Silver

• The most common precious metal that metal detectors find is silver. Though silver coins can be sought at any place where individuals have gathered—churches, meeting places, ghost towns, abandoned homesteads—a user will rarely find more than one or two pieces of silver at a single site. Occasionally, a horde—the term for a large stash of coins--will be found. In April 2010, the "Daily Mail" of London reported that a detecting club uncovered 178 silver coins dating from the 12th century.
  
  

Iron and Steel

• Relic hunters often set their detectors to seek iron and steel. Iron farming implements are sought at old farmsteads. History hunters search battlefields seeking cannonballs and steel swords and bayonets. Detectors are used by boaters to find iron anchors that have become snagged in brush and broken free. Iron and steel pipe underground are sought with metal detectors before workers dig in an area.
  
  

Precious Metals

• Gold and platinum are two precious metals that detectors are designed to find. Though raw ore can be found in streams and veins with a detector, most users seek refined metal that has been lost. Beaches near where treasure ships wrecked are popular locations to seek, as the gold can wash up on the beach, according to Go Metal Detecting. Lost rings and jewelry made of precious metal can be sought and found with a detector.
  
  

Lead

• A metal detector can be tuned to pick up lead. Amateur detecting clubs often work in conjunction with archaeologists to seek lead at old battlefields. A concentration of lead bullets in an area helps historians pinpoint where engagements took place.
  
  

Low-Value Metals

• Detectors find a lot of what is considered low-value metals, or, as they are sometimes called, trash metals. As much as 60 to 80 percent of everything found by a metal detector is considered trash, according to Go Metal Detecting. Low-value metal can include discarded aluminum cans and tin pull tabs. Copper and nickel would also fall into this category, but these could carry value in the form of old coins such as pennies and nickels.