metal detecting

aerosol

Couldn't find anywhere more suitable on boards to post this.......

I'm looking for some advice on buying a metal detector,I figured a few of you coin collecters might be into this.... Anyway,I'm a complete novice at this and trying to figure a half decent detector for less than €200:rolleyes: Any hints on brands/spec, what are dodgy buys/good ones.Theres shed loads on ebay but I really don't know what I shold be looking for.

Many thanks for any advise:)

arnhem44

I'd be quite interested in this also

Judgement Day

You could do worse than try some of the UK metal detecting magazines first such as : http://www.treasurehunting.co.uk/ - Easons on O'Connell Street, Dublin, used to stock some of them.

From my limited experience the only people who make money from metal detecting are the people selling the equipment! It is fun but apart from ring pulls, the odd coin I never found much of interest and eventually left my metal detector at a friends house - about 30 years ago! Let us know if you find the mother lode......

www.collectireland.blogspot.com

citizen_p

i wouldnt say their is much to find in ireland tbh.....
the good stuffs on the continent.....wars every 50 100 years gurantees that
i also remember seeing a guy use a magnet on a rope to pull dumped arms up out of a lake,perfect condition(compared to above) because of the silt etc.....depriving the stuff oxegen etc....

http://www.detektorweb.cz/index.4me?s=archeologie&lang=1&vd=1&mm=20 click on a few of the side tabs for other stuff ww1 ww2 etc...., cant read it but some amazing finds
(im not guarentee any of the detectors they sell....just showing what you could find with a good one)

sorry no idea about what is good but it would probly be good to get one that can identify ferrous from nonferous, so you dont spend all the time digging up rusty nails.

Dr Strange

There are legal implications to metal detecting in Ireland.

Please have a look at this thread in the archaeology forum:

The Metal Detecting Debate. Keep all your MD questions and querys here!

aerosol

Thanks for the replies,didn't realise the legalities of them here:(

recipio

:mad: Just found this old thread following a search on 'metal detecting' All the threads in archeology seem to be closed.
I'm astonished that there seems to be a law banning metal detecting for all but the chosen few who work for the government.All objects found by metal detecting belong to the State.
Where does the State think it gets the right to proscribe such harmless activity.? I agree, archeological sites should be pretected but to ban looking for a rusty nail in your garden is something straight out of North Korea.
Duh...Who said 'we are a weak and timorous people' ?

recipio

PS, following that rant I found a few like minded people ...all is not lost. ! To all mods who feel further discussion is pointless the only way to change anything is to fight for it and that means a free forum to protest. Bad laws simply drive activity underground.

youtube!

I have to agree with you recipo, it's the same thing with private land in that something like 70-80% of land in Ireland is not accessible legally to the public wheras in the UK they have a "right to roam" which basically means you can go practically anywhere as long as you obey the country code which means close the gates after you ,light no fires in non designated areas and have a general respect for the place you are allowed to visit etc.

I mean if you are anywhere in Britain a common thing to see is a sign that says ...

"Public Laneway" which means your free to explore at your leisure, there are also lots of them up north but in the Republic I don't know if there are many at all.

One of my good friends who is English comes over for the fishing on a regular basis but he cannot understand how a country as scenic and Beautiful as ours is practically off limits to the public. The same issues with your metal detecting it seems.

gobnaitolunacy

There's nothing to stop you beach detecting/trying in your own patch of land/detecting on land (with owners consent) PROVIDED it's not an area of archealogical interest. There is a 'grey' legal area in the highly unlikely event of ever finding something that IS of archealogical importance in an area not known to contain such items, you may need to prove that you didn't set out to find the object. Chicken/egg situation.

The need to have a licence is misinformation in an attempt to put off responsible hobbyists.

99.999% of the time, you'll find rubbish!

Dr Strange

recipio wrote: »

PS, following that rant I found a few like minded people ...all is not lost. ! To all mods who feel further discussion is pointless the only way to change anything is to fight for it and that means a free forum to protest. Bad laws simply drive activity underground.

Recipio, that forum is not the Collectibles & Antiques Forum. If you wish you can suggest the creation of a new forum to pursue your goals here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=461

M-wav

The law is there for a reason. To prevent people without any archaeological skills or knowledge from damaging important historic areas with their shovels.

I personally don't mind people going to beeches or some small private fields (with permission) where there has never been any history of archaeology but I have a huge problem with amateurs bringing their gear to sites that could be of historical significance and digging away ruining any chance of properly dating or researching.

Unfortunately a large number of cases where people go out with metal detectors and find a unique item, a museum will never see or hear about it. This is because a large number of amateur metal detector enthusiasts are in it for the gain.They want to find treasure to keep and maybe sell.

So in summary: it damages archaeology and loses historical items through the greed of some of these amateur metal detecting enthusiasts.

I'm not saying it can't be good such as a number of cases in the UK but there are some negatives also.

recipio

Preusse wrote: »

Recipio, that forum is not the Collectibles & Antiques Forum. If you wish you can suggest the creation of a new forum to pursue your goals here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=461

Thanks all.
well , as this forum attracted a few replies I'll keep it open a little longer. If I read the posts on this correctly, the only legal place to metal detect is between the tide lines on a beach.
Its not legal ( without a licence which is not granted to the public ) to detect on private land.
This is a remarkably selfish attitude by the State. So what if treasures are unearthed ( away from archeological sites) Is it not better to have them in circulation even though the finder benefits from them.? We need a 'treasure trove' law as applies in the UK.
I also agree about the 'right to roam' situation - if peope were not herded into sink estates on the edges of out cities perhaps crime rates would improve.?

Dr Strange

recipio wrote: »

Thanks all.
well , as this forum attracted a few replies I'll keep it open a little longer.

Well, we'll have a look how it goes. If this gets out of hand and the forum mods don't see it as appropriate for this forum we may decide to close it. For the time being continue but I'll ask everyone to stay on topic and discuss this in relation to antiques and antiquities. The free roaming part for example would be deemed off-topic as it has nothing to do with collectibles and antiques.

recipio

Preusse wrote: »

Well, we'll have a look how it goes. If this gets out of hand and the forum mods don't see it as appropriate for this forum we may decide to close it. For the time being continue but I'll ask everyone to stay on topic and discuss this in relation to antiques and antiquities. The free roaming part for example would be deemed off-topic as it has nothing to do with collectibles and antiques.

That's fair enough. Now, should I buy a metal detector or not ?........

Dr Strange

recipio wrote: »

That's fair enough. Now, should I buy a metal detector or not ?........

I don't think I could say anything about it. I have no interest in it but if it was me I wouldn't bother spending money on it with all the restrictions in place in Ireland and the possible legal pitfalls. Just isn't worth it. If I was living somewhere else it may be different, plenty of metal detector hobbyists in Germany, for example.

Fighting Irish

I have an garrett at pro, my first detector was a garrett ace 250

I would highly recommend anyone starting out to get the ace 250 as their starter machine, i think it's around 200 or 300e but you'll make that back in a year easily if you want

Irish md forum: http://z13.invisionfree.com/IrishMetalDetecting/index.php?act=idx

Fighting Irish

Mousey- wrote: »

i wouldnt say their is much to find in ireland tbh.....

you're wrong

Fighting Irish

gobnaitolunacy wrote: »

There's nothing to stop you beach detecting/trying in your own patch of land/detecting on land (with owners consent) PROVIDED it's not an area of archealogical interest. There is a 'grey' legal area in the highly unlikely event of ever finding something that IS of archealogical importance in an area not known to contain such items, you may need to prove that you didn't set out to find the object. Chicken/egg situation.

The need to have a licence is misinformation in an attempt to put off responsible hobbyists.

99.999% of the time, you'll find rubbish!

That's not true at all, but yes you do find rubbish

Fighting Irish

M-wav wrote: »

The law is there for a reason. To prevent people without any archaeological skills or knowledge from damaging important historic areas with their shovels.

I personally don't mind people going to beeches or some small private fields (with permission) where there has never been any history of archaeology but I have a huge problem with amateurs bringing their gear to sites that could be of historical significance and digging away ruining any chance of properly dating or researching.

Unfortunately a large number of cases where people go out with metal detectors and find a unique item, a museum will never see or hear about it. This is because a large number of amateur metal detector enthusiasts are in it for the gain.They want to find treasure to keep and maybe sell.

So in summary: it damages archaeology and loses historical items through the greed of some of these amateur metal detecting enthusiasts.

I'm not saying it can't be good such as a number of cases in the UK but there are some negatives also.

a system like the UK is a lot better than the system here

http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/ukdfddata/index.php

Dr Strange

OK, guys, I am not comfortable with this. This is NOT a MD forum and we are not here to recommend starter kits or whatever. If this moves any further from a balanced discussion about pros and cons of MD in different jurisdictions (including Ireland) I am going to close the thread! Again this is not a forum to discuss the use of MD in Ireland per se and to encourage any possible breach of legislation!

Actually, I just saw that Fighting Irish has included a link to a MD forum. As this is probably best suited to your interests I am going to close this thread now.