Any metallic object, other than a coin, provided that 10 per cent by weight is of a precious metal content (gold or silver) and that the Item is of a minimum of 300 years old at the time of the find. TREASURE CODE: You should always abide by the provisions of the treasure act and treasure act code of practice. If you are unsure your local finds liaison officer will be able to assist you.

Hello and welcome to my final post in the beginners guide to Metal Detecting. I hope you have found it useful so far. Please remember the techniques, and methods I have talked about are of my own opinion, from other resources, and have been recommended to me. You will find your own ways, and learn your own methods eventually. This series of beginners guides, are just a start to point you in the right direction. From what I know, the permit is for foreshore only and does not include a permit for the seabed, riverbed or any other Crown Estate owned land.

Purse spills, and smaller groups of coins that may have been lost, misplaced or dropped. Ritual or votive deposits. Gardens can be full of interesting relics, artefacts, coins, toys and other historic objects. With the garden being a place of activity, playing, socialising and relaxing over the years things could have been dropped. Please do not go against what they say, it is illegal and I would hate for any of you to have your equipment, and finds taken from you and perhaps even end up with a criminal record. GROUND CARE: It is good practice to wherever possible detect on land that has already been disturbed for example ploughed fields. If you are metal detecting on undisturbed pasture you should ensure that no damage is done to the archaeological value of the land. Ensure all holes are properly filled and use the correct tools. Fill holes as neatly as possible. In this post I will include template permission letters, and template contracts for you and a landowner or occupier.

REPORTING FINDS: Report any archaeological or historical finds you have made to the landowner or tenant, and with the agreement of the landowner or tenant report to the Portable Antiquities Scheme so the information can be passed to the Local Historic Environment Record. As with coins I do not like to clean or polish silver because of the natural patina, however if it is in a right old state and you are sure it is silver you can use a higher concentration of ammonia say around 25% drop the button into a container with the solution in. Leave fully submerged for around 10 minutes at this point you can gently swill the container which will help break the dirt away. Remove the silver button from the container and rinse thoroughly under running water. Very gently use a cotton bud to remove excess loosened dirt and dry the button. Rinse thoroughly again. Cleaning Musket Balls So you finally get on some land and you discover something that you think may well be classed as treasure?

This will help make your day a little more pleasurable as you do not have the worry of getting tangled, or tripping over any cables. I have included these as it is possible to get permission however some local authorities will not permit you to metal detect.