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Metal Detecting Hobby Talk
        March 2020         Metal Detecting Hobby Talk News Brief                                             Volume 11 Number 120
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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March

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 Febraury 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: Why Should I Join or Start a Metal Detecting Club?
Download and view the Complete  Article

You may be recently retired and looking for a new hobby or you may be a long time detectorist. In either case you may want to consider joining a metal detecting club. Metal detecting is a hobby that can be enjoyed without being involved with other detectorist, however, much can be gained by being an active part of the detecting community. The new hobbyist may want to learn about the hobby while the long time detectorist can bring his detecting skill and knowledge to a club.

What are the reasons for joining or starting a club?

1) Meet Other Detectorist. Getting involved with a club provides the opportunity to meet others in the hobby. A club represents a place where one can develop new relationships and enjoy fellowship. people that have a common interest which is metal detecting.

2) Learn the Necessary Skills. If you are a newbie, joining a club can provide many opportunities to develop your metal detecting skill. Most clubs have training programs on how to pin point, recover targets and the proper methods and equipment to use for detecting different terrains. You may also be able to learn the skills needed to detect different types of targets such as: relics, gold, coins, jewelry, and how to detect fresh and salt water beaches.

If you are an old timer at detecting but have never joined a club, your contribution to the club could be in transferring your skill and knowledge to others. This can be done by providing talks on different aspects of metal detecting. There can be a great sense of self-satisfaction in helping others achieve their goals by sharing one's knowledge.
Hobby Related News

General U.S. and World Wide Hobby News
  • Metal Detecting Tips. Article Link
  • Metal detector maker strikes gold with record profit. Article Link
  • The Key to Metal Detecting: “Dig A Lot of Holes”. Article Link
  • Team of Kiwi volunteers wield metal detectors to help find lost rings. Article Link
  • Treasure hunter’s metal detector finds bomb in Tennessee. Explosion heard for miles. Article Link
  • Letter: Investigate. Article Link
  • Buried treasure along Shoal Creek? Here are the stories. Article Link
  • Doing a Frighten: Innocent Doggo Swallows Owner's Engagement Ring But Vet Saves the Day. Article Link
  • Pastor finds WWII dog tag while metal detecting, helps family connect with late father's story. Article Link
  • Ring could be ancient artifact from sunken 1715 Spanish Fleet, experts say. Article Link
  • James City County will hold public meeting to get feedback on metal detector policy. Article Link
  • Metal detecting club donates hundreds to Rowans Hospice after memorial dig for member who died. Article Link
  • Discover the Truth: Metal Detecting Through a Kid’s Eyes with 8-Year-Old Emily Copeland. Article Link
  • Bath man digs up precious find 7 years after father passes away. Article Link
  • Ring well over a century unearthed at old fort. Article Link
  • Metal detectors will be allowed at Jamestown Beach Event Park later this year. Article Link
  • Discover the Truth: Metal Detecting Through a Kid’s Eyes with 8-Year-Old Emily Copeland . Article Link
U.K. News
  • Bronze Age ring finds new home. Article Link
  • Costa Almeria metal detector enthusiasts caught digging up finds from Roman archaeological site in Gergal. Article Link
  • Detectorist finds Thirties gold Rolex watch. Article Link
  • ‘Rogue metal detectorist’ hits Winchelsea, near Rye. Article Link
  • French bracelet among surprises in mysterious Havering hoard. Article Link
  • Blythburgh hoard: Iron Age gold coins declared treasure. Article Link
  • Rare gold find for metal detectorist. Article Link
  • Stranger in France finds Girard veteran’s dog tag 70 years later with metal detecto r. Article Link
  • Populus survey reveals surprising interest in metal detecting. Article Link
  • Little girl's lost purse which was found in Edinburgh returned to owner after 55 years following Evening News appeal. Article Link
  • 1,300-Year-Old Saxon Coin Found by Treasure Hunter Rewrites English History. Article Link
  • Massive Iron Age coin hoard worth $13M sets Guinness World Record. Article Link
  • When The Tide Goes Out, Mudlarks Dig Into The Thames In Search Of History. Article Link
North America Archaeology News
  • Spy Plane Photos Open Windows Into Ancient Worlds. Article Link
  • The Regulation of American Archaeology. Article Link
  • Thousands of ancestors' remains, sacred objects to return home to North Dakota tribe. Article Link
  • Researchers Will Search for Spanish Treasure Ship. Article Link
  • Bones found near Port Angeles likely 500-1,000 years old. Article Link
  • Archaeology and historical record solve a Portage Lake mystery. Article Link
  • Mike Wolfe on rescuing America's past. Article Link
  • What Is the Most Significant Archaeological Discovery of the Past Decade? Nine Historians Share Their Favorite Finds. 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. February News
  • Coin World - Numismatic and Coin Collecting Coin News
  • Gold Prospectors Assn of America (GPAA) - News on legal issues for the gold prospecting community February News
  • Minelab February Newsletter
  • Prospecting and Mining Journal (IMCJ)  February 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 March Newsletter
Jewelry Returns
  • Woman reunited with late husband’s wedding ring after 35 years, thanks to neighbor. Article Link
  • Late wife's wedding ring lost diving recovered, returned to Colorado. Article Link
  • Class ring lost in Maine found in Finland 47 years later. Article Link
  • How a high school class ring lost in Myrtle Beach found its way back to owner in Indiana. Article Link
  • Metal detectorist finds 186-year-old gold ring on beach and returns it to owner's stunned family after he tracked them down on Facebook. Article Link
  • Wedding ring was lost for months at Dana Point beach — until a man armed with a metal detector scooped it up. Article Link
  • Sompting metal detectorist hands over 18-carat ring to relative. Article Link
  • Metal detectorist surprises newlyweds by returning ring lost for more than a year. Article Link
W.W. Meteorite News
  • Meteorite 'gold rush' after meteor falls over Prescott. Article Link
  • Check your cameras, meteorite suspected to have fallen north of Medicine Hat. Article Link
  • Apparent meteor passes over Alberta skies Saturday afternoon. Article Link
  • Watch moment mysterious fireball appears to fall from sky above Derby. Article Link
  • Watch as meteorite fireball explodes over skies of Birmingham. Article Link
The Regulation of American Archaeology
University of Pennsylvania Law School
3501 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
By: Mark Nakahara Web Link
“It belongs in a museum!” So says the young Indiana Jones in one of the hit movies from the 1980s after observing the unauthorized excavation of an important artifact.

But the question of who has the right to artifacts found in the United States depends on a number of factors. Government agencies, Native American tribes, and private property owners may all have a claim to artifacts depending on where they were found.

The first and most significant federal law governing archaeology is the Antiquities Act of 1906. This act was the first to establish penalties for illegal excavations, damage, or appropriation of American antiquities. These penalties, however, only apply when the illegal action takes place on land “owned or controlled” by the federal government. The act also authorizes the President to declare historic landmarks as national monuments.

In addition, the Antiquities Act lays out a permitting process for archaeological excavations on government lands. The power to grant a permit lies with the federal agency that has jurisdiction over the lands in question. In most cases, the U.S. Department of the Interior is in control, but for excavations taking place in forest reserves or on military bases, the permitting authority is the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Army, respectively. The act also grants these agencies rulemaking power for historic and archaeological sites within their jurisdictions.

Although the Antiquities Act plays an important role in regulating archeology in the United States, it suffers from weak penalties and lax enforcement. To build on the act and focus further on the protection of archaeological sites, Congress passed the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) in 1979.

The Antiquities Act protects any “object of antiquity” but does not define the term or give examples. ARPA addresses the ambiguity over what is protected by defining the term “archaeological resource” to include “any material remains” of archaeological interest. It also provides numerous examples, such as pottery, weapons, tools, structures, and human remains. ARPA does not consider items under 100 years old, or paleontological items such as fossils, to be “archaeological resources.”

ARPA expands on the Antiquities Act in two other ways. First, it sets forth a more detailed permitting process for archaeological excavations on public lands. Applicants must describe the “time, scope, and location and specific purpose” of their proposed work to the head of the relevant agency. Native American tribes, however, are exempt from these requirements when excavating on their tribal lands
Second ARPA expands both the prohibited activities and the penalties laid out in the Antiquities Act. It prohibits trafficking in artifacts excavated illegally under either state or federal law. ARPA also increases the maximum criminal penalty for violations to $10,000 or up to one year in jail, and it imposes even higher penalties for repeat offenders or if the value of the archaeological resources exceeds $500.

ARPA grants rulemaking authority to the secretaries of Interior, Agriculture, and Defense. One of the Interior Department’s major rules provides further details of the permitting process, limiting the recipients of permits to “reputable museums, universities, colleges, or other recognized scientific or educational institutions.” Other regulations outline the process for storing excavated items and arranging exchanges with museums and universities.

The patchwork of laws governing archeological finds in the United States contrasts with the approach taken in other countries where the government asserts that it owns any object excavated within its borders. When it comes to artifacts found in other countries but brought into the United States, the U.S. Department of State’s Cultural Heritage Center oversees customs enforcement under agreements it has reached with these other countries.

The smuggling of antiquities across borders continues to be a serious issue in the art world. Museums in dangerous areas have lost thousands of artifacts to looting and subsequent sales on the black market.

Several groups within the State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center work to counter these threats. The Cultural Property Advisory Committee negotiates with other countries to make bilateral agreements restricting the import and export of antiquities. The Cultural Heritage Coordinating Committee works with diplomats and law enforcement to combat looting and smuggling. The Cultural Antiquities Task Force trains customs officials and law enforcement officers to identify smuggled artifacts and to enforce the laws concerning these items. These various groups also work with other agencies such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Federal law on antiquities could be changing. In 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Coordinating Oversight, Upgrading and Innovating Technology, and Examiner Reform Act of 2019. The bill focuses on bank security and money laundering but recognizes that archaeological looting has links to financial crimes. It includes a provision that would compel the Secretary of the Treasury to study “the facilitation of money laundering and terror finance through the trade of works of art or antiquities,” a tactic attempted by ISIS and other regimes.

The House bill is currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
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 March


Add Your Event Information Here
  • March 07, 2020 Event: (Two Days) Phoenix, Arizona 2020 Phoenix Gold & Treasure Show GPAA-Gold Prospectors Assn of America
  • March 09, 2020 Event: (One Day) Longview, Texas 9th Annual Piney Woods Relic Hunt East Texas Treasure Hunters Assn
  • March 13, 2020 Event: (Three Days) Bryan, Texas TEXAS TREASURE SHOW TEXAS ASSN OF METAL DETECTING CLUBS
  • March 14, 2020 Event: (Two Days) Sacramento, California Motherlode Gold & Treasure Show GPAA Gold and Treasure Shows & Lost Dutchman's Mining Assn
  • March 14, 2020 Event: (One Day) Wabasso, Florida 33rd Annual TCAS Hunt TCAS - Treasure Coast Archaeological Society
  • March 14, 2020 Event: (Two Days) Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 21th Annual Gold Prospecting & Treasure Show Northwest Gold Prospectors Assn
  • March 14, 2020 Event: (One Day) MORRISTOWN/WICKENBURG, Arizona 2020 COMMON GOLD DIG AAGP - Arizona Assn of Gold Prospectors
  • March 21, 2020 Event: (Two Days) Ridgefield, Washington 2020 Gold and Treasure Show GPAA-Gold Prospectors Assn of America
  • March 24, 2020 Event: (five Days) Duisenburg , California 2020 Duisenburg Outing LDMA-Lost Dutchman Mining Assn
  • March 27, 2020 Event: (Three Days) Canton, Texas Charles Garrett Memorial Hunt IV Garrett Metal Detecting and Texas Assn of Metal Detecting Clubs
  • March 29, 2020 Event: (One Day) Woodbridge, New Jersey 5th Annual Spring Bunny Hunt Deep Search Metal Detecting Club
  • March 30, 2020 Event: (Six Days) Fairbanks, Alaska 2020 BIENNIAL CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW Alaska Miners Assn (AMA)
 

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