Opinions wanted

RTH

Jr. Member
Sep 22, 2015
57
154
Hunterdon County NJ
Detector(s) used
Whites Silver Eagle, White's MXT, Minelab EQ800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I would like to get your opinions on a MD morals issue.

A friend of mine manages a small cemetery, about 5 acres. The cemetery dates back to the mid 1800's but is still in use and there are a few burials there every year.

The issue is that the records from the earlier burials were lost several years ago when the church on site burned down. Many of the records from then on were spotty until about 20 years ago. The association has approved the purchase of a metal detector to locate the "pins" (they call them mushrooms) to help determine locations and plots that have been marked out in the past. Since no one associated with the cemetery has any MD experience, I may be asked to help. This would be a directed search in specific areas to locate pins and most likely not a large search.

Should I refuse to help because of the ethics of MD? If I leave them to do it themselves, I am sure it would be a very tedious task for someone with no experience. In addition to their expense of purchasing or renting equipment.

If I do assist with the search, what should I do with anything found while looking for the pins?

Thanks for your opinions.
 

Upvote 0
I agree that it is for a good cause. Go for it. Could lead to a permission or two.
 

Being asked to help should give you no problem. I'd never go MD a cemetery looking for coins but would be happy to help locate plots if asked. Those markers I saw in the past were smaller than a quarter in circumference and 5"-6" long. They were set about 4" beneath the surface. Good luck.
 

Yes doing it respectfully is the key. Don't be a hoot-in and a hollering if you dig up a gold coin.
 

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