What would happen if I found on a beach in Florida (land) a chest of coins?

[UpstateCacheHunter]

The government would love nothing more than if you contacted them. You would likely be beaten or watched for many days afterwards to make sure you dint sneak out any coins. The government is not your friend. If you really know where a chest is, don't tell a soul, go dig it up under the cover of darkness, and hide it all until you can purchase a melting kit. Melt own the gold / silver to make it untraceable, the sell it off a little bit at a time using different places each time. Good luck.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Family Maps of Hinds County, Mississippi, Deluxe Edition - Grab it through Amazon!

[Tom_in_CA]

Wow, great thread! But naturally, we'd all abide by the md'rs "code-of-ethics", (to "obey all laws") and turn these items in to the governing entity of whatever beach it is, that you found it at. Because most certainly there is bound to be *some* sort of cultural heritage verbage, or forbiddance of "remove/take/collect/harvest". Or lost & found laws, etc....

 

[goldog]

Of course WE would Tom. These replies refer to the question "what would happen..."

Here's mine; ..."you'd stuff that desire and do the right thing. "

 

[Havillah]

I guess if our lawfully-elected, American-born, America-loving, government person had lawfully and legally earned it through hard work, investigation, purchase and skillful use of a metal detector (purchased with his money), I might buy him a Dr. Pepper from the proceeds of my coin hunting, but he would never see the rest of it, nor even know of its existence.

The new rules and laws applicable to treasure hunting are becoming real because we do not speak out. (Yes: I live in the heart of the Aztec Republic, but am a U. S. citizen by birth. Also former LEO up in East Texas).

To quote a friend:

"The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence."

 

[Siegfried Schlagrule]

The State of Florida has told us all exactly what they will do if you find treasure anywhere in the state or offshore whether you have permits or even own the property yourself. Mel Fisher was on the high seas in an area where he had a permit to search and a signed agreement with the state concerning their share. He turned it in as required so that the state could make sure they got the best stuff and their share as per the contract. The state then decided that was a lot of money so they seized it all and cancelled the lease. Years later a federal court granted Fisher 100% ownership of the Atocha wreck. Do you have MILLIONS OF DOLLARS to fight in court to get back even a portion of what you found? After you win is there anything left after you pay your lawyer? States like Florida and Texas have made their bed and usually the politician who does stunts like that manages to steal a big chunk while he is "safe guarding it for the children"

 

[signal]

I don't trust the State of Florida at all. They are super secretive about the archeaology records which my tax dollars fund. The stuff they do recover from numerous sites rarely goes on display. On a scale of 1-10 I give them a 1 as far as how well they are doing a good job of archeology.

 

[Bigdogdad]

Vox veritas-A few questions for this scenario. Were you by yourself when you found this box? Did anyone see you find it? Was this beach part of a state park? Is the beach private property? Does the beach belong to the county or a city? Was the box in the area between high and low tide? Was it in the dunes? All of these questions and more would need to be answered before I could advise you on what I think would happen and what I think you should do. I don't claim to be a lawyer or any kind of an expert but I think I may know the approximate location of a treasure chest on a local beach. I looked in to what I should do. I talked to the local officials and my lawyer.

Maybe I am a fool but I prefer to do things legally. I don't want to have any government types knocking on, excuse me, breaking down my door in the middle of the night. More than likely there is no way you would be able to keep your find a total secret. If you tell just one person it is no longer a secret.

The chest that I may go after is in the middle of a beach that is owned by the local city. The local officials seemed like they would be very easy to work with. Not all government employees are bad people. I want the exclusive video rights and 50 percent of what is found. Am I dreaming? Yeah sure I am. So what. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

[signal]

I am not sure what good would become of trying to involve the city. Perhaps this gold was stolen from the americas, by spanish, who then had it stolen from them by pirates, and now it sits in the beach, where it waits to be stolen again............

 

[Bigdogdad]

I am not sure what good would become of trying to involve the city. Perhaps this gold was stolen from the americas, by spanish, who then had it stolen from them by pirates, and now it sits in the beach, where it waits to be stolen again............

If it sits on city property then the city has ownership and control. If you then involve the mayor, chief of police and code enforcement (which I have done) and get them on your side they can cut thru any red tape that comes up. Why is there so much negativity on Treasurenet?.

 

[Doubter in MD]

The laws regarding found treasure are unfair and completely corrupt. Greedy politicians want to get their hands on your money.

If you do or did find a chest of coins, keep your mouth shut. Sell them slowly over time and don't frequent the same dealers. You found it. It's yours.

 

[Bigdogdad]

So in other words, to hell with the law, right? Laws are for sissies and the little people. Act like a modern day pirate and just take it! Just don't tell anybody? That's funny! Maybe just tell your wife who may then tell her best friend who may tell just her husband who may only tell his best friend who only tells his wife and she only tells her sister who oops, PUT IN ON FACEBOOK, etc, etc.

If you are going to go after serious treasure caches you better have a good plan on what to do with it. Silly me, I'm trying to stay within the law and not break the rules. I guess us nice guys will have to be content with finishing last. You pirates better not expect too many of your "friends" to visit you in prison.

 

[Doubter in MD]

So in other words, to hell with the law, right? Laws are for sissies and the little people. Act like a modern day pirate and just take it! Just don't tell anybody? That's funny! Maybe just tell your wife who may then tell her best friend who may tell just her husband who may only tell his best friend who only tells his wife and she only tells her sister who oops, PUT IN ON FACEBOOK, etc, etc.

If you are going to go after serious treasure caches you better have a good plan on what to do with it. Silly me, I'm trying to stay within the law and not break the rules. I guess us nice guys will have to be content with finishing last. You pirates better not expect too many of your "friends" to visit you in prison.

Back off. I find your post threatening and insulting.

If I were researching and attempting to find a known cache or shipwreck I would go through channels. If I found a Mason jar full of 20 dollar gold pieces I'd keep it to myself. So would a lot of others on this site.

I follow some of your threads. I could be wrong but I thought you have said on an occasion or two that you wouldn't/didn't make some of your finds public. If I'm wrong I apologize. If I'm right, what have you got to hide?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Let's not get hostile please.. Its a hypothetical question....

 

[Doubter in MD]

Let's not get hostile please.. Its a hypothetical question....

Or so we think...

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Or so we think...

I'm unable to answer further without becoming too political..😁

 

[Bigdogdad]

I find your post threatening and insulting. If I found a Mason jar full of 20 dollar gold pieces I'd keep it to myself.

There is NOTHING threatening or insulting in my post. If you break the law and get caught you may go to prison, that is just a fact. I really don't care what you or anybody else does. The OP asked what would happen in finding a chest of coins on a beach. He said nothing about a mason jar full of coins.

 

[Doubter in MD]

There is NOTHING threatening or insulting in my post. If you break the law and get caught you may go to prison, that is just a fact. I really don't care what you or anybody else does. The OP asked what would happen in finding a chest of coins on a beach. He said nothing about a mason jar full of coins.

Who cares about the container. Mason jar, chest, Tupperware, whatever. Anything you find on your own while detecting or even just digging is yours to keep in my opinion. That WAS the law of the land before greedy Government officials decided that you don't deserve to keep it.

 

[Doubter in MD]

Provided you aren't trespassing, etc...

 

[Bigdogdad]

Who cares about the container. Mason jar, chest, Tupperware, whatever. Anything you find on your own while detecting or even just digging is yours to keep in my opinion. That WAS the law of the land before greedy Government officials decided that you don't deserve to keep it.

Doesn't it depend on who owns the land that you have found your mason jar, chest, Tupperware or whatever? It may have nothing to do with the government. The OP asked about a chest on a beach. I asked what would be the details regarding the exact kind of location and who owns it. I have always heard that ANYTHING that you find in between the dunes and low tide is yours to keep. Under the right circumstances you don't have to tell ANYBODY. Of course if you find a dead body or a stash of drugs or a bomb or anything that is obviously stolen it would probably be a good idea to report it. As far as my mentioning pirates it is because there are a lot of people that don't care about rules and do things illegally. It is sometimes because of this kind of activity that laws are made and then it kind of ruins it for everybody.

 

[Doubter in MD]

Public land is just that. Public. That is OWNED BY THE PUBLIC, not the government. Provided he broke no laws in digging the hypothetical box I say it's his to do with as he pleases.

I'm finished debating you. We will have to agree to disagree. Good luck digging your septic tanks and cisterns. As you follow other leads I hope you strike it rich one day. Since you're quite the upstanding, law abiding citizen, I am certain you will be able to post about it here. Or write a book about it. That would be cool.

Oh, and please see my post above yours. If he was trespassing all bets are off.