.
Mark Wilson from Doncaster is a member of the Midland Metal Detecting Club (MMDC) which prompted me to take a look at the sort of organization to which that sort of person belongs. The MMDC tries to organize regular commercial artefact hunting rallies for its members, in fact that seems to be its principle activity. These rallies may be anywhere in the West Midlands, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Staffordshire. The landowner gets a fee to let history plunderers on the sites their land contains ("we guaranty (sic) the landowner a minimum payment of £100 for the day") and the person who persuaded the landowner to do so gets fifty quid. There is a set of rules, and these include:
Note that there is absolutely no mention here of the additional values the finder can generate from any of the finds he is allowed to take away by their actual owner, the landowner - these include the sale of photographs. It was recently revealed by one metal detectorist, that a detectorist can make five hundred pounds each for even a scrappy amateur digital shot of even a mundane artefact. So, by this measure, each artefact to which this applies is worth at least another £500 from the outset. That means each and every one of them should be declared to the landowner or rally organiser. Are they? Concealing information about potential sources of revenue like this from the landowner would surely indicate a desire to rip them off.
It seems to me that the majority of farmers are in any case not going to be fully appraised of the actual market value of the finds pouches full of artefacts these people are taking away from their land. Very few of them I suspect take magazines like "The Searcher" where there is a regular feature giving valuations - usually in the tens of pounds region individually - of even very common finds. Few of them can afford the time to sit on eBay to observe the prices reached for "British antiquities' in the final bidding which may take place in the final seconds before the end of the auction, thus increasing the price substantially from the bids that are seen in the days before. We have seen that some metal detectorists can make a tidy profit from selling off what they find (here for example). Who can the landowner approached by a finder of a handful of grubby bits of corroded metal turn to for help in saying how much they are worth, if not the metal detectorist who obviously benefits from downplaying the actual value of an individual item or group of them that they want to take away to add to their collection or otherwise profit from owning them? On what basis is ownership transferred? No mention is made of any kind of paperwork proving that an object was added to a collection of metal detected finds by legal and mutually agreed means. this becomes important when latter those finds are disposed of.
So, individual finds of value over 300 GBP (by whose valuation?) should be shown to the landowner and the rest can be carted off with nobody looking at it? Let us have a look at what they are reporting members found on previous rallies.
Sunday 7th August 2011 - Worcester MMDC Rally.
67 Acres of undetected farmland, 36 attendees: "Two small hammered coins Charles I, Two large pewter victorian medals, I saw three silver plated pocket watches!, lots of copper coins, lead tokens, gold plated buttons and a George III Shilling". See Video here.
Total market value of finds added to finder's collection or on eBay and sale of photos? Amount shared with landowner? Was the landowner ripped off?
Sunday 2nd October 2011 - MMDC Shrewsbury Severn Hospice Charity Rally. Raised £410 for charity, though the photo shows 43 attendees: "500+ Acres of Historic farmland, first ever club rally thats been allowed to detect this Roman / Anglo saxon site [...] I saw at least 10 Hammered coins, 1 Viccy Half Soverign, 1 Roman and a gold ring thats now going through the treasure process Roman Coins and brooches, Medieval Artifacts ect, ".
Total market value of finds added to finder's collection or on eBay and sale of photos? Amount shared with landowner? Was the landowner ripped off?
Sunday 13th November 2011 - Near Bridgnorth, MMDC Rally.
50+ Acres of stubble field, "I saw 2 Roman Brooches, 2 Hammered coins, Henry III Short cross and James I Sixpence, Lots of bag seals and Musket balls, We may have found an old battlefield, Some medieval buttons and buckles too, and to round the day off a nice Bronze age Axe head was found, Here's some of the finds we found."
Total market value of finds added to finder's collection or on eBay and sale of photos? Amount shared with landowner? Was the landowner ripped off?
Sunday 16th October 2011 - Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove MMDC Rally.
100+ Acres of farmland, "3 and 1/4 Hammered Coins, Lots of Tokens, Buckles, 4 Silver Viccys, Some of the best bronze coins i've seen from out the soil, [...] Here some of the Finds".
Total market value of finds added to finder's collection or on eBay and sale of photos? Amount shared with landowner? Was the landowner ripped off?
Sunday 8th January 2012 -Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove MMDC Rally.
100+ Acres of farmland , "Good idea to return to this site as it was quite productive. Here some of the Finds".
Total market value of finds added to finder's collection or on eBay and sale of photos? Amount shared with landowner? Was the landowner ripped off?
Members are asked to acquaint themselves with the Treasure Act, but nowhere is any mention made of the accompanying Code of Practice, apparently PAS outreach does not reach as far as Doncaster. So it is we find club rule number 19, about "digging out hoards":![]()
Mark Wilson from Doncaster is a member of the Midland Metal Detecting Club (MMDC) which prompted me to take a look at the sort of organization to which that sort of person belongs. The MMDC tries to organize regular commercial artefact hunting rallies for its members, in fact that seems to be its principle activity. These rallies may be anywhere in the West Midlands, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Staffordshire. The landowner gets a fee to let history plunderers on the sites their land contains ("we guaranty (sic) the landowner a minimum payment of £100 for the day") and the person who persuaded the landowner to do so gets fifty quid. There is a set of rules, and these include:
All none (sic) treasure finds of value over £300 and All treasure finds must be shown to the landowner or submitted to the rally organiser / MMDC Committee member for photographing before leaving the dig.Note that there are no sanctions on finders who do not follow the advice "should be shown to the PAS". Note it is "should" and not "must". Also the definition of Treasure here falls short of what the Act actually says. No mention is made either of what happens to the photos taken of finds removed from the site, who has custody of them, whose property they are, what they are used for and who gets the money for them if any of them are ever used in a publication (see below). Why not?
Any find that may be over 300 years old should be shown to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, treasure items must be given into the coroner, which includes 2 or more items of more than 10% precious metal.
Note that there is absolutely no mention here of the additional values the finder can generate from any of the finds he is allowed to take away by their actual owner, the landowner - these include the sale of photographs. It was recently revealed by one metal detectorist, that a detectorist can make five hundred pounds each for even a scrappy amateur digital shot of even a mundane artefact. So, by this measure, each artefact to which this applies is worth at least another £500 from the outset. That means each and every one of them should be declared to the landowner or rally organiser. Are they? Concealing information about potential sources of revenue like this from the landowner would surely indicate a desire to rip them off.
It seems to me that the majority of farmers are in any case not going to be fully appraised of the actual market value of the finds pouches full of artefacts these people are taking away from their land. Very few of them I suspect take magazines like "The Searcher" where there is a regular feature giving valuations - usually in the tens of pounds region individually - of even very common finds. Few of them can afford the time to sit on eBay to observe the prices reached for "British antiquities' in the final bidding which may take place in the final seconds before the end of the auction, thus increasing the price substantially from the bids that are seen in the days before. We have seen that some metal detectorists can make a tidy profit from selling off what they find (here for example). Who can the landowner approached by a finder of a handful of grubby bits of corroded metal turn to for help in saying how much they are worth, if not the metal detectorist who obviously benefits from downplaying the actual value of an individual item or group of them that they want to take away to add to their collection or otherwise profit from owning them? On what basis is ownership transferred? No mention is made of any kind of paperwork proving that an object was added to a collection of metal detected finds by legal and mutually agreed means. this becomes important when latter those finds are disposed of.
So, individual finds of value over 300 GBP (by whose valuation?) should be shown to the landowner and the rest can be carted off with nobody looking at it? Let us have a look at what they are reporting members found on previous rallies.
Sunday 7th August 2011 - Worcester MMDC Rally.
67 Acres of undetected farmland, 36 attendees: "Two small hammered coins Charles I, Two large pewter victorian medals, I saw three silver plated pocket watches!, lots of copper coins, lead tokens, gold plated buttons and a George III Shilling". See Video here.
Total market value of finds added to finder's collection or on eBay and sale of photos? Amount shared with landowner? Was the landowner ripped off?
Sunday 2nd October 2011 - MMDC Shrewsbury Severn Hospice Charity Rally. Raised £410 for charity, though the photo shows 43 attendees: "500+ Acres of Historic farmland, first ever club rally thats been allowed to detect this Roman / Anglo saxon site [...] I saw at least 10 Hammered coins, 1 Viccy Half Soverign, 1 Roman and a gold ring thats now going through the treasure process Roman Coins and brooches, Medieval Artifacts ect, ".
Total market value of finds added to finder's collection or on eBay and sale of photos? Amount shared with landowner? Was the landowner ripped off?
Sunday 13th November 2011 - Near Bridgnorth, MMDC Rally.
50+ Acres of stubble field, "I saw 2 Roman Brooches, 2 Hammered coins, Henry III Short cross and James I Sixpence, Lots of bag seals and Musket balls, We may have found an old battlefield, Some medieval buttons and buckles too, and to round the day off a nice Bronze age Axe head was found, Here's some of the finds we found."
Total market value of finds added to finder's collection or on eBay and sale of photos? Amount shared with landowner? Was the landowner ripped off?
Sunday 16th October 2011 - Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove MMDC Rally.
100+ Acres of farmland, "3 and 1/4 Hammered Coins, Lots of Tokens, Buckles, 4 Silver Viccys, Some of the best bronze coins i've seen from out the soil, [...] Here some of the Finds".
Total market value of finds added to finder's collection or on eBay and sale of photos? Amount shared with landowner? Was the landowner ripped off?
Sunday 8th January 2012 -Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove MMDC Rally.
100+ Acres of farmland , "Good idea to return to this site as it was quite productive. Here some of the Finds".
Total market value of finds added to finder's collection or on eBay and sale of photos? Amount shared with landowner? Was the landowner ripped off?
Members are asked to acquaint themselves with the Treasure Act, but nowhere is any mention made of the accompanying Code of Practice, apparently PAS outreach does not reach as far as Doncaster. So it is we find club rule number 19, about "digging out hoards":
19. We expect a certain amount of cooperation if a member starts to excavate a potential hoard, it's not a free for all! Help fence off the area, take photos and ask the finder if they need assistance. Call an Organiser / Committee member for help. The find belongs to him and the farmer alone. You would wish the same if you were the finder.No mention there of leaving it for archaeological investigation. In fact, archaeology is not really featured at all on their website, not even in the links section, where there is instead a preponderance of information about how to identify Roman (and Greek!) coins.
