cudamark

Congratulations Simon! 👍

It's not just a matter of whether they want the item for a museum or not. Usually they know fairly quickly if they do. The main hangup from what I understand is the valuation and funding to buy the item. I've only found two items that they now have in a museum. It took about 3 years to actually get paid for the gold item. I donated the silver item, as the value wasn't high enough to bother with. A donation gets you a nice certificate that you can hang on the wall too. Keep in mind that you get half the value of a gold or treasure item, as the farmer/land owner gets the other half. That means on a gold item that you find and get to keep, you will owe the farmer half the value. So far, this only applies to gold items. Anything else you find that they don't deem treasure is yours to keep.....after the evaluation process. They keep everything you find that is 50 years old or older until that decision is made....usually 3-6 months. You then either get your items mailed to you, or, you can pick them up on your next trip over there. The export documents have nice photos and descriptions of each item which saves you all sorts of time and research.

Yeah. this will be my 11th or 12th trip I think. If you have any questions, just ask.

Yup, good rain gear is a must, along with comfortable footwear that can be washed off. Dress for winter in layers as the weather can be very changeable and the wind is usually brutal and constant. If you have the room, bring the 6" coil in case you get to detect the "carrot patch". It helps there with all the coke when trying to squeak out a tiny hammered silver....especially a cut ham. Bring whatever pain reliever you like to use after an all day hunt. Spare gear can't hurt to bring either if you have the room. Nothing worse than breaking something and not having a backup on a trip like this. Be prepared to be bored out of your mind in between finds of a lifetime! If you like finding lots of buttons and lead, you're going to the right place! The relics, silver, and hopefully gold will make it all worthwhile....not mention the fun and friends you make there. 👍

I'll be in the group right before yours. We'll meet your group when we get dropped off at the hotel and your group boards the van to head out to the barn. I'll try to leave you something to find.....😀

I feel your pain Steve, but, to be fair, unless you find something rare in gold, or, a relic/artifact that the museums would be interested in, you get your finds back in just a few months. My understanding is that the process has sped up a bit since our trip back then. An item can still get hung up with competing museums wanting an item, and with the "experts" coming up with a value of the item. My hunting buddy that went with me a year after our trip, just got paid for his gold torc. Took 5 years, but, being a find of the year, it's a bit understandable (but maybe not forgivable) for such a rare item. If you change your mind, let me or Ron know and we'll try to find you a spot in a future trip.

We actually do have $1 coins, both old and new. We don't find too many Eisenhower dollars anymore, but, Susan B. Anthony's come to light every now and then. More common to find are the Sacajawea (sp?), and presidential dollars. In fact, I just found one last hunt. I wish we would get rid of the paper dollar and rely more on the coin dollars. If we were really in a cost saving mode, we would use $2 and $5 coins too. They last much longer than paper money, but, they are more expensive to make. Much easier and cheaper to print paper than mint coins.

I wouldn't trust a zinc cent as a washer either!

Is it a done deal, or, just wishful thinking? When will the last cent be made? When will we be rounding off purchases to the nearest dollar?

Really? You need to buy it before you can see what's in it? Seems like I heard that BS somewhere before....🤔

Not part of the world I'd want to detect in at this moment in time. Good Luck!

Your machines will find at least 90% of what the latest and greatest machines will find, assuming your regular hunting ground has average mineralization and trash. The advantage the newer machines with faster processors and multifrequencies have is handling harsher conditions. They also have the advantage of being waterproof too.

Nice guided tour Simon! I did the same one a few years ago with my wife and Kiwi friends, and had one of the best rib dinners in town. Found a real nice gold ring in Lake Wanaka. That water is sure cold! 😬 We hope to get back there in the next year or two. If we head back to the south island, I'll let you know for maybe a hunt. Cheers!

Depends on the country. Some don't even allow a detector into their country. Some have private beaches where you may only be allowed to hunt at the resort where you're staying. Other countries claim all their beaches are public and open to all. Check the laws of the country you plan to visit. I haven't had any problems flying with a detector. I pack it on my checked luggage and keep any extra large LIon/LiPo batteries in my carry-on. Members here probably have some feedback on certain countries if you have one in particular in mind.

I don't know which coil and cover you're using, but, on the stock ones I have, the cover wraps around the bottom of the coil and up the sides a bit for protection. I have never had a problem with debris under the cover causing a signal problem, but, I can see the advantage of not using one while searching for tiny gold where every spec of depth is important. For those worried about black sand and other crud build up between coil and cover, just drill some holes in the cover so you can flush them out with a hose. I've been doing that for years just to reduce the weight of the coil should there be a build-up there.