Mark,
I can tell you what has worked for me- and I learned some of these tips here. go with your wife or girl friend and introduce yourself- after knocking on their door or seeing the person out walking their dog. let them know your in to coin finding/hunting, and ask them if you can coin hunt on their property. do it in person - as over the phone and e-mail people tend to give lame excuses, like my insurance won't let this type of activity be allowed on my property (when they have boating/camping/cook outs and swimming- all way more dangerous then my coin recovery on their camp/lake site- but like I said lame excuses happen if your not in person).
when you first approach a person don't bring your detector. come back later with it.
carry business cards with your name and address -explaining your a coin hunter- or hobby metal detectorist- if that is what you want to do- as your asking it's good to have them on hand....
never use the word 'dig' in your discussion with the person your asking. (it tends to give the person the idea that your going to mess up their lawn with a shovel- working on a tunnel going to china.)
when you do pinpoint and dig -don't ever make a mess/ don't leave a hole unfilled... (basics if your new- no offense, but digging is work- and some people think it's ok to make everyone else who metal detects look bad, by not following through and making it look like they where never recovering at that site. - it's part of the code as a metal detector everyone should be talking about- make the place you dig look like you've never been there. ) there was a really good video of how to dig a plug on Tnet- you might have to search for it....
smile when your asking for permission -
be honest if someone wants to see what you found and show them. I always keep in mind that if someone gave me permission to hunt on their lawn - it's their stuff- until you leave that lawn...I've seen some people on here carrying clad change and just show junk - I show good and bad stuff found, and I have heard some stories of people who would get mad over not seeing the real treasures found - or worse asking to 'look at' all the silver/clad and walking in the house with it and then not come back out basically saying it was all 'theirs' - leaving the poor guy who dug it all up standing in their yard like a fool. that is some mean/grimey stuff, if your first impression of the person is run away- it might be best to follow that instinct.
(I've never personally had to deal with just plain mean people -aside from crazy kids that wanted to cause trouble. they started questioning why I was there and I just waved at them as they drove away...ignorance is bliss.)
basic fact of life - everyone wants to feel important! most of the stories on here I hear people are being honest and finding a few silver coins/ they let the property owner know what they found- they get told just to keep them, they worked for them. not everyone is mean. personally I've found a few good rings on public property at the local parks- but nothing I'd have to really worry about- I even had one old property owner ask me what I was digging on his property (as he owns a public beach) I said mostly trash and some change. He was happy I was cleaning up the trash- he didn't care about the change- and since I had swam there as a kid I didn't do the 100% legit thing and ask permission before I started digging- as a group of kids was already there swimming (and drinking) at the location when he showed up checking to see what we were all doing. I was friendly and would have given him the change if he asked - after all it is his property. the last time I was there I found a sterling silver ring with fake CZ and a fake emerald on it. the kids that were fishing that day were watching and asking questions- I showed them what I was doing and how much clad change I dug up- then asked them if they saw any holes?
nope.
right.
the one boy there had a metal detector - and wanted to get back in to it- but had no place to go- I explained that it's best not to leave a mess if you want to keep doing this for fun...
it's best to think of asking for permission as a practice technique - if you make a mistake you don't get to search-
just remember if you don't ask it's 100% certain that your not going to be hunting that site. if you get turned down by someone in person give them a card and let them know if they change their mind or know someone who lost anything metal you'd be happy to help them in the future.
....this word of mouth might be really important for a few reasons - 1. everyone knows about 1000 people by the time they are in their 20s- older people know way more people then younger people.
2. if your a good person and you say return a ring with an inscription on it - do you think that person you returned it to is going to tell all 1000 people? probably not, but they will tell their in-laws and the good news travels about half as fast as bad news...another reason to be neat and fill those holes...if you are new and accidentally trash someone's lawn- that bad news will travel fast and the angry person will likely tell everyone they know - closing a lot of doors and keeping you from hunting some prime older homes.
just my observations and some of the ideas I've picked up from here on T Net.
I've been pretty good asking in person I've managed to get permission from all the people I've asked - via e-mail I've managed to get turned down or ignored by all those people. I might have to just request a meeting with the property owners and then ask in person to get better results - it appears that asking for anything online/ on a phone/ or via e-mail is a waste of time.
I do have another idea - one that I'm going to share with you. I started noticing a local complaint web site that basically has people turning in drug dealers, complaining about pot holes and lastly over grown abandoned lots. one of the local complaints for my area was 'no one has been on this lot for 5 years- the grass is as high as my fence' ...my idea is go and mow the lawn - then detect that property- if the city doesn't care, the owner doesn't care, mowing it (may take 30 mins- or $20 -and someone else's 30 mins!) and detecting on it isn't going to matter to anyone...-(only if it's not posted property.) this might be a really good way to open doors using charity and passing out cards. having a friend that is a landscaper is also a plus.
I'd also suggest reading a book called 'how to win friends and influence people' - it is written as a salesman's guide, but dealing with people in general it is helpful to understand what makes someone tick.
anyhow - good luck man- share your stories with us about your finds when you get out there...
