Metal Detector Finds Worth Looking At Again

[mn90403]

Here is a collection of finds that have been published many times before but it is always nice to review them and click on some new links in each of the finds.

8 Discoveries Made with Metal Detectors (history.com)

[SwiftSword]

"The discovery of the Derrynaflan Chalice and other treasures in the “Derrynaflan Hoard,” as it’s known, led to sweeping changes in Ireland’s antiquities laws. It is now illegal to search for antiquities in Ireland with metal detectors, and any archeological artifacts unearthed by the public are automatically the property of the state."

No good deed goes unpunished. 

[mn90403]

Read that.

There must have been a 'hoard' of people out there after the initial discovery.  They could have been out there in the weeeee hours of the morning to get their share.

[GB_Amateur]

From #5 in the article:

In 2008, a 20-year-old metal detectorist and treasure diver named Mike DeMar was scanning the ocean floor near the Santa Margarita wreck when he found what he thought was an old beer can buried in a foot of white sand. When DeMar washed away the debris, he saw what it really was—a solid-gold chalice big enough to hold a softball. It was valued at more than $1 million.

This makes it sound as though he was just a typical lone wolf amateur underwater detectorist when in fact he was working for Blue Water Ventures who had exclusive access to the location, as indicated in the Fisher museum article linked in the above paragraph.  It's tough for amateurs to find lost colonial Spanish valuables given the big conglomerates who lock in exclusive access, although it does happen as has been reported here by members=finders, occasionally.