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Metal Detecting Hobby Talk
   February 2020         Metal Detecting Hobby Talk News Brief                                             Volume 11 Number 119
Metal Detecting Hobby Talk Support The Hobby
I would like to point out to the News Brief readers that there are a number of organizations taking on the challenge against various types of legislation dealing with metal detecting and gold prospecting. MDHTALK's recommendation is to visit their website and give strong consideration to joining the fight. In some cases your support may be to send emails and / or write a letter to specific legislators or to provide funds to help with the fight. Here are the organizations and a link to their website.
Go to the Join The Fight MDHTALK Webpage to read more about each of these organizations

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February

What is a News Brief?
The news brief provides a brief look into any news event. The intent of the news brief is to provide you, the reader, with news clips on what was taking place in the hobby last month. To read the whole story select the Article Link or go to MDHTALK.org. There are more news stories placed on the MDHTALK website for January the news stories listed in the MDHTALK News Brief are just a portion of all the hobby related news reported the past month.  The news Brief is now available in Adobe PDF format, there is a link at the top of this webpage. The news brief is no longer emailed; it is only available on the MDHTALK website and can be downloaded.

The Website's featured article for this month is: Where is it Legal to Metal Detect?
This question should be easy to answer but that is not the case. There are no uniform state laws or regulations across the fifty states or are there uniform municipal codes for the many thousands of cities and counties in the U.S. One way to get a handle on laws and regulations for your area is to join a local metal detecting or gold prospecting club. These clubs will usually know what the local law and regulation situation is for the hobby. So lets take one section of the U.S. at a time and try to find some answers.

National. There are a number of federal acts that control what can or can not be done on federal properties. These acts are the: Each of these acts places protection for America's antiquities plus use restrictions on federal lands, historical sites and Native American Indian burial grounds.

The 1906 and the 1997 acts have an impact on the National Park System, National Monuments, National Sea Shore Beaches, Civil & Revolutionary War Battlefields, and to some extend on Native American lands. These acts indirectly make metal detecting illegal in any of these places. If caught metal detecting or have a detector in your possession while on any of these protected places it can be a felony with tough penalties.

A typical statement on a National Monument websites is: Metal detectors are strictly prohibited on park grounds. Relic hunting by the use of metal detectors or other means is prohibited and violators will be prosecuted.

Park rangers enforce a number of federal regulations in the park, including the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 36 (36 CFR), and the United States Code, Titles 16, 18 and 21.Within 36 CFR, park superintendents are granted the right to make park-specific regulations.
36 CFR 2.1 (7) Possessing or using a mineral or metal detector, magnetometer, side scan sonar, other metal detecting device, or sub-bottom profiler.

16 U.S.C. Section 1c defines the National Park System as"...any area of land and water now or hereafter administrated by the Secretary of the Interior through the National Park Service for park, monument, historic, parkway, recreational or other purposes."


The 1966 act is the mechanism by which historical sites can be preserved by adding them to the National Register of Historic Places. Once a site is added to the National Register three acts above (1966,1997,1990 acts) can be applied to protect the properties. The 1966 act also provides for the setup of historical sites at the state level. Once historical sites are placed on the national or state historical register; them the sites are no longer available for metal detecting of any kind.
Download To View This Article (Updated 11-28-18)
Hobby Related News

General U.S. and World Wide Hobby News
  • Israel finds 232 ancient coins in thief's home. Article Link
  • A Shipwreck Off Florida’s Coast Pits Archaeologists Against Treasure Hunters Article Link
  • Discover the Truth: Finding the Right Metal Detector For Beach and Land Detecting. Article Link
  • In One Ear: Dirt fishin' find. Article Link
  • Destrehan alum unearths history through his hobby. Article Link
  • How metal detecting is helping people find their lost valuables. Article Link
  • Meet Your Neighbor: Wilsons 'dig' searching for lost treasures. Article Link
  • Local family finds CSA belt buckle in backyard. Article Link
  • Old land mine found on beach in Indian River County, sheriff's office says. Article Link
  • Minelab Returns to CES With Host of Expedition Unknown and Unveil New Treasure Metal Detector. Article Link
  • Kids probe beach with new holiday gift. Article Link
  • Metal detector treasure hunting. Article Link
  • Matt Hastings - a treasure hunter at Whangamatā Beach. Article Link
  • Lost a ring? Someone might be able to find it. Article Link
  • Ancient ‘piggy bank’ of gold coins uncovered at dig in central Israel. Article Link
U.K. News
  • This medieval ring was found in a North Staffordshire field - and now it's been declared as treasure! Article Link
  • Viking Ring Found in Polish Stronghold is Actually Rare Christian Artifact. Article Link
  • Five historic artefacts declared treasure at Oxford Coroners Court. Article Link
  • Which little girl lost this purse at guide camp outside Edinburgh 55 years ago? Article Link
  • Metal Detecting Tours Near Europe's Oldest Town in Eastern Croatia: Fascinating! Article Link
  • Review – Berryfields: Iron Age settlement and a Roman bridge, field system and settlement along Akeman Street near Fleet Marston, Buckinghamshire. Article Link
  • Metal-detecting Americans pay £1,500 to hunt for buried treasure on holiday in UK. Article Link
  • Illegal to use detector for objects of archaeological interest'. Article Link
  • Metal pollution will hide British treasures forever, detectorists warn. Article Link
  • Nighthawkers continue to threaten Suffolk's heritage. Article Link
  • Payday for metal detectorists as average treasure find now worth £2,671. Article Link
  • Medieval monument in Rotherham damaged by illegal metal detecting. Article Link
  • Metal detectorist finds chemical mortar rounds at Farlington Marshes in Portsmouth. Article Link
  • ‘It’s a misconception’ that license are always needed to operate metal detectors on farmland. Article Link
North America Archaeology News
  • Artifact found at Civil War site may be a 'witch bottle' used to ward off evil spirits. Really. Article Link
  • Archaeologists studying Chinese mining sites on Malheur National Forest in Grant County. Article Link
  • Remains of Downed World War II Pilot Recovered in France. Article Link
  • Saratoga County Sheriff: Meteor likely cause of widespread Sunday night explosion reports. Article Link
  • More Than 3,500 Copper Coins Repatriated to Mexico. Article Link
  • 5 Big Archaeology Discoveries to Watch for in 2020. Article Link
  • Archaeology breakthrough: Researchers crack the secrets of Native American astronomy. Article Link
Other News Sources
  • Archaeology and Metal Detecting Magazine present the BIG metal detecting podcast. A weekly show bringing all areas of history together with our guests, news and much more. Pod Cast Link
  • American Digger Relic Roundup. For diggers and collectors of history. An hour long program every Monday Night at 9:00 PM eastern standard time. Join your hosts Butch Holcombe, Jeff Lubbert and Heath Jones as they explore the past. Learn more about Metal Detecting, Treasure hunting in all it's forms, and the preservation of history. Pod Cast Link
  • American Mining Rights Assn is not a gold club but rather an advocacy group for miners and public land users to preserve and maintain their rights as they pertain to access to their public lands. January News
  • Coin World - Numismatic and Coin Collecting Coin News
  • Gold Prospectors Assn of America (GPAA) - News on legal issues for the gold prospecting community January News
  • Prospecting and Mining Journal (IMCJ)  January News
  • The Archaeology and Metal Detecting Magazine The Archaeology and Metal detecting magazine are one of the lead online sites in their genre. Offering multiple platforms for Archaeological, Historical and metal detecting news, articles, research areas and much more. Web Link
  • 1715 Fleet Society February Newsletter
Jewelry Returns
  • Amateur metal detectorist unearths an 18-carat gold ring from 1834 on a beach in Sussex and uses Facebook to unravel the tale of its owner who had it made to remember his beloved wife. Article Link
  • Lost something? Tell the ring master!. Article Link
  • Hopewell woman reunited with stolen pendant: ‘You can’t replace this’. Article Link
  • Metal detectorist reunites great-grandfather, 79, with gold signet ring he lost working on a farm more than 60 years ago. Article Link
W.W. Meteorite News
  • Fire From Above: Did a meteorite leave a crater on Anna Maria Island? Article Link
  • ‘Like you could reach out and touch it:’ Man’s dashcam captures meteor over Richfield. Article Link
  • Crater of largest known meteorite to ever hit Earth 790,000 years ago found. Article Link
Event News
Metal Detecting & Gold Prospecting Events.
Now is the time to start planning and getting your club's 2020/21 hunt information on the web. The sooner it is out and available to the metal detecting community the greater the chance for people to see it and give your event some consideration.
Select here to View
the Complete Event Details for February

       
Add Your Event Information Here

  • February 07, 2020 (Three Days)
    Quartzsite, Arizona
    Quartzsite Gold Show
  • February 14, 2020 (Three Days)
    Albany, Oregon
    Willamette Sportsman Show
  • February 15, 2020 (Two Days)
    Pomona, California
    SoCal Gold & Treasure Show
    GPAA Gold and Treasure Shows
  • February 29, 2020 (Two Days) Monroe, Washington 2020 Gold, Gem & Mineral Show Washington Prospectors Mining Association
  • February 29, 2020 (One Day) Galveston, Texas Satellite Hunt Texas Assn of Metal Detecting Clubs
  • February 29, 2020 (One Day) Galveston, Texas 38th Annual HARC Open Beach Hunt Houston Archeology Recovery Club?s (HARC)
 

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