Lesson learned

[jb58]

older lady gave me permisson to hunt her big old house today and i found a 3 silvers a indian penny and a bunch of wheats.
i always show my finds and share them with the owners of the property. well the lady decided she would keep everything an said, i guess your just doing this for fun and also said one of the silver was special to her because it was her brothers birth date,which was fine and dandy.(1936 merc). i think from now on i wont be showing my finds to anymore owners and depending on my mood i might throw them a bone every so often. hate to be that way and i know its there property but i didnt even get a dad gum wheat out of it all. and yes i know,all owners arent like that but that really ticked me off and set the stage for my future hunts! good luck to you all and HH!

 

[Reverend B*IKE*]

Wow! You did learn the hard way! I would always carry a pocket full of clad finds for the owners in the future!

 

[liftloop]

what a eye opener.

 

[dogpound]

i hate when that happens. if could of been worse, you could of found a nice seated half dollar

 

[deepskyal]

Been a few discussions on here about that exact scene. Like B*IKE* suggested, carry some pulltabs, some clad and put the keepers in another pocket.

Yes, we do this for fun, but we like our trophys too.

Al

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Some of your replies concern me fellas.

If the landowner wants the finds, then you should respectively, and ethically turn them over. This is how the doors stay open for the hobby. Modern Miner (Doug) is an perfect example and role model to this. It is a given to him. I had a land owner tell me he once, that wanted to test the character of a neighbor he granted permission to detect on his families farm where there was a documented Civil War skirmish. The landowner (in his 70's then) had nothing better to do than watch him from his upstairs window while he drank his morning coffee. The old man watched the neighbor guy dig several holes throughout the morning, and put some things in one pocket, and some things in the other. When the neighbor came up to the house after his dig, he told the landowner excited, "I'd like to show you what I found!" The neighbor reached in one pocket and pulled out the clad and modern trash showing the old man, and telling him, "Thank You for letting me detect here" The old man smiled, and said, "That is great son, but may I see the other pocket?" The old man said he could see the neighbor kid turn white, and start to shake just a little, saying, "what do you mean? The old man a little upset, said, I have been watching you today son, and I saw you slipping things,pointing to the other pocket, in there. If you wouldn't mind please, I'd like to see them. The neighbor grew upset and said those things in that pocket, were from somewhere else. After a while, the assorted confederate buttons and other respectable relics dug that day were handed over to the old man. The old man smiled at the neighbor, held his hand out, to give the buttons and relics back to the neighbor, and said, "here you go son, now I would appreciate it if you never came back to my property, my sisters down the street property, and any of my other family members property. After speaking with the very spunky old guy, he gave me permission to hunt on his property, because he heard we had offered his sister the week before, some very sentimental and valuable finds we dug on her property. After I hunted that day, I had one of the best CW digs of my life, uncovering a pistol and my Louisiana button, which I offered to him. He smiles and said, "son those are yours, Thank you for showing them to me. By the way, my son owns 300 acres down the road your welcome to hunt too." That is a true story. Doug (Modern Miner) takes relics dug from owners properties, and makes the coolest looking shadow boxes for the owners to display in their homes or Museums. I invited Doug to one of my sites last year, where he gave the landowner CW relics displayed in a shadow box. Doug has many doors open because of this. Whenever I go back to their farm to hunt, the owner always asks how Doug is doing. So ethically folks, it is important to show the landowners your finds. 90 percent of the time they insist you keep it anyway.

 

[deepskyal]

So we have 2 extremes...one where the homeowner took all the finds and one where the homeowner watched through a window the whole time.

Both are rarities.

I've seen the stories on here also where the homeowner just walked around with the detectorist too, all sorts of scenarios.

This begs the question of an agreement beforehand on what to do with the finds.

The houses I do I also know the owners and they simply wouldn't take my finds. I don't bother with strangers because you just don't know what their mindset is.

I'd probably show my finds if I did do a strangers place, until the time they took it all...then I'd carry the less valuable stuff to show in my pouch.

I like to paraphrase a saying. "Screw me once, shame on you. Screw me twice, shame on me."

Al

 

[rjs123]

What goes around comes around. I couldnt do that to someone who let me dig holes on their property. To each his own though. I'm thankful for all the sites I get. Im not in to collect wealth or vast amounts of valuable relics. However, dont get me wrong. I like finding AND keeping the good stuff as much as the next guy. Im with Mike on this one.

 

[djm of PA]

This is why you always want to set the ground rules ahead of time. That way you can get a feel for what the landowner will want out of it. I've done a few different deals...when in a historic yard, I keep all coin, they get anything engraved/historic....or it gets donated to the local historical society.
When in an everyday back yard, I always ask that all coins are mine but if a 50/50 split of anything valued over $100 will do. I've only been turned down once...to which I left and never returned. I could see that this woman thought that a coin her grandfather might have dropped back in 1920 would be considered a family relic....I asked her if this was a certain coin and she said "no, any coin dropped back then would have been in his pocket". I bid her good day and got out of dodge quick!
Anything engraved or family oriented I will always offer right back to the family first.
I've been to probably 20-30 different houses since I started detecting last year and only had an issue with that one lady, but again, because I asked up front, I knew it was a situation where I didn't want to bust my hump all day just to hand it all over to her lazy butt!

 

[Dano Sverige]

It's always a grey area what to do in these situations. As has been said,we all like to keep our good finds and build up our collections etc, but if you have manners...and morals, then it's just common courtesy to show the owner your finds at the end of a session.Either this or, if it's a big farm and too far to walk back then at least phone or show them next time you go to detect.
it's things like this why we in the UK print out,carry and get signed by both parties whenever we gain permission to hunt, a 50/50 agreement. As i've stated before, this works in the UK and Europe due to most hunting places being large farms and the chance of valuable and VERY valuable finds being made often.
Here in Sweden, if a farmer gives me permission and i find anything..then it belongs to me. No if's and buts..by law it's mine! Yet i would still show them the finds at the end of the day and if they wanted any of them then it's bargaining time lol.

The best scenario is Mike's friends way. Owners LOVE a little gift and if you can make shadow boxes or whatever then it will always stand you in good stead, especially with farmers who have a lot of other farmer friends with lots of land. A lot of this hobby comcerms good deeds and word of mouth between friends.

It's down to the individual really. Most of us like to keep our finds, but if the owner claims them then fair enough, take the blow on the chin. A lot of our hobby is about the hunt and the find, being the first to hold that lost item in "x" amount of years,decades,centuries or millenia. After that initial thrill, assuming the item isn't that valuable, then it's just another old item and if the owner of the land claims them...sod them!

 

[Woodland Detectors]

"The best scenario is Mike's friends way. Owners LOVE a little gift and if you can make shadow boxes or whatever then it will always stand you in good stead, especially with farmers who have a lot of other farmer friends with lots of land. A lot of this hobby comcerms good deeds and word of mouth between friends. "

 

[Dman]

Some of your replies concern me dudes.

If the landowner wants the finds, then you should respectively, and ethically turn them over. This is how the doors stay open for the hobby. Modern Miner (Doug) is an perfect example and role model to this. It is a given to him. I had a land owner tell me he once, that wanted to test the character of a neighbor he granted permission to detect on his families farm where there was a documented Civil War skirmish. The landowner (in his 70's then) had nothing better to do than watch him from his upstairs window while he drank his morning coffee. The old man watched the neighbor guy dig several holes throughout the morning, and put some things in one pocket, and some things in the other. When the neighbor came up to the house after his dig, he told the landowner excited, "I'd like to show you what I found!" The neighbor reached in one pocket and pulled out the clad and modern trash showing the old man, and telling him, "Thank You for letting me detect here" The old man smiled, and said, "That is great son, but may I see the other pocket?" The old man said he could see the neighbor kid turn white, and start to shake just a little, saying, "what do you mean? The old man a little upset, said, I have been watching you today son, and I saw you slipping things,pointing to the other pocket, in there. If you wouldn't mind please, I'd like to see them. The neighbor grew upset and said those things in that pocket, were from somewhere else. After a while, the assorted confederate buttons and other respectable relics dug that day were handed over to the old man. The old man smiled at the neighbor, held his hand out, to give the buttons and relics back to the neighbor, and said, "here you go son, now I would appreciate it if you never came back to my property, my sisters down the street property, and any of my other family members property. After speaking with the very spunky old guy, he gave me permission to hunt on his property, because he heard we had offered his sister the week before, some very sentimental and valuable finds we dug on her property. After I hunted that day, I had one of the best CW digs of my life, uncovering a pistol and my Louisiana button, which I offered to him. He smiles and said, "son those are yours, Thank you for showing them to me. By the way, my son owns 300 acres down the road your welcome to hunt too." That is a true story. Doug (Modern Miner) takes relics dug from owners properties, and makes the coolest looking shadow boxes for the owners to display in their homes or Museums. I invited Doug to one of my sites last year, where he gave the landowner CW relics displayed in a shadow box. Doug has many doors open because of this. Whenever I go back to their farm to hunt, the owner always asks how Doug is doing. So ethically folks, it is important to show the landowners your finds. 90 percent of the time they insist you keep it anyway.

You are 100% right. Except I may not show MM my finds when I get to NC.

 

[VOL1266-X]

Some of your replies concern me dudes.

If the landowner wants the finds, then you should respectively, and ethically turn them over. This is how the doors stay open for the hobby. Modern Miner (Doug) is an perfect example and role model to this. It is a given to him. I had a land owner tell me he once, that wanted to test the character of a neighbor he granted permission to detect on his families farm where there was a documented Civil War skirmish. The landowner (in his 70's then) had nothing better to do than watch him from his upstairs window while he drank his morning coffee. The old man watched the neighbor guy dig several holes throughout the morning, and put some things in one pocket, and some things in the other. When the neighbor came up to the house after his dig, he told the landowner excited, "I'd like to show you what I found!" The neighbor reached in one pocket and pulled out the clad and modern trash showing the old man, and telling him, "Thank You for letting me detect here" The old man smiled, and said, "That is great son, but may I see the other pocket?" The old man said he could see the neighbor kid turn white, and start to shake just a little, saying, "what do you mean? The old man a little upset, said, I have been watching you today son, and I saw you slipping things,pointing to the other pocket, in there. If you wouldn't mind please, I'd like to see them. The neighbor grew upset and said those things in that pocket, were from somewhere else. After a while, the assorted confederate buttons and other respectable relics dug that day were handed over to the old man. The old man smiled at the neighbor, held his hand out, to give the buttons and relics back to the neighbor, and said, "here you go son, now I would appreciate it if you never came back to my property, my sisters down the street property, and any of my other family members property. After speaking with the very spunky old guy, he gave me permission to hunt on his property, because he heard we had offered his sister the week before, some very sentimental and valuable finds we dug on her property. After I hunted that day, I had one of the best CW digs of my life, uncovering a pistol and my Louisiana button, which I offered to him. He smiles and said, "son those are yours, Thank you for showing them to me. By the way, my son owns 300 acres down the road your welcome to hunt too." That is a true story. Doug (Modern Miner) takes relics dug from owners properties, and makes the coolest looking shadow boxes for the owners to display in their homes or Museums. I invited Doug to one of my sites last year, where he gave the landowner CW relics displayed in a shadow box. Doug has many doors open because of this. Whenever I go back to their farm to hunt, the owner always asks how Doug is doing. So ethically folks, it is important to show the landowners your finds. 90 percent of the time they insist you keep it anyway.

You are 100% right. Except I may not show MM my finds when I get to NC.

Me neither Mikey-LOL. HH, Q.

 

[ModernMiner]

Some of your replies concern me dudes.

If the landowner wants the finds, then you should respectively, and ethically turn them over. This is how the doors stay open for the hobby. Modern Miner (Doug) is an perfect example and role model to this. It is a given to him. I had a land owner tell me he once, that wanted to test the character of a neighbor he granted permission to detect on his families farm where there was a documented Civil War skirmish. The landowner (in his 70's then) had nothing better to do than watch him from his upstairs window while he drank his morning coffee. The old man watched the neighbor guy dig several holes throughout the morning, and put some things in one pocket, and some things in the other. When the neighbor came up to the house after his dig, he told the landowner excited, "I'd like to show you what I found!" The neighbor reached in one pocket and pulled out the clad and modern trash showing the old man, and telling him, "Thank You for letting me detect here" The old man smiled, and said, "That is great son, but may I see the other pocket?" The old man said he could see the neighbor kid turn white, and start to shake just a little, saying, "what do you mean? The old man a little upset, said, I have been watching you today son, and I saw you slipping things,pointing to the other pocket, in there. If you wouldn't mind please, I'd like to see them. The neighbor grew upset and said those things in that pocket, were from somewhere else. After a while, the assorted confederate buttons and other respectable relics dug that day were handed over to the old man. The old man smiled at the neighbor, held his hand out, to give the buttons and relics back to the neighbor, and said, "here you go son, now I would appreciate it if you never came back to my property, my sisters down the street property, and any of my other family members property. After speaking with the very spunky old guy, he gave me permission to hunt on his property, because he heard we had offered his sister the week before, some very sentimental and valuable finds we dug on her property. After I hunted that day, I had one of the best CW digs of my life, uncovering a pistol and my Louisiana button, which I offered to him. He smiles and said, "son those are yours, Thank you for showing them to me. By the way, my son owns 300 acres down the road your welcome to hunt too." That is a true story. Doug (Modern Miner) takes relics dug from owners properties, and makes the coolest looking shadow boxes for the owners to display in their homes or Museums. I invited Doug to one of my sites last year, where he gave the landowner CW relics displayed in a shadow box. Doug has many doors open because of this. Whenever I go back to their farm to hunt, the owner always asks how Doug is doing. So ethically folks, it is important to show the landowners your finds. 90 percent of the time they insist you keep it anyway.

You are 100% right. Except I may not show MM my finds when I get to NC.

Me neither Mikey-LOL. HH, Q.

Hey, I heard that. Now you'll have to empty your pockets before you leave NC. I'll have Andy turn you two upside-down and shake you. Just leave me the Yankee stuff.
-MM-

 

[bigtim1973]

Man what a bummer!!!! I have never had this happen.....Maybe it is because the houses I look around are vacant. Maybe that is something you should try. When I spot an old place I want to check out I go to the county clerk and give them the address and I contact the owner by phone or in person(whichever is more convienant) and I get permission to hunt. That way you do not have to worry about people looking out their windows at what your doing. You may have people stop while driving by and question you but for the most part I am left alone. No pressure and I take my time. I always ask the owner before I hunt if there was anything lost like jewelry or something before I start detecting that way if I find it I get it back to them. Good luck, Tim

 

[Tnmountains]

I am always happy to show and offer the finds to the landowner. Have had a few cherry pick the finds and leave me the left overs. It happens but I really do not mind as it is just a hobby and it is about making the finds that is important to me. I do not sell my stuff or like to put a value on things even though some dollar items have come my way. Just one interest of many. If it is on some one elses property they have that right to make a claim on anything I dig. I have probally given away over 100 arrowheads or CW bullets to landowners. It's ok though there is enough to go around.
Happy Huntn !!

 

[jb58]

I am always happy to show and offer the finds to the landowner. Have had a few cherry pick the finds and leave me the left overs. It happens but I really do not mind as it is just a hobby and it is about making the finds that is important to me. I do not sell my stuff or like to put a value on things even though some dollar items have come my way. Just one interest of many. If it is on some one elses property they have that right to make a claim on anything I dig. I have probally given away over 100 arrowheads or CW bullets to landowners. It's ok though there is enough to go around.
Happy Huntn !!
[/quote

good points from everyone-all i wanted was A coin-instead she ran in the house with the finds an never returned,she said she would look them over and be right back out. i have now problems sharing or giving them what they chose-its only appropriate to offer the hunter a piece of the finds! thanks for all the comments fellers! have a great weekend and hope you all find some good stuff!

 

[Monty]

I always carry my camera with me so I can photograph my finds in case they do want to keep them. So far no one has asked to keep my finds though. But I can see how it would happen. I have found old folks to be a little different than most people. One elderly lady.....well more elderly than me, put me on a timer and gave me 30 minutes! She came out after 30 minutes and said, "Your time is up, you have to go now"! Monty

 

[liftloop]

I always carry my camera with me so I can photograph my finds in case they do want to keep them. So far no one has asked to keep my finds though. But I can see how it would happen. I have found old folks to be a little different than most people. One elderly lady.....well more elderly than me, put me on a timer and gave me 30 minutes! She came out after 30 minutes and said, "Your time is up, you have to go now"! Monty

that's beautiful,I like that one,Monty were the best

 

[Kellyco]

older lady gave me permisson to hunt her big old house today and i found a 3 silvers a indian penny and a bunch of wheats.
i always show my finds and share them with the owners of the property. well the lady decided she would keep everything an said, i guess your just doing this for fun and also said one of the silver was special to her because it was her brothers birth date,which was fine and dandy.(1936 merc). i think from now on i wont be showing my finds to anymore owners and depending on my mood i might throw them a bone every so often. hate to be that way and i know its there property but i didnt even get a dad gum wheat out of it all. and yes i know,all owners arent like that but that really ticked me off and set the stage for my future hunts! good luck to you all and HH!

That's really unfair!! She should have set that expectation before you went in! I'm sorry!!!