Owner wants to keep relics, me keep coins...

[tanacat]

I have a good site lined up to hunt that was a civil war camp. The owner is very intrigued by what might be on property and the farm/ house she currently lives in, has been in her family for many generations. I was in the foyer asking permission when she whipped out this huge colored and laminated article about her house and property. I skimmed over it and wow! :drool: (I plan to go to library and read it more thoroughly, it's over a decade old and I jotted the date down).

So when we started making plans, she got nervous about her lawn. I explained how plugs are made and that I wouldn't hunt when the ground is too dry or wet, etc... She was looking at me with this deep eye contact with her lips squinshed up like she was trying to decide and then said she'd like to be there to watch :eyebrow:

So I was relieved that she was going to let me hunt (and thinking hey this place prob has never been hunted :yes:) and then she said but what will happen to the artifacts you find? I told her probably eventually sell things for my boys' college fund (true)... She gave another long face & to make a long story short, I told her she could keep relics of her choice and I keep any coins. Which really is fine with me for the chance to hunt there. Is there some paperwork we should make and sign or something? Anyone have a sample?

Of all the houses and fields (arrowheads) I've hunted, every single person has said sure, keep anything you find and good luck! Would love others experiences with owners wanting to keep things you find?

[hobbes_lives]

It sounds to me like putting paperwork in front of her may shut the door on this hunt. You'll really need to go with your feelings on this one.

[tanacat]

It sounds to me like putting paperwork in front of her may shut the door on this hunt. You'll really need to go with your feelings on this one.

Yeah, maybe I'm trying to be too 'professional' lol

[Beefcake]

I think we have all come across this situation at one time or another. I hate when an owner wants to hover over your shoulder. I'm a firm believer that you should be able to keep the coins you find at a property. Start off by digging some really nasty signals for the first half hour or so... after admiring your can slaw and pull tabs, she will lose interest and leave you alone. Civil war relics are a different story and most of us don't get the opportunity to hunt such sites. In most cases, if an owner is that apprehensive about letting you hunt and keep finds...I usually move on. Either that or wait till she isn't looking and then dig the good signals. I'd have a tough time hunting such a property. She wants to find the good stuff...let her invest the money into a good detector to find them herself.

[BlackZ51Vett]

Dont worry about any paperwork and let her watch all she wants. Maybe she'll get tired after an hour of you passing up all your signals and not finding anything.... :grin: After she goes back into the house start diggin those signals..... :cheesysmile: You should come up with a lot of relics if that was indeed a camp.........have fun and let us see what you dig.

[Lowjiber]

It sounds like an excellent place to hunt.

Since it seems to feel right to you, I suggest staying away from the paperwork. You can always just walk away if the owner gets too greedy and doesn't recognize that, without you, nothing would be uncovered.

I had an opportunity last year to find a lady's ring that she had lost the weekend before when clearing some shrubbery. It was her deceased husband's wedding ring that she wore on her thumb.

When I saw the property, I knew there had to be silver coins in the yard. We had a simple verbal agreement...after I found the ring (which I did), I could hunt the yard for the rest of the day and keep any coins that I found. It worked out well for both of us and I made a friend in the process.

[tanacat]

I had an opportunity last year to find a lady's ring that she had lost the weekend before when clearing some shrubbery. It was her deceased husband's wedding ring that she wore on her thumb.

When I saw the property, I knew there had to be silver coins in the yard. We had a simple verbal agreement...after I found the ring (which I did), I could hunt the yard for the rest of the day and keep any coins that I found. It worked out well for both of us and I made a friend in the process.


That's great John :yes: Thanks for the input guys. Btw, I have 3 friends with rings they want me to find on their properties! All of them missing from 20- 30 yrs and they all know the general location thumbsup01 A nice challenge and get to hunt their land (all are old farmhouses)

[coinnut]

Since you already have a sorta agreement with her, I would stick with it. I always dig junk signals, just to show people it's not all good stuff you find. Other ways to divide up finds is to pour everything out on a table and then take turns picking each item. letting them pick first. This way if someone likes relics they can pick them while you pick what you like. It works best if one topic gets the most items. Say you found all relics and very few coins. That would stink for you under your agreement. But if you found mostly coins and no relics, I bet she would change the rules. So an every other item pick levels the playing field a bit. Be prepared to get tossed mid stream sometimes or cheated out of everything sometimes, but for the most part, people are good. I would also make it a fun time and not as formal as she seems nervious enough already lol Do a good job on this one and it may open up other doors for you.

[tanacat]

Since you already have a sorta agreement with her, I would stick with it. I always dig junk signals, just to show people it's not all good stuff you find. Other ways to divide up finds is to pour everything out on a table and then take turns picking each item. letting them pick first. This way if someone likes relics they can pick them while you pick what you like.coins.

I do like that idea- a Win/Win solution! lol Thanks so much for your wisdom, all you wise ones :yes:

Now I have to get business cards typed up- been meaning to forever. She wants one before I start hunting. Do you have any George? I think it's a neat idea to advertise to recover missing items for a fee/ or the opportunity to hunt properties. Since I'm a stay at home mom now maybe MDing could be an official 'part time job' ;)

[coinnut]

I do like that idea- a Win/Win solution! lol Thanks so much for your wisdom, all you wise ones :yes:

Now I have to get business cards typed up- been meaning to forever. She wants one before I start hunting. Do you have any George? I think it's a neat idea to advertise to recover missing items for a fee/ or the opportunity to hunt properties. Since I'm a stay at home mom now maybe MDing could be an official 'part time job' ;)


I don't have a card, but it's in the works lol Del may have one and John M. has one. I really need to up that on my list rofl If you don't mind giving up what you find, detecting for money is a good idea. A rough fee schedule is $25.00 first hour (this is for gas, etc...) and $20.00 per additional hour or start of hour. You can always modify it as you go. Let's say if they are nice people and you go over 10 minutes, you can not charge them the additional hour fee. I bet you could make some extra cash this way.

[sjv]

I personally don't like the fee idea. Just getting permission is a :happydance01: great thing. Show her the junk and pocket any really good finds after she gets tired and heads back to the house. Maybe show her some ok finds like a couple barber dimes/Mercs/ wheaties/ IH's. Pocket the large copers and more rare relics / and show her some keeper relics. This way here she won't question you if you ask to return .
Happy Hunting. Did you detect the property yet? Post some pics when you can, ok?

[kenfen]

Let her hover. After she sees you digging with the care of a professional, she'll chill on the grass thing. I'd let her have some stuff. There's bound to be plenty and you'll build trust. You'll come out with so much stuff there!

regards, Ken

[tanacat]

Let her hover. After she sees you digging with the care of a professional, she'll chill on the grass thing. I'd let her have some stuff. There's bound to be plenty and you'll build trust. You'll come out with so much stuff there!

regards, Ken


Welcome to the forum Ken! Glad you found us here thumbsup01

I agree with you, let her hover and share some goods~ I've had plenty experience digging holes lol I STILL have not been there to hunt yet, it's been so hot and dry. Plus waiting for a check from Proctor and Gamble, to buy my new V3i (battery leak in my old one). They told me 6-8 week wait, shouldn't be long now! I could use my XLT... but I think I get much better depth with V3. I'm also waiting for my business cards, should be any day now (hint hint - a member on here is making them for me ;) )

[Cheap Thrills]

I hope it goes well for you tana . There is now way of knowing how the landowner will react til' those moments of truth when the goodies actually start surfacing. It sounds like a great opportunity , not for me though , I've seen human nature at it's best and worse . What little detecting time I get is for me alone ( unless one of my family members want to go ) .

[pulltabsteve]

Good for you Tana :happydance01: I would also stay away from the paperwork. The agreement you have now is cool. You keep the coins and she has pick of the relics. You'll still walk away with some nifty items. Plus you made a friend with old property who Im sure has friends with old property. thumbsup01 Coinnut said, keep it fun That, in a nut shell, is what this hobby is about!! GOOD LUCK