As a soldier in the United States Army stationed in Korea in 1953, Stu Auerbach learned how to operate army mine detectors and became fascinated with the possible civilian uses of metal detectors. After his discharge in 1955, Auerbach purchased surplus military mine detectors and took them to a nearby beach in Miami Florida to see what he might find. As Auerbach later said, "It was a bonanza of coins, rings, jewelry, keys and other metal objects". Stu soon drew crowds of people each time he went to the beach wanting to see what he was finding. When people asked him where they could get a machine like his, Auerbach was quick to sell them others that he had in his car, and a business selling metal Detectors was born that later became Kellyco Metal Detectors, the largest retailer of metal detectors in the world.
