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Hunt dates listed below! For anyone interested here is the low down on the trips Red highlighted areas are links
This is a group trip, everyone is there to have a good time, find stuff, and enjoy the friendship. Everyone is genuinely happy for any member of the team that finds good stuff. No miserable gits who can't celebrate someone else making a good find. Most of the people going have made several trips, everyone pitches in with dishes and general clean-up. We have lots of laughs and do a lot of ribbing. So if you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen! There are 2 rules I have been running these trips since 2005, that's 40 + trips, More than a year and a half of actual detecting in England. We have found over 200 gold items Celtic, Saxon, hammered, roman and milled Gold coins. Ancient, medieval, 1700 to present gold rings, and other items. Celtic Silver, Saxon Silver, and artifacts from every period 1200 B.C. to present. This hunt is for serious detectorists, We hunt from 7 am to dusk. Rain or shine. you should plan on 10 or 11 hours of hunting per day. If you need some time off you are welcome to stay at the barn and hang out. The barn has internet service and Sky TV. Most of the land we are detecting has never been detected before we got it other than a few locals on weekends, and brand new sites are added as we get them to keep it exciting. Colchestertreasurehunting has now got permission to hunt more than 15 sites, 100+ fields. Most of the fields are plowed, rolled and planted every year. It is a crap shoot as to which fields are ready when we go. Weather, crop rotation and other factors all have effect on land availability. I have on 1 trip found 2 Celtic gold coins from different tribes. Another trip my oldest silver coin was a 1840 shilling. It really comes down to knowing your machine and walking over the good stuff. Colchester Treasure hunting finds Page Everything is done by the book. All finds over 50 years old need to have an export license to take them out of the country. Any non coin item over 300 years old, with more than 10% gold or silver is reported to the coroner as potential treasure. The hoard rule applies to a group of coins 2 or more for silver or gold coins, 10 or more for other base metal coins. Hoard means coins of the same type found on the same field. The museum has the option to buy any declared treasure or Hoard, If bought the finder and the landowner split the paid amount. If the items are disclaimed by the coroner the finder has them returned to him/her. When you are done hunting for your trip you will bag all your finds with your name and all contact information. Our host will then do all paperwork for an export license. He will be the liaison with the coroner and the museum. Your finds can be shipped to you if you wish (cost is about 30 pounds for up to 2 kilos or you can pick your finds up on the next trip. Be aware Export process can take 4 to 6 months Treasures and Hoards can take years to complete the process. Your trip includes: 10,000 + acres to wander, 100+ fields, all export paperwork, 7 or 10 nights at the barn, van rental, gas, transportation to and from the Hilton Garden Inn. We have breakfast (cereal, oatmeal, muffins, toast, coffee, juice, (no eggs and bacon), lunches and snacks. I buy fish and chips one night, cook a big pot of chile at the barn one night and Gretchen makes a meal (fan favorite Chicken and Lemony spagetti) , the rest will be everyone pays their own at local pubs or Lucca the Italian resturaunt in Manningtree. We will be eating out 4 nights on 7 day hunt and 6 nights on a 10 day hunt. There are several pubs we go to on a regular basis, an awesome Italian resturaunt Lucca in Manningtree. We have now added the Court house in Elmstead great food! The location we use is the St Osyth barn, a 4 bedroom, full kitchen and laundry. When an opening becomes available I go to the wait list. If the wait list is short I may be able to give you a couple days to figure it out, if the list is long you will need to decide within 24 hours. Refund policy: Price does not include airfare or meals out! 10 Day Hunt: Price is 2950.00 US Deposit of $1500.00 per spot to guarantee your spot
Caribbean Hunt info The Waterlogged Tour: We have a beautiful house that has a great location and lots of space, it has 4 bedrooms with pool. We will have 2 cars at our disposal on hunts. This trip will accommodate single hunters and couples, because most spouses would want to go on this trip. This is a vacation with detecting, We hunt 5 hours in the morning and will hunt a couple afternoons and mabye a night dry sand hunt depending on the team make up. Anyone wanting to detect all day (like England hunt) will need to rent a car for the week. The 4 bedroom house with pool,we will be staying at beautiful. We will provide - Pick up and drop off for the airport - England hunt style breakfast, perhaps a big brunch once or twice per week - Meats and cheeses for lunchtime sandwiches plus snacks and drinks - 2 of the evening meals at home - Transportation to beach Non-hunting spouses can get up early and come with us to the beach or hang out at the house and enjoy the pool. All meals out will be on you The price for a 7 day hunt is $1,600 dollars for a single and $200 dollars extra for a spouce. Spots will be filled as I receive full payment. Caribbean hunt page for more info Red Paid in full ************************************************************************************************************** 2024 Schedule
Fall 2024 Caribbean hunt 7-day hunt $1600 per person, spouse is $200 extra
Bold is confirmed for spots
*************************************************************************************************** 2025 Schedule Spring England field hunt March 15 to 25 10-day------------March 26 to April 5 10-day
Tim's Barn at Bird farm -----------------------------------------March 26th to April 5th 10-day
*************************************************************************************************** June 2025 Caribbean Beach hunt $2300 for a single $2600 per couple 10-day Thursday June 19th to Sunday 29th 9 days of hunting
*************************************************************************************************** Fall 2025 Ron's Barn at Long Barn St Osyth Sept 13th to 23rd 10-day--------Sept 24th to Oct 4th 10-day ---Oct 4th to 14th 10-day
Tim's barn Staying at Cart Lodge St Osyth
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E-mail me at rpg61@msn.com with any questions Thanks, Ron |
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Previous Hunt Videos
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Fall 2017 hunt video
Sept 30th to Oct 28th
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Spring 2017 hunt video
March 4th to 25th
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Fall 2016 hunt video
Sept 29th to Oct 26th
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Spring 2016 Hunt video
March 1st to 28th
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Letters from hunters!
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Pennsylvania Duane
Spring 2019 Week 4
My brother and I went on our first Colchester hunt with Chicago Ron. When you hunt with Ron, you'll be doing three things all week, swinging a loop, laughing or eating amazing food. Best vacation ever. Ron's barn is booked up for a reason. This is a pro grade, full on, dusk till dawn hunt. Once you clear the fields, you scrape off the mud and go have an amazing meal. Ron and his wife Gretchen spend so much time making sure you have a great stay, I felt bad. They are two genuinely good people. Ron's barns are filled with his return veterans but they make you feel at home. On the sites, the fields have been hit hard, for a long time. Large silver is rare but Ron gets you to the best, newly plowed locations. I found silver and gold plus a heavy bag everyday of the oldest and coolest stuff I've ever found. I've been detecting for over thirty years. On the first day, Ron had me ready to go in England. It's a completely different thing than US hunting. If you get to book a trip with Gypsy Mike, he's an added bonus that's a game changer. Besides being a blast in the Barn, he coached me on my new Nox and got me pulling out the good stuff. Ron and Gretchen are so amazing, they are always booked up. So I'll race you to the next schedule!
Duane
Thanks Duane it was a blast!
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Michigan Tom Shivey March 2019
Artifacts, History & Fun at Chicago Ron’s English Barn Hunt – Colchester, England!! An amazing time and amazing new friends made this trip an event like no other. My favorite finds included the best gilded button I’ve ever dug, a 'Golden Roses' button, along with a pair of rare 1500s Trade Tokens, one with a Star and one with a Cross, an18th century copper probably 'Conder' coin token (not pictured Ron states he’s never seen before), and a really cool silver plated Livery 'Bird button'. Also found was a beautiful piece of blue glass. ‘Chicago’ Ron Guinazzo & Gretchen Guinazzo hosted this event in spectacular fashion down to the last detail, with something for everyone! They were a blast to hang around and I thank them for the kindness, fun and warmth they shared with us! A lot of digging, some sightseeing and great evening fun at historical taverns were the backdrop to this newest adventure. Ron made coffee and got us up @6 AM, and we were digging by 7, going from plot to plot to explore all options. Ron would also make us lunch, and he and Gretchen were digging when not making the various other preparations, a truly remarkable and thoughtful couple!! Florida Laura & Mike, both pilots were a fun couple, they found an amazing Trade Weight and beautiful 1817 silver. I enjoyed Mike’s humor and trivia knowledge! NY Todd, the digger with the most experience gave us great advice and I’m happy he has found his perfect mate. He found an awesome Hammy and silver plated Bird button, probably from a military school. We shared lunch at the airport in London before taking off. One of the most remarkable characters with an amazing sense of humor I am happy to call my friend is Jason from Canada. Jason’s energy is as amazing as his humor and had me laughing all the time. Even though several of the team found Hammies, Jason gets the overall nod for finding a gorgeous almost uncirculated Roman Silver and a Beautiful Small Hammy! This is one vacation I’ll never forget!
Tom Shivey
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Jimmy and Robann Koenig - March 2018
We’ve been on many hunts. This was our first time hunting England, and hunting with Chicago Ron was a golden experience. The comradery of fellow hunters was welcoming, very helpful, and we never felt left behind. Chicago Ron and the other hunters on our week had excellent knowledge of the area and the finds. They helped us in every way, from detectors to relic knowledge.
Anyone who wants a full England Relic Experience...
We extremely highly recommend Chicago Ron (and the team members who go on his trips). Thanks for the Best Relic hunting Experience that we’ll never forget. Ready to come back!!!
Jimmy & Robann Koenig
Florida Stan - October 2015
Well I just returned from the detecting trip of a life time with Chicago Ron and 5 other diehard detectorists in Colchester, England and feel compelled to share the experience. I have been asked dozens of time “what was it like” and have come up with the following analogy: The experience is a bit like a week of Christmas mornings. Picture yourself on 10 football fields. On those fields are 200 Christmas presents addressed to you. It could be a coin, piece of old copper or lead, something cool, old or rare. Could be what I have dubbed the “pull tab of England”, the notorious flat button (there are plenty of those to go around) and lets of course not forget GOLD! You just never know (well maybe have some idea if you’ve learned your machine) what the roll of the dirt will reveal. My first find was an odd small metal “T” shaped thing that was John Deer Green. A broken part to a tractor I thought, but keeping mindful of what I was told, “toss EVERYTHING into your pouch”. I did so and moved on later to find out it was a 2nd century Roman Fibular Broch. Great, now I’m the “tractor part” guy. No worries all that was taken in stride with plenty of good natured ribbing and I quickly discovered that it was all about the hunt and sharing that adventure and fellowship with my barn mates and not who was the most knowledgeable. If you’re a fan of one liner movie quotes like I am, you’re in for a treat as they are woven into the lexicon of daily conversations. The detecting was just as billed. Grueling, exhausting, intense FUN! Up at 6 a.m. in the van by 7 and on a field by 7:30 – 8:00 depending on where we went, stopping at dark. Wake up next morning and repeat. Now that’s a groundhogs day I can live with. Ron and the returning members were very knowledgeable and eager to help point out important information on the fields and offer advice on machine settings etc. and genuinely interested in everyone having a great experience with the most chance for success. I relished having a most hammered coin competition to get the competitive juices flowing. We hunted around some of the most beautiful English countryside with incredible centuries old churches as our back drop. Great adventure, great group of guys and an overall experience I soon won’t forget. Already plotting my return for more tractor parts!
FLStan
I love the christmas morning vision stan! Awesome hunting!
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Gypsy Mike Had his first trip across the pond Oct 2014.
First trip to England
I have been metal detecting for about 30 years in the United States. I've detected farms, beaches, parks and military posts from one coast to the other. I made the decision to travel to England to try my luck with the "old stuff." I spent numerous hours researching sites and hunts until I found the hunts in Colchester with Chicago Ron on YouTube. I began to review the Colchester Treasure Hunting and Metal Detecting Holidays website. I was amazed at the finds from this club, but the acreage they have permission on impressed me even more. I began researching the history of the area and knew this was an area that would give me the best chance at finding ancient and newer artifacts and coins.
My goal was simple for the trip: Find one item older than the United States, and I would be happy. Ron was our guide for the week. Ron is as lively in person as he is on his videos, and sharing a barn with him and like-minded detectorists made for a wonderful week. Ron's knowledge of the "huge...tracts of land" to hunt allowed all of us to make spectacular finds in that short week. During the first day, I was able to accomplish my goal with a 2nd century Roman brooch and my first hammered silver and copper coins. The rest of the week was just as spectacular, at least for me. Bull Head George III six pence, more hammered silver, Tudor clothing fasteners, Saxon doodads, trade tokens, Mounts, and "greenies" rounded out the week. I was lucky enough to put my coil over 12 hammered silver coins the week I was there. It was more than I could have imagined to find in one week. I did, however, learn a few valuable lessons on this first trip that I believe will help anyone thinking of Joining Chicago Ron in Colchester for a go at detecting in England.
First, If you are planning a trip in the near future, and you are new to detecting or have not begun, take the money you would spend on the trip and invest in a machine known to do well in England and the United States and plan the trip at a later date. Make sure your machine can withstand or be protected from the elements. It rains a lot in England, and it might even snow in early March. Second, spend as much time as you can using the machine and learning how to make adjustments for all conditions. Preset American programs may not be adequate for the UK small finds. Remember, a hammered silver farthing will fit on your pinky nail and barely overlap. I used a program I developed for small silver, maximum depth, and just on the edge of stability for two months before I felt comfortable I was making adjustments that would give me the edge in any condition. Third, you will be hunting for 10-11 hrs each day, so be prepared for a little pain by the second or third day. Ibuprophen was my best friend that week. Apparently, I'm no spring chicken any more. Fourth, regardless if you are going in March or October, invest in good rain gear. It will mean the difference between missing half or an entire day of hunting, or toughing it out, getting wet and being miserable and cold for a hunt. You will be paying good money to hunt in England, so spend the extra $150 or so on proven gear. Fifth, when you finally arrive, well prepared, and confident, you will have the time of your detecting life, so enjoy it. There will be people in your barn with lots of experience hunting in England, so use their expertise to your advantage. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions and run your coil over as many finds as possible to get the tones down. Sixth, if Ron's barn is full for the time you can visit, Tim, Sal, or Mindy may be able to accommodate. I've met them all and would hunt with any of them since they know the land, can help you with your machine, and they all know where the goods have come from.
Best, GL and HH,
(OR) Mike
Thanks Mike it was awesome hunting with you. youwere well prepared and it showed in your finds!