Who Owns buried treasure?

Very interesting article Kanacki.
All I can say is smiley dont tell.jpg

Interesting magazine as well.
 

Last edited:
The only finds youll hear about from me is.....
 

Good result on the case (after the appeals and retrial). Found property that has been lost or mislaid belongs to the finder unless the owner claims it. The jury (well, 9 of them) didn't believe that the Roberts family buried the tin of gold. Therefore, the boys are the rightful owners.

Most of the stuff we dig would be considered lost property. The vast majority of it is an item of property that is not unique enough to determine who lost it in the first place. Therefore, so long as we recover it legally (no trespassing, etc) it is OURS.

I really enjoyed the article. Thanks for sharing.
 

Last edited:
Nobody has to worry about it if they put a lid on their ego, and don't tell anybody. Most people find that too difficult, however, and need the praise.
In my own case, I can keep my mouth shut, and don't need the fame.
jim
 

My Personal Opinion, If it's Old enough that The Person who Buried it is dead or Can't be found.
And No one in the Family seems to Know or seems to Care about it enough,
To Have Legal Papers Advertising It's Lost or There. or They are not trying to Find it.


it's finders keepers.. :coffee2:
 

Last edited:
Thanks for sharing the article! Thats really nice to know... and frankly sort of assuring. That if I wanted to I could tell the property owner or people without fear of having my goodies legally stolen. I've never found anything great yet (well not too much at all, workin on that though) but I would feel sort of guilty just hiding the fact that I found treasure and didn't say.

I can't beleive that the couple mentioned at the end though had to pay an almost 50% tax on their find... might be a good idea not to say after all. :laughing7:
 

Last edited:
Kanachi, my friend,

I hold a contrary opinion (and hope I won't be stoned for expressing it). Unless the 'hunter' has my permission to take whatever he finds under the ground, what is there remains mine, whether I put it there or not--unless the real owner can be verified; then it's a negotiation. And anyone who allows another on one's property to hunt without an agreement deserves what he'll get; probably nothing.Similarly, anyone who hunts on my property without permission may get what he deserves.
Don.
 

Last edited:
My thinking more aligns with yours, Don. I was surprised to see the court decisions in favor of the finders, rather than the landowners. Especially in the case of the brother who were PAID to do cleanup work. That decision, and the ones that sprang from it, seem really odd to me. I wish somebody would chime in on treasure found on public, Federal land.
Jim
 

Step 1: Find it.
Step 2: Shut up.
Step 3: Move on with your life.

:)
 

Who buried the gold coins to begin with? When did he/she live? Is there more? Has anyone looked? Is it possible there is more cached around the building(s)? Many questions, no answers.
 

Its mine I wouldn't say a word if they didn't find it likely no one ever would have
 

Mackaydon said:
Kanachi, my friend,

I hold a contrary opinion (and hope I won't be stoned for expressing it). Unless the 'hunter' has my permission to take whatever he finds under the ground, what is there remains mine, whether I put it there or not--unless the real owner can be verified; then it's a negotiation. And anyone who allows another on one's property to hunt without an agreement deserves what he'll get; probably nothing.Similarly, anyone who hunts on my property without permission may get what he deserves.
Don.
Click to expand...

I agree with you, rule 1, always get permission from the lands owners in writing, and share and always pay your state and federal income taxes or off to jail you may go.
 

Last edited by a moderator:
I have turned up multiple discoveries from caches of gold coins to tin cans of gold nuggets in my research. Legal results of ownership have gone both ways in court actions. Example the two boys who treasure hunted in the basement of that old building on the east coast. They found all that gold coin once cached. Wasn't their building, today the city would step in and claim it. This is the one thought to be a KGC treasure.
 

jeff of pa said:
My Personal Opinion, If it's Old enough that The Person who Buried it is dead or Can't be found.
And No one in the Family seems to Know or seems to Care about it enough,
To Have Legal Papers Advertising It's Lost or There. or They are not trying to Find it.


it's finders keepers.. :coffee2:
Click to expand...


The law says "Finders Keepers" (basically). Here is a curve ball for you:

Treasure Trove Law

Say you find a stack of gold bars with Jesuit Markings. Also sacks of gold and silver coins.

TT Law says the same thing. Finders Keepers. Finder typically takes precedent over the landowner. Finder takes precedent over every other entity.....................unless the entity that hid the treasure is still alive.

The Jesuits would likely sue the finder because the "entity" known as The Order of Jesus (Jesuits) was who hid the treasure from the Spanish in about 1765, and the Jesuits are still an active Order of the Catholic Church.

Do you or the Jesuits get the treasure?

Mike
 

gollum said:
The law says "Finders Keepers" (basically). Here is a curve ball for you:

Treasure Trove Law

Say you find a stack of gold bars with Jesuit Markings. Also sacks of gold and silver coins.

TT Law says the same thing. Finders Keepers. Finder typically takes precedent over the landowner. Finder takes precedent over every other entity.....................unless the entity that hid the treasure is still alive.

The Jesuits would likely sue the finder because the "entity" known as The Order of Jesus (Jesuits) was who hid the treasure from the Spanish in about 1765, and the Jesuits are still an active Order of the Catholic Church.

Do you or the Jesuits get the treasure?

Mike
Click to expand...

I get the treasure ! 1) I find it and keep my mouth shut! 2) I discreetly sell the gold through casa de cambios for cash!
3) Nobody else knows anything, so no lawsuit !
 

Samanthy said:
I get the treasure ! 1) I find it and keep my mouth shut! 2) I discreetly sell the gold through casa de cambios for cash!
3) Nobody else knows anything, so no lawsuit !
Click to expand...

Sounds good, until someone at "Casa de Cambios" notices how much gold they are getting from you. You may not even notice the two or three cars that start following you when you leave. Then, the "Homies" of the guy/girl at Casa de Cambios do a little home invasion and torture you until you give up what's left.

or

If you take the Casa de Cambios Money and put it in your bank account, anything over $10,000 cash they have to report on an IRS Form 8300 (or $5000 that seems suspicious). Then you have Uncle Sam examining your work pay stubs. When that doesn't match your deposits, they crawl up your butt with a microscope.

Its never as easy as people think to move a whole bunch of gold (especially ingots).

Many times its worth what you lose to do things legally. I think Mel Fisher had to fight about (IIRC) 130 lawsuits before he ever saw a penny of the approx $400,000,000 that came from the Atocha.


Mike
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Pending trip to Nashville Tenn

⬅️ Previous Thread

registered historical places

Next Thread ➡️

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)

Latest Discussions

Back
Top