Not to be a stick in the mud with the red tape but,,, 
I can't speak for the rest of the US but in CT anyways any artifact found in the ground older than 50 years comes under the jurisdiction of the state archaeologist's office unless it's found on private property which then makes it property of the landowner who then has the option of letting the archaelogist in or not. So, in theory, removing artifacts older than fifty years is in effect, poaching. Generally this is not enforced all that stringently but could be depending on how vigilant the archaelogist wants to be and how valuable the site you disturbed turns out to be if it comes to light. More importantly, when you find and remove artifacts without doing the proper documentation of the site: depth, location in relation to other artifacts, age, possible carbon dateable material, etc etc, you basically destroy any valuable information that might have been gleaned from that site. That is the bigger deal. That info is lost forever because now the artifact is "out of context". If you can put getting rich aside and if you are interested in making a contribution to society find your local archeologist's club (or whatever) and work with them. You'll end up at a lot more known productive spots for one thing because they only look where there is the highest probability of artifacts being located as the research, which is the toughest part, has already been done for you. I started much the way you did, with a metal detector, but in my travels met our state archaeologist and came to regard him quite highly so I've changed my evil ways and took up with him in a more official capacity. I've gotten into many really good sites that would otherwise be off limits to me and it's been a very rewarding experience. I even get to cross the yellow crime scene tape on occasion when human remains are discovered and are determined to be very old as opposed to being recent. That's when they call us in. It's kinda cool acting all nonchalant about a bunch of old bones while the detectives all have the heebie jeebies. 
besides, it's the only field where you can dig in a hole and act intelligent.
Good post. Very informative, but I think you may have misunderstood. All the projects I have worked on have been in an "official" capacity where I was employed as a salvage diver. Everything we brought up was cataloged and we always had an archeologist on board. At the time, I'm not even sure if we were required, as per Florida law, but we did anyway. In Venezuela, we were required to have an archeologist on board at all times. John De Bry from the University of Florida was working with us there. Obviously, everything was cataloged, mapped out, etc for study.
In Florida, anything that you find on land you can keep. On beaches, if you can stand in the water and you find something, you can keep it. If the water is over your head and you find something, you have to file for permits, the state gets a percentage, etc. There is a lot of red tape involved, which is why I said in my first post, "But there is so much red tape involved in working major sites that it isn't worth trying to work them yourself."
Breaking the law in itself isn't worth it. However, I also believe in contributing to the greater good and knowledge of anthropological and archeological knowledge. So I would never steal anything from a major dig or site, etc. I would also be happy to let an archeologist examine the individual finds that I would expect to get while exploring, digging, or detecting by myself or with friends.
Yeah. It isn't worth getting in trouble over. Happy New Years! Just got back from the partay!
