Metal detectors for beachcombing

Rio de Janeiro / DPA

Carlos Saman is a 54-year-old library employee in the city of Nilopolis, not far from Rio de Janeiro, but oftentimes you will find him sifting Copacabana’s sandy beaches, hunting for treasure. Not pirate treasure, but the valuable objects that beach-goers drop.
Very early on a recent morning on the beach, Saman and his 31-year-old son Thiago were using their metal detectors and long-handled sand scoops to search for valuables. One of the devices beeped. This is always good news, because it means there is a metal object buried in the sand.
Father and son had arrived at the beach around six in the morning and they planned to leave, as they usually do, by around noon, because “the beaches become crowded.” “We usually look right in this area near the hotels,” he said.
They were in front of the Copacabana Palace, one of the most expensive hotels in Rio de Janeiro. “The people who bathe here have more money,” he said. But it was not a very profitable day for the pair. They came up only with a few coins amid all the metal bottle caps.
But you never know when you are going to get lucky, said Thiago. “Some acquaintances found a gold chain in Copacabana,” he said, adding that they were able to sell it for about 4,000 reales, or 1,200 dollars.
In other parts of Brazil other “treasure seekers” or beachcombers
have been able to find valuable objects worth up to 11,000 reales in one day, he added. Thiago Saman said that on a good day he and his father are able to make between 200 and 300 reales. Sometimes they find mobile phones, as well as chains or rings. The only bad thing is that metal detectors do not work to locate banknotes, he joked.
Tourists stare at Saman and his son; perhaps they think the two men are searching for explosives. But Copacabana residents, up early for a jog, appear more accustomed to seeing them. Saman says that it is not great to search for objects when the sea is rough. But the type of metal detector they use, the Sea Hunter Mark II, which costs about 5,000 reales (1,500 dollars), is resistant to the elements and waterproof.
Saman insists that beachcombing, or “detecting” as it is called in Brazil, is only a hobby for him and his son. “Beachcombing is popular in Brazil,” he said. It is a hobby that has even more followers in other parts of the country than in Rio de Janeiro, he said. In fact, a Brazilian beachcombing website claims that metal detecting “is Brazil’s fastest-growing sport.”