Truthful Opinions. What would you really do?

[CodyCat Borat]

After reading some posts about people who go out of their way to find the owners of lost jewelry, I had to post my own personal opinion.
If I found a piece of jewelry and it was engraved with a persons name or something that might identify the owner than yes I probably would try to persue finding the owner. Years ago I found a thick 14K gold very heavy bracelet. It had an inscription on the inside, something like "to my love Edna." Now, Edna is not a very common name. Fact is it's not a late 20/early21st Century name, so I figured Edna was probably in her 80's or 90's and was probably heartbroken by this loss.
I did a search of the area and found Edna who was overcome with joy that I had found and returned it to her. She sent me a gift certificate of $100.00 to Lord and Taylor.
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Now to get to the real issue.
I love this hobby, but in reality the hope is to find the diamond ring, the special priceless coin or that relic that's worth a small fortune. Hitting "the jackpot" to me is what it's all about. I was MD last night on Fire Island and came across another man who also was MD. We talked for a while and agreed that if we ever found a diamond ring or a nice piece of jewelry we would keep it.
That's the whole point. We do this for fun, enjoyment, exercise, relaxation, but the jackpot is the dream.
I also feel that anybody who would wear a nice piece of jewelry to the beach is a fool in the first place, and if they lose it it's their own stupidity.
As for turning it over to the police, that would never happen in my case.
This is just my opinion so please don't take it personal.
I'm into this hobby for the fun, not to find owners of lost jewelry.

 

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[ericwt]

It was nice of you to return that bracelet. If jewelry has identifying marks I would try to return it.

That is a real interesting question.

If you found a Wells Fargo box stuffed with gold, would you return it to Wells Fargo?

How about a Spanish Trove in some forgotten Mine, would you return it to Spain?

Aah, the wonderful ethical dilemma situation.

Great question!

I am not going to answer it, but great question indeed.

 

[UnEarthed72]

It was nice of you to return that bracelet. If jewelry has identifying marks I would try to return it.

That is a real interesting question.

If you found a Wells Fargo box stuffed with gold, would you return it to Wells Fargo?

How about a Spanish Trove in some forgotten Mine, would you return it to Spain?

Aah, the wonderful ethical dilemma situation.

Great question!

I am not going to answer it, but great question indeed.

My sentiments exactly,But i will say It was awesome of you to track down Edna and it was selfless for her to send you a $100 gift cert. just for stumbling upon it.I'm getting into detecting for the pure enjoyment and thrill of it all,and occupying my free time,as well as keeping me from doing something foolish if i weren't taking this on as a hobby.Will i get rich from it? Probably not,Will I go out of my way to return something very valuable and treasured back to them?Of course I will(I know how hard it is to get things in this world and to just lose them or have them stolen I know I'd greatly appreciate someone doing me a solid returning it to me)but these people would be very few and far between.
I guess everyone is in this hobby for their own personal intrests I can not answer for them,some people are guilt free to where guilt weighs on others tremendously(I'm one of the later persons).I think it all adds up to your value as a person in general ARE YOU A GIVER or A TAKER,ARE YOU HONEST or DISHONEST.
Don't get me wrong I'm not judging anyone those are just my feelings

~Shawn~

 

[BioProfessor]

IMHO, you are mixing apples and oranges. A rare, priceless coin or a one-of-a-kind relic worth a king's ransom are different from a piece of modern jewelry that someone just lost. The real owner of the coin or the relic are long gone but the owner of the jewelry is probably still around and is most likely looking for it or hoping for its return. Just because you find something doesn't make it yours. Imagine a reunion picnic where everyone has a common bond but don't really know each other. Maybe a military unit or battalion get together. Just a large group of people talking, drinking beer, and eating hot dogs. Now an announcement comes over the small PA they have that Fred has lost his diamond pendant and 18kt chain somewhere in the park. Everybody starts looking around their feet walking around looking at the ground, kicking trash trying to find it. Nobody can find it and the party winds down. You come back to the park about an hour later and in about 10 minutes you find the diamond pendant and chain under some leaves. Now can you honestly tell me you would put that in your pocket and take it home to put in your "Finds" cabinet? I surely hope not. Let's say two weeks go by before you find it. Take it home and keep it? Claim you found it so it's yours. Please say it ain't so.

So there is a difference. You are not a lost and found department or the finder and returner of all things valuable but I hope you can see the difference in how things can be.

I'm also a little puzzled when you say - "Hitting "the jackpot" to me is what it's all about." and in the same post, "I'm into this hobby for the fun..."

My 2 cents worth on the subject. Again.

Daryl

 

[CodyCat Borat]

I'm also a little puzzled when you say - "Hitting "the jackpot" to me is what it's all about." and in the same post, "I'm into this hobby for the fun..."

No confusion: Hitting the jackpot for me, is part of the fun. Not knowing if it's a pulltab or a gold ring. That's the fun, and if it turns out to be a ring, then JACKPOT. BTW/ the owners of these rings could be long gone too, just like the owners of the relics.

 

[Tin Nugget]

A class ring or keepsake item that has a name and there is the potential to return it to the owner then I am doing it if I can. I don't return items because I believe it is the right thing to do, I return them because it would make someones day. I know I would be ecstatic if my class ring was returned from the dirt someday. The police get nothing from me unless I feel it may be part of a crime. Now that is just me and I have no problem with anyone that doesn't try to return a class ring or anything else. They found it, their privilege to keep it as far as I am concerned.

HH

 

[CodyCat Borat]

This is a great question that keeps comming back again and again...

I've said it before - I keep what I find. And, if you choose to keep something with a name in it, please don't post about it here... you'll get yer twins cut off!

I think those of you who return stuff like that are awesome and wonderful people... but I keep my treasures, name or not, unless asked to specifically look for something or I cut a deal prior.

I'm with you 100% my friend.

 

[BioProfessor]

Just some friendly advice if you plan to keep everything. Check the state statue on what the fines and penalties are for keeping evidently lost items above a certain value. It is illegal in all 50 states to keep new finds above a certain value and in some states the value is not that much.

Just know what you are dealing with as you make your decisions. You don't want legal fees chewing up all your clad, your car, your house,.....

I just depends on the item and the circumstances.

Daryl

 

[Montana Jim]

Thanks for making my point. I pulled my other posts from this topic. I shoulda known better...

 

[re-tek]

IMO
hitting the jackpot = finding something thats worth what i paid for my detector.

to return it or not... depends.
somebody just lost it and i know it, sure.
found it while md'ing in a lonely park or beach, probably keep it.
looks like a recent loss and has a name on it, maybe. things like highschool rings i may go out of my way to return.

report it to the cops, uh no!
there's a law in place about reporting finds? ok, thats nice to know.

 

[CodyCat Borat]

Just know what you are dealing with as you make your decisions. You don't want legal fees chewing up all your clad, your car, your house,.....

Daryl

In all due respect Daryl, most of the people I know that MD, and it's a lot, (especially on the beaches)
Nobody's reporting anything to anybody... Why would we do that? LOL Daryl, you have a great sense of humor, thanks for making my day.....

 

[BioProfessor]

The law isn't there for your "typical" beach find or really your "typical" find anywhere. It deals with those large value items that are evidently recent losses or finds. The $5000 solitaire diamond ring, the new 18kt Rolex, the $25,000 whatever. They laws are really there to protect you. Take a new 18kt Rolex and try to sell it, since it is most likely reported lost/stolen and there are all kinds of ways to identify it, there WILL be a detective at your place of work with those fancy metal bracelets. It will be up to you to prove you didn't steal it. I hope you have a good story other than, "Uh, I found it." That's what every criminal says when asked where they got their dope, drugs, guns, etc. The cops hear that story every time. Yours will be no different.

Don't get the obvious recent losses worth thousands of dollars confused with the hand-disinterred crape we shovel up each day. 99.9% of the things we find we should keep. Even those with some pretty good value. They are not the things people just lost and filed a report on. It the 0.1% of the things that the law is there for and if you get caught with an item listed as stolen, you WILL be paying the big legal fees. It is just not worth "the fun of it."

Keep the hobby in the best light possible.

HH

Daryl

 

[luvsdux]

Seems right to me to make an honest effort to return jewelry or items that are marked. Likewise, items that (for whatever reason) you know were lost by so and so. Past that, I think the effort on most finds is likely an exercise in futility and not worth the time. In most of our hunting we seldom find high value items anyway, so this problem doesn't happen often. I don't know about most mder's, but at least 70% of the fascination for me in the hobby is discovering what makes the machine beep, even when it's junk. I don't even mind digging common pennies. (Good thing, I find lots of 'em)
Hunt hard, dig often,
luvxdux

 

[Sandman]

Daryl is correct on the laws of finding lost property. This is why many of us find something and keep it to ourselves so we don't have to return it to it's rightful owner. As kids we learned not to take the coin we found on the floor to the teacher while at school. The old saying comes to mind, "Finder's keepers, losers weeper's." When you fine something of value that you know the owner is looking for it, I believe we should return it as we would like it done for us. However we also put it out of our minds that someone may be really wanting the article back so we keep it.

It is up to each of us to try to do the right thing in our own minds. I have returned many rings and things that I of course would have liked to have kept. The dollar value is no where near the value of, "Thank you for returning my ring." The hobby is about Finding Treasures whether we keep them or not, the fun was in the finding. What we do with them afterward is up to us to decide if we are good enough to keep.

 

[Ant]

I feel you man. I keep all the gold I find too. But I only want it for the gold content and visual pleaser.

If someone recently lost an expensive ring and I found it I would feel guilty keeping it, say the size Charley found. On the other hand, I keep all old class rings, they mean allot to me, more than finding the owner, that’s strange to some.

A person fooling around trying to sell an expensive find might end up with a case. Risking penalties like restitution and or jail time. That's not worth it. The cops don't play, so why take chances when computers can almost track when we go to relieve ourselves.

When you do hit a jackpot, and it’s not protected under the Finders Keepers Maritime Law, keep it to yourself.

HH