Back to the Street Tear Up HI HO SILVER!!!! 4th time for the POLICE

[DPBOB]

Went back to street tear up for the 5th time and for the 4th time I had the POLICE called on me.
Just got started when this ( I'll be nice) chubby women comes out her house screaming at me.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU CAN"T BE DIGGING HOLES IN THE GRASS!!!!!
( It was DIRT No Grass )WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT? YOU CAN'T BE DOING THAT !!!!
I'm Metal Detecting.
WHAT IS THAT? YOU CAN'T BE DOING THAT!!!!
I'm looking for coins. YOU CAN'T BE DOING THAT!!!..
From the sidewalk to the curb is city property. The police and city says it's ok to do...
YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!!! I'M CALLING THE POLICE....
Go ahead I'll stay right here and wait for them and then I will continue to do my hobby...
WELL!!! WILL SEE ABOUT THAT!!!!!
In the end the Police came and naturally I continued to Metal Detect....
Spent about an hour there and got a 1943 Quarter, which was right next to a tree standing on end between two roots and there was a space of about 1 1/2 inches between the roots for me to retrieve the coin ( I didn't scratch it , was I surprised) and a 1963D dime 3 whats 1919 1920 & 1956D
along with some change..
These 2 silvers make it 13 from this area in 5 trips....
I almost rang her doorbell after I was done and was going to tell her to get a hobby besides eating...
( Sorry I said I was going to be nice...)
Thanks For Looking ................................DPSB

 

[99Brown]

Bob-Good haul. Keep it up man!

 

[Old Dog]

A good note for everyone,
watch your town and see where they are doing the sidewalks and streets.
The police chief here is an MDer and he has a huge collection of Barber quarters and halfs.
Just by going over the places where they are replacing sidewalks and redoing streets.

OD

 

[ModernMiner]

A good note for everyone,
watch your town and see where they are doing the sidewalks and streets.
The police chief here is an MDer and he has a huge collection of Barber quarters and halfs.
Just by going over the places where they are replacing sidewalks and redoing streets.

OD

Old Dog,
Great tip, and you are correct. Ridley and I have been MDing an old early 1900's house in the downtown area, and one side had new sidewalks. I detected along the yard close to the sidewalk, and so far have dug a 3-ringer CW bullet, a 1907 Order Of Owls fraternity pendant, and a USNA WW1 collar disc. That area has been very productive for me.
-MM-

 

[root]

I woulda told that any coins would be mine and any chocolate filled coins would be hers.

HH,

root

 

[Old Dog]

I would have told her
"I can run faster scared than you can mad lady."

LOL
OD

 

[GPURS]

Good job Bob! Hard to believe that there are so many squeamish people on this board that want to give long winded dissertations about how you should be a peacefull,loving person, while some woman is infringing on YOUR rights! Cowering and running from rude people is not a good example to set! Thanks for not being a sheep!

 

[fatsmahoney]

we need to rise up like the NRA and protect our rights well call it the national association of metal detectorist rights

 

[DANGLANGLEY]

Nice finds there. I hunt a middle school football field sometimes and I have permission to metal detect from the lady that oversees every activity at the school. It's a small community and I get a ration of crap just about every time I hunt there. I just say that I have permission from Bonnie to do this and I give them my phone number and tell them if they can tell where I have hurt anything I will gladly come back and fix it and never hunt there again. So far I haven't gotten any calls saying that I've messed up anything.

That lady may have been taking care of that little strip for a lot of years and considered it hers. Some people don't know the city owns that strip between the sidewalk and the curb. Then again, some people are just impossible to deal with. I can't say that I blame you for standing up for your rights with the way she blasted you. I had two smart A$$ kids tell me to get off of their school property and I couldn't help myself... I told them to mind their own business just as mean as they told me to leave. I figured I would have the police coming to check me out but that didn't happen. Good luck on hunting the sidewalks.

DANGLANGLEY

 

[{Sentinel}]

All I can say is that a couple of people on this thread need to chill out, take a chill pill :P I agree with GPURS and think that you, DesPlaines_IL_SilverBob, handled yourself VERY well personally.

 

[Skrimpy]

No " PAIN" was caused. Your looking at this in the wrong manner....
READ " DIRT no GRASS" All the grass is being replaced...
I wasn't breaking any laws.....or I would have been arrested 3 other times......
Happy hunting.........................Jes

Oh boy, I'm going to get flamed for this but I just can't help it...

I don't think this lady was upset about the curb side. It was clearly just dirt. By the sounds of it, she was just making excuses to try and get you to stop (although we only see it through your eyes). I have found that some people regard detecting as "stealing" no matter where you do it, when you do it, and no matter what you find. Whatever you find "belongs" to someone, whether or not it ever gets dug up, and whether or not you have permission from the property owner to do so. You never know, someone might come back for it someday. I really don't think people like this grasp what we do, what we collect, how much of what we find is really valuable, or that the original owners have most likely written it off or are dead and don't care. It would have done you no good trying to explain to her what you were doing, or by being really nice to her. She still would have been irate and probably would have called the police anyway. I really don't believe in being downright mean to people, but in this case I don't think walking away, or trying to be nice would have gotten any of us, or metal detecting anywhere. She doesn't get it, she never did, and she never will. You could have been nice to her, walked away, with that GW and Rosie still rotting in the ground, and she would still would think "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!". I think this was a rare instance where not being nice, (although you weren't mean, you were just uncaring) was the correct course of action. In the end, I think no matter what, she would be upset at you for detecting. If you were across the street she still would have called the cops. The only difference between being nice and not being nice here is that you saved two nice pieces of silver from certain destruction. Good for you, and thank you for making my 43 GW worth less.

 

[ModernMiner]

Skrimpy,
Very well said.
-MM-

 

[Skrimpy]

I would have told her
"I can run faster scared than you can mad lady."
LOL
OD

Now thats a piece of comedy!

 

[Skrimpy]

Skrimpy,
Very well said.
-MM-

Thanks MM

 

[Harry_Morant]

There is some benefits to wearing ear-phones with the detector - people have no idea whether you can hear them or not - just smile, tap your ears and get back to detecting

I think that all you have to do is continue being polite, know where you stand in regard to permission to detect the area and just get on with it. Being fearful about being closed out of areas and moving on every time someone is ignorant and complains is no way to enjoy a hobby. If that was the case, grass would just be for looking at, you couldn't walk a dog, play frisbee with the kids or fly a kite without someone not being happy about it.

If you are worried about complaints always ensure that you take any rubbish, dig neat plugs, take care in placing them back, don't scatter dirt everywhere and even pry out the occasional noxious weed from the park. If you do end up having someone get in your face calmly mention that you're removing rubbish, being careful not to do any damage and helping keep the area safe for the kids. They'd have to be pretty small minded to continue to complain. If you're not comfortable doing this politely then leaving may be a good option. I've never had to and I don't plan on starting any time soon

 

[teverly]

I agree Harry.
I am not condoning confrontation but if i know i can legaly hunt the strip i do it.I have people call the cops on me amd the cops were very polite and when i offered to leave they said dont worry you are not breaking any laws.
I saw a post where someone mentioned people trespassing on fields around civil war areas.Again this is a different situattion.That is private property and you must get the owners permission.
In this case,it is City property and detecting is not prohibited.So do you mean to tell me if i came up to you in a city park and said hey you cant do that here,you would leave??Even though you know you are allowed to detect??
Anyway, i thin khe handled it well and did the Right thing!!!!
Great fines and happy hunting.

 

[Prober]

Nice finds. No matter what, if what you are doing is legal, you don't have to take anyone's BS. Walking away doesn't solve anything...unless you are outnumbered. HAHA I've lived on this earth a long time and have taken a lot of BS from bosses and others during that time...now that I'm retired they can kiss my %$#, I don't put up with it anymore. Its like you are waiting in line and someone tries to line jump...OVER MY DEAD BODY!

 

[desertfox]

Hunting in a park and hunting in front of somebody's home are two diffirent things. I don't care if your Right or Wrong, if the home owner ask you to leave, you leave. I have lived in cities wher MDing has been banned all over the city just for this kind of reason. Myself I don't like being shut out of places to detect just because a few people know the law! He's already had the cop's come out and check on him 4 times. The old Bitty tells her neighbors, now you have 3 old Bitties. One goes to a city councel meeting, now your banned.....Nobody wants that. Right or Wrong. If your hunting a park or a school yard where its permisable, by all means stand up for your rights, I would expect nothing less from any of us. My thoughts, like them or not....

Desertfox

 

[teverly]

Ok so you have a double standard.
The same thing could apply to the park.If on person complains and goes to a city council meeting you can be banned from the parks....
City property is city property....no if ans or buts..
So you cant say well i will stand up for my right to detect in a park if someone hassels me but not if im hunting curb strips..
And just so you know most places dont just ban the curb strips..if they ban city property they ban it all,so it could just as easily be the fact that people in the park have complained.
My point is if you know its ok to detect then do it.We keep telling people get permission make sure you are legal,now your saying well even if your legal just leave
Also let me point out if the city decided to go down the strips and dig it up,they will take out trees,flowers ect and they dont care...

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

I would always be proactive, rather than reactive.
In a situation where I would be on what outwardly appears to be on (or is even close to) private property I always knock on the door to ask their permission, explaining that although it is not their property, would it be ok if I metal detected there? Then I go on to explain the hobby.

Although it is not their property, I do not want to infringe on them. There are wooded areas near me that border private property, and I always inform the people who live there what I am doing. I have never been turned away, and some have even invited me to detect in their yard.

 

[Spitfire Reddie]

Nice digs Bob silver is ALWAYS nice !