cryptodave
Hero Member
Alright, I'm sure some of you gasped out loud when you saw my name associated with "serious" in the topic, but this is something that needs to be discussed.. At least by me.
Recently there was a post by a guy who had found a gold coin on a site, and he gave it to the land owner. There was quite a few people that had a hard time swallowing this, and I admit that even I was a little surprised about it. There is a line in the proverbial sand that usually I follow, and its if I got permission I don't show my better finds to the owner in case he wants to keep them... But now I want to talk about the benefits of showing and giving your finds to the landowners.
I have a new site, my friend got permission from the landowner and we just started working it recently. This home and the HUGE fields around it were supposedly all thats left of a small community, plus the homesite was occupied by the union (Supposedly by The Beast himself). I stopped by after work yesterday and saw the landowner out doing some farm choirs and since I never had spoke with him, striked up a conversation. It of course led to me asking if anyone had detected around the house, and his reply was that I should just stick to the fields and that he was sure I wouldn't find anything.
I started detecting the rim of the now cut winter wheat field right up against the yard and had dug alot of crap like foil and wingnuts and what not and was just about to move further into the field when I dug a nice US calvary saddle rosette (round). Shortly after that I dug a very ornate saddle rosette (oval) with a very interesting sun design, a 1919 mercury dime and a double gilt flat button with all the gold gilt still on the back.
By this time the 98 degree temperature has me sweating like a pig so I call it quits for the day. I see the landowner and walk over and start talking about the house a little... Now this guy is a typical NC farmer.... Nice enough guy, but not very talkative. I pulled out my finds and he gets very excited, especially so over the US rosette, to the point he is almost stuttering about it.
This is when the dam broke. I couldn't get the guy to shut up! He went on and on about history (not just the home, we are talking pirates and OBX and you name it), and probably said 15 times he couldn't believe that here in his hand was a piece of history that he had probably walked over hundreds of times.
I told him to keep it (this was hard for me, because it was my first US rosette!). The farmer was totally and unbelievably happy! He kept asking me if I was sure about it because it was mine, I had dug it... I told him I had no problem with it, that it was in his field and I'm sure there is much more out there.
Then he told me about the 6 pounder cannon ball that he had hit with the tractor out in the field and pointed out the general area... Then he told me that if I come back tomorrow he will show the ball AND that I can dig around the house if I'd like, because he would love to see what I can find close to the house!
So... Here we are. I'm short one US bridle rosette but I've made an old man happy, learned alot of history about a house AND got exclusive permission to hunt a cherry portion of the site... Just by showing my finds and parting with a $25 civil war relic.
This also made me think about why we do this hobby that we do. I've kept everything I've found... I've traded a few things to other people if I have doubles or what not, and I have given a few things away like colonial buckles and buttons.... But everytime I give something away, I get much more back in return. Be it respect, a heart-felt thank you or permission for a new site it is always, in my opinion, worth more than what ever the dollar value of the find is worth.
I've also made some great friends and met some of the worst detectorists out there. I have a habit of if I see someone swinging I'll pull over and chat with them. Some of those guys have become great hunting partners, while others just tried to use me for new sites, didn't cover their holes, left trash in the holes and never invited me to their sites.
In closing, this hobby is what you make of it. Don't get tied up on what you can do for yourself or how much money you might be able to sell finds for. It all works out better for us if we go with the flow and give a little back. In time those little things pay off big, we make great friends and learn a lot about history.
Recently there was a post by a guy who had found a gold coin on a site, and he gave it to the land owner. There was quite a few people that had a hard time swallowing this, and I admit that even I was a little surprised about it. There is a line in the proverbial sand that usually I follow, and its if I got permission I don't show my better finds to the owner in case he wants to keep them... But now I want to talk about the benefits of showing and giving your finds to the landowners.
I have a new site, my friend got permission from the landowner and we just started working it recently. This home and the HUGE fields around it were supposedly all thats left of a small community, plus the homesite was occupied by the union (Supposedly by The Beast himself). I stopped by after work yesterday and saw the landowner out doing some farm choirs and since I never had spoke with him, striked up a conversation. It of course led to me asking if anyone had detected around the house, and his reply was that I should just stick to the fields and that he was sure I wouldn't find anything.
I started detecting the rim of the now cut winter wheat field right up against the yard and had dug alot of crap like foil and wingnuts and what not and was just about to move further into the field when I dug a nice US calvary saddle rosette (round). Shortly after that I dug a very ornate saddle rosette (oval) with a very interesting sun design, a 1919 mercury dime and a double gilt flat button with all the gold gilt still on the back.
By this time the 98 degree temperature has me sweating like a pig so I call it quits for the day. I see the landowner and walk over and start talking about the house a little... Now this guy is a typical NC farmer.... Nice enough guy, but not very talkative. I pulled out my finds and he gets very excited, especially so over the US rosette, to the point he is almost stuttering about it.
This is when the dam broke. I couldn't get the guy to shut up! He went on and on about history (not just the home, we are talking pirates and OBX and you name it), and probably said 15 times he couldn't believe that here in his hand was a piece of history that he had probably walked over hundreds of times.
I told him to keep it (this was hard for me, because it was my first US rosette!). The farmer was totally and unbelievably happy! He kept asking me if I was sure about it because it was mine, I had dug it... I told him I had no problem with it, that it was in his field and I'm sure there is much more out there.
Then he told me about the 6 pounder cannon ball that he had hit with the tractor out in the field and pointed out the general area... Then he told me that if I come back tomorrow he will show the ball AND that I can dig around the house if I'd like, because he would love to see what I can find close to the house!
So... Here we are. I'm short one US bridle rosette but I've made an old man happy, learned alot of history about a house AND got exclusive permission to hunt a cherry portion of the site... Just by showing my finds and parting with a $25 civil war relic.
This also made me think about why we do this hobby that we do. I've kept everything I've found... I've traded a few things to other people if I have doubles or what not, and I have given a few things away like colonial buckles and buttons.... But everytime I give something away, I get much more back in return. Be it respect, a heart-felt thank you or permission for a new site it is always, in my opinion, worth more than what ever the dollar value of the find is worth.
I've also made some great friends and met some of the worst detectorists out there. I have a habit of if I see someone swinging I'll pull over and chat with them. Some of those guys have become great hunting partners, while others just tried to use me for new sites, didn't cover their holes, left trash in the holes and never invited me to their sites.
In closing, this hobby is what you make of it. Don't get tied up on what you can do for yourself or how much money you might be able to sell finds for. It all works out better for us if we go with the flow and give a little back. In time those little things pay off big, we make great friends and learn a lot about history.
