A device for detecting electrical currents on or in the vicinity of electrical conductors that are part of a lightning current arrester, a lightning rod or an electrically conductive component which is not intended for the protection against lightning but over which a lightning partial current can flow, comprising a plurality of reed contacts as magnetically responsive switches, which are arranged in the vicinity of the electrical conductor such that, in the event of a significant current flow, corresponding to a response threshold of the respective reed contact, through the conductor, the resulting magnetic field trips the respective switch, a multitude of reed contacts being arranged at predefined, different distances from the conductor for a detection of surge current magnitudes and for the differentiation of long-term currents and short-term pulsed currents, further comprising an evaluation electronics with a microcontroller, which determines the response and the switching times of the respective reed contacts and performs an assignment of values, characterized in that at least one of the reed contacts includes a ferromagnetic shielding and at least two of the reed contacts are formed to be unshielded, wherein the unshielded reed contacts have different sensitivities to the magnetic field strength, such that the more sensitive one of the unshielded reed contacts is configured to detect long-term currents of lower amplitude and the less sensitive unshielded reed contact is configured to detect pulsed currents, a long-term current being a direct current having a lower amplitude than a pulsed current, wherein the at least one shielded reed contact is designed to detect currents above those which cause the unshielded reed contacts to respond, and wherein the threshold value of the response of the shielded reed contact is dimensioned such that a saturation of the unshielded, more sensitive reed contact is not yet reached at the threshold value and the more insensitive, unshielded reed contact responds and remains closed until the respective current pulse end. comprising a plurality of reed contacts as magnetically responsive switches, which are arranged in the vicinity of the electrical conductor such that, in the event of a significant current flow, corresponding to a response threshold of the respective reed contact, through the conductor, the resulting magnetic field trips the respective switch, a multitude of reed contacts being arranged at predefined, different distances from the conductor for a detection of surge current magnitudes and for the differentiation of long-term currents and short-term pulsed currents, further comprising an evaluation electronics with a microcontroller, which determines the response and the switching times of the respective reed contacts and performs an assignment of values, characterized in that at least one of the reed contacts includes a ferromagnetic shielding and at least two of the reed contacts are formed to be unshielded, wherein the unshielded reed contacts have different sensitivities to the magnetic field strength, such that the more sensitive one of the unshielded reed contacts is configured to detect long-term currents of lower amplitude and the less sensitive unshielded reed contact is configured to detect pulsed currents, a long-term current being a direct current having a lower amplitude than a pulsed current, wherein the at least one shielded reed contact is designed to detect currents above those which cause the unshielded reed contacts to respond, and wherein the threshold value of the response of the shielded reed contact is dimensioned such that a saturation of the unshielded, more sensitive reed contact is not yet reached at the threshold value and the more insensitive, unshielded reed contact responds and remains closed until the respective current pulse end.