Hypothetical question re: gold coins found on Federal land

[Tesorodeoro]

All of this is a cool idea but don't forget, if you ever tried to sell them you would have to be very careful because they are coins that never saw circulation, from a country that only existed for 4 year, if authentic, anyone is going to be asking you where you got them.. that could be an issue..

Its like the guy that bought a storage unit with $8,000,000 in a safe, technically it was his because he bought the unit, but you can't exactly carry $8,000,000 into a bank and deposit it without a shitload of red flags..
(he returned most of it to the owner and kept 1.5 MIL I think)
You could hide it under your bed and worry for the rest of your life if someone would ever find out and come for you.. hahaha

Most folks would say they found them at the base of a tree on their property while walking their dog. All stacked neatly in a rusted can.

 

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[Tesorodeoro]

These are fun threads because nobody will ever know for sure if you’re pulling their leg.

 

[russau]

AND valuable coins ,paper money jewelry ETC. that have placed or hidden for safe keeping still belongs to the owner if they are still alive, if not it would go to the relatives that are IF they could prove that they are descendants of that original owner. according to lawyers . Now if it was lost , dropped and you find it CONGRATULATIONS to you ! I am NOT A LAWYER But this is what I heard from a case that got onto the internet some years back ! And another thing! Don't come looking in my yard for a secret hiding spot cause my wife is making sure I don't have any loot to bury ! Have a good one my friends!

 

[Tesorodeoro]

AND valuable coins ,paper money jewelry ETC. that have placed or hidden for safe keeping still belongs to the owner if they are still alive, if not it would go to the relatives that are IF they could prove that they are descendants of that original owner. according to lawyers . Now if it was lost , dropped and you find it CONGRATULATIONS to you ! I am NOT A LAWYER But this is what I heard from a case that got onto the internet some years back ! And another thing! Don't come looking in my yard for a secret hiding spot cause my wife is making sure I don't have any loot to bury ! Have a good one my friends!

Actually, it doesn’t go over well here, but by the law if you find property that’s not yours, it’s a crime to not turn it into police. It’s theft. So say you drop your wallet and someone finds it and keeps it, or you leave a chainsaw in the woods and someone takes it home. It’s theft because you didn’t legally attempt to find the rightful owner.

Like I said- a statement like that at a metal detecting forum typically prompts all kind of arguments about picking up a quarter in the parking lot or finding a ring at the beach.

 

[Limitool]

Actually, it doesn’t go over well here, but by the law if you find property that’s not yours, it’s a crime to not turn it into police. It’s theft. So say you drop your wallet and someone finds it and keeps it, or you leave a chainsaw in the woods and someone takes it home. It’s theft because you didn’t legally attempt to find the rightful owner.

Like I said- a statement like that at a metal detecting forum typically prompts all kind of arguments about picking up a quarter in the parking lot or finding a ring at the beach.

I 100% get what you mean above and have no argument with most of it. But how is that "law" ever enforced let alone known broken? The only way I can see is if the thief themselves announces it...? But I don't see the finder having any "legal obligation" to find the owner. Surrendering an item or find to law enforcement possibly but no legal obligation on finder I feel. A moral one... hell yes..!

But.... just say anyone finds the old gold coins like in the OP or under a flat rock deep in a woods near a cave entrance. Coins are around 150 years old now. Nobody dropped them. You just discovered them with an MD or stumbled upon them exploring. And nobody is "looking" for them nor have they been turned in by someone who lost them. Nobody in real time even knows their there now. 1.5 centuries ago somebody put them there and you happened to have found them. I'd say nor document absolutely nothing concerning this. Especially a $250,000+ find nobody is looking for.

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Like I said it will prompt disagreement. I’ve lost something valuable that someone immediately took for their own. I reported it stolen as I was instructed to do by the police and it was rightfully returned to me 2 years later.

TIME MATTERS. I don’t know much about confederate coins other than they are likely very valuable. Don’t know if the US government would lay claim the same they would have immediately after the conclusion of the war.

 

[Limitool]

Here's the thread I did 11 years ago like this for anybody interested...

Thread 'Another "hypothetical" find... Gold coins'

Mar 15, 2014

QUESTION: If you found an old weathered leather bag (2) with 100+ gold coins in them on somebody else's property in a very rural area with NOTHING around... what would you do? Change the "truth" ... melting them sucks ... selling them leads to questions or could. I'm just curious what some of you think.

• Limitool
• Replies: 97
• Forum: General Discussion

 

[Tesorodeoro]

Here's the thread I did 11 years ago like this for anybody interested...

Thread 'Another "hypothetical" find... Gold coins'

Mar 15, 2014

QUESTION: If you found an old weathered leather bag (2) with 100+ gold coins in them on somebody else's property in a very rural area with NOTHING around... what would you do? Change the "truth" ... melting them sucks ... selling them leads to questions or could. I'm just curious what some of you think.

• Limitool
• Replies: 97
• Forum: General Discussion

Sounds very similar to this exact thread. Only confederate gold is thrown in.

 

[Tesorodeoro]

We know what Honest Samual would say.

 

[CreekSide]

Without reading all the responses the answer is yes and you would probably be in trouble for digging on the land as well. Here you can pan for gold but you can’t dig at all. I imagine it’s different from state to state I’m not sure.

 

[CreekSide]

Here's the thread I did 11 years ago like this for anybody interested...

Thread 'Another "hypothetical" find... Gold coins'

Mar 15, 2014

QUESTION: If you found an old weathered leather bag (2) with 100+ gold coins in them on somebody else's property in a very rural area with NOTHING around... what would you do? Change the "truth" ... melting them sucks ... selling them leads to questions or could. I'm just curious what some of you think.

• Limitool
• Replies: 97
• Forum: General Discussion

If you actually told the owners about your discovery they would probably kick you off their property and take the loot for themselves unfortunately

 

[Limitool]

If you actually told the owners about your discovery they would probably kick you off their property and take the loot for themselves unfortunately

Agreed... Why wouldn't they. My thought is no property owner would ever leave such a cache unclaimed or under a flat rock near a cave entrance away from civilization. Especially when a pin pointer could find it.

 

[Red-Coat]

There is NO Federally owned land only Federally managed land ! the land you are referring to is PUBLIC LAND managed by these various Departments and a common mistake is to refer or call them Federally owned land . We the people own that land and it is up to our Government to manage and care for our land so that we all can enjoy it 1God bless America ! I know ,I know but check it out before you slam me ,please !

"The federal government owns roughly 640 million acres, about 28% of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States. Four major federal land management agencies administer 606.5 million acres of this land (as of September 30, 2018). They are the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS) in the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture. A fifth agency, the Department of Defense (excluding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), administers 8.8 million acres in the United States (as of September 30, 2017), consisting of military bases, training ranges, and more. Together, the five agencies manage about 615.3 million acres, or 27% of the U.S. land base. Many other agencies administer the remaining federal acreage."

[Ref: Congressional Research Service “Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data”, Updated February 21, 2020]

 

[Limitool]

"The federal government owns roughly 640 million acres, about 28% of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States. Four major federal land management agencies administer 606.5 million acres of this land (as of September 30, 2018). They are the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS) in the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture. A fifth agency, the Department of Defense (excluding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), administers 8.8 million acres in the United States (as of September 30, 2017), consisting of military bases, training ranges, and more. Together, the five agencies manage about 615.3 million acres, or 27% of the U.S. land base. Many other agencies administer the remaining federal acreage."

[Ref: Congressional Research Service “Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data”, Updated February 21, 2020]

In this country the federal government ONLY manages the 640 million acres referenced above for the citizens of this country. To own something means you either paid for it or have title to it and it solely belongs to YOU and/or a private entinty. The above posted statement should read if verbally proper....

"The federal government manages roughly 640 million acres, about 28% of the 2.27 billion acres of land..." If anything is under Govt. control it means it's owned by the citizens of this country and managed by Govt. officials and/or agencies. And it's managed using tax payer monies to whom it belongs.

 

[Red-Coat]

In this country the federal government ONLY manages the 640 million acres referenced above for the citizens of this country. To own something means you either paid for it or have title to it and it solely belongs to YOU and/or a private entinty. The above posted statement should read if verbally proper....

"The federal government manages roughly 640 million acres, about 28% of the 2.27 billion acres of land..." If anything is under Govt. control it means it's owned by the citizens of this country and managed by Govt. officials and/or agencies. And it's managed using tax payer monies to whom it belongs.

Read it for yourself:
https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R42346.pdf

Also, during America’s growth between 1781 and 1867, the federal government acquired all land extending to the Pacific Ocean by purchases from various foreign countries, including France, Britain, and Russia, and through the ceding of land by treaty after the Mexican War.

During the later 19th Century, Congress passed laws authorizing the disposal of (some, but not all) federal lands to private citizens or businesses and individual states. Some lands were sold to fund military wages or reduce the national debt. In the 20th Century, there was a shift in policy culminating in the Federal Land Policy & Management Act of 1976, whereby the remaining federal lands would stay under federal ownership, but managed by agencies on their behalf.

Over the years, federal ownership of land has been legally established from a combination of ceding by treaty, purchase or conquest; exchange with or transfer through condemnation proceedings; and purchase under military acquisition laws.

 

[AU Seeker]

"The federal government owns roughly 640 million acres, about 28% of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States. Four major federal land management agencies administer 606.5 million acres of this land (as of September 30, 2018). They are the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS) in the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture. A fifth agency, the Department of Defense (excluding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), administers 8.8 million acres in the United States (as of September 30, 2017), consisting of military bases, training ranges, and more. Together, the five agencies manage about 615.3 million acres, or 27% of the U.S. land base. Many other agencies administer the remaining federal acreage."

[Ref: Congressional Research Service “Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data”, Updated February 21, 2020]

In this country the federal government ONLY manages the 640 million acres referenced above for the citizens of this country. To own something means you either paid for it or have title to it and it solely belongs to YOU and/or a private entinty. The above posted statement should read if verbally proper....

"The federal government manages roughly 640 million acres, about 28% of the 2.27 billion acres of land..." If anything is under Govt. control it means it's owned by the citizens of this country and managed by Govt. officials and/or agencies. And it's managed using tax payer monies to whom it belongs.

Actually the US government DOES own some of those 640 million acres, all "government" land east of the Mississippi was private lands bought from the owners by the US government to create National Parks, Forests, etc. so these lands are indeed owned by the US government.

That being said all "government" land west of the Mississippi is NOT owned by the US government but instead owned by "we the people" and managed by the US government!

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Hello! I’m looking for a quick answer and I bet someone here has a quick answer: If someone found a collection of uncirculated $20 Confederate gold coins buried on Federal land, would the cache automatically be turned over to the government or might someone keep the find? What are the legalities?
Thank you! These threads are fascinating.

Metal detecting on Federal land is highly illegal and anything found on Federal land belongs to the Federal government.

Digging and recovering Confederate coins or artifacts is considered looting and vandalism of archaeological resources on federal lands, it is considered a felony under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. ARAP