Hi, Everyone. This ia a new experience for me. I've acquired some Civil War bullets, and I have some questions.

One item I'd like to inquire about is about Federal Laws on relic hunting. Of course, I understand, it is only too obvious about restrictions on State or Federal Land, parks, historic sites.

But, what about other land?

First, what about the open prairie?

Second, concerning privately owned land: let us say a landowner says, "You're welcome to hunt and to keep whatever you find", what is the status of what one finds in this situation?-- with the exception of a state or Federal artificat that might have been stolen many decades earlier, lost by the thief, and buried by natural causes, all of this occurrring without the landowner's knowledge. There was a copy of the Bill of Rights which turned up recently, originally stolen from North Carolina in the mid-1800's, and had been held in Ohio for over a century...the Feds seized that just as it was to be turned over to an auctioneer. This incident, by way of example, inspires me to make the exception I have stated above.
But in any event, here is an artifact found on private land, either a bullett or an identifiable medallion. Perhaps the medallion was strongly connected to the CSS Hunley. Are the Federal laws as strong as Greece's laws --- no matter what you find or where, you can't keep it?

Third, let us suppose that on this privately held land was a certain limited, smaller area where some objects were found. Perhaps this specific area on the privately owned land was a battle site, or Indian or prehistoric village or burial site that no one, not even the owner knew about, couldn't even tell that it was there. When does a searched area's nature as an historical site come into play so as to prohibit the keeping of any found objects? Does it come into play just by virtue of something having occurred there, and therefore the site is naturally historic, or do the restrictions come into play only after professional conusltants have been informed of the site?
Thanks for your reply. Larry