Owner wants finds

I politely let them know I wasn't interested in new terms and hoped they enjoyed the finds.

They didn't respond, but the acquaintance who sent me over to them blocked me on social media.
 
Wow, goes to show they weren't worth your time. Onward, to better sites and people!
 
Last edited:
well at least you did not loose much.

i got a lake -private property swimming hole permission years ago. it took me years to get the permission. i gave the lady the three gold rings i found first hunt. . one she wears, one she actually gave my step mother who was a friend of hers, and it came back to me after she died, and one she gave back to me as a return..when i researched it, a class ring to an 86 yr old lady, i did in person. i caught some local kids vandalizing her property once too. that was another plus for me.

i have had run of the property ever since, any time. never asks what i find. and most of my best finds come from there. its rare to find anything now, and the property will be turning over soon due to her age and health, forever gone. kiddy church camps dont loose much. and the machines i use pretty much done it in in 20 yrs hunting.

but it paid off! one gold and topaz/diamond ring for a pile of stuff. yep. not a bad deal.
 
Just keep knocking on doors. There are plenty of people who will welcome you without possessive restrictions....
 
I only read the title of your post. For me I wouldn’t detect anywhere that the prerequisite was giving anything to the property owner . I’ve had people give me permission on some amazing looking colonial homesites with the premise they get to look over and take finds they like . I said thanks and never considered detecting . As we say in my neck of the woods “ they can pound sand” .
 
.....I’ve had people give me permission on some amazing looking colonial homesites with the premise they get to look over and take finds they like . I said thanks and never considered detecting . ..

Send those addresses my way. I'll take off work for a week or two and have a great time.
 
Last edited:
I only read the title of your post. For me I wouldn’t detect anywhere that the prerequisite was giving anything to the property owner . I’ve had people give me permission on some amazing looking colonial homesites with the premise they get to look over and take finds they like . I said thanks and never considered detecting . As we say in my neck of the woods “ they can pound sand” .

It wasn't a pre-requisite.
 
I should have emphasized that this is my opinion and is based upon a couple of less then
fun circumstances. One in particular where a friend and me were detecting a permission and and he found an engraved rev war cartridge box plate ; British if I remember correctly and beyond rare.He showed it to the property owner and the guy looked at it and put it in his pocket . No thank you , no can I have it ? no nothing. We picked up and left never to return.
Several years later another detectortist friend unknowingly went to the same place and secured permission . The landowner proceeded to tell him how a few years back a couple of guys found some colonial badge and his wife must have thrown it out out when cleaning out the “junk” drawer. The property owner then says ; if you find another I’d love to have it .
What a but hole .
So I guess to each his own ; but not for me.
 
And .... before anyone gets all worked up. I work hard for my sites most are remote and don’t come easily. All of my finds are placed in site specific display cases with any history I have on the site and it’s occupants. One site for example I found 5 GW inaugural buttons in a couple of square foot area; likely off a discarded garment or from the button holder itself . Very cool. Nothing more fun for me than to go back over the long winter months and enjoy my finds again and again and show them off . Now before you call me a selfish SOB. I never sell my finds and my wife and kids have orders that when I go to the great cellar hole in the sky each of my displays are to be donated to the historical society of the town they were found. At least I hope they won’t end up in the junk drawer to be tossed out.
.
 
Last edited:
And .... before anyone gets all worked up. I work hard for my sites most are remote and don’t come easily. All of my finds are placed in site specific display cases with any history I have on the site and it’s occupants. One site for example I found 5 GW inaugural buttons in a couple of square foot area; likely off a discarded garment or from the button holder itself . Very cool. Nothing more fun for me than to go back over the long winter months and enjoy my finds again and again and show them off . Now before you call me a selfish SOB. I never sell my finds and my wife and kids have orders that when I go to the great cellar hole in the sky each of my displays are to be donated to the historical society of the town they were found. At least I hope they won’t end up in the junk drawer to be tossed out.
.

Interesting food for thought.....I just got my first permission (haven't dug there yet). If the "caretaker" would have told me "sure, leave everything you find on my back porch" I am not sure I would dig there. If he didn't say anything and I showed him what I found and he put it in his pocket with no thanks.....I'd be perturbed. Just my opinion also....
 
I've experienced people wanting me to dump my finds to pick through and claim things. It can be extremely uncomfortable, and often disappointing, so I don't do it.

I've had someone pocket my finds after agreeing to let me keep them, too. The time that stands out was when I was young - it was a good handful of change - less than a dollar, but it took the wind out of my sails.

Giving up some gold rings for unlimited exclusive access to a place that produces good finds for years? That works. Giving a homeowner something relevant to the home or family's history? Also works.
 
I’d give it to him and just leave.You didn’t have nothing that special.
I’m guessing his mind got big and thought he could find good stuff. I’ll bet he Baugh a cheap detector in a yard sale and that’s why the quick aggressive no. I’ll bet his wife was behind it.
Just let it go.
Doug
 
I've experienced people wanting me to dump my finds to pick through and claim things. It can be extremely uncomfortable, and often disappointing, so I don't do it.

I've had someone pocket my finds after agreeing to let me keep them, too. The time that stands out was when I was young - it was a good handful of change - less than a dollar, but it took the wind out of my sails.

Giving up some gold rings for unlimited exclusive access to a place that produces good finds for years? That works. Giving a homeowner something relevant to the home or family's history? Also works.


Agree, it can be uncomfortable and disappointing to dump your finds, but if that was the deal, that was the deal.

If it wasn't, choose to comply or deny the request, but be prepared to accept the response.

My feelings are that if a deal is made, all parties are obligated to comply.

If a party tries to make a change, accept or deny and move on.

I would never hide finds in a special pocket, show only junk, whatever, but that is how i am.

If i ask a farmer for permission on a cornfield and he happens to ask what i'm looking for, i say anything metal and any arrowheads i might come across...

Go ahead. Watch out though, ill be spraying !!!! out there every day this week.....

Hunt a yard? They ask to see what i found? I show it all.

Was there a deal made beforehand about keeping finds?

I would keep it.

No deal beforehand?

Choose your battles wisely.

Some property owners are generous in their permission.

Some seem like they are but turn out to be a$$holes.

Just an aspect of hunting private property.
 
Send those addresses my way. I'll take off work for a week or two and have a great time.

This ^. If someone is kind enough to allow me to hunt a historical property, I am doing it for the prospect of finding things. Would be a happy guy just having found them and document them for my records.
 
For the average home permission, if the owner wants to keep everything I find, I give them a polite "thank you" and leave. Odds are 99.9% they will NEVER detect the yard, and why should I spend hours of my time, the cost of my detector, pinpointer and other gear, the transportation costs to get to the home, and my expertise for nothing. No thank you! Thankfully the vast majority of homeowners here don't care, they give you the "go ahead knock yourself out" yes permission, and go back inside to watch TV.

The other side of the coin is getting the OK detect a historic property such as a Western Fort, historic Daly Mansion, Military grounds, a remote schoolhouse on ranch property, etc... where GOING IN you know that you are like an amateur archeologist and your finds will be recovered, researched and displayed at that facility or local museum. In that case, just the opportunity to detect on such a spot would be an experience well worth it, and I would not need to keep a single thing.
 
Leaving the finds discussion unclear will work in your favor 95% of the time, including times when the owner was assuming they'd get to see or even keep some finds but was never given the chance. That's something to consider when the tables occasionally get turned.

For me, if the owner is on site or is somebody I can reasonably expect to see again outside of metal detecting, then I NEVER assume their silence on the finds topic is the same as disinterest. It's perfectly reasonable for them to assume they'll get to see what I find. Just as reasonable as me assuming they aren't interested.

But, that doesn't mean you have to pull out paper contracts if you're trying to leave yourself the most flexibility. Address the issue indirectly. For example:

Me: "Do you want me to knock on the door before I leave so you know I'm gone?"
Owner: "Don't worry about it. We'll be eating dinner or maybe gone to the store by then."

Or, to a work acquaintance....

Me: "After I get home and get cleaned up do you want me to email you a photo of what I found?"
Owner: "Only if you find a gold ring!"

Perfect. That's as clear as it gets.

But, if they say "Of course! I want to see if you find anything good" and you proceed to hunt without clarifying THAT statement, then you'll eventually get what you deserve.

On the other hand, if it's a property where the owner is a stranger and will NOT be present when I'm done hunting, then I think it's fair to assume they aren't interested in my finds if THEY don't mention it. That doesn't mean I don't ever bring up the topic myself in these situations, because I often do. Every property and property owner is different.
 
I posted theses finds last week under 3 Bucket Listers and I’m willing to give them back to the land owner. As it turns out the person that I talked to about hunting the property was not the current owner. The current owner thinks there might be a liability if I would get hurt on the property. I told him to talk it over with his dad to see what he thinks. They are going to develop the property and I’m willing to detect and give them all the finds just to keep them from never being found. This site goes back to the civil war era and to me it’s the thrill of the hunt. One guy in the area told me to keep everything from his property but I still made him a shadow box with some coins and military items.
 

Attachments

  • 28A2F7C6-9FFC-4629-BFB2-BF700487DAFD.jpg
    28A2F7C6-9FFC-4629-BFB2-BF700487DAFD.jpg
    31.1 KB · Views: 764
My agreement with homeowners is as follows.

If I’m looking for a lost item I must be given a good description so I know when I find it. Also anything that obviously belongs to the owner is returned. In return I get permission to search the whole property and keep anything I find.

If I am given permission to randomly hunt then anything valuable found is a 50/50 split. I call dibs on any coins or tokens. Everything else is theirs. Anything they don’t want I haul away and recycle. Very rarely does anybody want anything but they do want to see it. Either way is fine with me.
 
I detected some land a friend was leasing for his cows. I found confederate infantry button (solid brass shank) , I ask him if he wanted it and he say no you found it. Then five years later he purchased the land and build a house on it , then I ask him again if he wanted it and he still said for me to keep it. So It is my favorite find.
 
Back
Top Bottom