Sorry if this a dumb question

I started detecting back in about 1979 and continued as a hobby till I came to the coast at Carnarvon in 1999. Found 85 OZS in 9 years living in Cue, plus some other luck between Coolgardie and Nullagine. Now all of a sudden I have got the urge back but, am only going to hit the beaches like Kalbarri, Broome and Coral Bay etc. Back in those days I walked out the door and detected my heart out. Now I keep reading all this garbage about Tengraph, GPS's and Laptops etc. My question is, are there any regulations about beach detecting? or can I keep all the Diamond Engagement rings I find.

Hi Young Simmo

Simple answer is no, as you could be charged with stealing by finding. You must take reasonable steps to find the owner and the best way is to hand the item into the police which is a good way to show you are trying to find owner. If after 3 months it is not claimed you are then entitled to have it legally. So get out there and swing have some fun. Regards Ian

Simple answer probably is no but lets face it if you lost a valuable ring & were too lazy, stupid , couldnt be bothered to put in time to recover it & say i happened to pick it up on a random hunt WELL sorry to say its finders keepers fro a discreet albo

If finding is stealing, then there must be a lot of people out there with stolen gold. Also If I lost a ring at Scarborough Beach it is going to take a lot of years to find it, and if I am not a detectorist I would be hoping it is on top of the ground and all the other people that go to Scarborough are blind!