Hypothetical question re: gold coins found on Federal land

[Gare]

In some of the state parks around me you are allowed to dig in MOWED GRASS's ONLY !!

 

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[sprailroad]

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.

So you LOST something, and the police told you to lie to the police by claiming it was stolen?

 

[sprailroad]

Well...Don't ask, don't tell type of thing? OR, how about a melt value? Heat purifies all.

 

[Tesorodeoro]

So you LOST something, and the police told you to lie to the police by claiming it was stolen?

Correct. If it doesn’t belong to you, you need to keep your hands off it.

If you’re being a good citizen and picked it up to prevent something from being stolen, you are to turn it into the local police (lost and found) and they will hold it for a defined period of time before returning it to the finder as their new property.

Kind of makes sense to me. If you were walking behind me in the supermarket and an envelope of cash fell out of my pocket onto the floor. You have two choices - one involves being a thief.

With that said, if I find a wrench along the road, I don’t feel like a thief picking it for my own.

 

[Limitool]

Correct. If it doesn’t belong to you, you need to keep your hands off it.

If you’re being a good citizen and picked it up to prevent something from being stolen, you are to turn it into the local police (lost and found) and they will hold it for a defined period of time before returning it to the finder as their new property.

Kind of makes sense to me. If you were walking behind me in the supermarket and an envelope of cash fell out of my pocket onto the floor. You have two choices - one involves being a thief.

With that said, if I find a wrench along the road, I don’t feel like a thief picking it for my own.

I too sir would pick up the envelope of cash and return it to you. I also would also pick up the wrench and outright keep it as my own. I would also pick up leather bags hidden for 150+ years in the wilderness with coins and put next to the wrench.

 

[SD51]

First, the only “confederate “ double eagles were the 1861-O strikes. Mint records show only 17,000 struck. Only a portion of those were struck after the confederates took over the mint. The confederates sent about every dime they had to England to buy war matériels. Digging on most Fed land is prohibited. You can legally dig in a National Forest. I think BLM land is legal but I’m not positive. After you found them, you would have to pay income taxes on the actual value of the coins, not just face value. Payment must be made in the same yr they were found. That’s if you do it the legal way.

Found one on E Bay...

1861-O $20 Liberty Gold Double Eagle AU-55 NGC | eBay

Ancient Coins. Gold Bars 1 oz Gold Bars Fractional Gold Bars. Gold Rounds. Silver Bars 1 oz 10 oz Kilo 100 oz. Silver Rounds. Graded Higher. Ancients Greek Roman Byzantine.

www.ebay.com

 

[Tesorodeoro]

I too sir would pick up the envelope of cash and return it to you. I also would also pick up the wrench and outright keep it as my own. I would also pick up leather bags hidden for 150+ years in the wilderness with coins and put next to the wrench.

What wrench? I don’t know what you’re talking about.

 

[ncsuwolf]

What wrench? I don’t know what you’re talking about.

I’m assuming he is thinking the same as me…..if I see a tool laying in the road, I’m making a U-turn and picking it up. Not posting that in Facebook or turning in to the sheriff. If however that “tool” was a bag of cash…..different situation. Feel free to replace “bag of cash” with anything of a level of value I considered material, or if there was something identifiable to the one who lost the item.

 

[AU Seeker]

If I find any cash or treasure and there's not any way to identify exactly who it belonged to, I'm keeping it, unless at a later date someone can convince me it is truly theirs.

I'm not going to advertise exactly what I found or turn it in to the police, once it is known what it is anyone can try and claim it, even one of the police officers, I will however let it be known that I found something of value and if anyone that lost something in the area I found it and can describe it exactly I will return it to them.

I have done this more than once and at least 3 times what I found was returned to its rightful owner.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

TN needs a clear unequivocal policy on this sort of issue.

 

[Tesorodeoro]

If I find any cash or treasure and there's not any way to identify exactly who it belonged to, I'm keeping it, unless at a later date someone can convince me it is truly theirs.

I'm not going to advertise exactly what I found or turn it in to the police, once it is known what it is anyone can try and claim it, even one of the police officers, I will however let it be known that I found something of value and if anyone that lost something in the area I found it and can describe it exactly I will return it to them.

I have done this more than once and at least 3 times what I found was returned to its rightful owner.

I’ll say I had this very thing happen while I was shopping with my kids. Found a bank envelope with $250 cash on the floor. We took it to the manager, who just happened to have been trying to console an elderly lady in a power cart. She was beside herself worrying how she was going to get through the month. I asked her how much was in the envelope and she knew exactly. I handed it over to her and she thanked me and tried to give me a reward. Good lesson for the kids.

Not necessarily relevant to finding treasure in the woods. But none the less, you’re supposed to attempt to find the owner.