Friday at Scarborough Beach 26 June 2009

Eugene52, we are coming to the end of the winter season. The weather here is much like San Diego in the opposite season since we are south of the equator. Way south. The ocean temp was cold so the surfer girl is wearing a wetsuit. Old SilverScoop76 was bundled up and wearing a wetsuit because he was in the water until a few waves convinced him he should try things on the beach for a while.

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Bulldog,

Six months is long enough and I don't complain. If I return a lost item it makes me feel good. I do try my best to return items without involving the police paperwork but I also do the turnover of lost items at a local police station so I have an official record of the turnover.

In February of this year, I found a set of Mercedes car keys with a 4 function remote on the ring and 20 or so keys. Sounded like I'd found a manhole cover. The Mercedes key had a serial number laser etched in it so I called the largest dealer to inquire about it. As it happens, the owner had ordered a new set of keys that very day and they contacted him to ask him if he wanted his original set back since it had been found. We met at the local cop shop (Aussie slang for police station) and we did the turnover based on his automobile paperwork as proof and everyone was happy. Seems his key is a very special one programmed electronically to start only one Mercedes - his. They cost $400.00 to duplicate and his remote was programmed for his house alarm, business alarm, garage door and front gate. The rest of his keys were for his doors to home, business and etc. A nightmare of locksmith work and key making was ahead of him.

He was overjoyed at the recovery and, even though I protested, he forced 3 $100.00 notes on me. He figured I'd saved him well over $1000.00 in locksmith costs (re-keying all his doors and making multiple keys for each) alone never mind the new Mercedes key.

He had to have a taxi pick up his wife's spare keys and deliver them to him at the beach the day he lost his own just so he could get his car and surfboard home. I had found them the following morning.

It was a good day at the beach. For both of us. My wife and I dined elegantly that evening. Spoils of war.

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		Quote:			Posted by findoldstuff
	Great Picture GD-crime for finding stuff that is terrible-what can I say - they will be taxing us on detecting in the states next-let me shut up I come here to get away from politics-anyway-guess you had to park the new Tesoro huh GD? Thanks for the picture!!! FOS

Parking it for the wife was the plan all along. I ordered the metal for the gate. Must weld it on Monday and Tuesday but it won't take that long. I'll have it hung over two mornings and paint it in Spring.

I've begun taking the dog out regularly now to see if he'll stay close when I'm detecting. I can't get him to hold the sand scoop right.

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I don't think I'd have any problems posting them after I get the police clearance on the item but you just never know. My most emotional property return was giving a Naval Academy ring back to its owner. A really nice guy who did some really heroic things in his career. It was returned 20 years to the day when he lost it. Accidental timing, I assure you because I didn't know when he lost it.

Well done on returning the ring you found.

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Mikek, it's only for identifiable items. The old ring could have been warn by an heir of the original owner last week. I do agree that finders should be the owners but I also feel a moral tug to return things I find which can be traced back to an owner. It's not uncommon for metal detectorists to have ethics, you know. I just don't want to hand some crook a ring on a platter because I posted a photo of it here to satisfy my ego. There are dishonest people who know about these forums who do look for things they can say they lost. They're quite able to describe the item too, having seen a wonderful photo of it.

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