John Silling

Cost For My Service

I work on a Reward Basis, that means you pay what you think it is worth to you. If traveling more than 10 miles, I do ask that you help cover the cost of gas to get to your location.

Search Types

Note: I can only search on weekends. Land, Parks, Old home sites, right of ways, Farms/pastures, Residential and Commercial properties basically any land where something is lost.

Search Locations

Saint Augustine west to Hastings/Palatka and surrounding areas.

John Silling's Bio

Please note: Currently I am only available on weekends, with lost things (rings, watches, keys, etc.) at an ocean beach (lakes do not have the same tidal flow) time is important, if you lose something during the week, by the time the weekend arrives the chances of finding your lost item has has gone down to less than a 10% chance of recovery. Please contact another Ring Finder who can search ASAP for a lost weekday beach item.

Personally, I have been metal detecting for over 40 years, I purchased my first metal detector at age 17. I have found just about everything including the oldest license plate in Dade county Florida which is on display at Miami museum of history. I enjoy finding historical relics and donating them to the local historical society. Growing up in Fort Lauderdale and driving along the beach, if I saw people running their fingers through the sand searching for something I would pull over, get my metal detector out and walk over to them. The look was always one of relief as I approached, but the greatest emotions were when I found "the lost wedding ring", especially for a newlywed couple on their Honeymoon! I turned many a nightmare into the "greatest day of my life”, I can only imagine how many went back to their hometowns with a great story to tell. It’s impossible to describe the feeling I get when I find something that the owner thought was gone for good, the emotion they display are true emotions of happiness and joy. I can only think of the good karma that has followed me through my life from finding things and returning them to the owner.

Items that I receive the most calls to help fine include: Jewelry (rings, necklaces, watches etc.), keys, coins, gold, silver, survey markers, cell phones, heirlooms, relics etc. Important to note especially in certain areas: Permission must be obtained to hunt for an item lost on private property, churches, state parks (city parks in Duval county), all school grounds, etc. **Within the city limits of Saint Augustine, due to historical and archaeological sensitivity, permission must be obtained from the city Archaeologist. Normally permission is obtained by you from the authority in-charge and/or landowner and the permission is assigned to me. People are typically very understanding (everyone has lost something) in these circumstances and permission is granted - there is "No sneaking on". Please contact me for more info on metal detecting services I can provide to help you.

Also, when searching for hidden or lost cache of valuables, we can negotiate a finder for my services.

Insurance companies, I can provide recovery services pre or post claim for a recovery fee which we can negotiate prior to my searching and no recovery - no fee.

I am always ready to help local police/authorities in crime scene recovery free of charge as a good citizen.