Myers Depot Metal Detectors

A funny archie story

Tom_in_CA

Tom_in_CA

Elite Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2013
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Years ago, someone posted this encounter. It bears repeating.

Some dude was metal detecting on an east coast beach. I forget which particular beach, and/or which particular entity. But whatever beach it was, was NOT an issue for md'ing (ie.: not disallowed).

The md'r was minding his own business detecting. Some passerby pedestrian lady stopped and watched him for a few moments. Then she went over and chastised him up and down. Read him the riot act citing some sort of cultural heritage verbiage. She was harping on him that it was not allowed to find 'artifacts', or some such rant.

When the md'r realized he was talking to an archie, he gleefully opened up his apron and showed her that all he had was modern coins. (which was, in fact, true). And that it was not disallowed. The lady collected herself, and went back into deep thought, trying to figure out a proper response to the the md'rs reply.

So she then says to him: "Well maybe they're not "artifacts" now, but in another 100 yrs, they will have been old. And you have just robbed future generations of learning about their past." :roll:

I forget how the md'r handled her at that point. But as you can probably surmise, there's no winning an argument with this type. Even if he could have prevailed in this debate-of-wits, she could merely move on to some other objection. Eg.: bothering sand crabs, or L&F laws, etc.... There's simply no winning.

Fortunately, these types are probably only 1 in a million.
 
:laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:

......he could have replied with a smile and said, so if YOU drop coins or your ring in the sand you need to leave it there too ? :laughing:

......when you said a funny "archie" story THIS came to mind :laughing:

https://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?p=3105162#post3105162

Mudhead_comics.jpg
 
GKL said:
:laughing:....
Click to expand...


Before the era of the internet, you would have been a highly paid cartoonist for major newspapers. Right along side Beetle Bailey, The Far Side, Dilbert, Hagar, etc..... But now with the age of the internet, no one buys newspapers. And we get your cartoons for free ! You were born 30 to 40 yrs. too late to capitalize on your calling :shock:
 
Tom_in_CA said:
Before the era of the internet, you would have been a highly paid cartoonist for major newspapers. Right along side Beetle Bailey, The Far Side, Dilbert, Hagar, etc..... But now with the age of the internet, no one buys newspapers. And we get your cartoons for free ! You were born 30 to 40 yrs. too late to capitalize on your calling :shock:
Click to expand...

:laughing: technically not a "cartoonist" myself though as I usually edit and modify comics and photos that already exist rather than create things from scratch :lol:
 
Funny story thanks for sharing. :lol: Yeah I don’t understand the mentality of folks who say stuff like that. How dare you dig up old coins and relics on allowed public property! “Just leave it in the ground and let it rot until the end of time”. Yeah a lot of good that does. :roll:
 
And how would future generations benefit if no one should ever dig them?
 
What's really frustrating is knowing that most of what the archies are finding is going into climate controlled stacks/shelves/cupboards where it will never be seen again by the general public.

I was watching a PBS special on Dick Proenneke, the guy who spent 30 some years mostly alone in the wilderness of Alaska from the 60's to the 90's. The State has taken most of his original belongings and "filed" them away. You can see them "by appointment" only. You can tour his self-built cabin, but most of the homemade stuff in the cabin now is nothing but replicas of the originals. Go figure!
 
Silverhorse65 said:
....where it will never be seen again by the general public.....
Click to expand...

Well, to the museums/archie's defense : You have to realize that display space is limited. And the massive amounts of stuff that archies have dug, and things that are donated, is immense.

And to be fair, a lot of it would be boring to the general public. And there's not a lot of $$ in running museums. And they often operate with volunteer docent labor. And in order to be "consistent" with their museum layout plan. Ie.: a lot of thought goes into the floor plan, displays, dossiers, etc.... They can't keep rotating displays all the time, with each new nail, or bullet, or button, or bone, etc.... that archie's find. Nor each new item that gets donated.

Museums are perpetually getting sincere community members bringing in stuff, that the well-meaning citizen is utterly convinced is pertinent, should be displayed, is important, etc.... And museums don't want to risk offending these well-meaning people. So they accept the donations, and .... as you suggest, disappears. That's no fault of the museum. They simply have to prioritize their resources, staff, space-to-display, etc...

And if the museum floor plan and items were perpetually changed, then it would lack consistency for the script of the docent guides.

Which should therefore absolve anyone's guilt here, for putting your items on YOUR OWN mantle place. Because unless it's earth-shattering, then the odds of getting your seated dime, or button, etc.... to get displayed, is gonna be rare.
 
Remember the song "Everything's Archie" ???🤣...YouTube it
 
GLASSHOPPER1955 said:
Nowadays, our history is VERY well documented.

It's quite different than how it was before we had all this media.

These Archies can go suck an egg.:D
Click to expand...

You're right. History will rarely be changed by what we find. There is not a single bit of added history if you find a 1945 mercury dime at a campground in Yellowstone. Or a 3-ringer from one of the off-limits CW sites, etc.... All that would tell you is that "people camped here in the 1940s, or that a battle occurred here. All of which is already known.

I realize the archies will have their "canned line responses" to you and me. And the ping-pong-match of wits ensues.

The reality is, that even the most WELL-FUNDED archies and school-archie programs , will be doing good to dig just a few 6 ft. square pits in an entire summer. Meaning that for them to dig an entire battlefield, or all of yellowstone, would take a million years. It's simply never going to happen. And yes, I realize the archies have their "canned retorts" to this too.

So the best advise is : The less they think of us, the better. There's no winning the debate. So ya give lip service, and avoid them. Fortunately, these purist types , as a ratio to the population, are something like 1 in a million. So your odds of ever running into them, are rare-to-never.
 
GLASSHOPPER1955 said:
Nowadays, our history is VERY well documented......
Click to expand...


And to whatever extent history actually truly IS changed by what md'rs find (ie.: something that "wasn't documented" prior to that), then here's what I have to say about that : If it HADN'T been for the md'r finding it, then let's be totally honest: The archies would NEVER have found it.

There's actually a lot of md'rs who do indeed write books (and make posts, etc...) that do indeed add to our understanding of history, that makes its way into history books eventually. So for example : When the archie sector needs to identify a button, who do they turn to ? Those evil private sector hobbyist diggers, who have indeed written books, web-links, etc....

So if anything, they ought to be giving us a giant debt of gratitude !
 
I still read and collect Archie Digest magazines and probably have over a thousand of them. I have read several pieces where they use a metal detector to find and return items that they have found. If anyone has any they don't want send them my way.
 
Tom_in_CA said:
So she then says to him: "Well maybe they're not "artifacts" now, but in another 100 yrs, they will have been old. And you have just robbed future generations of learning about their past." :roll:
Click to expand...

Some people can come up with quite interesting perspectives! :lol:
 
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