[meteorite-list] Glorieta Hunt - "Diggers" episode Tonight NGC

From: Bob Loeffler <bloeffler_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 10:09:43 -0600
Message-ID: <149057683BA543FBB22E909B8541E2FA_at_dell>

I hate most of the reality TV shows that have been on for the last 20 years
or so, but I do end up watching Diggers, Prospectors, Meteorite Men and Gold
Rush every now and then because they are all related to my favorite hobbies
(digging for mineral crystals, meteorites and cool old stuff). Yes, they
are extremely over-hyped by the producers, but they are just entertainment.

And I think Diggers is the least over-to-top when it comes to how much
something can be worth. In one of the episodes this week, they found a
really old button (possibly from the late 1700s) and they said it was worth
around $15. If that was on Meteorite Men or Prospectors, they would've
added two more zeros to the end of that number! I have seen 5 or 6 episodes
of Diggers and they have never priced anything more than $100 that I can
remember. Although I don't know what most historical items should be priced
at, I've agreed with the pricing from an outsider's point of view. Would I
pay $50 for a 150-year-old belt buckle in pretty good condition that
might've been worn by Kit Carson or Billie the Kid? Sure! Would I pay
$500? Heck no... unless there was really good evidence that one of them DID
wear it. So I think a lot of the pricing on Diggers is not too far from a
reasonable amount. A few items that they have found in past episodes had
lower prices than I had expected, things that I thought were kind of cool
looking, so I was actually PROUD of the producers for "doing the right
thing" and not putting a hefty price tag on them.

The guys on Diggers are really goofy, but that's the nature of the beast
(i.e. TV shows). They are annoying, but seem like good guys out having fun,
doing what they love to do. Just like Geoff and Steve on MM. Sometimes
annoying, but we still love them on their show. And like Michael Mulgrew
said, the Diggers guys don't keep what they find. I agree with others that
they really should do more explaining on each episode (e.g. "we got
permission to dig here, make sure you get permission to dig wherever you
go") and dig their holes/flaps correctly to prevent erosion, dead grass,
etc. I'm sure they fill in their holes, so I wouldn't worry about someone
(or an animal) breaking their leg by stepping in a hole after these guys
leave.

I just went to the Diggers website
(http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/diggers/) and saw this:

"As the show's production archaeologist Kate Culpepper ensures that Diggers
adheres to the strict standards of ethical metal detecting, and that the
historical value of artifacts and local sites isn't compromised in any way."
So there is probably more to all of this than what we see on the show.

Regards,
Bob L.


-----Original Message-----
From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
[mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Michael
Farmer
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 9:05 PM
To: Michael Mulgrew
Cc: Meteorite List
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Glorieta Hunt - "Diggers" episode Tonight NGC

Jesus Christ, this show is horrible, I cant even believe that the Nat Geo
channel has sunk so low.
Yeah, a crushed thimble worth $15! Good luck on getting a nickel out of
anything these morons find. It is sad to see these reality shows sink so
low.

Michael Farmer

Sent from my iPad

On Aug 28, 2013, at 7:43 PM, Michael Mulgrew <mikestang at gmail.com> wrote:

> Adam and list,
>
> Far be it from me to defend anything on tv, but I do know (first hand,
> from the "Diggers" themselves) that they do not keep anything they
> find, it all goes to the land owners, and that their goofy terms have
> roots in the DVDs these guys originally made years ago and are used
> solely for entertainment purposes, i.e. another over-produced aspect
> of a cable television show. You and all other treasure hunters know
> that these terms are fake, but that's ok because those terms aren't
> for you, they're for the general public at home who know nothing about
> treasure hunting and get a kick out of two wack-ohs running around and
> getting crazy when they find something.
>
> Any time anyone's passion/hobby is portrayed on a tv show, the "real
> world" practitioners are going to be affronted; these are not the
> target audiences for these types of shows. If I was the worlds
> greatest nose picker and someone made a show about picking noses I'm
> sure it would be portrayed all wrong and ruin nose picking for all of
> us elite and dedicated Pickers.
>
> So enjoy these shows for what they are, entertainment; they are not
> meant to be taken seriously. Mainstream network news
> (ABC/NBC/FOX/CNN/etc.) is just as fake and staged as all of these
> shows, and I view it in the same light.
>
> Michael in so. Cal.
>
> On Wed, Aug 28, 2013 at 5:21 PM, Adam Hupe <raremeteorites at yahoo.com>
wrote:
>> Yep, Glorieta will be the next area permanently off limits. These guys
on Diggers are an embarrassment to the treasure hunting community. Treasure
hunting club members that I stay in touch with cringe every episode knowing
that these guys violate the rules and are ruining it for everybody else.
The Cascade Treasure Hunting Club reminds its members that these guys are
just rogue entertainers and that they are not real treasure hunters who tend
to keep their finds to themselves or only share them with other club
members.
>>
>> Lets go find some "Nectar" , "Juice" and "Roundness", baby talk terms
used on the show that no real treasure hunter would get caught dead using in
the field!
>>
>>
>> Adam
>> ______________________________________________
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Received on Thu 29 Aug 2013 12:09:43 PM PDT