The Folly of Detecting Without Permission!

Battlecry4 · Dec 29, 2012

In England there have been a number of instances where people, often at night and on sites which have what is termed, an "Ancient Monument Schedule" have been arrested by the police.Trespassing and using a metal detector in such circumstances has resulted in prosecution,confiscation of a equipment,a hefty fine and even depending on the circumstances imprisonment!My advice to any beginner in the hobby is to always seek permission and create a written agreement,then there should be no come back!
My grandfather used to say to me,"son if you don't ask you don't get"! That philosophy has stood me in good stead over the years.
Out of all the requests to search land during my 20 years detecting,I have only had two nos and both of those were polite declines.

What has been your experience? :cuss:

Topdecker · Dec 29, 2012

My experience is that it is wrong and that it often creates barriers for other detectorists to overcome. I know of at least one local-to-me hobbiest that has caused quite a bit of trouble through the years... Amazing how damaging one jerk can be.

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Milhaus · Dec 29, 2012

It's funny because at first glace it seems like England would be a place where finding places to hunt would be a serious problem due to dense and longstanding private land ownership. I guess that is where the treasure trove law helps.

In the U.S. land rights and attitudes have been contentious from the beginning, people are guarded and suspicious. Plus our laws delineating finders/owners rights are just plain terrible.

Battlecry4 · Dec 29, 2012

Milhaus,
There is no real problem! Just be like a boy scout "be prepared"! A friendly confident well organized approach with any documentation ready and land well researched."The Treasure Act 1996" doesn't create a barrier! The landowner gains in a 50%-50% split with the finder and The National Heritage benefits with great finds. After all who is going to say 'no' to a share of a couple of million?

Milhaus · Dec 29, 2012

Exactly, here it is much different. If an item is found on private property it is always 100% owned by the land owner. If we ask an owner to hunt their land, it is almost always a gentleman's agreement with implied permission to keep whatever is found unless they say otherwise. They can change their mind at any time.

Battlecry4 · Dec 29, 2012

Milhaus,
I am probably going to put my next custom into a 'New Thread',but this is the gist! Develop a psychological approach.Create a "Free Recovery Service"! I use a small card with my details and benefits of the service.These are then positioned in places like libraries,schools,offices and even police stations. Most people have lost sentimental or valuable possessions.It opens doors and returned items grateful thanks from the owner.

tater · Dec 29, 2012

I have been turned down VERY few times when i ask for permission. I think it is because they think there is nothing to be found but i like proving them wrong!

Dark Chameleon · Dec 29, 2012

In england unlike america you dont own whats under your own feet...even if you find stuff on your own land it doesnt matter, the country can force it out from under you if you go public....this has created a secret gray market in finds.

You cant have oil rights, gold rights, etc in england...it used to be you owned the top 6" of your land and the rest was owned by the state, if you have a pond and by some freakish accident you ended up with a sturgeon in it then that belongs to the queen, not you even if you own the land and the pond.

The midnight pickers are the bain of archeology in england..it would be like thieving from gettesburg...when you read about hordes found in britain its a closely guarded secret because these vultures will pick over a site at 2am and its very difficult to prove they did it unless caught in the act.

I think they are the lowest scum there is and i hope every one of them falls head first onto an iron age blade...they deserve it

Battlecry4 · Dec 29, 2012

Dark Chameleon'
A strong viewpoint! But you are right in most instances! Only items containing 10% of precious metal or more and are over 300 years are declarable.This also applies to silver and gold coins if there are two or more! As far as not owning what's under my feet! I am going to be flippant,I do own my shoes. Sorry! Only joking!

karel · Jan 8, 2013

Here you don't need any permission. Just couple of prohibit places such as archeologic sites. Otherwise you can hunt wood and fields freely.

Armistead · Jan 8, 2013

I'm surprised we don't have government officials trolling here seeking info to come confiscate our finds. I don't know how much it's happened, but I know of two cases of MD's posting caches or nice historical finds, only to have a state official showing up. We had a lady here find a oar from the 1800's washed up on a river bank, she talked about it, ended up in our local paper, later taken by the State.

nostalgia083 · Jan 8, 2013

Armistead said:
I'm surprised we don't have government officials trolling here seeking info to come confiscate our finds. I don't know how much it's happened, but I know of two cases of MD's posting caches or nice historical finds, only to have a state official showing up. We had a lady here find a oar from the 1800's washed up on a river bank, she talked about it, ended up in our local paper, later taken by the State.

Hunting on lands that don't belong to you without permission or that's prohibited I can respect and agree with not hunting on.
But to hunt on land that's yours or land with no ownership, it should be no different than finding something valuable in the trash.

If it was thrown away, it doesn't belong to the person anymore and if you find it, it's yours to keep.
It should be the same with md'ing. If you hadn't found it, it just waste away in the ground.

They didn't care about finding the stuff themselves to preserve them in the name of 'heritage, God and country'.
They want you to do all the work and spend all the time finding the stuff, only to have to give it over to them.
Just another form of robbery.

dogpound · Jan 8, 2013

Armistead said:
I'm surprised we don't have government officials trolling here seeking info to come confiscate our finds. I don't know how much it's happened, but I know of two cases of MD's posting caches or nice historical finds, only to have a state official showing up. We had a lady here find a oar from the 1800's washed up on a river bank, she talked about it, ended up in our local paper, later taken by the State.

a prime reason why i'd never disclose any cashe found.........i don't kiss and tell :lol:

Gene68 · Jan 13, 2013

I wonder how many hoards of money and caches have been found and not reported over the years for that reason. I bet alot of caches that r being searched for r long gone.

The Folly of Detecting Without Permission!

Battlecry4

Topdecker

Milhaus

Elite Member

Battlecry4

Milhaus

Elite Member

Battlecry4

tater

Elite Member

Dark Chameleon

Elite Member

Battlecry4

karel

Elite Member

Armistead

Senior Member

nostalgia083

Full Member

dogpound

THE JUICE

Gene68

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