Magnet fisherman John from Heiloo fishes up a treasure chest with coins: “A real moment of happiness”

John has been crazy about magnet fishing for over ten years now. With this hobby you search for metal objects with a strong magnet on a rope or a stick in the water. “It started with junk on your fishing rod such as beer caps and old bicycles. I actually didn’t like it. Then I got a tip to go to Amsterdam and it was immediately hit. On the first day I found a gun. A day later one and then I was sold.”

John can be found along the water with his magnet just about every weekend. In all those years he has already fished a lot of special objects out of the water, such as exclusive watches, empty and full safes, but also a lot of weaponry. Like this for example, he fished two anti-tank grenades at the Transvaalkade in Amsterdam, “They were meant to liquidate someone, but it turned out that they had already died. They just threw it into the canal. Those kinds of finds are the icing on the cake.”

Kalashnikovs

The number of weapons and explosives he has found is now in the hundreds. Special? He doesn’t think so, you have to know where you throw your magnet in the water. “I do extensive research beforehand. I often search places where there has been a shooting, for example. You sometimes have to think like a criminal: where would you dump your weapon or loot if the police are on your heels?”

Magnet fishing has become an international hobby for John. When he goes to an AZ European away game, he always throws his magnet somewhere. He can also often be found in Belgium, a true goldmine for magnet fishermen. “You will find weapons from the First and Second World War there, but also many weapons from IS terrorists. I fished up six Kalashnikovs on my own. There is so much there, not normal.”

For his last beautiful catch, John went to Bergen op Zoom. A beautiful silver-colored ornately engraved box dangled from his magnet. It was probably thrown into the water after a break-in. “Often burglars are not interested in old money, too much effort to find out everything.”

“I was lucky that the contents had not been tipped out because the lid was open,” says Molenaar. “At first I put it away until a buddy of mine took a closer look. He saw that it was something special inside.”

Because in addition to some old Dutch coins from the golden era, it also contained half a dollar with the portrait of John F. Kennedy and a rare Roosevelt Dime. “They are especially special and valuable because of the dates on them. I estimate that there are more than 2,000 euros worth of coins in the box. You can call that a small treasure. That is really a moment of happiness,” says Molenaar laughing.

To hold?

The big question is whether he can keep that treasure? “I always report it to the police because the best thing is when you can make people happy again with their stolen things. If you find something worth more than 3,000 euros, you can keep it after a year and one day if no one comes forward. For example, I already have quite a lot of valuables, but I only sell them when I have no money left.”

The magnet fisherman from Heiloo does not do it for the money. “It’s just a hobby and you do a lot of people a favor with it. Someone recently lost his bike and asked me if I wanted to look for it. It’s great that you can retrieve that bike in no time. Crimes are also solved thanks to my finds and you are doing a good job for the environment, isn’t that a wonderful hobby?”