Friday, May 4, 2012

Treasure Hunting and Finding: Finders-Keepers

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What would a metal detectorist do if he found a hoard of gold coins? The supporters of the PAS will inevitably tell you that all metal detectorists are law-abiding and of course they'd do the responsible thing (ie what the law lays down they should do, that is report it to the Coroner). Not in Wales though according to a post on the "Detecting Wales" forum. One "Nfl" (apparently a "Superhero Member" of the forum) made his confession Today at 12:41:15 PM in a thread called "Amateur treasure hunter finds tiny 14th century heart-shaped gold brooch":
theres no sense in any of it ,,,,,,,when i find 50,000 gold saxon coins in a pot im selling em 1 by 1 on flea bay ,,,,,,that,ll tie the site up for a few years 
 And how many fellow forum members protested against such a declaration? When I looked, none had.  Have a look yourselves. Obviously this could easily be done if it is seen as advantageous (for example any money earnt would not have to be split 50:50 with the landowner as would probably be the case if it went through a Treasure inquest). So the question arises not whether it happens, but how often DOES it happen?