Permission Granted . . . Permission Retracted

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Hello Everyone

I've been hunting my neighbours yard, front and back for about two weeks now with some very interesting finds. So far I've found a silver 1907 quarter, a 1940 English Large Cent, 6 pennies dated 1940 & earlier, also a replica British Mercenary Hessian Soldier Button. The fourth picture is the yard I've been hunting for 2 weeks. The last three photo's are of the yard I hunted today where I got scolded!

Yesterday afternoon while I was detecting, my other neighbour two doors over walked over and asked me "what was I looking for in the ground"? I told her, "I was looking for coins, jewelery or anything interesting". She said, "that if I wanted to I could hunt her front yard for coins too"? I thanked her very much and told her that I'd show her anything interesting that I might find. She then jokingly said, "that we could split any coin finds 50/50"!

So this afternoon I headed over to her yard and hunted for about 1.5 hours. I probably dug 20+ holes! Not a whole lot to show for my time except for a lot of trash, which I didn't photograph. I did find a 1938 penny and a 1950 Wheat. I included the 1907 silver quarter I found in the other neighbours yard, since I didn't post it earlier.

I was just about done her yard when she pulls up in her car. She gets out, comes over to me, looks at her lawn and says . . . "I don't think I want you to do this anymore"! I could tell that she was pretty upset about some of the dirt on her grass. I told her that, "I'll be raking the grass after I'm done and that the rain overnight tonight will wash away the dirt, by tomorrow it'll be hard to tell that I was ever here". She just looked at me and said, "don't bother" and walked away.

Has this ever happened to any of you? I think I do a pretty good job of "cleaning up after myself" when I'm detecting! I even make the effort to put down a drop-cloth when I dig soil out of a hole! This hunting experience left me feeling confused and somewhat angry!

Thanks for letting me rant and happy hunting to everyone!

Dave

 

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[underdogger]

I was in my first year of this hobby and was hunting a park in Seabastian FLA. I was on a job there and brought my detector . This park had something going on every weekend . It was about an acre big. So I am there for about an hour and finding suface clad like no ones biz. This lady comes up behind me and screams at me with head phones on as I was picking up a find . "that is not yours" see yelled. " you have no right to do what you are doing" . She scared the living ++++ out of me in the first place .
I just remembered Looking at her crazy self and just began uncontrolable laughing. I keept my headphones on and she was still yelling at me 100 yds away . I was more upset that she walked right up behind me and I never saw her. Many lessons learned that day. Have eyes in the back of your head and beware of your suroundings. Walk away and laugh it off and do not take it personal .

 

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[cyberborikua]

I was in my first year of this hobby and was hunting a park in Seabastian FLA. I was on a job there and brought my detector . This park had something going on every weekend . It was about an acre big. So I am there for about an hour and finding suface clad like no ones biz. This lady comes up behind me and screams at me with head phones on as I was picking up a find . "that is not yours" see yelled. " you have no right to do what you are doing" . She scared the living ++++ out of me in the first place .
. . . Many lessons learned that day. Have eyes in the back of your head and beware of your suroundings. Walk away and laugh it off and do not take it personal .

This topic is quite interesting. I think we would be telling 1000s of stories. I also had a lady in a park hoping for me not to make a lot of holes. I kindly explained to her that the grass would grow again rather quickly. She smiled at me and left content! Not too bad and I kept hunting!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Never had that problem Anti q Dave with out trying to be a smart @## One homeowner left and returned with the a huge spade shovel . He said my WW 2 shovel was too small

Thanks buddy!

Nice finds....
I'm sure your neighbor wanted something and get angry ..... maybe a romantic dinner and then tell the whole neighborhood.
You did well.
H

So Hispan, that's your secret to how you get permission to search all those great fields!
Maybe I'll try it . . . but I'd have to invite my wife!

Cheers,
Dave

Bummer!!! Hope your next spot is loaded with silver

Thanks sscindercoop!

Best of luck to you as well!

Dave

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

i dont know why she would be so upset, her yard looks to be 75% crab grass anyways.you know what they say crab grass outside crab ass inside!!

That's a good one rusty nail!
I've lived next to this lady for almost 15 years now and I'm still having a hard time believing how she reacted!

Dave

I was in my first year of this hobby and was hunting a park in Seabastian FLA. I was on a job there and brought my detector . This park had something going on every weekend . It was about an acre big. So I am there for about an hour and finding suface clad like no ones biz. This lady comes up behind me and screams at me with head phones on as I was picking up a find . "that is not yours" see yelled. " you have no right to do what you are doing" . She scared the living ++++ out of me in the first place .
I just remembered Looking at her crazy self and just began uncontrollable laughing. I kept my headphones on and she was still yelling at me 100 yds away . I was more upset that she walked right up behind me and I never saw her. Many lessons learned that day. Have eyes in the back of your head and beware of your surroundings. Walk away and laugh it off and do not take it personal .

Thanks for the sound advice underdogger!

It's nothing personal, it's just business . . . right!

HH,
Dave

 

[magjm]

I rarely detect private property unless I'm searching for a lost item at owners' request, and then I'm nervous if I have an audience. No matter how careful you are, there is always one or two holes that don't quite look right when filled back in. Some types of grass are more forgiving, and it's nice when rain is expected. Homeowners rescinding permission is the least of my thoughts. Frustrating yes but maybe I'll be forced to find a better spot. I've been asked to leave schools a few times. I state my case and leave. If I can clarify that I do have permission I return.

I was detecting the wood chips around a playground in a local park when I was confronted by a woman. I was making a mess she said. Felt like leaving and giving her the pile of metal and broken glass I'd found. Lots of broken liquor bottles and evidence of drug sales/use. Middle-aged white woman. Loud. Offensive. I asked if she worked there. NO. Public official. NO. I continued and she glowered from the sidelines. I kept a close watch over my shoulder though.

I was once stopped in a park by the Chief of Police. There had been a fight and stabbing. He thought my digger was the knife and I'd found it. I was standing there holding my digger and metaldetector and he stood there with his hand hovering over his weapon. I'm not the fastest thinker and it took a few seconds for the light bulb to light. I laid my digger on the ground and walked away to get ID. What others see when they watch us detect is not always the image we think we project. The homeowner may be leery of us but we need to think of our own safety also. I get better reception if I'm detecting with a friend, and I find I am more aware as I check often to see where she is. Safer for both of us.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

I rarely detect private property unless I'm searching for a lost item at owners' request, and then I'm nervous if I have an audience. No matter how careful you are, there is always one or two holes that don't quite look right when filled back in. Some types of grass are more forgiving, and it's nice when rain is expected. Homeowners rescinding permission is the least of my thoughts. Frustrating yes but maybe I'll be forced to find a better spot. I've been asked to leave schools a few times. I state my case and leave. If I can clarify that I do have permission I return.

I was detecting the wood chips around a playground in a local park when I was confronted by a woman. I was making a mess she said. Felt like leaving and giving her the pile of metal and broken glass I'd found. Lots of broken liquor bottles and evidence of drug sales/use. Middle-aged white woman. Loud. Offensive. I asked if she worked there. NO. Public official. NO. I continued and she glowered from the sidelines. I kept a close watch over my shoulder though.

I was once stopped in a park by the Chief of Police. There had been a fight and stabbing. He thought my digger was the knife and I'd found it. I was standing there holding my digger and metaldetector and he stood there with his hand hovering over his weapon. I'm not the fastest thinker and it took a few seconds for the light bulb to light. I laid my digger on the ground and walked away to get ID. What others see when they watch us detect is not always the image we think we project. The homeowner may be leery of us but we need to think of our own safety also. I get better reception if I'm detecting with a friend, and I find I am more aware as I check often to see where she is. Safer for both of us.

Thanks very much for sharing your experiences with us magjm! I get the feeling after reading all of the responses to this post that I'm not alone in when it comes to the public venting their indignation towards our hobby of choice. I firmly believe that we all perform an important safety service to the community by removing piles of metal, broken glass, metal scraps, screws, bolts, nails and many other dangerous materials that inhabit our soils.

My only suggestion here is that we all take a moment while we're detecting, if someone expresses concern with what we're doing, to help educate the general public on the positive aspect of metal detecting!

Thank you to all the TreasureNet members that took the time to respond!

David

 

[DirtDigler]

Generally, I've been hunting larger areas where I am not visible from the road. I can understand how a landowner might have a change of heart though. They might not realize that we don't just magically extract items from the soil once we locate them. Another issue is the attention one gets from detecting in someone's yard. People seeing you might get the idea that the owner welcomes anyone to come in and look around.

I see this permission as a favor and understand that it's a fragile arrangement, at best. I try to downplay my finds because although they are valuable to me as historical relics, to others it might seem more like easy money. When you make a good find, the casual onlooker may not realize the hours and hours of searching and research you have put forth. All they see is your harvest and the next question is usually, "How much is it worth?". When a relic is found, immediately you become the caretaker of a piece of history. You are the conservator, the researcher and the protector. A responsible historian will quickly learn all he/she can about their discovery. A nice by-product of a great hobby.

 

[HISPAN]

Hello Antiquarian !
I do not dine with the owners of the fields that are male ... very ugly and dirty.

H

 

[Monty]

Along the same lines, I have found quite a bit of silver coins hunting old boulevard medians. I caught flack a few times from the abuting property owners even though I was perfectly legal. So, I bought me a cheap yellow hard had and orange reflective vest that I wear when I hunt those areas. So far I've never had anyone confront me since. Now they usually just look and wave or ignore me completely. I really felt silly the first few times I tried it but now I don't even think about it. It also works for the city easement between the sidewalk and the street. I had one guy ask me what I was doing and I answered his question with a question, " Where does the utility line run along here"? He even took time to show me and never was the wiser. But , don't ever represent yourself as a City or County employee as that is illegal, at least here. Monty

 

[NewsMan]

My neighbor gave me permission one day to do his lawn, I did it for about 3 hours and called it enough. Im sure theres plenty more good finds there, but there is a point where you need to realize if your wearing out your welcome. I mean come on people, digging holes in someones yard every day for 2 or 3 weeks is going to upset people Yeah some people are cool with it, but some are not. If your not explaining to the homeowner that you plan on coming back again and again and again and again? then you can only expect them to get a little edgy. If its a site where you just knocked on the door? Then you should be checking in with the homeowner each time before you start hunting. Its just common courtesy and respect.

I check every time I go back to a place. As for yards: I strictly hunt silver these days and move on.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Generally, I've been hunting larger areas where I am not visible from the road. I can understand how a landowner might have a change of heart though. They might not realize that we don't just magically extract items from the soil once we locate them. Another issue is the attention one gets from detecting in someone's yard. People seeing you might get the idea that the owner welcomes anyone to come in and look around.

I see this permission as a favor and understand that it's a fragile arrangement, at best. I try to downplay my finds because although they are valuable to me as historical relics, to others it might seem more like easy money. When you make a good find, the casual onlooker may not realize the hours and hours of searching and research you have put forth. All they see is your harvest and the next question is usually, "How much is it worth?". When a relic is found, immediately you become the caretaker of a piece of history. You are the conservator, the researcher and the protector. A responsible historian will quickly learn all he/she can about their discovery. A nice by-product of a great hobby.

Thanks for posting DirtDigler! Your post was well written, well stated and very poignant!

Thanks,
Dave

Hello Antiquarian !
I do not dine with the owners of the fields that are male ... very ugly and dirty.

H

I think I might just take you up on your advice Hispan. There's a very beautiful woman who lives in the house across the street from me and I'd love to "get into her yard" . . . if you know what I mean!?

Cheers,
Dave

Along the same lines, I have found quite a bit of silver coins hunting old boulevard medians. I caught flack a few times from the abuting property owners even though I was perfectly legal. So, I bought me a cheap yellow hard had and orange reflective vest that I wear when I hunt those areas. So far I've never had anyone confront me since. Now they usually just look and wave or ignore me completely. I really felt silly the first few times I tried it but now I don't even think about it. It also works for the city easement between the sidewalk and the street. I had one guy ask me what I was doing and I answered his question with a question, " Where does the utility line run along here"? He even took time to show me and never was the wiser. But , don't ever represent yourself as a City or County employee as that is illegal, at least here. Monty

I've often thought about this tactic myself, in regard to hunting the old boulevards & medians in front of homes. I just think that . . . as you already stated, people think of those areas as "part of their property" and it would become to confrontational for me.

I like the idea of wearing a hard hat and the reflective vest though!

Thanks,
Dave

My neighbor gave me permission one day to do his lawn, I did it for about 3 hours and called it enough. Im sure theres plenty more good finds there, but there is a point where you need to realize if your wearing out your welcome. I mean come on people, digging holes in someones yard every day for 2 or 3 weeks is going to upset people Yeah some people are cool with it, but some are not. If your not explaining to the homeowner that you plan on coming back again and again and again and again? then you can only expect them to get a little edgy. If its a site where you just knocked on the door? Then you should be checking in with the homeowner each time before you start hunting. Its just common courtesy and respect.

I check every time I go back to a place. As for yards: I strictly hunt silver these days and move on.

That's what I'm always looking for too . . . but I only seem to find pennies!

Dave

 

[nova]

Move on. There wasn't much there anyway right.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Move on. There wasn't much there anyway right.

I hear yeah man!

Thanks,
Dave

 

[ArkieBassMan]

People are funny. With some you'll never have a problem, but some seem to enjoy causing misery to others. I have had landowners allow me to detect that I honestly don't think would have minded me digging their yard up with a backhoe. I've had them bring me drinks, snacks and sandwiches. I've had others run me off, threaten me, cuss me, etc. off city easements and neighboring properties that didn't even belong to them. If you do this long enough, you'll run the whole gamut and see a bit of everything.

What I do when detecting a yard with a "questionable" landowner is this: on the first trip, I ONLY dig the really good signals with a little depth - the ones I expect to be silver. There is no doubt I will pass up some good targets doing this, but if my time there is going to be limited as I suspect it may be, I don't want to waste it digging memorials, clad, and trash. I'll "cherry-pick" the heck out of it on that first trip. If everything goes well and I get permission for a return visit, then I won't be as selective.

 

[PROSPECTORMIKEL]

I HAVE YET TO BE RUN OFF. LOTS OF FOLKS WANT TO KNOW WHAT I'M DOING.
I DON'T GET OUT MUCH ANY MORE, BUT WHEN I DO, I GET WRITTEN PERMIT. IT'S A SIMPLE
CARD THAT STATES "YES. I HAVE PERMISSION TO BE HERE FROM___PERSON'S NAME_______.
AT THIS ___PHONE NUMBER____. PLEASE FEAL FREE TO CALL IF YOU THINK THAT I AM
DAMAGING THIS PROPERTY." AND HAVE THE OWNER FILL IN THE BLANKS, FOR SIGNATURE.
USE THE BACK OF THE CARD FOR MAP/ADDRESS ETC.

I ALSO WEAR AN ORANGE VEST. NO HARD HAT ... THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTION MONTY.

I MAKE TWO CUTS IN GRASS AND FOLD IT BACK, AND DO MY DIGGING WITH A PLASTIC TOOL
WHERE POS. AND PLACE THE DIRT IN A SMALL GOLD PAN(AND PASS SCOOP AND PAN OVER MY
COIL JUST TO DOUBLE CHECK).

I ALSO CARRY GRASS SEED IN THE POUCH THAT MY GOOD FINDS GO INTO. HEAVIES FALL TO THE BOTTOM. THE OTHER POCKET IS FOR SHOWING NOSEY NEIGHBORS.

DUMP DIRT BACK IN HOLE, FOLD GRASS BACK OVER THE HOLE, AND ADD SEED.

LOCAL FOLKS GET TO KNOW YOU BY REPUTATION AFTER A WHILE, AND OTHER MDers BENIFIT
FROM MY EXTRA EFFORT. I DON'T MIND AT ALL.

WHEN I AM ABLE TO GET OUT, I TRY TO MAKE THE BEST OF IT.

HAPPY HUNTING
PROSPECTORMIKEL

 

[Connecticut Sam]

Most land owner give permission to search their land. Get it in writing.

 

[wheatymike]

To me this is one of the only bummers about this hobby. Its hard to find places to hunt so you are stuck relying on the kindness of other privete land owners to grant you permission to hunt their property.
This is ok for some but I am not very comfortable cold calling on people by knocking on a strangers door and saying "hey can I dig in your yard?". Some of you guys are just bolder than me.
The stratagy that I have employeed that has worked pretty well so far, is to search out spots that have a higher probability me getting the go ahead.
Some of these locations are vacent lots in town that are old homesites. I usually knock on the neigbhoring house door and ask if they know who owns the lot. If they own it I ask if I can hunt it . Hunting an empty lot is a lot less invasive than an existing house, and I don't feel funny about comming back multiplute time to hunt, like I would at an occupied house.
Another place I like to ask for permission is older homes in town that have been converted into buisnesses. e.g. law firms, accounting offices ect. These people aren't really worried as much about the yard usually, unless it is well manicured. Then i don't even ask.
You are right about people being funny about things. I think at the root of it is sometimes jelousy plain and simple. People just don't want you finding anything of precieved value. Even though they don't want if for thereself. At least they don't want it bad enough to go out and buy a detector and spend the time to learn it and go out and dig thereself.
This is why I always go out of my way to thank a person very much when they do tell me yes. Sometimes I give them a little token gift like some candy, just to show my appreciation. No is always the easy answer. I am grateful for the yes. michael

 

[diggerdeeper]

Years ago, I was hunting a public school yard that had nothing posted to indicate it was off limits.
I wasn't there 15 minutes when a guy that lived next door to the school came running over yelling at me that I was trespassing and had no right to be there, and I better leave before he calls the cops.
I apologized and left immediately.
I later learned he had his own metal detector !!!!!!!

I never got to first base on another property where they were actually moving a 200 year old house back from the road.
The yard was all torn up, and I figured it was a perfect time to get permission.
The owner said there was an acquaintance that wanted to check it out first, and I humbly asked to have second chance; which she agreed to.
Later on, I followed up and was told the first person didn't find anything, and now the yard was all landscaped and re-seeded, so the owner told me to wait till fall so the grass has a chance to take hold.
A year goes by, and now she doesn't want anyone on the property.
What ya gonna do ??

 

[cti4sw]

Never. Must be a Canadian thing.

I had one guy who told me with a smug, irritating sneer on his face, that I could detect,
but wasn't allowed to dig ANY holes.
Nothing.
Just detect.
I left, and detected a yard nearby where the owners were kind enough to let me hunt there.
About an hour later, the original guy comes over, he remembers that he lost a set of keys,
(or something important, I honestly don't remember what it was), and would I want to hunt his yard.

I just laughed and laughed.

Carl

If I was any good at it, I would have used a screwdriver and hunted the snot outta his place just to spite that attitude.

 

[freddy williams]

I have had a few of those kind of hunts also I never let it bother me. I found silver once in the guys yard and it turned out he wanted it all instead of the 50/50 we agreed on So I just let him have it and went on about my business And never let it bother me. He thought he had some real money. As I walked away he said he young man just how much is this all worth I said about 5.85 cents. He laughed and walked away. He must have thought he had a payday from what I had found. But it was the first time I ever dugall 3 nichols dimes and quarters out of the ground. I think some of the time the older people think they burried something and hope you will findit and once they see you digging they want ya to leave, HH everyone