Who We Are:

The Riverside Treasure Hunters Club strives to make the hobby of metal detecting fun and interesting. The Club brings in speakers, has a Crime Scene Unit, and is restoring our Historical Preservation Unit. This allows our members the opportunity to get involved with our communities and put their skills to work.

Our members show their "Finds" for the month and members vote on who has the best of each category (Best Natural Gold, Best Jewelry, Best Silver Jewelry, Best Relic, Best Unique Find, Best Foreign Coin, Best American Coin, and Oldest American Coin) and the winners earn a point for each win. At the end of the year the points are tallied and we name a "Treasure Hunter of the Year".

Our monthly outings we do by season: Winter we do parks, Summer we do beaches. And the last beach hunt we have is usually at Newport Beach followed by a BBQ.

The annual membership period runs from November 1st through October 30th each year. Annual dues are prorated for new members only, based on a schedule.

Membership is: Single (Individual)- $30, Family- $45, Junior (Minors under 18 with parents written consent if parents are not members)- $10

Make sure you check out our online store that is open to the public at: https://riversidetreasurehuntersclub.ecwid.com

The Pandemic of 2020 / 2021 caused our club to stop having meetings and outings for a very long time. Because the members weren't getting anything for the dues they paid for 2020, the Board chose to extend the dues to cover 2021 also.

As restrictions were lifted, the Board decided to "give back" to its members by having (2) separate no-cost seeded hunts, complete with a BBQ, and prize giveaway. It was the Board's way of showing their appreciation of it's members "sticking with us". It was great to see everyone again and to get back outdoors.

UPDATE! The Board decided to continue giving back to our members. Extravaganza III took place on September 24, 2022, complete with another seeded hunt on an old baseball diamond, which made hiding coins & tokens easy, a BBQ, a raffle, and prizes galore! It was a very successful event!

Our members love to hunt the sand for "buried treasures". Coins, jewelry, cell phones, and more. But at the same time, you also find metallic "trash" that can be harmful to bare feet and kids playing. At the beaches, as well as parks, we regularly find the following: rusted metal tent stakes, rusty nails and screws, utensils-knives/forks/spoons, pieces of hard wire, pull tabs, bottle caps, scissors, live ammunition, rusty metal pieces, sharp aluminum can pieces and broken glass. We don't know how some of these items make their way onto the sand or into the parks, but as metal detectorists, we believe we are caretakers of our land. That is why we always recover the "trash" as well as the "treasures" as our photo shows.

Our Club abides by the "Metal Detectorist's Code of Ethics":

1. Follow all local, state, and federal laws as they relate to metal detecting. 2. Respect private property and never detect an area without permission. 3. Pack out what you pack in, and properly dispose of any trash you find. 4. Leave all gates, structures, and personal property as they were before. 5. Fill in every hole you dig. Leave no trace you were there. 6. Never dig in a way that harms vegetation, wildlife, or changes natural features. 7. Report any significant historical artifacts to local authorities. 8. Be an ambassador for the hobby by being courteous and thoughtful at all times.

Although the thrill of finding "treasure" is incredible, just as important to a metal detectorist is when you are able to track down the owner so that "treasure" can be returned to him or her. In RTHC, one of the 61+ "Gate Bars" a member can earn and wear under their nametag is the "Found & Returned" Gate Bar. At our monthly meeting, the member shares his/her story about how they found the item, how the owner was tracked down, and the (usually) tearful "reunion" of item and owner. The Club awards the member a silver half dollar as recognition of doing a good deed and providing a community service.

Some members take it a step further and join an international online organization called "The Ringfinders" so that those who have lost an item can call a detectorist in their area in a timely manner.