Shortstack
Silver Member
- Jan 22, 2007
- 4,305
- 419
- Detector(s) used
- Tesoro Bandido II and DeLeon. also a Detector Pro Headhunter Diver, and a Garrett BFO called The Hunter & a Garrett Ace 250.
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
treasuretopsites said:I have been an historical researcher for almost 30 years.
I stumbled on some information that I have NOT been able to discount. It is thousands of dollars in gold coins from the late 1800's buried on a farm in the midwest. Through painstaking research all the facts have been proven true, Including who, what, why, where, and the fact that no relatives could ever find it.
There is no doubt about it's exsistence, and the probably that it was found is very, very slim.
What I have read here is that it would be illegal for me to poccess it or try to sell the coins. I sure wouldn't want to melt down a bunch of American Gold Eagles in order to sell them! And I wouldn't want them sold in another country.
I am now going to have to check the laws thoughly because I have my doubts that it would be illegal for me to sell. You can buy and sell on eBay right now. Naturally Coin collecctors buy and sell. They are also sold regularly at auctions.
How could this be illegal?
I would be more than happy to pay the taxes leagally and live happily ever after.
I have to believe that it is perfectly legal to sell collector gold coins?
Selling off those coins might take awhile, but it can be done. First, recover the treasure and rebury it if it is a physically large amount. Take out enough coinage to fill about 3 or 4 large ringbinders worth of coin holder pages. These binders and pages can be bought at coin shops. Also, get a bag full of those cardboard coin holders. What you will do is create an instant coin collection of select coinage. Don't buy all of these collector materials at the same shop. The shop owner may get curious, at the worse; or remember you later at the least. Buy a few plastic pages here and a few there. Spread out your purchases among several coin shops and by mail order. ( eBay is one excellent spot for these items ). Once you have your "collection" assembled, start on the coin show circuit, selling the coins from your collection a few at a time. Either as a dealer, or better yet, a private collector attending the show to sell "just a few pieces" to the dealers displaying at the show. Don't carry a whole binder with you. Put 3 to 5 coins, in their cardboard holders in your pocket. Don't forget to write the coin info on each cardboard holder. After all, you are a numismatist. You've been collecting these coins FOR YEARS and yes, you found one or two with you metal detector; but no more than two. Everyone is aware that very few detectorists find even ONE gold coin; much less 5 or 6. Feed to THEIR knowledge base. At tax time, claim the money you made for that tax year from coin sales as "Other Income' and pay the taxes. Keep a low profile. Do not bring undue attention to yourself by getting over anxious and flooding the market with a bucket full of coins. When the first 3 or 4 binders are emptied, recover enough of the remaining cache to refill them and start again. Dispose of the cache in dibbles and drabs and good luck. If you want some excellent examples of how to SENSIBLY dispose of your finds, get and read Karl Von Mueller's' two books, Treasure Hunters Manual #6 and Treasure Hunters Manual #7. In these 2 volumes, he not only gives examples of how to liquidate your finds, but also how NOT to. One of my favorite stories is the one where, to prove a point, KVM let it be known to a neighborhood gossip that he'd stumbled across a trunk full of money--about $10,000 or more. He DID NOT mention that the bills were all Confederate bills. Before the day was out, he got visits from the Sheriff, Mayor, a banker, and others trying to "help" him with his find. The Sheriff offered to put it into protective custody for his, KVM's, safety. He was even threatened with jail; a lawsuit; etc. Well, after he'd had enough crap, he opened the trunk in front of the salivating "officials" and showed them the Confederate money. THEY stomped off all mad and putout that he had tricked them. THEY felt put out and put upon by KVM. He did this thing to prove his point that, when it comes to "found" money ( treasure ), you cannot trust anyone--especally lawyers, bankers, and politicians. Read those 2 books and use them for you blueprint. Good Luck.