Watch Video - John Ruth Metal Detecting History

In 1881, as President James Garfield lay dying from an assassin's bullet, Alexander Graham Bell hurriedly invented an electromagnetic device in an unsuccessful attempt to locate the fatal slug. This would become the predecessor to today's metal detector.

More than 100 years later, John Ruth was living in northern Wisconsin when the urge first hit to pick up his dad’s old metal detector — the one gathering dust in a far corner.

The machine dated back to the 1960s when burgeoning hobbyists discovered they could be used to do cool things, like prospect for gold.

“It worked for about two weeks and then it died, so my dad found a cheap one for me at an auction,” Ruth said. “It fueled my curiosity and you could say I got bit by the bug.” Read more