Spanish 1715 fleet treasure ring, also known as the "Precious" 22.5K inca gold treasure ring with... [+]
Online sales of metal detectors are way up after The 'Holy Grail' Of Shipwrecks Was Found Off The Coast Of Columbia, according to the top U.S. Retailer Kellyco Metal Detectors based in Winter Springs, Florida. “We have 20 sales people taking calls, and average call times have jumped from 8 to 18 minutes”, said David Auerbach President of Kellyco. “There are spikes in demand for metal detectors when the price of gold soars (see WSJ article Metal Detectors Hit the Jackpot from July 30, 2011 ) and also when major discoveries are announced.”
"One of the greatest findings of underwater heritage in the history of humanity"
Colombia’s President Juan Manual Santos said that the discovery of the San Jose, which was destroyed by the British in 1708, “constitutes one of the greatest – if not the biggest, as some say – findings and identification of underwater heritage in the history of humanity.” Auerbach believes the San Jose will continue to stoke demand for metal detectors for years to come. “They just discovered the shipwreck. They haven’t yet salvaged it, and once they do start bringing gold and treasures up – the announcements can’t help but stir up the treasurer hunter in all of us.”
Hitting the jackpot underwater
Other event driven spikes in demand for metal detectors can be traced back to 1960-1964 when Spanish silver treasure coins were found on a beach in Ft. Pierce Florida by a man using a surplus army mine detector. The “find” led to the discovery of the remains of the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet which generated a huge amount of publicity on national television as well as newspapers and magazines around the world.
On August 21, 2015 a CNN affiliate WPTV created excitement when it reported that $4.5 million in gold had been found in shallow water. “Like hitting the jackpot underwater, gold coins slowly reveal themselves through the sand in just a few feet of water 15 feet off of shore.” Once ashore, William Bartlett and the 1715 Fleet Queens Jewels Salvage Crew counted more than 300 coins valued at $4.5 million.
Can I find hidden treasure without leaving the office?
“If you don’t want to get your hands dirty”, Auerbach says, “Codan Limited headquartered in Adelaide South Australia is the publicly-traded manufacturer of Minelab metal detectors, which is widely regarded as the “Rolls Royce” standard.” Gary Drayton who wrote “Metal Detecting for Spanish Treasure” says his best finds including the emerald treasure ring (pictured at the top of this article) were made with the Excalibur which is a Minelab product.
According to its key statistics page on Yahoo Finance, Condan has $21.7 million of EBTIDA, $42.5 million of long-term debt, and a market capitalization of $122.2 million (7.2x EBTIDA). According to the Codan investor relations website 51% of sales come from the metal detection segment – meaning this is not a pure-play. Given its relatively small size and risks associated with being domiciled outside the U.S. its quite possible that the shares are fairly valued today. If there is an extended spike in demand like Auerbach is calling for, there could be some upside.
How can I get into, and what are the secrets to becoming successful at, metal detecting?
“No one machine does everything and the price points vary. A decent machine price point is roughly $500 for someone coming in and goes up into the multiple thousands for someone wanting to be ‘serious’ about the hobby” said Auerbach. “The rule of thumb for boat towed underwater detectors and side scan sonar is nothing on the ocean floor is a straight line – so that’s exactly what you’re looking for. Also the one common thread I see among successful treasure hunters is that they're great researchers. Gary Drayton who found the Spanish 1715 fleet treasure ring and wrote 'Metal Detecting for Spanish Treasure' is case in point,” said Auerbach.
What's next?
Simply put - a lot of eye candy. I for one can't wait to see the pictures of the gold coins and treasures once the salvage process starts! Keep an eye on Condan stock too. There just might be something there.
Disclosure: I'm a 3PL advisor to Kellyco's e-commerce fulfillment company. The article expresses my opinions, and not those of my employer, BGSA. To avoid a conflict of interest I don't trade stocks.
