Traveling With A Metal Detector Abroad Is Easy
Tips on Packing and Transporting Your Metal Detector on Airplane, Staying Safe in Foreign Countries, Abiding Archaeological Laws
• Never keep the batteries or battery packs inside the metal detector! Put them in Carry-on (knapsack or a small bag) or keep them separately.
• If you still have a receipt of sale for your machine, bring it with you in case you have to prove your ownership to the custom officer. Always check the Custom Laws and Regulations of the country you are going in.
• Always keep the detector's manual at hand in case you have to explain the purpose of the metal detector to the officer to whom the machine might look like a strange device.
• Never bring a brand new metal detector in its original box. If you do, you'll have to pay taxes (sometimes big bucks!) at the customs in former Eastern Block countries.
• Do not bring your favorite treasure hunting shovel with you! Good digging shovels, like the ones made by Fiskars, are available anywhere in Europe and can be purchased for cheap prices.
Also, for your personal safety and peace of mind, follow these precautions:
• Do not advertise the purpose of your trip or your metal detector (especially in some poor countries of Eastern Europe and South America).
• Always check the Local and National Archaeological Laws or Monument Protection Law of the state before you plan detecting in any foreign country. It is very easy to lose your freedom outside the US.
• Be alert all the time! Never let the public see your metal detector (it might be easily taken from your hands). Keep it concealed all the time. I usually carry mine in my backpack, no matter whether I ride with my friend in his car or I use a public transportation. Never leave your metal detector in plain view.
• Prior to your trip abroad, establish contact with fellow treasure hunters in each country that you are traveling to. There are metal detecting clubs, small and large, everywhere today.
Some foreign metal detectorists understand English. The best way to establish a communication is through the Internet by joining various metal detecting groups in social media networks. With use of online translators, interaction with any non-English speaking person is easy. You will be surprised how much help you would receive from the hobby enthusiasts in any foreign country.
• When asked about your metal detecting activity by a stranger while detecting at any site, always reply with something like, "I am looking for Radon gas!", or "I am searching for meteorites". Never show your finds to a stranger or someone you cannot trust.
• Always carry your passport and visa (required for some Eastern-European countries) on you. Make a Xerox copy of your passport and keep it in a safe place.
• Do not try to take the metal detecting finds that are older than 100 years outside the country if you travel by plane. In UK, for example, you must report them to the local historian (district coroner) and then wait for a while to receive them by mail if no historical or archeological value was assigned to them by the officials.
• Familiarize yourself with old and modern coins, their values and relation to historical events, that were minted in the country that you plan to visit. That knowledge will be helpful in quick identification of your finds in the field and correct assessment of the metal detecting site.
Bon Voyage!
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ANNOUNCEMENT:
In January of 2020, I started a one-time fund-raising campaign in attempt to accumulate enough money to buy a simple but reliable 4x4 vehicle. My old 4x4 car (made in 1995) had faithfully served me for 10 years before it eventually went beyond repair last October. Without a 4WD, I will not be able to get to my hunt sites and test-plots hidden in the remote wooded areas inaccessible by a regular car.
Unlucky for me, those sites are the only locations available and suitable for my field-work which results in informative articles you can find on this website. For the past 10 years, my usual field-work has consisted of field-testing the latest metal detectors and accessories, experimenting with some of them, and devising new effective search methods that meet the requirements of the new metal detecting reality.
Before my car died, I managed to finish a couple of interesting detector-testing projects which will be covered in my upcoming articles. But other equally important projects that I was working on were not completed and had to be postponed until the Spring 2020. I hope that this fund-raising campaign will help me get a decent 4x4 by then so that I will be able to resume my work and to write more new articles, tutorials and guides based on data gathered through testing and experimentation.
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