Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Killjoys at it again.

There has been a popular misconception, by USA hunters over the years, that the British system is some sort of "carte blanche". As if there is a lovey-dovey "hand-holding" between archaeologists there, and md'rs. Or that their system allows md'ing anywhere nilly-willy.

But I have always maintained that this is NOT what it is. And that those British guys can NOT waltz nilly-willy into historic sensitive monuments. Instead, 99% of their hunting is on private farmers lands with permission. NOT public land. Well gee, we have that here in the USA already. And : No government intrusion AT ALL ! It's completely between you and farmer Bob how to split it.

The only reason the UK crown has their "nose in the md'rs business", is that over there, unlike here, any wealth in the ground belongs to the crown. So if you find oil on your land, you're not rich like the Beverly hillbillies. Versus over here, if you find a cache on farmer Bob's land, it's TOTALLY BETWEEN YOU AND FARMER BOB how to handle it. And no one is forced to sell to the govt. (at a price the govt. decides whether or not you can keep). We have a wonderful system here to find the "market rate" : It's called (drumroll): Ebay !!

Yet for some reason md'rs wax romantic about the UK system.

And this latest link is something I've been harping on forever, that : We do NOT want "express allowances" (permits, or govt. oversight, or govt. blessings and permission and splits, blah blah). Instead it is much better that it is merely silent on the subject. Presto : Not disallowed :roll: And that the moment you are in some sort of relationship (express allowance) with the govt. then it's only going to be a matter of time before some purist archies get their panties in a wad. And start thinking "gee, do we really want all these yahoos out there digging up the past ?".

Hence the LESS that the government thinks about us, the better. And this latest proposed revisions in the UK are proof of this now. Their system merely meant it was perpetually always on-their-radar as something to monitor, bless, etc....
 
Doug said:
Once again we have members posting misinformation, this also goes for certain media organisations.

My country my laws,
Click to expand...

Doug, I would be happy to have a conversation with you on the UK vs USA laws . And the impact/ramifications on private vs public land in each country re.: Our hobby. Shall we start a dedicated thread ? I would *love* to find out how I am spreading "misinformation".

Or perhaps it's a "little of both" : Some upsides, and some downsides ?

And I am of the opinion that if ever anyone here in the USA ever thought they were going to get any of the upsides exported to here , is the moment that it would only go downhill. Because the moment our hobby gets on the radars of public sector purist archie staff here (who hate md'rs), as something they need to put their .02c into, is the moment you can bet it will go to worse. Not better. Besides : Our private property system affords that whatever's in the ground, belongs to Farmer Bob.

But if I'm still spreading "misinformation", I would very much like to know how. So : Shall we start a dedicated thread ? Your voice is very respected here. Your show -&-tell is drool-worthy . Thus I would very much respect your input into how I am mistaken. Thanx !
 
I know detecting in England and France is a bucket list trip for many U.S. detectorists. I would hate to see it get to the point where it's not worth it to take the trip to detect because there was no allowance to take anything home. Also, I liken some of the rules/laws to the U.S. rules on all things Native on public lands, especially out West.
 
What I find totally unacceptable are the UK laws regarding finds on private property. Even those finds are not safe from the hands of the Crown. They have first dibs on those as well, which would never be tolerated here in the US.
 
FreeBirdTim said:
What I find totally unacceptable are the UK laws regarding finds on private property. Even those finds are not safe from the hands of the Crown. They have first dibs on those as well, which would never be tolerated here in the US.
Click to expand...

I do not think you are current with the laws in Michigan!
 
Beachhunt1 said:
I do not think you are current with the laws in Michigan!
Click to expand...

Huh ? What do any laws in Michigan have to do with finds made on private property there. If Farmer Bob tells Joe Blow he can detect a farm in Michigan, and they find a cache, then : It's totally between the farmer & Joe Blow on how to split or sell it.

Do you have something that says any different ? If so, I would very much like to see it. Thanx.
 
FreeBirdTim said:
They have first dibs on those as well, which would never be tolerated here in the US
Click to expand...

Tom_in_CA said:
Huh ? What do any laws in Michigan have to do with finds made on private property there. If Farmer Bob tells Joe Blow he can detect a farm in Michigan,
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Yes, I guess public being the key word.
"Metal detecting is permissible on public Michigan beaches as of the time of writing. However, if you discover anything of archaeological significance, the state of Michigan has the right to seize it."

So I guess some things are already tolerated in the US.

"while metal detecting in Michigan is that even though metal detecting is legal on public lands, you may only collect modern money, but coins and artifacts more than 100 years old may not be collected."
https://moneyworths.com/metal-detecting-in-michigan/
 
Yeah I read the Michigan laws and they do say you may NOT collect coins older than 100 yrs old. I have been detecting since 87 and have been on numerous detecting forums and not once have I ever heard anyone practice "Catch and Release" metal detecting. If it's designated historical then yes, No Detecting Allowed, and I honor that. If you're hunting private land, then it's between you and the property owner.
 
Beachhunt1 said:
Yes, I guess public being the key word.
"Metal detecting is permissible on public Michigan beaches as of the time of writing. However, if you discover anything of archaeological significance, the state of Michigan has the right to seize it."

So I guess some things are already tolerated in the US.

"while metal detecting in Michigan is that even though metal detecting is legal on public lands, you may only collect modern money, but coins and artifacts more than 100 years old may not be collected."
https://moneyworths.com/metal-detecting-in-michigan/
Click to expand...

Beachunt -1, let's dissect your post one item at a time :

You say : " ...Yes, I guess public being the key word...."

Yes : Freebird Tom & I were discussing UK vs USA, re.: Private property (which, after all, is where 99% of UK hunting occurs at). Thus the pro/con wasn't about "public" in the first place.

And BTW: Trust me : In the UK, their "public" lands have all sorts of wonderful verbiage in their parks and beaches too. They have off-limits historic public monuments too. So their system isn't any sort of carte blanche for detecting.
 
And, although it's a departure from the UK/USA md'ing laws issue, Let's take a look at what you said about Michigan :

You say the rule there is : "Metal detecting is permissible on public Michigan beaches as of the time of writing. However, if you discover anything of archaeological significance, the state of Michigan has the right to seize it."

Dude, that''s not just Michigan, that's EVERY SPECK OF PUBLIC LAND in the entire USA. And it's not just items of "significance", it's ANY and EVERY item. Because : It's covered under boiler plate language (that exists for every single park, school, beach, forest, etc...) that forbids : "Harvest" and/or "removal" . Could such language apply to us ? (we "remove" things after all) SURE !! (just keep asking long enough and hard enough) But *does* it ever get applied as such ? OF COURSE NOT !

But I'm just saying that if you want to stand on one foot and squint real hard at why you should never metal detect , you can always find reasons to never leave your front door in the morning.
 
Another way you "can't keep anything of value in the USA" is our lost & found laws (which exist in all 50 states). *Technically* if you find an item over a certain value (various criteria like $100, or $250 value, etc...) then technically you are supposed to turn those items in to the police. Now could that technically apply to rings we find on the beach ? (which have been there for years) SURE !! But realistically does it ever apply to us ? OF COURSE NOT.
 
beachhunt-1, You say : "... So I guess some things are already tolerated in the US....."

This ^ ^ is an odd way to think of md'ing. It assumes that md'ing is somehow wrong or harmful, such that other people (govt.) need to "tolerate" it. Ie.: The statement STARTS with the implied premise that we should assume we're doing something wrong. And then seek to find out if the powers-that-be "tolerate" it. Why this notion ? Why think of md'ing in that light ?

99.999% of passerbys don't give 2 sh#ts about us & md'ing. In fact, it's completely the opposite reaction I get : People come up and ask "what's the best thing you've ever found" and "how deep does it go", etc.... So why this notion that we need to be "tolerated" or given express allowance ?

The only time powers-that-be start to meddle their business in our affairs (and "tolerate" us) is when WE go swatting hornets nests (or if you're snooping into obvious historic sensitive monuments).
 
You link says : "while metal detecting in Michigan is that even though metal detecting is legal on public lands, you may only collect modern money, but coins and artifacts more than 100 years old may not be collected."

Now you're talking about federal level ARPA. And various states usually have their own "cultural heritage" language for their respective state parks. And does not *necessarily* subrogate down to county and city lands for example.

And I got news for you : While verbiage exists, (BLM, NFS, and boiler plate in state parks), yet : *Realistically* it is applied only to protect obvious off-limits historic themed monuments and sites.

So for example, I'm sure that CA state parks likewise has similar verbiage. And since our state park beaches are administered by that same park's dept, then *technically* the rules apply there too. And mind you : 90% of our coastline is state park beaches (and you can detect all you want). Ok, now you tell me : Do you think that any of us are finding 101 + yr. old coins ? Do you think anyone has ever carded any of us, armed with a pocket calculator, to do the math on the ages of coins we find ? OF COURSE NOT !

The language was only ever meant to keep people from snooping at obvious off-limits monuments. Yet : *could* the language be construed to apply to the 1890 V nickel I *might* have just found 2 days ago on the benign ocean beach ? SURE ! But does anyone really care ? OF COURSE NOT . Moral of the story = ??
 
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