To answer the questions about what I find/metal detecting in S. Korea. The rules are similar to the U.S. No hunting in National/Provincial parks, or private property without permission. But, the Koreans do have a very liberal attitude about the hiking areas on the tops of the mts, and one can do some detecting on/near the trails. Detectorists can hunt on the beaches....all the beaches that I have been to. But, I do not hunt beaches much....just don't do very well. So, I spend my time in the hills/mts. I have found a few coins from the Korean War era, i.e. a few U.S. wheat pennies, 2 England large pennies, one Aussie penny, and numerous Chinese aluminum coins, plus one Chinese silver coin. I also find tons of Japanese coins, most from the time 1910 - 1945, as the Japanese forced the Koreans to use their coins during the time of the Japanese occupation of Korea. I also find a number of Japanese and Chinese holed coins from 1880 and before....like I said in the original post, back as far as the early 1000's. And I find a ton of Korean coins, 1909 and before. From 1882 - 1910 the Koreans went to a non-holed coin, copying the Japanese, Russian, and U.S. influence. Before that, the Koreans had holed coins, similar to the Chinese and Japanese. These are called "Sang Pyeong Tone pao," from 1680's to 1888. I find almost all types of these coins, except for the rarest. I have found a few mid-rarity coins, and recently sold one in Hwadong Auctions for $1,500.00. But that is not the usual case. (For the one who is living and hunting Korea, I show at the Cp. Humphreys yard sale the first Saturday of each month, normally. I bring most of my coins with me, and several U.S. military have begun collecting the Korean coins. And, I am scheduled to show at the USO show, Cp. Humphreys, Saturday 28 June. I do find some artifacts, common usage.....Korea is an old country, and they have been losing things for centuries. (I will show some pics when I can figure out how to do so...I hate this new Windows setup.
Posted 06/14/2014 09:39 am
