streakert, metal detectors are a common site on Mexican tourist beaches. There are metal detector dealers in the bigger cities of mexico. So at first glance, things like this would tell you that it .... therefore .... must be "ok" then, right ?
But just like here, or various countries in Europe, etc.... if you kept asking long enough and hard enough of enough border consulates, lawyers, bureaucrats, etc... I bet you can find ones there to tell you "no". It's actually happened before. So the the tourist leaves his detector at home, while he heads off off to whatever Latin/Mexican/Carribean tourist beach he was heading to. Imagine his surprise when he sees other detectorist on the beach, w/o a care in the world, eh?
So in those case, what happened? No doubt his question got couched in terms of federal antiquities (raiding the pyramids), shipwreck salvor type things, exporting gold bars back across the border, blah blah blah . But the *reality* is quite different, for casual hobbyist type things. Moral of the story ? Don't ask silly questions of border lawyer bureaucrat archie type people, haha.
Have fun, and post pix of the gold rings you'll find
