Detecting Spain current info needed

[crzhors]

Howdy,I've got a chance to go to Spain,Any current info about Import and use of detectors would be greatly appreciated. I gather that the Odyssey debacle has screwed detecting near water.Thanks, JD

 

[TORRERO]

Most of my info is old, as I left Spain in 1996,
but you do not say what kind of detecting you want to do.
The beaches are pretty much open for hunting any time, although in the summer months
I would wait until evening or early morning as Spanish beaches can be very populated.

As for any other type of hunting, ...
Well when I was there in 1989 - 1996 you could hunt in the fields or farm land with or w/out
permission, if the owner cared he'd tell you to leave, if the Guardia Civil found you they might
harass you, depended on where you were, but most of the time being out in someone 1000 acre
fields nobody even knew you were there...

That said, in 5 years we were stopped and asked 3-4 times about permission from "Cadiz" "Central / local Government" where we were....
when we did not have some form of document ..... (it did not exists) then we were told to leave...

But never any trouble on the beaches except in the resort area's some of the beach bars that had
chairs to rent. would run you off saying anything lost belonged to their patrons...

Hope this helps even though its 13 years out of date...

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Torrero gives an interesting perspective. thanx.

This subject came up on a beach hunting forum last year. Innocently enough, a person had just returned from a vacation in Spain. They had taken their detector with them, and tried the beaches at the resort where they were staying. They did quite well, and found numerous gold and silver rings. They posted of their fun and finds on this beach hunting forum when they got home.

Along with the usual "atteboys", they also received some negative comments that the reason why they probably did good, is that detecting in Spain is "illegal" (thus the possible reason why the beaches were seemingly un-worked?). The person making the post replied that they had not had any problems, and were hunting in broad daylight, and no one cared. Like even passing cops or whatever paid them no mind?

So I would tend to agree with Torrero on this: If you read federal level laws in some of these countries, it might seem dire. But so too might that be some foreigner's concept of the USA, if they were to read ARPA, for instance (or read of Mel Fishers hassles, blah blah blah). Yet we all know that casual hobbyist detecting here is ok, as long as you're not raiding the pyramaids, exporting gold bars, sneaking into Shiloh or archie's sensitive sites, etc...

And yes, even if someone could find laws about Spain, they would only apply to public lands. You could still hunt private farmers fields with permission to your heart's content (like they do in england), as that's private land, not public.

The same humorous outcome has happened for Mexico: people inquire ahead to consulates or lawyer types, asking if they can metal detect. They get told "no". Imagine their surprise when they see that detectors on tourist beaches there are a common site, and that there are dealers in major cities, etc.... doh!

JMHO.

 

[TORRERO]

Yes, after spending 5 years of my life there, 2 in service and 3-4 out of service I can tell you with
certainty that it was not illegal to hunt the beaches and I had many, many Spanish friends that
I saw on the beaches every day with machines...

Mater of fact, in the summer time we would go to different beaches, and in the daytime you would not see anyone detecting, but after 5:30 or 6:00pm you would see 5-6 other guys, Spanish
come out on the beach and hunt...

People do not understand this, but in Spain as in many parts of Europe they have done away with small paper currency, even though now everyone is on the Euro, when I was there the Peseta was
the currency and the smallest paper money was a $10
Coins came in 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 500 Peseta coins meaning that there was a lot more coins to find...
Also Spain is a heavy Catholic country, and everyone and their brother and sister wears lots of Gold
and Silver religious medallions, earrings, rings, bracelets, and even if you had 5 other guys hunting
the same beach as you, the odds were really good you would find something of Gold.... all 18k
as they called 14k "low gold" or scrap gold..........

 

[TORRERO]

I dug a lot of Gold while I was in Spain, and I did actually come accross some beaches that had not
been hunted much, even though these were outside the major cities...
I saw the posting that this guy put up and there is no doubt in my mine that it is intirely
possible to dig like that on the beaches in Spain...

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Torrero, you say:

"I can tell you with certainty that it was not illegal to hunt the beaches and I had many, many Spanish friends that I saw on the beaches every day with machines..."

Perhaps. But how much you wanna make a bet, that if you (and all those other hunters), were to ask enough questions, high enough up the bureaucratic ladders, that you might not find someone to "tell you otherwise"? (And the moral of that story would be ..... ?? )

 

[TORRERO]

Torrero, you say:

"I can tell you with certainty that it was not illegal to hunt the beaches and I had many, many Spanish friends that I saw on the beaches every day with machines..."

Perhaps. But how much you wanna make a bet, that if you (and all those other hunters), were to ask enough questions, high enough up the bureaucratic ladders, that you might not find someone to "tell you otherwise"? (And the moral of that story would be ..... ?? )

Don't ask don't tell....
or keep your dmm mouth shut...
LOL