F.W. Pandozzi
About Me

This page is all about me, F.W. Pandozzi. I'm not the one to brag. But I feel it's important to tell my story so that you can have an idea about why you should consider reading through my website. 

F.W. Pandozzi, the Beginning

As a child, my interests were the same as most kids of my time. Growing up during the 1950s, we had black & white TV screens and great shows to watch. So, watching Popeye, Donald Duck, Road Runner, and Mickey Mouse cartoons became a regular event.

In addition, watching TV series about cowboys became a constant treat. Roy Rogers and The Lone Ranger were the two most popular shows of that era.

I played baseball, football, and basketball. Hunting for rats at the local dump with a 22-caliber rifle and fishing were two more enjoyments. There was another activity I feasted on.

About Me as A Young Pirate, Arrrrr!

I began reading stories about pirates and buried treasures. Pirate stories and pirate movies consumed me. I tried living like a pirate. I wore a pirate hat and carried a toy pirate pistol. I walked around yelling, “ARRR” and “SHIVER ME TIMBERS.” On Halloween, I wore a pirate costume.

A few of my friends caught on to the pirate craze. We buried coins pretending they were treasures. 

F.W. Buys His First Car

At age sixteen, I passed my road test and purchased my first car. I saved that money while working after school, bagging groceries at a local grocery store. I bought a 1955 Chevy.

Nights were spent with my friends cruising the city streets. Drag racing on those streets was a popular pastime. So was being chased by the cops.

Drag racing was illegal. Some of my friends were caught. They had their licenses pulled as punishment. I was always lucky enough to get away.

The Military, and Stories of Treasures

However, the excitement of my young life contrasted with the seriousness of that time. There was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Russia was building nuclear missiles and wanted to destroy America. The Vietnam War was killing my friends and thousands of others. I became a confused adolescent. I kept asking myself.  “Why are these terrible things happening?” But what I did know was that I had no direction in my life. A change was needed.

At seventeen, I entered the military. I joined the Air Force. My love for airplanes was evidenced by my passion for building model planes. So the Air Force became my obvious choice. However, working with military planes did not happen.

America needed a missile defense system due to Russia’s nuclear missiles and its penchant for wanting to start a nuclear war. So after basic training, the Air Force assigned me to a Titan II Missile outfit in Arizona.

While stationed in AZ, I spent my free time reading stories about the various treasures lost and found in the western States. Those stories, like my days of being a young pirate, were the seeds planted in me. They eventually grew and propelled me into an exciting world of adventure and discovery.

Business and Marriage

After being discharged from the Air Force. I worked for five years as an insurance agent and investment broker. It was at that time that I started a Financial Planning business and was married.

My interest in treasure hunting peaked. I was reading every treasure hunting and metal detecting magazine I could get my hands on. I saved the magazines and books. I kept notes and files for future research. It was the beginning of the creation of my large library of information. It was also becoming evident to me that even though I had not yet owned a metal detector, someday I was going to be part of the metal detecting/ treasure hunting community.

My First Metal Detector

In 1970, I purchased my first metal detector. Every free minute was being filled with metal detecting. Wanting to find old “stuff” consumed me. My detector was with me when I traveled to and from work. It was with me on vacation. My detector had its own resting place in my vehicle. I treated it like a friend. It was part of my family.

I was devouring treasure hunting books and magazines. I began to read the history of my area. I realized the importance of knowing where past generations frequented the outdoors. Those areas were ripe with lost coins and jewelry.

But after a few years, I became bored with locating old coins and relics. What I longed for was the excitement of searching for and locating a buried treasure. “Why not me?” I asked myself. “If others could locate buried treasures, then so can I.” After all, I reasoned. My research information had grown to a full library of books, magazines, and files about lost and buried treasure. I had the information to locate treasures.

F.W. Pandozzi Productions

It was also a time when I realized that with all of the information printed in books and magazines about metal detecting, there were no TV series about the hobby. I knew the metal detecting community was a huge market. It was worldwide. I believed the interest in a TV show that depicted the hobby in a real, adventurous, and honest way would be popular among metal detecting enthusiasts. That idea moved me forward. So, I jumped into the world of TV and produced and hosted the first metal detecting reality TV series, "Exploring History's Treasures.”

Not knowing anything about TV production, I was failing and learning on my own. The world of television production became my night and day routine. I embarked on a mission to learn the TV business.

What I quickly learned was this. “If you aren’t in the club. They aren’t letting you in.” The television industry is the “good ole boys club.” It doesn’t make any difference how good your show is. If your ticket to the club isn’t punched…you ain’t gett’en a seat.

If you are lucky enough to get into the club to meet with a TV Exec, well, you only end up getting a good old slap on the back. “You gotta a nice show, buddy. We’ll be in touch.” But, in the end, without any help from the “club”, I persevered, and my TV series was broadcast on cable TV to every State.

I sold advertising during time slots on my show. Those ads helped to offset my cost to produce the series. I did everything I could to promote my TV show. I did that with the hope it would be picked up by a major network. My ace in the hole was the fact that I had amassed testimonials from thousands of happy viewers.

F.W. Pandozzi, "Love Your Show"
“More Please"

As soon as the first episode finished airing, my production company's phones began to ring. Viewers were telling us how much they loved the show. They were saying.

“It’s about time we have a series like this.”

“I can’t wait for the next episode.” “You and your co-host John are great together.”

“I love the history you tell about the items you find.”

“When’s the next show?”

We were also receiving hundreds of positive emails a day. I knew I had created a TV series that not only the metal detecting community wanted, but history lovers wanted to see as well. Now all I had to do was use those thousands of testimonials to gain the confidence of a major TV show buyer.

“It’s about time that someone made a TV show that presents history in an exciting way.”

Michelle V. Liverpool NY

“I have been teaching local history for 22 years. And when Mr. Pandozzi came to our Junior high class with a video of his TV series, my clases were speechless. I think they learned more from his series in one viewing than what I tried to teach in an entire semester.”
Mary B. Teacher

“Frank and John

Just watched the Ghost Towns in the East DVD series. Great Show. You guys show the way metal detecting really is. The tips you give on researching an area are useful to detectorists of all ages.

I wish Dish Network would pick this up, it would be a great addition to the outdoor channel.

Keep up the great work.”

Jeff R, Dallas,Ga.

An important fact in my production of the series was this. My TV series would not lie to my viewers. If we had to film ten hours a day to get a half-hour show, then that is what we would do. There would be no planting or seeding of any coins or relics. Meaning, we would not hide a coin or a relic in the dirt and then film me or John, happily locating it. Unfortunately, that is what has been done in many of the new metal detecting/treasure hunting shows today.

Nor would there be any scripting of scenes before filming. I wanted my series to be truthful and real.

"More Poker." "More Poker."
"More Poker."

The testimonials continued. I showed them to the networks and cable stations. I showed them to TV show buyers. Unfortunately, their lack of foresight and inability to decide on an unknown producer schmuck like me was too much of a chance for them.

“We want more poker shows,” they kept telling me. “Poker.” “Poker.”  “We want more poker TV.”

“Look, I have thousands of testimonials that say viewers want metal detecting TV,” I told them. But the answer was always “more poker.”   That was when I came up with another plan. I decided to market the TV show to the national audience with the help of a broadcast company. I spent hours every day talking to TV show buyers and syndication companies. That persistence paid off.  After viewing my TV series and saying he loved it, a broadcast company owner contracted with me to air my TV series. Once a week, nationally, at prime time, “Exploring History’s Treasures” was watched by millions. The only downside was that I had to split the ad revenue with the broadcaster.

TV Led to Searching For Treasure

For two years, “Exploring History’s Treasures”, TV series, was broadcast on small, independent cable stations. As the shows were televised, emails from viewers who heard stories of buried treasures on their properties and wanted me to help search for them.

I traveled to those areas and searched for buried caches. I began writing about those experiences. I traveled to junior high and senior high schools and colleges. I spoke to the students about buried treasures, American History, secret codes, symbols, and secret societies. Junior high schools and high schools purchased DVDs of Exploring History’s Treasures. They used them as a teaching aid for American history classes.

From the time I was a little pirate to learning how to use my first metal detector, and eventually finding my first old Mercury Dime. The metal detecting hobby has given me a lifetime of excitement and adventure.

F.W. Pandozzi

R.I.P., my dear friend and cohost John Decharo