Operating instructions
One area
to
concentrate·on is
under
skirting
boards, where coins
or
rings
might
have rolled. Doorways
too,
may prove rewarding
8$
many
money'transactions
take
place there.
Old
fireplace and chimeys
should
be
well
scanned
with
the
detector,
as
these are favourites
for
finding
hoards, etc.
The
floor-
boards should
be
examined
carefully
and special
attention
paid
to
short lengths
which
could conceal
caches.
It
is
also surprising
how
much money
is
lost
in
old
chairs,
so
give
them
a
look
over.
And
then,
of
course, the garden should be
thoroughly
examined. The
amount
of
coins lost in
old
houses cannot
be over-estimated. Most
coin
shops
confirm
that
many people bring coins in
for
valuation
that
they
have
found
8c.:ident811v in
their
houses. A deliberate search in a house
of
the
right
age
can
hardly
fail
to
be
rewarding.
Rivers The best parts
of
rivers
to
concentrate on are (1)
public
footpaths
along
r~r
banks. (2) Bends
of
the
river where erosion
has
been taking place. (3) Bends
in
the
river where coins are
likely
to
be
deposited against a particular bank
by
the action
of
the
current. (4) Areas downstream
of
old
drainage
pipes or upstream
of
projections such
as
wooded piers,
or
other
obstructions. (5) Old fords
or
bridges.
(6) Areas exposed at
low
tide
where eddy action
has
been taking place.
Tidal rivers are partic;ularly interesting,
as
once
you
have
found
a good site
or
spot where coins have
collected due
to
the
currents,
you
can
search the area well one day and still return at a later date
for
more rewarding finds. Rivers tend
to
sort
out
their
load and
distribute
it
according
to
weight along
the bank
in
places
like
those itemised above,
Beacluls Beaches are,
without
a
doubt,
the
favourite
haunt
of
the
average British metal detective.
At
one
time
or'another,
almost everybody
has
made the
journey
to
the coast. The beaches are the
only
place where people undress
publicly;
anyone
who
has
attempted
to
change
into
a bathing costume
discreetly and then store
their
coins
on
the open
sand
knows the chances
of
losing
not
only
coins,
but
jewellery and wristwatches,
too,
Once
an
object
has
been mislaid on the beach,
it
is
maddeningly
difficult
to
find
it
again.
There
is
also a high incidence
of
wrecks along
our
coasts,
the
contents
of
which are deposited at
intervals on
our
beaches.
These factors
contribute
to
make
our
beaches
probably
the richest site
for
the amateur metal
detective. The best times
to
explore beaches
are
after
heavy storms when the
sand
has
been
thoroughly
stirred up and shifted. A good place
to
concentrate on
is
along
or
just
below
the tide marks,
which
are
easily
identified
by
the
lines
of
debris
that
are
left.
Under piers
or
alongside breakwaters also
usually pay dividends.
Other good sites are:- Fairgrounds, Children's Playgrounds, Tobbogan runs and
Demolition
Sites.
METAL
DETECTING
AND
THE
LAW
RIGHTS
OF
THE
FINDER
The rights
of
the
finder
fall
into
two
distinct
classes.
The
first
relates
to
objects
that
have recently
been lost, and the second
to
items
of
gold
or
silver
which
are subject,
or
might be subject,
to
the
laws
of
the Treasure Trove.
In
the
first
place, where
the
object
has
been recently lost and
found
and
is
valuable,
it
should
be
handed
to
the
Police
as
soon
after
it
has
been
found
as
possible. The Police
will
then
attempt
to
locate
the owner.
If
they
succeed
in
locating the owner, he
has
the
legal
right
to
the
object and
is
not
legally
boUnd
to
reward
the
finder.
That
is
a
matter
for
the
owner's conscience.
In the event
of
the
Police failing
to
locate
the
owner
they
will
probably return the object
to
the
finder.
If,
however, the
owner
makes a claim
for
the object
at
a later date, the
finder
must
return the
item
to
the owner.
If
the
owner
is
not
located
the
finder
has
the best rights
to
ownership, provided
that
the
object
was
not
found
on private
property,
in
which
case
the
owner
of
the land
often
has
a
better
right
than
the
finder. The
solution
here,
of
course; is10 obtain permission beforehand and
to
come
to
some agree·
ment
with
the
landowner
with
regard
to
the
division
of
any finds.
If
on
the
other
hand,
the
find
of
gold
or
silver can be proved
to
have been deliberately concealed,
with
a view
to
recovery at a later date,
the
find
comes under
the
laws
of
the Treasure Trove.
If
the
objects cannot be proved
to
have been deliberately concealed,
the
find
cannot be declared Treasure
Trove. Usually
this
point
centres around
the
quantity
of
coins
in
a hoard,
or
whether
the
find
is
in
a
container. Obviously,
if
there are a hundred
or
so
coins
in
a
pot,
they
were almost
certainly
deliberately
concealed.
If,
however, there are
only
one
or
two
coins,
it
is
more
likely
that
they
were lost accidentally.
If
the
objects are declared Treasure
Trove,
the
finder
has no need
to
worry,
for
he is rewarded
with
a
cash
settlement
to
the
full
market value
of
the
find.
When
the
objects are
not
declared Treasure
Trove,
the
owner
of
the
land
on
which
the
find
was
made uSlJally
has
a
better
claim
to
ownership
than
the
finder.
In
Scotland a/l
newly
discovered ancient objects
of
all metals.
whether
deliberately concealed
or
not
are
S1Jbject
to
the
same procedure
as
Treasure
Trow
finds
in
England.
10