Are You A Pirate Or A Foolish Nice Guy ? Informal Poll

[Rustynailsandscrews]

This thread will probably not earn me a lot of fan fair because I freely admit to being a Pirate in the sense that I keep any and all finds with no effort what so ever to locate the owner as I am not a public servant in recovering lost valuables and returning them.
I will never make the Honorable mention board and very honestly would never even have the desire to.
I am a treasure hunter with a mind set of finders keepers.
I'm not a hug and kisses type of guy and do something for nothing.
I won't even search for a lost surveying stake without express written permission from the land owner that if I can recover the property markers, I have express written permission to detect their property and retain any finds.
In example, If you recover a gold or silver high school ring, why do some detectorist feel compelled to find the owner or if the owner is dead to give it back to their relatives ? 99% of the time you will not get a reward or even a thank you.
I guess what I'm trying to figure out is why would some detectorist just bust their ass to find the owner and get nothing for a nice find.
I know this, a couple of hundred bucks put's a big smile on my face when something is heading to the melt pot.
Last year, I received a phone for the only set of missing car keys in the snow. I told the caller it would cost $25.00 because she was close to me and I'll do you a favor.
That caller didn't want to spend $25.00 for me to search in 12" of snow.
She called a locksmith and she had a chip key and got a taste of his price to re chip her car.
She called me back in a half an hour and $25.00 was just fine to find her keys because the locksmith was way too expensive.
It was too late as I explained to her because I was snow blowing my driveway and she had better call the locksmith back.
Why do some detectorist feel like they are public servants to idiots and fools ?
If you find it, don't give it away and don't let people take advantage of you because you own equipment.
So fellow Pirates feel free to chime in if you dare.

 

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[Charlie P. (NY)]

I'm a nice guy. No excuses.

 

[relic nut]

To each his own and I fully respect your opinion of this and do understand were you are coming from. With that said, this is how I feel.... I'm a firm believer in karma and try to put myself in other people's shoes, not to mention what it says and does for our hobby. If everyone felt this way about trying to help others, the world would be a colder place. I simply do what I think is the right thing, and feel good about it and respect you for doing the same.

HH RN

 

[fmrUSMC_0844]

I have searched for peoples lost things. I do it for free. Like relic nut says, I am a believer in Karma and I can use all the positive karma I can get!! And it also helps me find other hunting locations!

To each their own.

 

[Old Bookaroo]

"In example, If you recover a gold or silver high school ring, why do some detectorist feel compelled to find the owner or if the owner is dead to give it back to their relatives ? 99% of the time you will not get a reward or even a thank you."

Where does that 99% figure come from?

I've returned lost items to people. In my experience most are very appreciative and a few aren't.

Why return an item to the owner? Because it belongs to them.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo, CM

 

[Keppy]

This thread will probably not earn me a lot of fan fair because I freely admit to being a Pirate in the sense that I keep any and all finds with no effort what so ever to locate the owner as I am not a public servant in recovering lost valuables and returning them.
I will never make the Honorable mention board and very honestly would never even have the desire to.
I am a treasure hunter with a mind set of finders keepers.
I'm not a hug and kisses type of guy and do something for nothing.
I won't even search for a lost surveying stake without express written permission from the land owner that if I can recover the property markers, I have express written permission to detect their property and retain any finds.
In example, If you recover a gold or silver high school ring, why do some detectorist feel compelled to find the owner or if the owner is dead to give it back to their relatives ? 99% of the time you will not get a reward or even a thank you.
I guess what I'm trying to figure out is why would some detectorist just bust their ass to find the owner and get nothing for a nice find.
I know this, a couple of hundred bucks put's a big smile on my face when something is heading to the melt pot.
Last year, I received a phone for the only set of missing car keys in the snow. I told the caller it would cost $25.00 because she was close to me and I'll do you a favor.
That caller didn't want to spend $25.00 for me to search in 12" of snow.
She called a locksmith and she had a chip key and got a taste of his price to re chip her car.
She called me back in a half an hour and $25.00 was just fine to find her keys because the locksmith was way too expensive.
It was too late as I explained to her because I was snow blowing my driveway and she had better call the locksmith back.
Why do some detectorist feel like they are public servants to idiots and fools ?
If you find it, don't give it away and don't let people take advantage of you because you own equipment.
So fellow Pirates feel free to chime in if you dare.

I have to say i am with you 100% here .. I sell every thing i find . I never try to find the owner of a lost item . I do not waste my time on that for a pat on the back.. Or to make my self look like i am such a wonderful person so i can get a like on a treasure site.. You lost it i found it... it is mine ..

 

[Che Guevara]

All that you will find the digger in our country keeps and disposes at its discretion, but in most cases if it was found Russian award number WW2 time , then the person who found it wants to return the medal to the relatives of the soldier. my friends and I free help to establish the identity of the soldier for the award, although others make money on it, I think it's wrong to make the memory of their heroes!

 

[earl&patricia]

Me and my wife have talked about this very thing. As Christians we believe in doing the right thing. So now the question is what is the right thing, you know that voice on your shoulder that tells you what you are about to do is the right thing or the wrong thing, or makes you feel good or bad after you done it. That's the spirit telling you what is right and wrong. What might make you feel is right or wrong may not have the same feeling that other may have. So to us if we feel in our hearts we should try to find the owner, then we will, if we don't feel that way, then we wont. I also look at it as what would i want someone to do if someone found something We lost.

We try to return class rings, or things that may have meaning with names on them because, there are some things money or insurance cant replace. Sentimental things cant be replaced. much like photos, memories. JMO

 

[Keppy]

I do have some lines I won't cross, though. If someone has misplaced or mislaid an item, I'll turn it into the property owner (such as at Walmart) for the owner to claim. There's a huge difference, to me, in finding a ring 2" underground at a park, and finding one on a sink in a bathroom. One is abandoned (owner stopped looking for it), and the other is mislaid.

I'll go WAYYY out of my way to find an owner of a ring that's a recent drop (not that I've ever found the owners of them, but I give it my best). For things underground? not so much.

Skippy

Yes i have turned in items in at wall mart for the owner will know were to look most of the time. But when i hunt forget it it is mine..

 

[dsdigger]

I have only found one ring so far and that was a small sterling ring at the beach with nothing else around and no markings on it. All other items found, money, keys, etc., are just added to the collection. As far as an expensive ring, etc. I guess I would have to see what i found and if it was anything that could be traced and go from there otherwise, pirate. As for things found in stores, etc., turn them in, the owner may be at the service desk looking for them or scouring the store, and that is a whole different story as I take my rings off to wash my hands and would hope someone would do the same if I forgot them.

 

[SusanMN]

Well, since I am clearly not a guy, nice or otherwise, I assume that makes me a pirate?

 

[bonepicker]

with very few exceptions.

 

[Ima digger]

Thanks, SusanMN. I'm no a guy either. But I was holding back a comment. It seems that everyone thinks only guys swing a metal detector. But they sell them to anybody that has the money. It's ok guys, Keep on digging, Ima

 

[treasuresalvor]

Take it all...give nothing back. Most of the time, there are very few exceptions.

 

[Peyton Manning]

hmm, when I ever find something of much value I will have to decide

if someone asked me to swing for a few minutes I would do so

if I found a ring say maybe a wedding ring with a name I would try to find the person just cause it means more to them the the money does for me.

you do what you want I'll do the same, but there's no need to say it's foolish

 

[Duckshot]

Next time I am around Salem NY, remind me to hold on tightly to my personal effects.

Thar be pirates...

 

[BigWaveDave]

When it comes to coins, I'm a pirate...
But with rings?.... each find is different. My two honorable mentions I wouldn't trade for anything, because the ones who lost their rings, it meant more to them to get them back, than for me to keep them. Also found a WW1 infantry ring, kept it for a year, till a retired vet reached out to me regarding its availability...had no problem parting with it, as a Thankyou for his service. But there was another ring, that I got tricked into giving to neighbor, who knew the family it had belonged to years before.... I would have gladly returned it myself, but I was promised more permissions if I gave it to the old bat, on the spot....as soon as the ring hit her hand, permissions got instantly rescinded...still pissed about that.
But yea, like I said coins?... I'll never give any hint that I found silver, or wheats for that matter....
Ok, so now that I think about it, doggy tags... got a ton of them, but every once in a while, I'll find one with a name, and phone #.... for poops and giggles I'll call, and see if Fluffy is still alive.... twice I've reunited tags with owners of dead pets, makes them happy, and besides, what do I really need to keep it for?
Great subject for a post... everyone is different, and at the end of the day, it really is no ones business what we do with our finds, so judging others for their stance on this ain't cool.

 

[G.I.B.]

It all depends on who I'm talking to.

Someone who is genuinely nice, lost something and is seeking help- I'll try really hard to help them.

If it's something that is clearly identifiable with a name, I'll give it a reasonable effort. If they have CL postings, they are still looking for it.

If they are a demanding jerk, an obvious butt hole, or entitled... my detectors batteries just died.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

If I found a class ring on the surface or even an inch down, I would try to return it. But if it's deeper than that, it's been lost for years. Therefore, I consider it to be buried treasure and it's all mine! Arrr!

 

[Duckshot]

I found a spent bullet the other day, tried to return it.

Missed.