Asking Permission

[shvlnflds]

Has anyone ever asked permission to metal detect an old school house or other place and have the owner get about half snippy with you? It was located against the woods at the end of the field. He smartly said no and then said whatever is in the ground stays in the ground. He then said if anybody would have found anything they would've walked away with it. I knew he was mad and it pissed me off also. I told him we could split it 50/50;I don't know why I even said it;anyhow I told him thanks anyway and left.If people want to see what I find I won't hide it from them,but people never ask to see what I found.I still knew where a couple of old schoolhouses sat in fields around the same area and just came home.I didn't even feel like asking permission or detecting anymore,but I will be back out next week again!

 

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[Dan Hughes]

There are a lot of very unfriendly people out there, so don't take it personally when you get turned down.

Listen to my program about getting permission: Program #002 here:

http://thetreasurecorner.com

Just click the pink button and it will play on your computer.

---Dan Hughes

 

[P.B. and Dylan]

Great advice Dan....thank you.
Yesterday, for the first time, I asked permission to hunt on someones land. The wife needs
to talk to her husband and will let me know. One of the things she said was "why would you want to
do that all you will find is old nails" to which I stammered something about old coins and artifacts. Your message about it being a hobby like fishing would have been so much better.

By the way the property is an old farm, that's been in use for at least 150 years.

Paul

 

[shvlnflds]

That is a good point Dan, thanks. I've asked 2 dozen people to hunt private property and they were always interested about the history,because most people didn't know that there was a house there.I understand completely what you're saying.I've still had two landowners bring up a discussion about a percentage split 1 I knew 1 I didn't know.I never found anything of value anyway at those 2 places.

 

[Dan Hughes]

By the way the property is an old farm, that's been in use for at least 150 years.

I never found anything of value anyway at those 2 places.

Hate to say it, guys, but more often than not, you won't find many coins around an old farm.

Listen to show #030 ( http://thetreasurecorner.com ) for the reasons why, and also some tips about hunting those places.

---Dan

 

[lostcauses]

To the original poster:
This guy from what you say was thinking about it.
The idea of it is in the ground it should stay there is an old idea, with the superstitions that go with it.
when I talk to folks I am honest with them. I live to see what was lost. I like to see a bit of history show up even if it is a coin. Most of all it is the never knowing what might be found.
Of course some will say no. Move on.

You might thy again some time with this guy. Don't push it just talk once in a while. Also check with neighbors that might be in visual rang of this person, detect them when the guy can see you. Curiosity has gotten folks to ask me to detect their places. Some, would like to know what is on their place.

 

[Monty]

Lostcauses has a good point. I have hunted some places with permission and the neighbor came over and wanted me to hunt out their place, mostly out of curiosity. One time a neighbor had lost something as a child and was anxious to see if I could find it. Good luck . Monty

 

[Goes4ever]

Hate to say it, guys, but more often than not, you won't find many coins around an old farm.

Listen to show #030 ( http://thetreasurecorner.com ) for the reasons why, and also some tips about hunting those places.

---Dan

90% of my finds come from old farms still standing or farm fields where old farms once stood, they are always good for a few indians, and a lot of them I have been to have been loaded with wheats, indians, and silver. The key is patience, with all the iron you MUST have a good detector and you MUST go real slow. Any place that has been used for 100+ years is gonna have lost coins around

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hey Dan,
Lover your podcasts! I went metal detecting with a couple newbies today at an old farmhouse. One of them had read your book and said, "Dan Hughes said there are very few coins at a farm house". I had to laugh, cause generally speaking that may be right but the house I got permission was on the corner of a major intersection, was very old and had never been detected before.

I had the best day, many wheats and silvers. I dug so much my wrist is sore!

Way better than any park I had been to, although less coins then a park, since there hadn't been dozens of people there before me they were all ours for the taking!

I kind of felt bad for my friends though, they didn't find much at all, one who was using his Ace250 did but once he located it he had a difficult time in finding it. I worked with him on a couple digs and realizes he needs a propointer. :-)

The other friend was using the Spectra V3. Holly smokes, what a beautiful screen and sound but he too was inexperienced so didn't find much either.

Me and my Minelab Safari were digging about every 60 seconds. It was like fish in a Barrel.

No, nothing wrong with old farmhouses in my book Dan!

 

[dahut]

He smartly said no and then said whatever is in the ground stays in the ground. He then said if anybody would have found anything they would've walked away with it. I knew he was mad and it pissed me off also.

You are both right, but he more than you.

He is right because you are asking to come onto private property, find what is lying in the ground - valuable or not - and then leave with it. You may not be the first to ask, or worse, others before you may not have asked and simply callously trespassed. There is a mistaken notion among people that "property" belongs to all...especially to those who don't own any or who wish to use it to their own purpose.

Either way, people know what you are doing with a detector. They assume you have no intention of turning over what you find if you can possibly avoid it... and they have a 50:50 chance of being right. Not good odds for him.

He rightly sees all of this as the height of arrogance on your part. You only offered to split out of anger, after the fact, hoping it might salvage the hunt. He can figure that out, too. You believe in the rule of Finders Keepers, and came to him not out of friendship, but with a personal agenda. He got it right.

You are also right, so far as it goes.
Whatever is there will only remain lying there, possibly rotting away. No one down the line of posterity will ever see it or learn from it. The dust mote of history which it represents will remain lost.
He never knew it was there, and will never know, as it is unlikely he will care enough search for it himself.
So no one will benefit from it intellectually or financially. It is the ultimate "dangled carrot," which selfishness angers you.

But our society hinges on the Rule of Law, not Finders Keepers. So long as no one cares about what you do, then all is fine in the shadows. But bring it to light, and you can expect the sort of reaction you got.
You may not always be rejected But your request does NOT have to be honored, simply because you asked.

At the end of the day, the property is his, not yours. You did the right thing by asking - and he is free to deny you permission to it.

May I suggest you go back to the guy and offer a sincere apology for your effrontery. Show him this and assure him that you now see this truth and regret the way you handled the situation initially. Leave your detector at home when you visit and take him his favorite beer. Come bearing gifts, instead of self-centered agendas, and he may warm up to you.

 

[Goes4ever]

I am glad I live in a small area where the majority of the people are farmers, kind people, and I rarely get turned down when I knock on the door and politely ask permission.

But on the rare occasion I do get turned down, I also POLITELY thank them and go on my way. There is plenty more out there. No harm done in asking!

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Like Dan said,
don't take it personally.

 

[The Buzzard King]

You might thy again some time with this guy. Don't push it just talk once in a while. Also check with neighbors that might be in visual rang of this person, detect them when the guy can see you. Curiosity has gotten folks to ask me to detect their places. Some, would like to know what is on their place.

Lostcauses has a good point. I have hunted some places with permission and the neighbor came over and wanted me to hunt out their place, mostly out of curiosity. One time a neighbor had lost something as a child and was anxious to see if I could find it. Good luck . Monty

I've been in situations a few times where I had different property owners hoping that I was finding better stuff on THEIR property, than I was finding on their neighbors property!
Like they were hoping that I could prove somehow, that their property had more history to it than their friend down the road. lol.

AWESOME land-owners! Guys who appologize if you didn't have a good day detecting on their land.
Of course, you're always still gonna have the holdouts, who won't let you detect. lol.
Whatcha gonna do?
Whatever you do, don't get into arguments with people who say "no".
You don't want a bad word going out to anyone about you.
BTW, most of all of my best finds have been from old farmhouse properties.
I'll take quality over quantity anyday.

 

[pennyfarmer]

I have been rejected but far less than I have been accepted. I pick my chances carefully and always consider the owners point of view way before my own. If you give yourself time to formulate a permission plan then you are far more successful. Even if you are driving around looking for a place to ask about you should have a plan.

I generally want to ask permission if the person is already outside. The knocking on the door interruption akes about 30% points off of your chances. Park on the road and give people their space, being friendly and asking about the home or some other interesting aspect will help your chances. I don't think I have ever had a person upset at me asking permission nor have I left any place upset my self.

I have been given permission only to be denied by another family member that seen me on the property. No hard feelings I am not here to get in some family feud. It's the name of the game get it while you can.

Appearances mean something also. Don't show up in dirty clothes and not showered. That is just as much a turn off as it was on your first date.

 

[lostcauses]

"Hate to say it, guys, but more often than not, you won't find many coins around an old farm."

I have to disagree with this. Reasons for finding coins is that family was raised on the farm. Kids playing lose things.
Also the same goes with concentrated work areas. Things are lost.
Of course there are better places such as the old swimming hole, or on the farm maybe a stock tank the people there use to swim in.
Some farms were also used in the family, friend; and other political and religious events.

Do not over look them old farms. If you are really lucky you might find the old dump on the place and then get permission to dig it.

 

[pennyfarmer]

One more tip. I have never been denied if the people who own the house don't speak English. It is just a fact.

 

[relichunters]

Sometimes its better to leave a sleeping dog lay. Most schools could careless about you detecting as long as it's on a weekend and not during school hours. If it's just an employee, talk to the principal for permission.

 

[BuckleBoy]

Hate to say it, guys, but more often than not, you won't find many coins around an old farm.
---Dan

ALMOST 100% of what I've found in the last 3 years has been around old farms. I won't post photos and hijack this thread, but go to the Annual Finds section and take a look:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,211202.0.html

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,293877.0.html

In terms of permission, How you ask is everything. I prefer to "cold visit" folks--just knock on their door and put them on the spot. I don't immediately pop the question when they answer the door, but I have worked out a system that works, and I don't waste their, or my time--while at the same time I don't seem rude by being very blunt.

For farm fields, I figure I have about 80% permission rate. Sometimes there are strings of 20-25 hunts where we get a "yes" every time. For the woods, due to hunting, and the fact that owners can't see what I'm doing or check on me, the permission rate falls to 30%--but that's to be expected.

For those who normally wear camoflage when detecting--my advice is this: Don't wear it when you ask permission. I could tell you why, but those of you who will be able to make good use of this tip will understand without me having to explain. Those who live in cities and ask permissions for yards, then this tip is probably irrelevant to you.

It is what you wear, how you act, and what you say that will get you a "yes." Plain and simple. And don't let one "no" ruin your day. Keep asking owners and you Will get a "yes."


-Buckles

 

[shvlnflds]

I didn't show my anger and was as polite as could be,anyhow I talked to his son outside and he said that his dad went to school there. Another thing that wasn't good that he was eating,which I didn't know about unless I was staring in the window(LOL).I totally didn't blame him later on that day,but he didn't have to get snappy like that. Have a beer with him(LOL) that dude was an ---hole to begin with.I show the most respect to anyone anywhere,unless they don't deserve it,but again I don't think he saw I was mad.I am also a landowner in the country and 90% of the places that I ask permission at are farms.Enough rambling I'm gone detecting! Thanks for all of your replies!

 

[Goes4ever]

oh.........just wanted to show you what I found today at an OLD farm.......for those who say old farms don't have coins! If it weren't for old farms. I wouldn't have 90% of the stuff in my collection! This was all in a small front yard of an old farm. Found in about 2 hours. I only went one direction, did not get a chance to grid off anything yet.

And second picture was a farm I hunted last week. MOST old farms have indians, wheats and silver. You just have to KNOW how to hunt in heavy iron, it takes patience.