Meet the Diggers
Get to Know KG and Ringy
George Wyant pretending to punch Tim Saylor at the Big Hole location. (View larger version)
Metal-detecting buffs Tim “Ringy” Saylor and “King” George Wyant are homespun historians who are fascinated with ferreting out interesting fragments of the past—and who like to have a little fun in the process.
As a profile in the Cedar Rapids Gazette once noted, Saylor “is not above licking a clump of dirt if he loses a bet over finding a silver dollar, but he prefers when his buddy loses and has to wear a prom dress while riding his bike off the dock into the icy Montana waters.”
“We have always had the mindset that the appreciation of history and a sense of humor are not mutually exclusive,” Saylor explains.
Saylor, a native of Iowa who earns a living writing software for insurance companies, says that even as a child he was intrigued with old coins and other remnants of days gone by. He bought his first metal detector back in the 1980s, but didn’t use it much until he moved to Montana a decade ago. “I found my old detector during the move, and decided to try it on my new backyard,” he recalls. “I found three silver coins, and I was hooked.”
Around that time, Saylor met Wyant, a copper miner who also sells seamless rain gutters on the side. “George found out that I had the detector, and because he always wanted one, called me to talk about it,” Saylor recalls. “He did that, even though we had only met a few times and really wanted nothing to do with each other.”
He’s kidding, of course. Saylor and Wyant soon began going out on metal-detecting searches together. “I first got excited when I saw that we actually could find coins—a lot of them,” Wyant recalls. One of his first finds was a 1909 Barber dime. “I was hooked for good,” Wyant recalls. Saylor similarly got the fever when they were exploring an old church and he found a silver Franklin half dollar, a silver quarter, and a 1933 World’s Fair token. Since then, they’ve found everything from buffalo nickels to 19th Century saloon tokens.
The pair eventually formed their own company, Anaconda Treasure, and launched a website that markets books on treasure hunting, “Team ATC” hats, clothing and gear, and the Extreme Metal Detecting DVD series, which captures the pair’s adventures. “We were watching DVDs that we bought on eBay, and they seemed incredibly boring and staged,” Saylor explains. “We began carrying cameras with us on all our hunts, and filmed all the greatest finds, showing our real reactions. We mixed in some ridiculous stunts as well.”
While the pair call themselves treasure hunters, it’s in a tongue-in-cheek way, since most of the bits of the past they’ve found—old coins, guns, rings, jewelry and tools—turn out to have relatively little monetary value. “It’s the thrill of the hunt,” Saylor cheerfully admits. “We don't make money detecting, but rather lose it. By the time you pay for gas, food, batteries, and gear for the hunt, you almost always lose money that day. If you are in it for the cash, then you should find another hobby or else you are bound to be disappointed. The old silver coins we find are usually worth only $5 or $10 each, so if it were about investing and money, we would be much better off going to the coin store and just buying the coins.”
Nevertheless, they are relentless searchers, spending long days in the field and digging countless holes to find a few humble treasures, while dreaming of the rare gold coins they someday hope to stumble upon. “KG and I are like the honey badgers of metal detecting,” Saylor says. “We have never met anyone who can keep up. It’s always great when you find something valuable or interesting, but we always have fun wherever we go. Like the cliché, it’s not the destination, but the journey. Or however that goes.”
George Wyant aka "KG"
George is a graduate of Anaconda high school. He thought about going to college but figured that a hammer and a shovel fit better in his hand than a pencil. After digging ditches for four months for a local plumber, he thought maybe it was time to try college. Knowing that would entail the reading of many books, he instead went to work at a foundry and ran electric furnaces. After seven years of that, he thought about college once again. Remembering that college would require him to think really hard, he opted to work at a copper mine in Butte Montana where he remains employed today. George is an expert fisherman and hunter. In 2005, he was photographed fly fishing and published in Travel Montana magazine. In 2009, he was featured in the Anaconda Leader newspaper after being attacked by a large black bear 5 miles deep in the forest while bow hunting. (He lived.) An accomplished treasure hunter, George has appeared on ABC's Good Morning America, co-produced and co-starred in Anaconda Treasure's Extreme Metal Detecting DVD series, and is currently working with a world renowned television production company on a show for a major cable network. George and his wife Lori live in Anaconda, Montana, and are the proud parents of two girls, Emily, 14, and Morgan, 11.
Tim Saylor aka “Ringy”
Tim Saylor is a two-time graduate of the University of Iowa, holding degrees from that institution in both German and Psychology, has completed studies abroad at the University of Vienna, and is a certified computer programmer and web designer. The Iowa Writers Workshop is world renowned, and, as an undergraduate, Tim wrote and studied fiction at the university under Bob Shacochis (Easy in the Islands) and David Morrell (First Blood, Rambo). Tim received the German Book Prize from the University of Iowa's German Department in 1995 and the Class Third Prize for the Wiener Internationale Hochschulkurse at the University of Vienna in 1994, and he was inducted into the University of Iowa's Psi-Chi Honor Society. In 1990, Tim recorded tracks on the not-so-critically acclaimed rock band No Spokes' debut album Way Big. An accomplished treasure hunter, Tim has appeared on ABC's Good Morning America, co-produced and co-starred in Anaconda Treasure's Extreme Metal Detecting DVD series, wrote the book Treasure Hunting with Team ATC, and is currently working with a world-renowned television production company on a show for a major cable network. In spite of these achievements, he remains poor and unsuccessful, living isolated in a miner's shack in the mountains of Montana with his son Ian and his Boston terrier "Brick", where they spend their days avoiding bear attacks and searching for that elusive jar of gold and silver coins.
My whole family loves this show! Especially my three kids (ages 11, 9, and 6) who ask to go metal detecting here in Chicago every weekend because of it. They recently found their first exciting piece - though we have no idea what it is! Thanks for being so entertaining, and hopefully you come to the Windy City sometime!
best show on tv. my mailman and I crack up after each episode. we use the diggers lingo on a daily basis now. what a blast. and i'd work with these guys anytime! ive got it in my hand right now.
best show on tv. my mailman and I crack up after each episode. we use the diggers lingo on a daily basis now. what a blast. and i'd work with these guys anytime! ive got it in my hand right now.
best show on tv. my mailman and I crack up after each episode. we use the diggers lingo on a daily basis now. what a blast. and i'd work with these guys anytime! ive got it in my hand right now.
My husband and i were metal detecting today 20 mile east of where U were in Lava Hot Springs Idaho. We were on a section of the Oregon Trail. We found something we consider interesting about 8 inches below the surface. i would like to send U a picture and see what U could tell us about it. U can email me at lbpeabody@yahoo.com. Thanks Lori Fredrickson
I really enjoy this show and try to plan my evening around the show. Doing something you really enjoy and learning history of the area your hunting is fun. If your having fun why not show it? My Dad detected for many years and now I'm proud to follow in his foot steps. I hope to have as much fun as he did with every find every thing minus maybe flip tops was a treasure. Keep up the good work on the show and since we don't live to far apart maybe someday we'll meet. Keep having fun!
This is my new favorite show! love the passion the guys have for what they do. I hope to get my brother or dad involved in metal detecting. I love finding old things. I think I was an archeologist in a past life. lol
Great show, can you tell me what brand and model of detector you use? Looking at purchasing one and there is so many different models that it leaves my head spinning. Thanks for your help, keep up the good work in the show.
Thanks
Excellent family oriented show! I have 3 boys, 11, 9 & 4 and really appreciate the fact that we can all watch without worrying about language and inappropriate content. My kids enjoy the show so much that we got a few detectors and spend a few days a week spending quality time together.
Their lingo, which seems to irritate some, is actually popular with the kids. There's just something inherently funny hearing my youngest shout out of nowhere "I'm going to extract some juice, Dad". I guess you can't please everyone but I've never understood why someone would rant on about how their annoyed hearing these guys talk, and go through the effort to post over and over, rather than just tune out.
Kudos to NatGeo for offering up some good, family-oriented television in a world where most of what's on is adult-themed. I encourage you to keep the show on. We check all the time to see if there will be another season and hope that there will be. We have almost all the episodes on the dvr and watch one or two n the evening, just before the kids go to bed.
Thanks for the show and keep up the great work!
When are the new shows starting? I can't get enough of it. I keep re-watching the reruns and still get chills with KG and Ringys finds.
My family loves this show! My son and his cub scout den were learning about the Brig Niagra and the Battle of Erie at the Niagra Museum in Erie, PA. This summer is the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Erie. We think you should come to Erie and DIG around Presque Isle Bay. Thank you!
Thank you National Geographic for bringing such a wonderful hobby to the public's eye. George and Tim are doing an excellent job in bringing the excitement to the show and showing others out there what a great hobby it is. My biggest issue with the show is I WANT MORE!!!
Go Garrett!
First off I'd like to say I am a passionate history buff who has a lot of experience with archaeology, from old 1850s era lime kilns to First World War battlefields, to having spent two field seasons in Koobi Fora, Kenya, working on sites millions of years old. I also enjoy a spot of metal detecting every now and then. SECOND - now that I've gotten that out of the way - I absolutely love this show. I simply cannot fathom what in their mannerisms, behavior, 'lingo', or otherwise, warrants the hostility I'm seeing. None of what they're doing is fake - if it is, its far better acting than half the rubbish you'd find on other channels. None of their behavior is remotely autistic - in fact it falls SO FAR outside of the autistic spectrum as to render anyone so socially inept as to think they're autistic a fair candidate for being diagnosed with the disorder. I completely understand their passion and motivation and revel in the thrill of finding worthless junk every bit as much as they do. Their passion and enthusiasm consummates the drive that every aspiring archaeologist or anthropologist must have in order to be successful, as it is a very long, hard, grueling and thankless road for anyone trying to make a living doing archaeology. If you don't understand this program, and you think you want to pursue a career (or even a hobby) digging up old things, you are sadly mistaken. The show is harmless fun, brings joy to countless homes across America, and breathes new life into a hobby which currently is seen as one only occupied by sad, angry old recluses who never quite learned to have fun in life. I sincerely hope that the producers of the program pay absolutely no mind to the critics, and keep on making fun, entertaining and fascinating TV. Ringy and KG - there's an archaeologist out there who thinks you two are great. Come on juice!!
Why can't all you "real diggers" see the the humor in this show?? Who would want to watch some show with two serious people just showing what they found?? All the losers bad-mouthing this show are the dorks that stereotype "diggers" everywhere. It's entertainment!! I'm embarrassed to use my detector just because of the "stigma" attached to it. You all need to lighten up!!
i am pretty sure they have some forum of autism.. these guys are just idiots if they dont have autism, the words they use, and the way they act really gross me out, nectar? bleh!
@Lauren Contino .....get up off you couch after brushing the potato chip crumbs off of you and change the channel. after that you'll be to exhausted for anything else but to take a nap to rest up for the next time you need to change the channel. BTW, its FORM, not FORUM you english major!
@Lauren Contino Hmm... well I guess you could always change the channel! That is always an option! I have an autistic cousin so thanks for the insult! If you can't say anything nice don't say it at all.
I like the show and have watched it a couple of time...BUT (and it's a big but) PLEASE tell the guys to act more like adults and not a couple of stupid kids...In tonights show one found a coin ran over and handed it to his buddy and went and climbed a tree. OMG!!!!! I also metal detect for a hobby and when I do find a good coin I get excited to a degree but don't start climbing trees like some idiot... PLEASE have the guys show some respect for the hobby and act rationally so the people that watch the show, that do not detect or enjoy our hobby, don't think we are all a bunch of idiots, looking for our pot of gold. Thanks Bruce
You know, this is a great show. Period. I like the (heads up, I'm going to use big words) camaraderie between both guys. Apparently some people don't get tongue in cheek humor when they hear it. The show is educational and inspires you to do what they are doing. We have learned a lot of interesting facts about our history. I read a lot of the negative comments and I think you "serious diggers" are sucking on a bunch of sour grapes. I don't think it is staged at all. It is interesting to several age groups in my family and nobody thinks any body is a squirrely 8 year old. I think it's refreshing to get caught up in their enthusiasm and see their immediate reactions. For you "serious diggers" out there, it's all about the hunt and having fun NOT about getting rich or making a name for yourself. The bottom line is, if you are so bent out of shape about any TV show...from bad acting to inaccuracies, etc. then there is a little laser pointer called a REMOTE to change the channel. KG and Ringy....keep it up. NGO thanks for the show!
I'm a huge fan of the show!!! I've tried to figure out how to contact the show to see if the guys could look for something for me. I'm a military widow. My husband was killed in Afghanistan Feb 28 2011 by an IED he was trying to dispose of since that was his job, Explosive Ordinance Disposal. He was killed two weeks before our two year wedding anniversary and before he left, he lost his wedding ring at our house in the yard. We searched all over and couldn't find it. So he got a replacement ring one day before leaving to deploy since he never took off his ring cuz that's how we always felt connected no matter where he was. So when he was killed, he had that ring on and unfortunately, it wasn't found. That was one of the main things I asked for get back to me. So I need the guys help on finding my hero's wedding ring.
@Katherine Mays Katherine, I work on the Diggers series, and would be interested in talking with you. Can you send an email to DiggersTVshow @ gmail.com and we'll see what we can do.
@Katherine Mays . First I'm so sorry about your loss....What state are you in... Many states have groups of detector operators that would be proud to be able to help your find your husbands ring..I'm in Lanmcaster, Ohio...find a store in the phone book that sells detectors and call them tell them your need and they should have the names of reputable individuals they could recommend to have you call for recovery of this item... If you are in Ohio contact me at bruceraybourne@hotmail.com and I can either come out to you or find someone that will. God bless you and your family
This show is great. I love their antics, the passion for doing this AND DOING IT THE WAY YOU WANT! You have your own personal lingo and way of expressing yourselves. You are the kind of guys i like to meet and hang out with. Life is so damn serious all the time. Have fun. For any who put a negative comments on here, tough crap if you don't like it. This is a fun show, it's interesting and informative, it's negative free and I look forward to watching every episode. Keep it this way. Much of the negative stuff I read seems like people expect all shows on TV have to have angst, conflict, drama etc... For those who want to know about the metal detectors, google them. This isn't a show for product placement; these naysayors don't get it. As for the 'professional' commentators, go hang out with your buddies in the IRS. They're boatloads of fun just like you! I laughed my butt off when the one guy crawled thru the dog house. You guys don't mind poking fun of yourseleves and love doing what you do. We should all be lucky to have such a good time while 'working.' KEEP IT UP AND THANK YOU NATGEO!! Our family and many of my friends LOVE this show.
Not only is it a fun and interesting and at times very humorous show, but you learn about some of the history of the area they are in and some of the things to look for while metal detecting. They teach you what sounds to listen for coming out of the detector separating the "junk" from the gold. Keep it up! There is so much history buried out there just waiting to be found and dug up with stories to tell. The show is awesome and different. Some of the negative comments on here are probably from those thar are afraid of something different but that is a small percentage.
This show is great. I love their antics, the passion for doing this AND DOING IT THE WAY YOU WANT! You have your own personal lingo and way of expressing yourselves. You are the kind of guys i like to meet and hang out with. Life is so damn serious all the time. Have fun. For any who put a negative comments on here, tough crap if you don't like it. This is a fun show, it's interesting and informative, it's negative free and I look forward to watching every episode. Keep it this way. Much of the negative stuff I read seems like people expect all shows on TV have to have angst, conflict, drama etc... For those who want to know about the metal detectors, google them. This isn't a show for product placement; these naysayors don't get it. As for the 'professional' commentators, go hang out with your buddies in the IRS. They're boatloads of fun just like you! I laughed my butt off when the one guy crawled thru the dog house. You guys don't mind poking fun of yourseleves and love doing what you do. We should all be lucky to have such a good time while 'working.' KEEP IT UP AND THANK YOU NATGEO!! Our family and many of my friends LOVE this show.
I am new to metal detecting and would love for you guys to make an episode where you show the basics so people can get in to the hobby. I have alot of learning to do still.
Our whole family loves Ringy & KG! My 6 year old got a detector for his bday and just found his first "roundness in the hole"...a 1976 penny...he is hooked! I love the lingo the guys use (made up)...shows how much fun they are having and makes their friendship feel genuine. Give us more episodes!!!!!
than this show should be on so young children can see it. Say 7:00am to 10:00am. This is not a quality show but a children's show. I do agree with this.
The show is awesome! My wife, Patti and myself love it! To all the haters the don't like the "lingo" or your re-actions to your finds etc., learn how to have fun. The style of KG and Ringy is addicting! They know how to have fun with this great hobby. I see you detect alot of Civil War and Revolutionary War areas but I have never seen anyone detect areas from the War of 1812. Living in Buffalo, we have Old Fort Niagara and there was the burning of Buffalo.We are researching some other places to hit until its time to go detect. There are some markers around Buffalo but it just seems like the forgotten war. I've never heard of or seen any relics from the War of 1812. I just got back into metal detecting this past summer and had a ball! Found a few interesting things. Me and my friend plan on hitting some War of 1812 settlement camps hoping they are "nectar sectors." There was also the Pan-American Exposition in the early 1900's. We also have a rich past of some great Indian camps. (Tuscarora, Seneca, Onadaga Indians to name a few) Give some thought about coming to Buffalo, NY and searching for War of 1812 and Indian relics. I'm also on Facebook.
Location suggestion: North Idaho...near Murray Idaho where the discovery of gold on Prichard Creek brought more than 10,000 people to this little town and Wyatt Earp owned a tent bar until be lost it to delinquent taxes.
This place would be awesome to find historical items.
Location suggestion: North Idaho...near Murray Idaho where the discovery of gold on Prichard Creek brought more than 10,000 people to this little town and Wyatt Earp owned a tent bar until be lost it to delinquent taxes.
This place would be awesome to find historical items.
If these guys were in Jerusalem they would be saying "This coin could've fallen out of the pocket of Jesus Christ himself!" STOP IT!
This is the first time I saw this show and I got to say these 2 guys are total idiots. Drop the B.S. words and stop the totally fake way you talk. It is such friggin crap. And it's so obvious it is staged. Hire someone else to do this show or it will die a very soon death.
I love this channel and most of the history related shows. But as a Relic Hunter for the past 35 years this show is really a Joke. I have never seen or heard real Treasure Hunters act like these clowns. Honey Nectar Juice ! Those are not words diggers use. I have never heard that said or hunters act like these two do. I have hunted with real diggers from all over the USA so I am familiar with the slang etc used . It is almost a insult to real diggers. I understand it is a TV show but if you want to do one on Treasure Hunting or Relic Hunting please at least use real diggers who show respect to the hobby and are serious not two who do the hobby such an injustice. I honestly tried to watch it a couple of times but had to change the channel as it got too comical to watch and seemed to have plants ( real relic term for planted items not ones original to site) Thanks for being a great channel for history lovers but please rethink the makeup of this horrible show and the comics who star in it.
Are the guys on this show autistic?
It would be nice to have a real show about detecting that informs instead of a couple of 8 year olds.
@Tom Thompson You obviously have no idea how Autistic people/kids act. My son has Autism and he is very socially awkward and has no clue how to carry on a normal conversation or how to act in social situations. He would certainly shy away from a video camera. Does that sound like KG and Ringy to you??
Hi Guys, love watching the show... Have you ever overlaid your historic maps in Google Earth to pinpoint a good hunting site? there is a turorial on how to do it here:
http://www.metaldetectorfun.com
My 7 year old daughter, Peyton, absolutely LOVES this show and the two guys in it :) She comes home everyday off the bus wanting to watch more "Diggers" and then wants to make a bet on which one will win the bet, KG or Ringy. She's now started saying things like "I got a slamm'n hit" and "I bet there's nectur in our yard". We purchased an 1870's farmhouse, in PA last spring with over 1.25 acres and she's chomping at the bit to get out there and start 'digging for "civ" or 'cologne'". I have to keep telling her we have to wait for the ground to thaw.
Thank you both for making her giggle and laugh. It brighten's both of our days and who know's what "nectur" we'll find in the spring.
First of all, I enjoy the show, but your two diggers have to stop being stupid and they look like idiots when they do. There is no reason to have their own lingo. Talk English. Say we have a coin in the ground. Stop the roundness and nector bs. Also, do they get to keep their finds? Explain your detectors and how to use them. Compare one detector to others.
Diggers
Don’t pay these wona bes any mind. Your on TV and there not. If they don’t like the show, the words
you use, the way you all act or how your metal detectors work. May be they should put new battery’s
in there remote and change the channel.
I don’t use your alls words, but I will now. My detector don’t works like yours, but I find “nectar”
and I have also found “nector sectors” “roundness” “spill” “silv” and “ster”. I love the show
and the way you all act when you find something great, my son, wife and I laugh. Laugh hard.
My DVR records all your shows. It would be great the hunt next to you all. Just to say “I have”
Good job NATGEO, this show is great. Keep it up.
@Cody Parks I agree. You know what?! The 'made up' language between these to is what makes this show fun to watch. These are two friends that have got their own thing going on! Good for them! This show is devoid of negativity, drama etc... instead, it shows that two regular guys can get out there, have a hobby and have fun without caring what some stuffed shirts have to say or what "real" (whatever that means) diggers do or have as "correct" digger lingo. Too bad for them. Anyway, i with you. This is a great show. It inspires regular people. Kids are getting excited in history because of this show. Thanks to King George and Ringy!! Cheers!
You gotta be kiddin me. I tried to watch this show, but it just fails to portray detecting in an honest, educational manner. In 39 years of detecting, I have NEVER heard anyone use the terms these guys use. They do not represent metal detectorists very well, in my oh so humble opinion. I can't tell you how many times people come up to me and want to talk metal detecting, using nectar, roundness. They have no clue how silly they sound.
I am sure that KG and the RM are nice guys, but gentlemen......you can certainly teach what a GREAT hobby we have without all the antics. And without all the nonsensical verbage that is not a part of this hobby. Come on......quit looking like a couple of SQUIRs SQUIR: (Noun) Anything that looks like or appears to act like a bushy tailed variety animal, or a SQUIRREL.
In one episode the loser of the bet had to eat a pickled egg and made it look bad,hardly. Pubs and Bars across the country sell pickled eggs,there's even a pub in Long Beach,CA that's famous for their eggs...and Polish sausage sandwiches since the 1930's.
@Stiofain Mac Geough Yeah, I was like...this is considered a real treat in most of the United States. I used to pickle quail eggs and could not supply enough of them for those who desired them. Surely...these guys are not that far removed from society.