-shoot, v. Subjects: English, Jargon

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Citations: 1975 Roger Boye Chicago Tribune (June 8) “Golden opportunities for treasure hunters” p. E22: Searching for old coins which were lost by persons living years ago has become an increasingly popular hobby, labeled by one numismatic writer as “coin shooting.”…“Coin shooter” Cliff Stefens offers this advice in an article in Coin World. 1987 Jeff Klinkenberg St. Petersburg Times (Florida) (Mar. 11) “Solitary stalker sniffs out his backyard booty” p. 1D: Dennis Ranney, for example, is known as a “coin shooter.”…People lose money. That’s what he likes about coin shooting. 2005 Larry Stroud Guard-Record (Batesville, Ark.) (Dec. 9) “Treasure Hunter, Historian Author”: Alveshire says he’s a cache hunter, not a “coinshooter,” the term for a person who uses a metal detector to hunt for individual coins people have lost over the years.

Posted 12 Dec 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

So, does this apply to people who find archaeological coin caches, as well? Or just the beachcomber folk?

by lmharmon 12 Dec 05, 0643 GMT

Both, I guess. The use of a metal-detector seems to be key.

by Grant Barrett 12 Dec 05, 0647 GMT

I look for spanish caches not just finding coins. alveshire

by Budd Alveshire 08 Jul 06, 0851 GMT