Always check the rules....

AlienLifeForm

Bronze Member
Jan 31, 2010
1,589
2,337
DFW Texas
Detector(s) used
Minelab E-TRAC, Garrett ProPointer, Lesche Digger
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Pro-Tip: Don't visit countries where bacon isn't on the menu.
 

ChampFerguson/TN

Bronze Member
Nov 22, 2013
1,181
1,620
TN
Detector(s) used
Minelab Safari .......... Minelab Excalibur II ....... ........Minelab CTX 3030
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
In before Tom!


ALF said it best. My days of slumming the world are over. 1st world nations only for me now.
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2

haha brooklyn digger (and champ-F :)) I bet I can find a similar article about someone detecting and/or finding old coins in the USA too. There will ALWAYS be a fluke article on some overzealous airport person or ranger, etc... How about this one from the USA : Guy ticketed for driving while eating a Big-Mac.

Sure, some places you "don't throw caution to the wind". There's other ways to get coins shipped back home (if they don't pass off in your underwear compartment of your luggage, or in your change with your car keys). For example you buy something from a vendor (like a roll-up rug, an instrument, etc....). And you merely ask the vendor in that country "can you please enclose this with the package?"

It may surprise some that there is actually metal detector dealers in Turkey. A buddy of mine was wandering the streets of a big city in Turkey, and actually saw a sign in a shop window that they were a Whites dealer-ship. Anyhow, it's just like here: Just know the P's & Q's of where you are. The same can be said of anywhere. Even the USA. And there will ALWAYS be fluke stories, even in the USA, Britain, etc...
 

Attachments

  • 2015-01-23 05.08.09.jpg
    2015-01-23 05.08.09.jpg
    153.9 KB · Views: 56

Mzjavert

Silver Member
Oct 7, 2011
2,780
2,747
Indiana
Detector(s) used
Bounty Hunter Mark IV
Garrett Ace 350
Garrett Carrot
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
He probably should have mentioned the coins at customs.
 

Xraywolf

Silver Member
Feb 28, 2005
3,576
4,360
MI USA
Detector(s) used
Ace 400, AT Pro, equinox 800, Simplex,Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
He probably should have mentioned the coins at customs.

Another easy way: There are coin dealers in Turkey. Just like in ANY country, there are coin-collectors who buy & sell. I just did a quick "yellow pages" type-search right now, and see several brick & mortar stores to-be-found in the bigger cities. Ok, if you bought something from one of them, the presto: lineage of existing , rather than "dug". I'm sure there's a buy-sell way to get a "receipt" for your stuff that you bought as souvenirs .

At one time I communicated with a seller located in Turkey, who had some ancient Turkish coins. I asked him if he could ship to the USA (posing as a potential bidder). He said "yes". Then .... playing the devil's advocate ... I asked "isn't there laws to forbid ancient coins from leaving the borders?" He said that as long as their "souvenirs", (and you're not "digging" them) them, then in that case, trinkets (aka souvenirs) come and go through the mail no problem.

I posted this Turkish coin-seller exchange on an old T'net thread on the subject of Turkey, and was told that the coins I was looking at are no doubt "replicas". And that *if* they were truly old coins, then the seller was mistaken. Ok, then what's so hard about having a coin-dealer write you a writ stating "replicas" , for in case anyone cares to scrutinize your luggage ?

Who knows ? I just know that a buddy of mine, walking the streets of Istanbul, saw a Whites dealer logo decal in the window of a shop. He peaked his head in the door and saw a few detectors on the wall. Thus locals can indeed buy detectors. Presumably for legal purposes. I suppose the argument could then be made that "yeah but you can't leave the country with anything" ? The debate would be endless.
 

coinman123

Silver Member
Feb 21, 2013
4,659
5,768
New England, Somewhere Metal Detecting in the Wood
🥇 Banner finds
2
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Teknetics T2 SE (DST)
Spare Teknetics T2 SE (backup)
15" T2 coil
Pro-Pointer
Bounty Hunter Pioneer 202
Fisher F2
Fisher F-Point
Primary Interest:
Other
9 out of 10 people who found a jar of 1000 year old coins would have done what he did. I would have for sure. He didn't steal them or trespass, but found them. Fair game in my opinion. Just my two cent piece.
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
9 out of 10 people who found a jar of 1000 year old coins would have done what he did. I would have for sure. He didn't steal them or trespass, but found them. Fair game in my opinion. Just my two cent piece.

And so-too was there the oft-circulated link of some dude who (supposedly) found a traveller trunk in death-valley, stashed in some cave. Dated to the emigrant-trail days when the desert SW CA trail had a fork/option that passed through death valley. Getting beyond the dispute of whether-or-not the trunk was true period or not: The finder got chastised for daring to have touched or disturbed it (he hiked it back down out of the hills at attempted to show it to historians/archies).

Thus as you can see, there is NO SHORTAGE of fluke "gripe" stories, from anywhere on earth. That ... if taken to it's logical skittish "what if?" extremes, can be construed to talk you out of md'ing just about anywhere. Yet as we all know (using the USA story as an example), that if you practice some easy P's & Q's (and don't make yourself the easy subject of flukes) , then ..... oh well.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top