4dd3
Full Member
Prepare for a long post about metal detecting laws in Sweden and how the new law killed the hobby
It really breaks my heart to write this. But I really want the rest of the world to know where this hobby is going in Sweden.
Just let that bizarre and absurd title of this post sink in. Metaldetecting as a hobby is now, as of january 1st 2018, dead in Sweden. But what do I mean by that? Well, let me first of all tell you a little bit of myself and how I got into this hobby:
Who am I and what does this hobby mean to me?
My name is Andreas and I got into this hobby while, back in 2013, browsing youtube videos of people from all over the world showing their finds and adventures with their metal detectors. I previously didn't know of any detectorists in my province, or the entirety of Sweden, but I did get in contact with a few from youtube and facebook groups. I bought a Garrett ACE 250 from ebay and after finding my first coin (an Oscar II 5 öre from 1898) I was hooked. It is, and still is quite a lonely hobby in Sweden (but these days I usually go out detecting with a friend). Five years ago there was maybe just a couple of hundred people actively pursuing this hobby in the entire country. Nowadays we might be 8-900, but I'm not sure of that figure. Most people outside the hobby didn't even know that this was a thing. I once had an experience where some old lady though I was walking by with a grass trimmer. Considering all the funny looks I got while swinging my machine by woods or beaches I was just as excited each time an old coin or relic popped up. It also expanded my interest in swedish and local history aswell as it got me into studying swedish and history teacher for upper secondary school (I graduate 2020).
But how does metal detecting lawfully in Sweden work?
Sweden, as viewed by a lot of countries, a symbol of democracy and welfare, is becoming more and more bureaucratic. To the metaldetecting hobby this means that you have to apply for a permit to your "local government" or Länsstyrelse for each and every place (even your own backyard) you want to hunt on. The Länsstyrelse is Swedens equivalent to County administrative boards.
To apply for a permit you have to fill in a form which states your name, adress, that you have the landowners permission etc etc etc. Then you happily mail this form to your Länsstyrelse. And wait. And wait. And......wait. In the Länsstyrelse of Värmland I actually had to wait 12 months to get my permit. To hunt a beach. For just three months (that's the time they gave me). Your permit is a piece of paper which consists of a signature from the antiquarian and a map of the place of the permit. You are required to show this to the police or a member of the Länsstyrelse (if they sneak up to you while detecting in the middle of the woods). If one metal detects without a permit they risk confiscation of equipment, fines or/and up to four years of prison.
And from 2013-2017 the biggest problem of this hobby in Sweden was the waiting game. The county administrative boards got an increasing number of applications every year (sometimes an increase of 200%, 2016 I believe). Another problem, which I personally adressed to the antiquarian, was that I had to wait for a permission for 6-8 months that my friend already had. They could literally just copy his permission and put my name on it. But I always had to wait, in average, 6-8 months for a permission.
The new proposal of 2016 from the RAĂ„ (Swedish national heritage board)
With an increasing number of happy detectorists applying lawfully for permissions to all of Swedens Länsstyrelses did cause a problem for these county administrative boards. They were overwhelmed. Because of this problem and lack of resources to handle all these permissions, the Swedish national heritage board decided to give the government a proposition. To introduce a fee or cost for application of permissions. This cost was suggested to be 700 swedish crowns (85 UNITED STATES DOLLARS for each single application. By introducing this law they wanted to stop the flow of applications to the county administrative boards. The law passed and as of january 1st 2018 each application costs 85 dollars. This doesn't mean that if you pay 85 USD you get a permission. It means that you pay 85 USD for an application but they can still shut it down and make you pay.
Swedens only official metal detectorist club (Sveriges Metallsökarförening) really had NOTHING to say about this law. The organization really tried to lift and discuss the problems with this proposition but was ignored by the national heritage board, the culture minister and the swedish government.
This ultimately killed the hobby and it affects, not just detectorists, but all of the swedish people. Detectorists will stop applying for permissions and as Ulf Ă–rnell (board member of the swedish detectorist club) said: "Finds of historical value will now end up in peoples drawers at home instead of in museums". This, means Ă–rnell, since you can no longer report your finds if you don't pay the 85 USD in beforehand. Thus, it negatively affects the opportunity of working together with hobbyists as resources at both previously known and unknown archeological sites of Sweden.
The new law also makes this hobby into a question of class. People like me (students) or people in general that can't cash in 85+ USD for applications have to either quit the hobby or just go "under ground". It doesn't matter what you chose to do - it still is BAD for the hobby and the historical knowledge and heritage of Sweden. I currently have 16 permissions which soon/or already have expired. If I'd like to extend these - I'd have to pay 85 X 16 = 1360 USD..
Interview with Ulf Ă–rnell in the radio of Sweden
Avgift kan göra att forntida fynd inte rapporteras - P4 Blekinge | Sveriges Radio
Information about the new law: (in Swedish)
Metallsökare - Länsstyrelsen i Örebro län
Too long, didn't read
To metal detect lawfully in Sweden you now, as of january 1st 2018, have to pay 85 USD for each application of a permit. This doesn't mean you get the permission, but that you can apply for one. You could be forced to pay 85 USD but still not get a permission if the administrative boards decides that the location could contain items of historical or/and archeological value.
Since this is a forum after all, I think this post should add something to discuss
How does metal detecting work in your country? What would you do in a similar situation? (go hunt or quit the hobby) Have you ever had bad experiences with officials? What does the people of your country and the government think about the hobby?
It really breaks my heart to write this. But I really want the rest of the world to know where this hobby is going in Sweden.
Just let that bizarre and absurd title of this post sink in. Metaldetecting as a hobby is now, as of january 1st 2018, dead in Sweden. But what do I mean by that? Well, let me first of all tell you a little bit of myself and how I got into this hobby:
Who am I and what does this hobby mean to me?
My name is Andreas and I got into this hobby while, back in 2013, browsing youtube videos of people from all over the world showing their finds and adventures with their metal detectors. I previously didn't know of any detectorists in my province, or the entirety of Sweden, but I did get in contact with a few from youtube and facebook groups. I bought a Garrett ACE 250 from ebay and after finding my first coin (an Oscar II 5 öre from 1898) I was hooked. It is, and still is quite a lonely hobby in Sweden (but these days I usually go out detecting with a friend). Five years ago there was maybe just a couple of hundred people actively pursuing this hobby in the entire country. Nowadays we might be 8-900, but I'm not sure of that figure. Most people outside the hobby didn't even know that this was a thing. I once had an experience where some old lady though I was walking by with a grass trimmer. Considering all the funny looks I got while swinging my machine by woods or beaches I was just as excited each time an old coin or relic popped up. It also expanded my interest in swedish and local history aswell as it got me into studying swedish and history teacher for upper secondary school (I graduate 2020).
But how does metal detecting lawfully in Sweden work?
Sweden, as viewed by a lot of countries, a symbol of democracy and welfare, is becoming more and more bureaucratic. To the metaldetecting hobby this means that you have to apply for a permit to your "local government" or Länsstyrelse for each and every place (even your own backyard) you want to hunt on. The Länsstyrelse is Swedens equivalent to County administrative boards.
To apply for a permit you have to fill in a form which states your name, adress, that you have the landowners permission etc etc etc. Then you happily mail this form to your Länsstyrelse. And wait. And wait. And......wait. In the Länsstyrelse of Värmland I actually had to wait 12 months to get my permit. To hunt a beach. For just three months (that's the time they gave me). Your permit is a piece of paper which consists of a signature from the antiquarian and a map of the place of the permit. You are required to show this to the police or a member of the Länsstyrelse (if they sneak up to you while detecting in the middle of the woods). If one metal detects without a permit they risk confiscation of equipment, fines or/and up to four years of prison.
And from 2013-2017 the biggest problem of this hobby in Sweden was the waiting game. The county administrative boards got an increasing number of applications every year (sometimes an increase of 200%, 2016 I believe). Another problem, which I personally adressed to the antiquarian, was that I had to wait for a permission for 6-8 months that my friend already had. They could literally just copy his permission and put my name on it. But I always had to wait, in average, 6-8 months for a permission.
The new proposal of 2016 from the RAĂ„ (Swedish national heritage board)
With an increasing number of happy detectorists applying lawfully for permissions to all of Swedens Länsstyrelses did cause a problem for these county administrative boards. They were overwhelmed. Because of this problem and lack of resources to handle all these permissions, the Swedish national heritage board decided to give the government a proposition. To introduce a fee or cost for application of permissions. This cost was suggested to be 700 swedish crowns (85 UNITED STATES DOLLARS for each single application. By introducing this law they wanted to stop the flow of applications to the county administrative boards. The law passed and as of january 1st 2018 each application costs 85 dollars. This doesn't mean that if you pay 85 USD you get a permission. It means that you pay 85 USD for an application but they can still shut it down and make you pay.
Swedens only official metal detectorist club (Sveriges Metallsökarförening) really had NOTHING to say about this law. The organization really tried to lift and discuss the problems with this proposition but was ignored by the national heritage board, the culture minister and the swedish government.
This ultimately killed the hobby and it affects, not just detectorists, but all of the swedish people. Detectorists will stop applying for permissions and as Ulf Ă–rnell (board member of the swedish detectorist club) said: "Finds of historical value will now end up in peoples drawers at home instead of in museums". This, means Ă–rnell, since you can no longer report your finds if you don't pay the 85 USD in beforehand. Thus, it negatively affects the opportunity of working together with hobbyists as resources at both previously known and unknown archeological sites of Sweden.
The new law also makes this hobby into a question of class. People like me (students) or people in general that can't cash in 85+ USD for applications have to either quit the hobby or just go "under ground". It doesn't matter what you chose to do - it still is BAD for the hobby and the historical knowledge and heritage of Sweden. I currently have 16 permissions which soon/or already have expired. If I'd like to extend these - I'd have to pay 85 X 16 = 1360 USD..
Interview with Ulf Ă–rnell in the radio of Sweden
Avgift kan göra att forntida fynd inte rapporteras - P4 Blekinge | Sveriges Radio
Information about the new law: (in Swedish)
Metallsökare - Länsstyrelsen i Örebro län
Too long, didn't read
To metal detect lawfully in Sweden you now, as of january 1st 2018, have to pay 85 USD for each application of a permit. This doesn't mean you get the permission, but that you can apply for one. You could be forced to pay 85 USD but still not get a permission if the administrative boards decides that the location could contain items of historical or/and archeological value.
Since this is a forum after all, I think this post should add something to discuss
How does metal detecting work in your country? What would you do in a similar situation? (go hunt or quit the hobby) Have you ever had bad experiences with officials? What does the people of your country and the government think about the hobby?
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100 % of the detectorists are unhappy with this ...
