The Urban Treasure Hunter: A Practical Handbook for Beginners

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Overview

Every city possesses countless hidden treasures waiting to be discovered—ancient artifacts, valuable jewelry, and vintage coins, as well as hundreds of other highly sought-after collectibles. Michael Chaplan, treasure hunter extraordinaire, has written a complete and practical guide to locating, unearthing, and identifying all of those treasures. The book begins with the basics, and then presents a working knowledge of digs. An up-to-date resource section provides useful lists of specialized catalog companies and...
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More About This Book

Overview

Every city possesses countless hidden treasures waiting to be discovered—ancient artifacts, valuable jewelry, and vintage coins, as well as hundreds of other highly sought-after collectibles. Michael Chaplan, treasure hunter extraordinaire, has written a complete and practical guide to locating, unearthing, and identifying all of those treasures. The book begins with the basics, and then presents a working knowledge of digs. An up-to-date resource section provides useful lists of specialized catalog companies and helpful websites, organizations, magazines, and books.

Whether you are an avid collector of artifacts, a weekend explorer in search of adventure, or simply a creative person in need of something fun to do, you will find that The Urban Treasure Hunter provides the perfect rewarding hobby.

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Editorial Reviews

Western & Eastern Treasures
"From research to recovery, to conservations and cashing in...it's all here...Well written, profusely illustrated, eye-opening and encouraging, The Urban Treasure Hunter is both a reliable guide and a great read."
Publishers Weekly
Tompkins Square Park, in New York City's East Village, has produced coin recoveries dating back to the 1830s. A construction site in Philadelphia recently yielded ceramic perfume containers and embossed pipe bowls from the 1860s. "Urban treasure hunter" Chaplan explains how to find, unearth and identify valuable artifacts like these in this how-to manual. He provides information on dealing with curious onlookers and fitting into a neighborhood (in "upscale" areas, dress like a jogger; in "tough areas," wear camouflage items and worn jeans), covers legal issues, provides a surprisingly scholarly and in-depth lesson in archeology and details how and where to search for and clean old coins, bottles and historical and prehistoric artifacts (he also gives tips on how to cash in on this hobby). Chaplan peppers his text with quotations from fictional and real adventurers, from Sherlock Holmes to Rudyard Kipling, and includes do-it-yourself instructions for building a sifter and even setting up an electrolysis device for cleaning unearthed metal objects. Chaplan's enthusiasm enlivens the extensive, solid factual information, and although his comparison of urban treasure hunters to history's swashbuckling explorers is a bit exaggerated, stories of his own hunting experiences in the greater New York area, as well as tales of discoveries of booty in unexpected places, prove his point that adventures and buried treasure are closer to home than most would expect. (Feb.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780757000904
  • Publisher: Square One Publishers
  • Publication date: 11/1/2003
  • Edition number: 2
  • Pages: 240
  • Sales rank: 338,922
  • Product dimensions: 7.50 (w) x 9.13 (h) x 0.63 (d)

Meet the Author

Michael Chaplan received a master’s degree in anthropology from Long Island University and a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University. While maintaining a successful professional career in public health, the author has pursued his interest in treasure hunting for over twenty years. Traveling both here and abroad, he has recovered thousands of old coins, hidden caches, museum quality relics, Indian artifacts, and valuable collectibles.

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Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews

  • Posted February 8, 2010

    Wonderful book!

    Wonderful book. It contained more photos than I expected. Very informative. Would recommend to anyone.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 31, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

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