how to make a small fortune treasure shipwreck hunting in florida

ivan salis

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Feb 5, 2007
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start with a large fortune and try to do everything required by the state of Florida by the book..only to be denied the final "salvage permit" when the time comes for whatever-------------- (fill in the blank) reason...

I am reminded of a MD'er who while detecting upon a beach was being chided by a woman that he was stealing history by removing over 50 year old "items" ...when he showed her that he had only found "modern coins and a bit of jewelry--nothing "old"---she was stumped for a second \ but then came back with..... well in 50 years those coins would have been future "artifacts" --so your robbing future folks of artifacts ...LOL ...no winning with some folks.. oh under the 50 year rule all 90% silver 1964 or earlier silver halves , quarters and dimes are now "artifacts "--I guess--- sad isn't it ...
 

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Slingshot

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Apr 3, 2004
1,074
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Southern Appalachia
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Whites CM2 BFO, Harbor Freight 9 function, BH Pioneer 202, Fisher F22
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I'm an artifact myself, and those "old" coins and things actually belong in my pocket, and besides that the State needs to furnish me an armed guard when I'm detecting on the beaches in FL. You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to an old "artifact" would you?
 

huntsman53

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Jun 11, 2013
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I'm an artifact myself, and those "old" coins and things actually belong in my pocket, and besides that the State needs to furnish me an armed guard when I'm detecting on the beaches in FL. You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to an old "artifact" would you?

If the State of Florida had to furnish you an armed guard, it would not take long for them to pass a Law prohibiting artifacts from any of Florida's beaches.:laughing7: Maybe the new Law will open the door for us to remove any and all artifacts from the beaches, so the State won't have to protect them.:dontknow::laughing7::tongue3:


Frank
 

Salvor6

Silver Member
Feb 5, 2005
3,755
2,171
Port Richey, Florida
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Aquapulse, J.W. Fisher Proton 3, Pulse Star II, Detector Pro Headhunter, AK-47
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If the State of Florida had to furnish you an armed guard, it would not take long for them to pass a Law prohibiting artifacts from any of Florida's beaches.:laughing7: Maybe the new Law will open the door for us to remove any and all artifacts from the beaches, so the State won't have to protect them.:dontknow::laughing7::tongue3:



Frank

Huntsman that's the best excuse I heard for the removal of artifacts. :icon_thumright:
 

Urban Legend

Full Member
Jun 24, 2017
102
109
Tampa Fl
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Somebody needs to send a bucket of 1967 pennies to the state of Florida ...and ask why its against the law to dig them up .,
If you confront them with their own foolishness.... you might get a response...
Personally. I'd try Adam Putnam first...he's a farmboy with eyes on being the next governor..
 

PhipsFolly

Hero Member
Sep 30, 2005
633
602
Treasure Coast, Florida
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Minelab Sovereign Elite & Sovereign XS, Minelab Equinox 800 and Aquapulse AQ1B
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Perhaps all of the politicians and Archie's in tallahasssee need to be removed from their jobs and placed in museums since many of them are older than 50 years... [emoji6]
 

Tom_in_CA

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Mar 23, 2007
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Heck, in Europe, they consider coins from the 1600 & 1700s as "new". So ... therefore I never find "old" coins. Now I suppose if I found a Roman coin, then sure: that would be "old".

And it all seems like a silly moot point in the first place: Because in my over-40 yrs. of this, I have NEVER had someone stop me, armed with a calculator, doing the math on the ages of each coin I find.

One time I was stopped by a passing ranger @ an NFS campground. At first he rolled down his window and said "you can't be doing that". After some casual chit-chat, he changed his tune to: "Well, you can do it, but if you find any coins over 50 yrs. old, you need to turn them in to the ranger station" (at the town about 20 miles away). Then he drove off. Unfortunately he failed to give me the address of the ranger station. oh well :(
 

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Nitric

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Mar 8, 2014
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anything over 50 years? I put it back in the ground? :dontknow: I'm preserving it for future generations? :icon_scratch:

I think it's just one of those rules/laws that never gets enforced, but could be used as leverage if they wanted or needed to?

I really don't believe MOST people would even care. Then there is the "weigh it out........" Between the law/ fines, and is it worth the fun/reward. Sounds just wrong? But........That reasoning does have it's place sometimes. Business's use it and weigh it out all the time.

Not promoting breaking the law, just speaking in general.
 

huntsman53

Gold Member
Jun 11, 2013
6,955
6,769
East Tennessee
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anything over 50 years? I put it back in the ground? :dontknow: I'm preserving it for future generations? :icon_scratch:

I think it's just one of those rules/laws that never gets enforced, but could be used as leverage if they wanted or needed to?

I really don't believe MOST people would even care. Then there is the "weigh it out........" Between the law/ fines, and is it worth the fun/reward. Sounds just wrong? But........That reasoning does have it's place sometimes. Business's use it and weigh it out all the time.

Not promoting breaking the law, just speaking in general.

If I found something over 50 years old and an State Official told me to surrender it, I would surrender it to the ocean as far out as I could throw it. I want to see the look on the Official's face when I do it and state that it was likely washed up from the deep, so to the deep it returns. Without evidence, he could not have me arrested that I know of and it is my word against his and the lazy bum sure isn't about to go after it.


Frank
 

Tom_in_CA

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Mar 23, 2007
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.... I think it's just one of those rules/laws that never gets enforced, but could be used as leverage if they wanted or needed to?....

Yeah. Perhaps, yes "enforced" if someone were snooping around obvious historic sensitive monuments. Sure. But then md'rs jump from THAT true-statement, to worrying themselves silly about places in the middle of nowhere.

....I really don't believe MOST people would even care......

This is the way I see it too: For example, if you're in a city of 150,000 people, and only ONE person in that city "cares" (eg.: the gardener, or a single cop, or a single archie-minded ranger), then .... at a certain point ... isn't it better just to steer clear of that one single person? Rather than thinking you're going to convert them and get them to love and adore you ?

I mean .... at what point does it border on the ridiculous ? Is it our obligation to please every last person on earth ? :icon_scratch: Hence sometimes in life you just avoid spitting in other people's holy water when they're looking. RATHER than trying to convince them the water isn't really holy.

Some people might call this "sneaking around". Ok, fine then: SNEAK AROUND ! You're simply not going to convert every last person on earth.

.... Then there is the "weigh it out........" Between the law/ fines, and is it worth the fun/reward. Sounds just wrong? But........That reasoning does have it's place sometimes. Business's use it and weigh it out all the time....

A buddy of mine, who is as BRAZEN and ballsy as they come, was detecting at a historic park monument here in CA (I think it is administered by NPS). And .... he was getting a bit too reckless I suppose in his discreetness of choice of places. After a few hours, he loaded his machine in his truck to get ready to leave, and the ranger pulled up and read him the riot act. Turns out they'd been watching him from a distance, and had decided to nail him . (Why in the heck they didn't come out and tell him he was doing something wrong in the first place, rather than watch him for that 2 hrs, is beyond us).

They took the contents of his apron, which ... as it turns out, was just a few common mercs, some wheaties, some clad, etc... And then gave him a ticket. Did not take his machine or anything.

A few weeks later, the ticket arrived in the mail. I think it was something on the order of $200 fine. At first he thought about fighting it, since the area wasn't posted, and he ... honestly ... didn't even know what entity administered the place (although, truth-be-told, he *did* know it was a historic monument of some old military buildings, haha). But in the end, when seeing how small the fine was, it was easier just to pay it.

And he actually told me that if $200 was ALL he ever had to pay, for 35 yrs. of detecting: it was worth it. The types of places he's been to over the years, and never heard so much as "boo", then ... if this were the "price" for all his combined md'ing adventure places, then .... he would do it all again. Rather than being relegated to sandboxes. Ie.: sometimes you need to 'grow a set' if you intend to find old stuff :)
 

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Nitric

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Mar 8, 2014
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Yeah. Perhaps, yes "enforced" if someone were snooping around obvious historic sensitive monuments. Sure. But then md'rs jump from THAT true-statement, to worrying themselves silly about places in the middle of nowhere.



This is the way I see it too: For example, if you're in a city of 150,000 people, and only ONE person in that city "cares" (eg.: the gardener, or a single cop, or a single archie-minded ranger), then .... at a certain point ... isn't it better just to steer clear of that one single person? Rather than thinking you're going to convert them and get them to love and adore you ?

I mean .... at what point does it border on the ridiculous ? Is it our obligation to please every last person on earth ? :icon_scratch: Hence sometimes in life you just avoid spitting in other people's holy water when they're looking. RATHER than trying to convince them the water isn't really holy.

Some people might call this "sneaking around". Ok, fine then: SNEAK AROUND ! You're simply not going to convert every last person on earth.



A buddy of mine, who is as BRAZEN and ballsy as they come, was detecting at a historic park monument here in CA (I think it is administered by NPS). And .... he was getting a bit too reckless I suppose in his discreetness of choice of places. After a few hours, he loaded his machine in his truck to get ready to leave, and the ranger pulled up and read him the riot act. Turns out they'd been watching him from a distance, and had decided to nail him . (Why in the heck they didn't come out and tell him he was doing something wrong in the first place, rather than watch him for that 2 hrs, is beyond us).

They took the contents of his apron, which ... as it turns out, was just a few common mercs, some wheaties, some clad, etc... And then gave him a ticket. Did not take his machine or anything.

A few weeks later, the ticket arrived in the mail. I think it was something on the order of $200 fine. At first he thought about fighting it, since the area wasn't posted, and he ... honestly ... didn't even know what entity administered the place (although, truth-be-told, he *did* know it was a historic monument of some old military buildings, haha). But in the end, when seeing how small the fine was, it was easier just to pay it.

And he actually told me that if $200 was ALL he ever had to pay, for 35 yrs. of detecting: it was worth it. The types of places he's been to over the years, and never heard so much as "boo", then ... if this were the "price" for all his combined md'ing adventure places, then .... he would do it all again. Rather than being relegated to sandboxes. Ie.: sometimes you need to 'grow a set' if you intend to find old stuff :)

Here's the way Mom put it when I was a kid when I'd get upset about laws or rules. "There aren't any! BUT! Whatever you do there is a price to pay, is the price worth it?"

Business's do the same things. Sometimes it's even figured in. :laughing7:

And don't get me wrong! There are things that are just wrong and you don't do! But some of these trivial things you just have to weigh all things out.

I wouldn't detect private property, with out permission, or any historical that are state or federal. etc... But if someone wants to take that chance? Go for it! You could lose your detector or your vehicle over it. They have that power!
 

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Tom_in_CA

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.... You could lose your detector or your vehicle over it. They have that power!

Thanx for chiming in Nitric. As for "loosing your detector" or "loosing your vehicle": We read and hear about this supposed threat quite frequently, whenever the touchy subject of "laws" or supposed off-limits places comes up. And it, of course, gives the willies and heebie-jeebies to newbies who envision 'everyone hates us' or 'they sky is falling'. But I always issue this challenge:

Can anyone cite an incident of "detector confiscated" or "vehicle confiscated" ? And then you hear the sound of crickets. Once in a blue moon an isolated example comes forth (some rogue newspaper clipping or link). And invariably it is for someone night-sneaking obvious off-limits historic sensitive spot. Or some obnoxious person who couldn't take a warning, etc.... I have YET to ever hear of this supposed "confiscations" occurring at routine normal parks, or forest, or desert, or beach, etc....

Yet despite that no examples exist, yet .... it's something we are perpetually told to fear ??
 

Tom_in_CA

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Mar 23, 2007
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Qualifier: I'm sure that SOMEWHERE, somehow, there is no doubt an example of someone getting "roughed up" for detecting an innocuous park. Heck, maybe even detector confiscated for something truly innocuous.

My response to that is that, in life ... there are ALWAYS flukes. I mean: In the same way you can probably find an example of a motorist pulled over and roughed up by an over-zealous cop, jailed, ticketed, cuffed, confiscated, etc.... FOR NOTHING BUT A TAIL-LIGHT OUT. Sure. Ok. But does that stop us all from driving ? Or do we see such cases as "flukes" ? So too is it possible to over-think this supposed imminent threat when it comes to md'ing. Sure: Don't throw caution to the wind. But on the other hand, no need to think we need to grovel either.
 

Nitric

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Mar 8, 2014
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Thanx for chiming in Nitric. As for "loosing your detector" or "loosing your vehicle": We read and hear about this supposed threat quite frequently, whenever the touchy subject of "laws" or supposed off-limits places comes up. And it, of course, gives the willies and heebie-jeebies to newbies who envision 'everyone hates us' or 'they sky is falling'. But I always issue this challenge:

Can anyone cite an incident of "detector confiscated" or "vehicle confiscated" ? And then you hear the sound of crickets. Once in a blue moon an isolated example comes forth (some rogue newspaper clipping or link). And invariably it is for someone night-sneaking obvious off-limits historic sensitive spot. Or some obnoxious person who couldn't take a warning, etc.... I have YET to ever hear of this supposed "confiscations" occurring at routine normal parks, or forest, or desert, or beach, etc....

Yet despite that no examples exist, yet .... it's something we are perpetually told to fear ??

No, every time I've heard this...And I'm not positive but I do believe laws even say this. I'm referring to Federal historical sites, or some battle fields.

Just thought I'd clear that up, and no...I don't have the ambition right now to look up the laws that give them this power.:laughing7:

I've never had or heard of it happening in state parks or local areas...


Either way? I have no clue what I'm even talking about anymore!:laughing7: I forgot what the whole point was.:laughing7:
 

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Honest Samuel

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Sep 23, 2015
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There are fools, bullies and thugs everywhere who harass us treasure hunters. Good hunting and good luck.
 

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ivan salis

ivan salis

Gold Member
Feb 5, 2007
16,794
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callahan,fl
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
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delta 4000 / ace 250 - used BH and many others too
as my old grandpappy used to say ---its all legal --- what is illegal is getting caught doing it ---(he was a moonshiner ) --its a damn shame when so called "publicly owned lands" can not be used by the public --who supposedly owns them
 

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