Metal Detectorists - sharing finds....how?

Naw, done that ...ain't gonna do that again. Besides I'm talking about peoples yards.

I'm sure there's a boilerplate permission form for something like this.

Research the property ahead of time to find out who the property owner is. Make sure the person you get permission from is the owner of the property, and have them sign something to that effect. Ask for permission and ensure the owner that their yard will be in the same condition as it was prior to you entering the property. If they say no, offer the owner a % share of any profits of the findings

Be wary of underground utilities, sprinklers, septic, etc...if you damage them, you're liable

Make sure to take before and after pictures of the condition of the dig areas. Take pictures of any finds and where you found them.

Essentially, do your homework on the properties, have your terms in writing and have them signed & fingerprinted by the owner. Then document anything and everything you alter in their yard.





Take this with a grain of salt. I have no experience whatsoever in this field, but most of this is common sense

I’m thinking it depends a lot on the age of the house, and it there was a house there before. You hunt a house built in the 50s you’re gonna find 40 and 50s coins.

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Never heard of anyone doing any of that

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Well, you asked. And if you want to keep what you find on someone else’s property, you better have some sort of documentation

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Well, you asked. And if you want to keep what you find on someone else’s property, you better have some sort of documentation

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When I was in school at Auburn I went to an archeological meeting of people who hunted arrowheads and artifacts. They were talking about a case around Rome Georgia where some people were trespassing on a guys farm and found a Spanish sword that was associated with the Hernando De Soto exploration of 1540. Researchers determined the sword was made in Spain about 1520. The landowner laid claim to it but a judge ruled that the people who found it could keep it even though they were trespassing when they found it.

Edit: found a picture of it.

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How the fuque does a judge come to that decision???

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The people that found it loaned it to a museum and the museum contacted the landowner where it was found. The landowner was under the impression that the state was going to determine ownership and it rocked on for a few years before the landowner decided to seek ownership on his own. By that time the statute of limitations had ran out. Which I think was only 4 years.

To detect at a house, the easiest way is to knock on the door and ask. You can improve your odds if you make the homeowner a little curious by sharing some local history and what kind of things you might find. You should offer to show the owner everything you find and let them keep anything they want - your fun comes in the finding, not the keeping. If you get permission at one house, you can drop that guy’s name with the neighbors at their houses.

There was a guy who found an item, I think a watch fob, at the site of Zachary Taylor’s house near downtown. It had Taylor’s name on it. The guy knew he was in a pickle because he was hunting there without permission and would get in trouble when word got out. He worked out a deal where he gave it to a local historian who gave it to the appropriate people.