Metal Detectors Super Store

NOKOMIS HIGH SCHOOL TO "DIG THE PAST"
(Article Published on Svweekly.com)

NEWPORT - With the support of a new Titan 1000 metal detector, students and advisors at Nokomis Regional High School will be "digging the past" in the coming weeks, and into next year. The new Nokomis Archaeology Club began several years ago when a contractor at the school dug a large pit for teachers to "seed" with a variety of "artifacts," for eventual "discovery" and study.

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The Kellyco Metal Detector Superstore was intrigued with a question posed with a grant application. "Do you ever see a fat archaeologist?" That simple question garnered a $200 grant for Nokomis teachers Howard Whitten and Brian Hanish for a hands-on history lesson.

Kellyco donated the Titan 1000 metal detector from its Florida showroom to the new Nokomis Archaeology club in Maine, including headphones and a finder's log. The metal detector company also will put information about the program on its website, www.kellycodetectors.net, and keep it updated with finds from the high school group.

Digging in the special archaeological pit at the school gets students out of the classroom and applying practical skills including critical thinking, collaborative work ethic and mathematics, graphing and plotting. Both Whitten and Hanish hope beyond the school-based dig, students will be able to get out into the district to assist individuals as well as historical societies, locating old farm foundations and local historical artifacts. They expect the original farmstead on the Nokomis property may be located or at least items from that earlier use. The project can also include mapping and documenting of local properties.

"It gets kids involved, engaged and outside," Whitten said. "Anything we find will go into the local historical collections, and any money finds can go into a pool to expand our equipment."

The Archaeology Club will eventually be one component of a history guild at the school to tap the interests of other students and classes, expanding into historical research, chemistry, social students, and biology, and demonstrate a tie between the disciplines.

Kellyco will keep in touch with the Maine school to encourage the students to discover relics and learn history in an open-air environment. When the time comes to expand the archaeology program, Kellyco looks forward to providing support and assistance for the program's future needs.

Located in Winter Springs, FL., Kellyco, the world's largest and oldest distributor of hobby metal detectors, is housed in a 30,000 sq .ft. warehouse fully-stocked with the latest and greatest metal detecting equipment and technology. At any given time, there are more than 3,000 metal detectors in inventory and available to enthusiasts around the world.

KELLYCO METAL DETECTORS HELPS MAINE
HIGH SCHOOL START ARCHAEOLOGY CLUB
(Press Release)

Winter Springs, FL., April 7, 2008 - "Do you ever see a fat archaeologist?" That is the question that secured a $200.00 grant to teachers Howard Whitten, Alan Richmond and Brian Hanish at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport, Maine. With the help of Kellyco Metal Detectors they will use the grant to start an Archaeology club for students interested in a hands-on history lesson.

Kellyco is donating a Titan 1000 metal detector from their Florida showroom to the new Archaeology club in Maine, including headphones and a finder's log. The metal detector company will also put information about the program on their website, www.KellycoDetectors.net, and continuously update it with finds from the high school group.

The Nokomis Archaeology project began several years ago when a contractor at the school dug a large pit for the teachers to bury objects in a manner consistent with actual archaeological stratification. The pit was filled and later excavated by students as part of a "big dig" that provided lessons in critical thinking, collaborative work ethic and mathematics, graphing and plotting.

Kellyco will keep in touch with Nokomis Regional High School and encourage the students to discover relics and learn history in an open-air environment. When the time comes to expand the Archaeology program, Kellyco looks forward to providing support and assistance for the program's future needs.

DISCOVERING WHAT LIES BENEATH
(Published June 20, 2008 in The Voice, written by Jenny Andreasson)

The banks of the St. Johns River are littered with treasure - you just need a metal detector and know a bit of history to find it.

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"The St. Johns is the key to everything - loose money, iron arrowheads, glass bottles, silver and gold. It used to be U.S. Highway No. 1 for people," said Stu Auerbach, treasure hunter and CEO of Kellyco, the world's largest distributor of metal detectors located right in Winter Springs.

The 30,000-square-foot warehouse is guarded by a row of canons all the way from Port Royal, Jamaica. There's also real treasure buried in the front yard where customers can test out machines.

Auerbach said when steamboats used to go down the river toward Geneva, garbage was thrown right into the water. Plus there were three Seminole wars that peppered Florida with musket balls, breastplates, belt buckles, cannonballs and coins.

"We're blessed because this is probably the best place in the world to own a metal detector," Auerbach said, as a gold coin glistened on a chain around his neck. The almost round coin, from a sunken 1715 Spanish treasure fleet, is worth $75,000.

Anyone can find pieces of history nowadays, he said. Metal detector technology has come so far that the skill of the user doesn't matter anymore; it's all in the machine. Knowing where to go makes the biggest difference.

He said the beaches are like gold mines that are replenished every day as people lose jewelry, and searching them is a good way to recoup an investment in a detector. "Find one diamond ring - and believe me, there are hundreds of thousands of them - and you pay for the machine," he said.

Metal detecting is also a healthy hobby - people with them walk a lot, he said. His company has been supplying hobbyists since 1955, and has also supplied two expeditions to find Amelia Earhart's plane and many professional treasure salvaging trips around the world.

Auerbach started the business almost by accident. In World War II, he was trained to clear minefields with detectors. After that, he started using detectors for fun and people asked him where they could buy one. He said he would sell them one of his, and the rest is history. Now a Google search for "metal detectors" produces a link for Kellyco.

He has the largest selection of metal detectors, including ones from all over the world. His warehouse on Belle Avenue is busting at the seams.

The family-owned business employs about 60 people and they ship anywhere between 150 to 300 machines and accessories a day at this time of year. But between Thanksgiving and the end of the year, they are shipping 600 to 700 a day. He sells machines at a 30 to 50 percent discount because of the volume.

They start at $89.95 and go up to $40,000.

"They're lightweight, easy to turn and easy to use," he said. "They're smart - they can tell you what's underground, how deep it is and what it is." Many can discover the type of coin or if it's a gold or silver ring.

The kind of people who buy metal detectors usually have a little bit of Tom Sawyer in them, he said. "They say, 'Well I don't really want to find a treasure, however I wouldn't object to it if I do.'"

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF METAL DETECTING
(Article published April 11, 2008 in Smart Money Magazine, written by Anne Kadet)

EVERY SUNDAY AT 7 a.m., Frank Colletti leaves the house with strict instructions to his wife and kids: Don't call unless it's an emergency. Sunday morning is for metal detecting. While his East Meadow, N.Y., neighbors sit in church or read the paper, he roams the town's parks, beaches and school yards looking for treasure, daydreaming and singing Janis Joplin tunes. The mild-mannered CPA knows he looks like a nutcase, and he doesn't care. He's always cherished his own pet eccentricities, like answering the family phone with a cheerful "Colletti's bakery! Which crumb do ya want?" Besides, outsiders don't have a clue what metal detecting is all about.

He may look like a middle-aged man trying to kill time, but he's actually part of a close-knit network of gold prospectors, storm chasers and obsessive amateur historians who fight crime, frequent a national circuit of competitive hunts and wage a never-ending battle against their mortal enemies, professional archeologists. The only part outsiders get right, says Colletti, is their assessment of his mental fitness. His chipper acknowledgment: "We're all insane."

Like most obscure hobbies, metal detecting has always inspired a degree of fanaticism among its adherents; more than a few loyalists ask to be buried with their detectors. But in recent years the pastime has started to reach a wider audience, thanks to the growing number of mainstream stores like Bass Pro Shops, Cabalas and Wal-Mart carrying metal-detecting equipment. There's also the rise in the price of gold to blame (the hobby's popularity correlates with metal prices) and, of course, the growing ranks of baby boomers looking for a retirement hobby.

Newcomers are also attracted to the increasing sophistication and falling prices of the detectors themselves. While high-end models still cost $1,200 or more,$250 now buys a lightweight detector that tells you precisely what's underfoot (dime, nickel, gold nugget) and how deep to dig. No one tracks nationwide detector sales, but Stuart Auerbach, founder of Kellyco, the nation's largest metal-detector store, with $15 million in revenue, estimates a 50 percent increase since 2002. Manufacturers say the diversion's demographics are changing as well, to include more women, young people and professionals.

While many of these newbie detectorists will confine themselves to spotting quarters, those willing to delve deeper discover a game that's as addictive as golf and far more colorful. Many towns host detecting clubs, whose members compare finds and pen newsletters (sample article: "How to Survive a Heart Attack on Your Own"). There are beachcombers who drive to the shore in hurricanes just for the chance to hunt a beach swept clear of the top layer of sand - they tether themselves to their cars when the wind blows hard. Relic hunters who specialize in historic sites attend national gatherings like the annual sellout "Diggin' in Virginia" convention, where hundreds spend the weekend combing a rented field for Civil War artifacts; teams sponsored by detector manufacturers compete to uncover the most eye-popping finds and win cash prizes. Then there are the coin-shooters, folks who attend what amounts to giant, timed Easter-egg hunts for adults, featuring thousands of silver coins tucked into the ground. The reigning champ: Ed Davis, known throughout the land as the Tiger Woods of metal detecting.

KELLYCO METAL DETECTORS PARTNERS WITH
LINKSHARE FOR AFFILIATE MARKETING
(Press Release)

Winter Springs, FL., June 4, 2008 - Kellyco, the world's largest and oldest distributor of hobby metal detectors, is pleased to announce a new partnership with LinkShare Corporation, a worldwide leader in performance-based eCommerce marketing programs. This new partnership will help better promote one of America's fastest growing and most family-friendly outdoor hobbies.

Already known to treasure hunting enthusiasts around the world, a partnership with LinkShare will enable Kellyco to reach both new audiences and business partners with special promotions available exclusively to customers who participate via the Affiliate Program. Affiliate partners will earn commissions by directing potential customers from their web sites to www.KellycoDetectors.net via optimized link placements and compelling advertisements created and provided by Kellyco. Using the LinkShare tracking system, all related customer activity will tie back to the affiliate partner for a percentage of the sale.

Treasure hunting is the only hobby that pays its enthusiasts to enjoy the outdoors and become amateur history buffs and archaeologists. With the help of the LinkShare Network, Kellyco looks forward to bringing this exciting hobby into the lives of millions of people and furthering the positive portrayal of metal detecting.

About Kellyco Metal Detectors: Located in Winter Springs, FL., Kellyco, the world's largest and oldest distributor of hobby metal detectors, is housed in a 30,000 sq. ft. warehouse fully stocked with the latest and greatest metal detecting equipment and technology. At any given time there are more than 3,000 metal detectors in inventory and available to enthusiasts around the world - everything from handheld detectors to commercial and industrial detectors, as well as books, maps, accessories and gold recovery equipment. Visit Kellyco's showroom to test a metal detector and see treasure found around the world or visit www.KellycoDetectors.net to take a virtual tour.