Selkirk man finds thrill in the hunt for historic treasures

LOCKPORT — The sound of a beep from Robert Unik’s metal detector gets his heart pumping.

“It’s like a lottery,” Unik said. “I never know what I’m going to find when I dig.”

Unik is a school teacher by day but got into metal detecting seven years ago after a neighbour lost her ring.  He used an old detector that his mother had and found the ring.  The thrill of the find got him hooked.

“I’ve found more then a dozen gold rings and even more silver rings,” said Unik. “My biggest find was a $10,000 ring.  I couldn’t find the owner so my wife wears it.”

Unik searched a property across the river from Lower Fort Garry in Lockport Wednesday.

Within just an hour of searching, he found a cattle bell from the 1860s, a quarter from 1976, a couple of old pennies and a couple of horse harness rings from the late 1800s.

“I’ve found over $6000 in coins,” said Unik.

It’s against the law for Unik to sell or trade any of his findings because it’s deemed property of the government.

“I give whatever I find to the property owners but most of the time they say just keep it, so I’ll donate the good stuff to the Selkirk library,” said Unik.

There’s a display of brooches, belt buckets, musket balls, and so much more at the Selkirk Library.

Unik says more and more people are finding out what he does and are asking him to search their properties.

He anticipates a busy summer.