Cash paid to allow metal detecting on your land

Start of the day briefing before going metal detecting with DCDD UK — Giving all our members a briefing on rules and where they can go before they set off on the day.

We pay you in cash on the day.

We offer you cash for us to spend one day on your land! Please have a read below and contact me for any additional information.

Devon, Cornwall, and Dorset will require farms throughout 2024/2025. We will take care of everything else; all we need is your consent and agreement on a date. Individual public liability insurance from the National Council for Metal Detecting is a requirement for everyone of our members, they all have to have this or they cannot attend. Not only that, we also have our own event organisers public liability insurance along with any risk assessment paperwork needed.

How much could I expect to get paid?

On one day digs you will normally receive between £300 and £700 in cash which we will pay you on the morning of dig. Some of the larger digs you would get between £700 and £1500. This really depends on the location and history of the land, more land/history means more people, that means more money for you. If you have and large amount of land this could potentially be a once a month thing for a few years meaning you get ££££ over the year, that’s of course if you want us to return which every farm so far has done.

What to expect when we’re metal detecting your land.

Basically, what it entails is that members of our metal detecting club show up at around 8am and wander around the fields you’ve given us access to on the one day you’ve given us access to look for buried artefacts or coins. When they discover an object using a metal detector, they will first create a tiny, usually 6 to 12 inch, hole, remove the object, and then carefully fill it in so that it appears just as it did before. By 5 o’clock at the absolute latest, everyone will have departed your land.

All finds of interest are recorded with finds liaison officers when needed. We respect the country code and detectorists code of conduct at all times.

We have one marshal for every ten attendees, and they keep an eye on things and make sure that everyone respects your property and the rules. The number of acres you permit us to use determines how many people come. We typically work with a 1/2 acre per person restriction, so if you have 50 acres, we would only allow a maximum of 100 individuals to attend the event that day. Rarely, when your site has a very high historical value, we could request a 25% increase in the event cap.

How do we know what land would be best for us?

The short answer is that we don’t. We use a variety of web resources to assist with research, but in reality, any land is worth a shot because we never know what lies beneath.

Check out the pictures from the bronze age gold hoard we found in Dorset below, this is currently still going through the treasure process. The field that this was found had no history at all on paper.

If you’d like to try some of the research tools we use then please click here.

The finders of the bronze age Dorset gold hoard

Lost a item on your land?

If you’ve lost something on the land over the years please let us know. We have found many lost landowners belongings from tractor parts to gold signet rings. Our members are told to return these items to you if they find them on the day.

We remove hidden potentially dangerous items.

All sorts of items are hidden in the ground and many of these items could damage your livestock or machinery. If we find anything like this whilst detecting on your land we will dispose of them properly.

cutlery found on a dig — These forks found just under the surface could injure livestock or damage tyres.

Will I be able to see what is found on the day?

Of course, every one of our members will be pleased to show you on the big day. If that doesn’t work for you, everyone posts their discoveries to our Facebook group when they return home later that day. If you don’t have Facebook, I can compile all these pictures and send them to you via email or WhatsApp.

What happens if something of value is found?

You are entitled to 50% of the value of any finds that are covered by the Treasure Act of 1996 or are worth at more than £1000. When a treasure is discovered, the museum divides the proceeds between you and the finder if the wish to acquire it.

In general, you can make more money if you have more land and a richer local history. For a day, we need a minimum of 20 acres. If your happy with our visit there is always the option of use coming back if you’d like us to so the potential of a extra income all year round is there.