Question about turning in finds to the government.

[Dave Rishar]

So I was reading old banner finds, and saw a coin spill in England and the finder said he was going to turn the coins in instead of keeping them. I wanted to ask how and why do folks in certain different countries turn in the Coins they find? Then what's the point of detecting? Like are the feds going to search your house if you keep them?

It's not a violation of integrity, the government already has plenty of resources and could care less for an individual or their way of life. The way I see it if it was found on yours or someone else's property it belongs to you, how on God's green earth does it belong to the government? Because they say so?

As has already been mentioned, in some countries anything recovered belongs to the government. I'm not an expert on how the UK handles things, but it seems good in theory. It may be terrible in practice, but I like the idea in concept.

I feel so blessed that I live in America and not under quite such a tyrannical government, where we're freer than most......

And that freedom stops abruptly when you want to MD in an area where it's prohibited for historical reasons. The main complaint that I see regarding MDing in historical areas is that there's a concern that provenance will be lost when filthy metal dectorists like us go in and just dig stuff up, but imagine if there was a system that allowed us to go into areas where we're not currently allowed to go. We'd be required to document what we found and where we found it. The government would have the option of purchasing what we'd found, and if they chose not to purchase, we'd be free to do with it what we like.

There would be a lot of odds and ends to hammer out for this to work, and I don't have all of the answers here. We would need to get multiple communities together to make this feasible. But again, imagine if you were able to detect all of those spots that you can not detect legally, legally, even if you had to jump through some hoops. It would potentially be better than the system that we have now. Implemented properly, you'd be able to go into that DNR land that you're currently barred from, and if the government wanted what you'd found, you'd get a fair price for it.

Is that conceptually more or less free than what the citizens of the UK have to deal with when metal detecting?

 

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[tinpan]

Hi, Might be an idea to read the British Treasure Act . TP

 

[CaptnJohn]

If the US Treasury wants any thing I ever find I'll give it to them in the form of bottle caps and pull tabs.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

... that cannot be inventoried as public property....

Yes. It can be "inventoried as public property" if the item is over 50 yrs old. And hence falls under "archaeological resource" category. Aren't you glad you asked ? Doesn't your heart now just bleed with guilt ??

 

[coinman123]

Yes. It can be "inventoried as public property" if the item is over 50 yrs old. And hence falls under "archaeological resource" category. Aren't you glad you asked ? Doesn't your heart now just bleed with guilt ??

I had no idea I was such a criminal! I guess I better turn in all those 1960's pull tabs I dug, a historic find like that must be documented!

 

[Tom_in_CA]

... . The main complaint that I see regarding MDing in historical areas is that there's a concern that provenance will be lost when filthy metal dectorists like us go in and just dig stuff up....

Yup, I'm a filthly metal detectorist. How about you ?

... but imagine if there was a system that allowed us to go into areas where we're not currently allowed to go...

Dave Dave Dave: This has been discussed on MANY MANY threads It's always the same song & dance: The British system is seen as the "perfect hand-holding" of archies and md'rs right ? But their system is very misunderstood by USA md'rs :

It will never happen here in the USA. Because, unlike Britain , the crown does not own all the resources under the ground. If you find oil (or a cache etc...) in the ground, it's PERFECTLY BETWEEN you and farmer Bob how you want to split that.

And ask yourself why 99% of the hunting in the UK is done @ farmer's fields with permission ? Rather than show & tell from beaches, parks, etc...... Trust me: The UK "system" does not magically open up sensitive monuments there. Nor would it do so here. DNR, etc... blah blah.

In fact, to even SUGGEST such a thing, will simply open up a can of worms resulting in MORE LAWS against us.

 

[Duckshot]

I find your attempt to characterize other people's free thought as being harmful to the sport offensive.

 

[tinpan]

Yup, I'm a filthly metal detectorist. How about you ?



Dave Dave Dave: This has been discussed on MANY MANY threads It's always the same song & dance: The British system is seen as the "perfect hand-holding" of archies and md'rs right ? But their system is very misunderstood by USA md'rs :

It will never happen here in the USA. Because, unlike Britain , the crown does not own all the resources under the ground. If you find oil (or a cache etc...) in the ground, it's PERFECTLY BETWEEN you and farmer Bob how you want to split that.

And ask yourself why 99% of the hunting in the UK is done @ farmer's fields with permission ? Rather than show & tell from beaches, parks, etc...... Trust me: The UK "system" does not magically open up sensitive monuments there. Nor would it do so here. DNR, etc... blah blah.

In fact, to even SUGGEST such a thing, will simply open up a can of worms resulting in MORE LAWS against us.

Hi Tom. First the found item has too be deemed a treasure first .If not the found items are handed back to the finder. If found to be a treasure under the law then the government keeps it and the finder gets a financial reward valued against the rarity of the find. FACT Any other comments made in this thread is just made up TP

 

[mnixon]

If the US Treasury wants any thing I ever find I'll give it to them in the form of bottle caps and pull tabs.

Dang , so your the reason the US gov has to shut down …..

I could be mistaken but I have been told in Texas , anything over 100 yrs old is considered state property.

 

[Duckshot]

.....

I could be mistaken but I have been told in Texas , anything over 100 yrs old is considered state property.

Uh-oh, grandma's not going to like to hear that.

 

[namxat]

I hope no one in the US Treasury is reading this. Heck, let's not give um any ideas.

There are tons of China Fake "Silver" Dollars traded every action site. Since to my information every US Silver coin ever minted remains legal tender, the Treasury should run amuk about this mass currency forgeries.

It doesnt. Why?


Greets Namxat

 

[against the wind]

Because in some countries (like England, Mexico, etc...) the resources under the ground "belong to the queen". So ...

Didn't know that Mexico had a Queen.

 

[ARC]

Didn't know that Mexico had a Queen.

Queen Maria ?

Queen ... um... I tried like hell to think of another Mexican girls name and for the life of me cant. :/

So...

Queen Latifa ?

 

[Worm-Slicer]

It's a good thing my favorite relics to find, Confederate, are not property of the U.S. government, because it was another government that no longer exists that owned them!lol

 

[Hillbilly Prince]

Nobody stole his organ. It was just cold shocked back into its hiding place. Once they got him thawed out, It popped right back into place.

I kinda preferred the idea of someone with a unique and peculiar fetish involving 5000 year old wangs.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Hi Tom. First the found item has too be deemed a treasure first .If not the found items are handed back to the finder. If found to be a treasure under the law then the government keeps it and the finder gets a financial reward valued against the rarity of the find. FACT Any other comments made in this thread is just made up TP

But notice that nothing in that system "opens up off-limits sites" (as some USA hunters seem to think it does). And why oh why oh why would anyone want the govt. meddling in their affairs of what they can keep, what they are forced to sell, etc ... ? In the USA, it DOESN'T MATTER whether it's deemed a "treasure" or not. It's simply between you and farmer-Bob what you guys want to do with it.

So how is the British system seen as some sort of benefit ?

 

[Hillbilly Prince]

As has already been mentioned, in some countries anything recovered belongs to the government. I'm not an expert on how the UK handles things, but it seems good in theory. It may be terrible in practice, but I like the idea in concept.



And that freedom stops abruptly when you want to MD in an area where it's prohibited for historical reasons. The main complaint that I see regarding MDing in historical areas is that there's a concern that provenance will be lost when filthy metal dectorists like us go in and just dig stuff up, but imagine if there was a system that allowed us to go into areas where we're not currently allowed to go. We'd be required to document what we found and where we found it. The government would have the option of purchasing what we'd found, and if they chose not to purchase, we'd be free to do with it what we like.

There would be a lot of odds and ends to hammer out for this to work, and I don't have all of the answers here. We would need to get multiple communities together to make this feasible. But again, imagine if you were able to detect all of those spots that you can not detect legally, legally, even if you had to jump through some hoops. It would potentially be better than the system that we have now. Implemented properly, you'd be able to go into that DNR land that you're currently barred from, and if the government wanted what you'd found, you'd get a fair price for it.

Is that conceptually more or less free than what the citizens of the UK have to deal with when metal detecting?

Somehow I see this ending up with people having to register their rmetal detectors, getting a license to detect with annual fees, tickets, fines.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Didn't know that Mexico had a Queen.

Ok, let me correct that: "Belongs to the crown" (Bet you didn't know that they wore crowns in Mexico, eh ? )

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Somehow I see this ending up with people having to register their rmetal detectors, getting a license to detect with annual fees, tickets, fines.

Correct. If the notion (of the UK system) were ever floated to USA govt. archies, you can BET it would be riddled with sillyness, and end up being more AGAINST us, rather than FOR us.

So the best thing that can happen is: The less that archies here think of us, the better. The more "off their radar" we are: The better.

 

[RustyGold]

I’m ready to turn in my unclaimed zincolns..