Norway

My girlfriend lives there and it’s a beautiful country. I’ve been there a few times now. Have fun.

You can detect anywhere you want - mostly. By august a lot of crops will be harvested, and so the fields will be detectable. If you turn out to be not welcome, a polite “please leave” is about the worst you can expect.

Stay away from marked historic or archaeological sites and you would be alright.

If you find anything older than about 1650, it is the property of the Norwegian people. Needs to be reported and handed in to the local museum. Norwegians are completely OK with that - it is their common history and they don’t want it ending up in somebody’s dresser drawer or n a garage sale after you kick the bucket./

lytle78 said:

....

If you find anything older than about 1650, it is the property of the Norwegian people. Needs to be reported and handed in to the local museum. Norwegians are completely OK with that - it is their common history and they don’t want it ending up in somebody’s dresser drawer or n a garage sale after you kick the bucket./

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Seriously ? Even finds on private property ??

If the Norwegian archies get bombarded with perpetual trinkets and coins, that predate 1650 (Tons of which have zero value and zero history), I can only imagine that it would only be a matter-of-time before they would make-it-simple and just propose for a law to prohibit metal detectors.

By having md'rs perpetually trotting in with items, makes sure that it's "perpetually on their radar as something to have to deal with". Ie.: puts it front and center in their craw all the time.

And when I say "zero value and zero history": Take, for example Britain : As any UK hunter will tell you, there are fields where ...... to get multiple coins from older-than 1650, is sometimes like shooting fish in a barrel. Heck, some of them don't even bother looking at the dates of common coppers from the 1500 & 1600s. Or the buttons or doohickies that might be that old. That's like IH's or V nickels here in the USA. No big deal. In the UK therefore, the only time you have to "turn anything in", is when it's like a hoard, or a solid gold sword, etc...

If Norway truly has such a law , for "everything older than 1650", then I can guarantee you that it will only be a matter of time, before all md'ing is abolished.

Reminds me of the permit that the city of New York issued for their parks : There was actually small print provision, that any items of value were to be turned in to the city. At the end of a year or two, the city personnel in charge of this was asked if any items had been brought in. The person could only think of a few rings or coins or something. Despite all the permits that were issued. Gee, I guess those NY guys never find anything of value, eh ?

Tom, you are dead wrong in your speculations.

The situation in Norway is pretty much the same as in Denmark (not surprising since they were united for about 600 years). The main difference is that Norway's finds are way less common and spectacular than those in Denmark. I hunted in Norway a lot when I lived there and the oldest coin I found was from the 1700's - Norway was poor and folks were careful with their coins.

The law is clear and ancient. Here it is in Danish

“Finner en mand sølv eller guld ..da skal kongen have det”

If a man finds silver or gold, it is the king’s property -

Nowadays, it’s the Nation’s property. This is from the first written Danish constitution from about 1200. The Property is called “Danefæ” - this means “dead mans goods”. No owner known.

In both countries metal detecting is flourishing and expanding. The vast majority of detectorists believe that they are engaged in uncovering and documenting their common heritage. My friend in Denmark showed me over 100 items he had bagged and labeled ready to hand over to the local museum - this represented a year’s detecting. Especially significant items had been reported and handed in more or less immediately after discovery.

In Denmark a book has been published recently by the National Museum. I contains hundreds of pictures of the amazing treasures unearthed by a amateur historians (the detectorists consider themselves to be serious amateur historians).



Is the system perfect? No. Is metal detecting going to be forbidden in Norway or Denmark? The answer is no. Also, if the find is declared to be state property, the finder and the landowner divide a cash award (tax free - a big deal in Scandinavia)

lytle78 said:

...The law is clear ....

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Then this basically amounts to the UK system where : Wealth in the ground (oil, minerals, treasures, etc....) "belong to the crown". However, in the UK, if you find a singular coin from 1649 or older , no one cares, and no one goes "trotting off to the nearest archie". The only time they declare anything , is if you're talking something like a cache, or singular unique item (gold sword, etc...). There is no magical age-cutoff, etc...

So if the law is as-you-say (I won't dispute) in Norway, and if there were frequent finds that get turned in, that some archie has to do paperwork over to process, study, catalog, etc...., then it's as I say :

I'll bet that it's only a matter of time before the entire country gets a "no md'ing" law.

For example: Consider the city's in the USA that ever had the bright idea to invent a metal detecting permit for their parks : You will often notice that .... those very same cities, years later, implement a ban on md'ing their parks. Ie.: they revoke the "permit" system entirely. Why ? Because the mere fact that it's on-their list of things-to-do , means it's perpetually on-their-radar of something they have to think about. Ie.: the annual review by city-council of permit system income. Ie.: someone has to issue them, collect the fees, answer questions, etc....

Therefore, sure-as-heck, one year someone's going to ask: "Gee, do we really want to have all these yahoos in our parks digging up the turf and taking away our past ?". So too can that psychology occur on a nation-wide system.

Especially when/if it involves archies (who have to possibly view each item). Since archies often CRINGE at the thought of "mere mortals" digging up the past, and ripping things from context, blah blah. Then sure as heck, that archie on the govt. payroll will bring up a proposed law, at some future legislation meeting.

Maybe it's as you say, and no one is finding stuff that old. Maybe no one is trotting into their local police stations and govt. offices with dirty trinkets and coins to occupy their time. I would just have assumed that .... like the UK ... that 1650 would be child's play for dates-of-objects.

I just spent 2 months in Norway. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with and detect a bit with Severin Eskeland, one of the largest metal detector dealers in Norway. Business is good, lots of folks detect, they all know the rules and they are proud to be contributing to the body of knowledge of their common history.

There is a guy in North Norway who is practically single handedly re-writing the history and extent of Iron Age and Viking Era settlement in the far north. He posts on a couple of forums as Mr. Tell.

Their whole culture is very different than ours here in the US. Personal gain by hard work is encouraged and rewarded - there are a good number of Norwegian Billionaires. But personal gain is not allowed to damage the public good without limits. The old law about treasure being the Sovereign’s is now serving well to keep metal detecting for antiquities on track as a part of the discovery and documentation of their own history.

I claim some actual expertise here. I speak Norwegian fluently (if with somewhat fractured grammar), I read the newspapers (they still have those and they read them) as well as various Norwegian news websites. I follow the activities on Nordic detector forums and have been a member of the largest club in Denmark.

Tom, you very often share the many, many things you know a lot about and I very much appreciate that. About this - with respect - you know very little.

Again - with respect.

lytle78 said:

I just spent 2 months in Norway. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with and detect a bit with Severin Eskeland, one of the largest metal detector dealers in Norway. Business is good, lots of folks detect, they all know the rules and they are proud to be contributing to the body of knowledge of their common history.

There is a guy in North Norway who is practically single handedly re-writing the history and extent of Iron Age and Viking Era settlement in the far north. He posts on a couple of forums as Mr. Tell.

Their whole culture is very different than ours here in the US. Personal gain by hard work is encouraged and rewarded - there are a good number of Norwegian Billionaires. But personal gain is not allowed to damage the public good without limits. The old law about treasure being the Sovereign’s is now serving well to keep metal detecting for antiquities on track as a part of the discovery and documentation of their own history.

I claim some actual expertise here. I speak Norwegian fluently (if with somewhat fractured grammar), I read the newspapers (they still have those and they read them) as well as various Norwegian news websites. I follow the activities on Nordic detector forums and have been a member of the largest club in Denmark.

Tom, you very often share the many, many things you know a lot about and I very much appreciate that. About this - with respect - you know very little.

Again - with respect.

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I wouldn’t feed into Tom’s trolling too much. His negativity and argumentativeness are why I’ve actually quit coming to this page. He won’t stop until you do. Thank you for the information. I appreciate it.

Chris

CJ319 said:

I wouldn’t feed into Tom’s trolling too much. His negativity and argumentativeness are why I’ve actually quit coming to this page. He won’t stop until you do. Thank you for the information. I appreciate it.



Chris

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Glad it’s not just me. I realize it’s not true for everyone, but he doesn’t need the “in CA”. We could tell.


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Nailfinder85 said:

Glad it’s not just me. I realize it’s not true for everyone, but he doesn’t need the “in CA”. We could tell.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Haha! I think that same thing every time I see his name.

The 1650 thing is true, my girlfriend has yet to find anything that old but has found stuff close. From what she has told me you need to get permission to hunt on farms and right now they almost all have crops growing. Beaches and forests are ok to hunt as long as it's not a historic site.

Jamflicker said:

The 1650 thing is true, ....

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I don't doubt that it's true either. Might even apply to private property too .

The only thing I was commenting on, is that if the persons tasked with over-seeing such things (probably archie types), would ... I imagine ... ultimately ask themselves "Gee, do we really want these yahoos out there digging up the past ?"

This psychology can be seen in the fact of how "permit systems" (that were ever dreamed up by individual USA cities) have often been entirely revoked, years later. And the reason is: The perpetual "on the radar" as something that needs to be processed, approved, inquiries, etc.... Then sure as heck, one year, when it's up for annual review, someone envisions people "robbing the past" or "digging up the turf", and revokes it altogether. In which case, you can see, that it would be better if we were "out of sight thus out of mind".

Wasn't saying that it wasn't possibly a legit and true law. So on that note: What about scraps of metal ? Buttons ? etc.. ? If they are perceived to be "older than 1650", are those turned in too ? Or is it just coins ?

If there's simply not stuff that old being found there, then I guess it's all a moot point. Ie.: no one's burdening the archies with a constant parade of trinkets and coins coming in perhaps.

Tom_in_CA said:

I don't doubt that it's true either. Might even apply to private property too .

The only thing I was commenting on, is that if the persons tasked with over-seeing such things (probably archie types), would ... I imagine ... ultimately ask themselves "Gee, do we really want these yahoos out there digging up the past ?"

This psychology can be seen in the fact of how "permit systems" (that were ever dreamed up by individual USA cities) have often been entirely revoked, years later. And the reason is: The perpetual "on the radar" as something that needs to be processed, approved, inquiries, etc.... Then sure as heck, one year, when it's up for annual review, someone envisions people "robbing the past" or "digging up the turf", and revokes it altogether. In which case, you can see, that it would be better if we were "out of sight thus out of mind".

Wasn't saying that it wasn't possibly a legit and true law. So on that note: What about scraps of metal ? Buttons ? etc.. ? If they are perceived to be "older than 1650", are those turned in too ? Or is it just coins ?

If there's simply not stuff that old being found there, then I guess it's all a moot point. Ie.: no one's burdening the archies with a constant parade of trinkets and coins coming in perhaps.

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The permit thing seems stupid and I am glad there aren't any city down here that I know of that require them. In Norway, I wonder how many people really turn over what they find if it is older than 1650. They may have the rules to protect any Viking era artifacts that could be unearthed more than anything. Good point about buttons and scraps of metal, no idea on that stuff but I know on club hunts they sometimes have archeologist there to date things.

Jamflicker said:

..... In Norway, I wonder how many people really turn over what they find if it is older than 1650. .....

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Repent of your evil musings. After all, there are archies there, who hide behind trees and in the bushes. Waiting to jump out of hiding and check the dates on all the stuff you find. They sort through the contents of your apron, checking the dates of everything you've found. And cuff you if you fail to notice a date older than 1650. Tsk tsk.

Hey Jamflicker, let's do this test for your Southern CA parks : I will call city halls, in the various cities of parks you hunt. And I will ask them : "Is it ok that Jamflicker takes objects, from the park, for his own enrichment ? Or don't those old coins belong in the city museum ? Oh, and by the way, he *digs* in the turf to get to them". Then let's sit back and wait for the answer. I'll bet you dollars to donuts that I can find someone to say that you need to turn over all items of value. And that you can't dig in the turf.

How can you be so cruel and lawless Jamflicker ??

Tom_in_CA said:

Repent of your evil musings. After all, there are archies there, who hide behind trees and in the bushes. Waiting to jump out of hiding and check the dates on all the stuff you find. They sort through the contents of your apron, checking the dates of everything you've found. And cuff you if you fail to notice a date older than 1650. Tsk tsk.

Hey Jamflicker, let's do this test for your Southern CA parks : I will call city halls, in the various cities of parks you hunt. And I will ask them : "Is it ok that Jamflicker takes objects, from the park, for his own enrichment ? Or don't those old coins belong in the city museum ? Oh, and by the way, he *digs* in the turf to get to them". Then let's sit back and wait for the answer. I'll bet you dollars to donuts that I can find someone to say that you need to turn over all items of value. And that you can't dig in the turf.

How can you be so cruel and lawless Jamflicker ??

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Don't you dare or else I may be forced to come north of the SB line and detect.