Hi to everyone, just signed up but I have been lurking for a while. Just wanted to share a personal experience. After being out of the detecting game for 20 plus years, I decided to get a new detector and start going again. Long story short, while coin hunting at a local school, I was approached by the school's facility coordinator and told that it was against the law to hunt there. When I asked for him to show me the law that said that, his responce was I'll show you the law. Pulled out his phone and a couple of minutes later two county police cars pull up and ask what the problem was. I told the officers that I was coin hunting and just wanted to see a copy of the law that says it is unlawful. Well after waiting for about thirty minutes the patrol officer comes back and gives me a piece of paper with the current code that covers this. Here is the Virginia code that they gave me ( 18.2-140 ).
18.2-140. Destruction of trees, shrubs, etc.
It shall be unlawful for any person to pick, pull, pull up, tear, tear up, dig, dig up, cut, break, injure, burn or destroy, in whole or in part, any tree, shrub, vine, plant, flower or turf found, growing or being upon the land of another, or upon any land reserved, set aside or maintained by the Commonwealth as a public park, or as a refuge or sanctuary for wild animals, birds or fish, or upon any land reserved, set aside or maintained as a public park by a park authority created under the provisions of § 15.2-5702, without having previously obtained the permission in writing of such other or his agent or of the superintendent or custodian of such park, refuge or sanctuary so to do, unless the same be done under the personal direction of such owner, his agent, tenant or lessee or superintendent or custodian of such park, refuge or sanctuary.
Any person violating this section shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor; provided, however, that the approval of the owner, his agent, tenant or lessee, or the superintendent or custodian of such park or sanctuary afterwards given in writing or in open court shall be a bar to further prosecution or suit.
(Code 1950, § 18.1-178; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1976, c. 757; 1998, c. 81.)
He did tell me that you had to have written permission from the principal of the school you were at or the parks and recreation guys to be able to hunt legally in the parks and that probably ain't gonna happen. I was told that I could surface hunt in the parks as I would not be violating any rules. After the facility guy left, one of the officers showed me a cannon ball he had found. He was an avid relic hunter and was going to the big DIV in November. We probably talked for another hour about metal detecting and civil war history. They took my name and information and I am in thier file so I am scared to do anything without permission.
Hope this helps and HH
). Just hitting the local park could yield relics for you. But do your research. Knock on a few doors and ask permission to hunt a field. The worst the landowner could do is say "no" (or maybe hit you with a dead cat). Sorry I can't be specific - I am still only researching the Suffolk area.
would be great to have some contacts
