Who gets to keep what I find?

Roadking52

New Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2019
Messages
27
Location
Belmont, NC
Just getting back into hunting and have permission from a land owner to search his land. If I find anything of value or historical significance, can I keep it or should I hand it over to the land owner?

I just want to know if there is a standard practice, or if preset conditions need to be established.
 
Anything relative to their family’s history should be given to the owner. Everything else should be worked out prior to the dig so you can get future permissions. Good luck!
 
There wouldn't be anything related to his family's history. I suppose i could let him know that I'd like to start a collection of my finds and keep what I collect. If he agrees i should be ok. If not, I'll give him anything that I find that he may want.
 
Depends. My rule has been: I will put you, the owner, in touch with the property's past. You get ALL antiques and relics such as old tools, antique toys, etc. I tell them that although the mineralized soils tend to eat the metal on coins and generally they come up worthless to coin collectors, I like finding old coins just for the old dates(which I do). I also show them examples of relics and/or toys found and given to landowners. Use your cellphone to store pics of those finds that are cool nut not on YOUR target list and show it to them. Often that is a positive trigger for them to allow you to hunt.
 
Depends. My rule has been: I will put you, the owner, in touch with the property's past. You get ALL antiques and relics such as old tools, antique toys, etc. I tell them that although the mineralized soils tend to eat the metal on coins and generally they come up worthless to coin collectors, I like finding old coins just for the old dates(which I do). I also show them examples of relics and/or toys found and given to landowners. Use your cellphone to store pics of those finds that are cool nut not on YOUR target list and show it to them. Often that is a positive trigger for them to allow you to hunt.

I think Richie has some good thoughts. For me, it totally depends on the type of property and the historical significance of the property. If I had the chance to detect some place like the local Marcus Daly Mansion here in Hamilton Montana, I would donate EVERYTHING to the mansion to be put on display, and might even get an "archie" (heaven forbid!:)) to document the finds and their history / location on the property.

The "in between" would be something like hunting a historic house, Civil War battlefield on private property, or the like. Work out something agreeable to you and the property owner in advance.

At the other end of the spectrum, if it is just a typical 1930's home front yard, then if the homeowner wants to invest $500-$1500 for a decent metal detector, spend a year or two learning how to really use it well, then sure, they can recover and keep the 3 silver dimes worth $5, the Buffalo Nickel worth 10 cents, and some wheat pennies and modern coins in the yard. When asking permission, if a homeowner seriously asks "What's in this for me?" I politely thank them for their time, and move on. Most folks could care less about what is in their yard. They give the ok, and then go back to watching TV or head out to run errands. I do share some of my metal detecting finds with the homeowner IF they are interested, and the coins and relics are of MY choosing. The homeowner would go to their grave never having the motivation or interest in coins or relics until I came along to ask, so I feel that the choice of items to keep are mine for doing the research, having the skill and expertise to locate said items, and having the equipment to safely recover the items.

Of course, detecting is a ton of fun no matter what type we do, but don't sell yourself short in terms of having some great items for YOU to keep for your hard work and efforts! Good luck with your hunt!
 
I echo the "work it out beforehand" sentiment as well. I've been letting folks know ahead of time that I'm not in the business of profiting from my finds HOWEVER should something historically significant or extremely valuable turn up, it's good to have a plan.
 
I will give the land owner any relics/artifacts (except for a CS belt buckle) as I am mainly a coin/jewelry hunter.

I had one lady tell me I could hunt her property but she got everything I found since it belonged to her. I thanked her and told her I would be back That was four years ago and I still have not made it back.

My last good permission I gave the land owner one of each wheat penny by date that I found and also the only Indian head penny. Also a number of items that had been lost by his family. He was very happy.
 
Just sneak the valubles into your pocket, and don't tell!
Just kidding! :D
I think you should just show everything you find to the home owner. If they want to keep anything, then you should just let them have it. Most home owners will let you keep the historic things, and they keep the gold! :lol:
 
I usually give them anything that might relate to the property. Example: I found a heart shaped rosette on a permission once and gave it to the homeowner. Come to find out they had a horse barn down the road (they're young daughter rides horses too) and really loved it. They didnt really care what I found really, but I thought it would be a nice gesture, and it could have belonged to one of her ancestors, seeing the farm was in her families posession for decades. If you are questioning it, I would talk to the homeowner first, just to be safe. Good luck out there!
 
When I go to get a permission, I get that out of the way right off the git go. Like this, "I'll be sure to give you anything that relates to the property that you'd like". 98 % of time they say "I don't care about that or, just show me what you find".
Coins, old coins go in my pocket. I don't consider those germane to a specific property.
 
Thank you all.

Good common sense advice and always good to be polite and fair (unless I find a 3lb gold bar. Then I don't say anything and buy the guys property). :laughing:

All kidding aside, I think photos of my finds will be nice, and anything else i get to keep even better.
 
I don’t get into that kind of thing but if I did...anything identifiable goes back to the person, if possible. I keep anything else, unless it’s a ridiculous situation in which I find a can of gold double eagles or something...even then it’s my discretion.
If I initially ask a homeowner to hunt his yard/field/whatever and it’s a straight YES...I am hunting under the presumption that he knows that I might find something and would likely want to keep it...that’s why I DO it. Furthermore, if he says I can hunt it, another presumption might be that HE has no intention of doing so himself, so he is really out nothing in the end.
Once a person starts getting into “forms” and “contracts” and all that nonsense...I’m out. All of these “gray areas” are why I don’t do it in the first place...
 
I think a lot depends on what you are hunting for. I only hunt civil war artifacts and I tell the land owner what I expect (or hope) to find, and so not to give everything away I ask if they would be interested in having some of the artifacts. I don't know if I would bother hunting property if I had to give them everything I find.
 
My standard is: If I find something valuable we split 50/50. I have dibs on any coins. Anything else they can have. I haul away everything else.

In all the time I have had only 3 people who kept anything and those were minor finds.

If I’m searching for a lost item, I first get a full description of what it is I’m looking for. I do not charge anything so anything else I find I keep. Nobody has objected and think it’s a great deal.
 
Work it out before hand. My attitude is its their property and their stuff in the ground. They’re doing me a favor by letting me do my hobby on their dirt. I don’t do this to make money. I’ll take whatever deal I can get to hunt a nice property. I’m actually shocked at how many people let strangers dig around in their yard and take the money when they leave...😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
 
Roadking52 said:
Who gets to keep what I find?
I do! ;) I can send you my address if you like. :lol:

All kidding aside, I ask to keep what I find before I start detecting. After introducing myself, I usually say something similar to this:

I am very interested in local history, and I noticed that your house has some similar features of other historical properties in the area. I am wondering if I could please metal detect in your yard and see if I can find some things to add to my collections?

This way I am telling them why I am asking (my interest in local history), but the bolded part at the end is the important part where I am saying I want to keep what I find. :D I will show them my finds though. :yes:

Hope this helps! :cool3:
 
Last edited:
Never show the home owner your best find. Recently saw a video where the guy found his first Barber quarter. He was so excited, he showed it to the home owner. It was in lousy shape, but the owner insisted that he wanted it for his grandson (BS story). The digger even offered to pay fair value for the coin, but the weenie home owner just pocketed it. He learned a valuable lesson that day. NEVER show your best find to the home owner!
 
Back
Top Bottom