Some of you may remember the court case in a few years back when the owner of Rolling Stones Magazine, Jann Wenner, was fighting a legal battle against a construction worker who had found a cache of American gold coins dating from 1857 to 1914 in a broken glass jar on Wenner?s property in the prestigious Sun Valley, Utah resort area. The construction worker, who was excavating soil in order to build a driveway on Wenner?s property (once the site of an old mining town), tried to lay claim to the treasure based on the Treasure Trove common law, which basically states, ?finders, keepers.? The court decided in favor of the land owner, and the construction worker was left to seek his fortune elsewhere.
According to the Archaeological Institute of America, the Treasure Trove Law, based on English Common Law, applies to gold and silver, and also to cash (since it represents gold). The treasure must have been intentionally hidden, not merely lost or scattered about, with an intent to eventually retrieve it. This law has been etched away in some states over the past 60 year or so, and replaced by a ?mislaid rule? for buried objects, which allows purposely hidden objects to be reclaimed by those who originally hid them, and held in custody by the property owner upon whose land the items were found. As the years go by, it becomes increasingly less likely that the original owner will reappear to claim them.
Treasure Trove Laws vary from state to state. State courts in Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Wisconsin have maintained the ?finders keepers? laws, giving ownership to the finder. However, laws in Idaho and Tennessee currently protect the landowner?s claim to ownership of any items found on their property in order to discourage trespassing and looting. In other states, any finders of lost money, gold or silver, are required to report their finds to the police, who (supposedly) will then attempt to locate the original owner. If unclaimed for a specific period of time, ownership goes to the finder. In Louisiana and Puerto Rico, any unclaimed finds are then split between the finder and land owner.
There are still more exceptions to the ?finders keepers? rule. Generally, finders who are illegally trespassing at the time of the find lose all rights to the items found. Additionally, finders who are employees of the property owner generally have no right to found items because employees have a legal obligation to protect their customer?s property. Furthermore, some states do not allow police officers or military personnel to keep their finds due to potential conflict of interest. Lastly, any finds on government land in excess of 100 yrs old are subject to the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 as well as the 1990 Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act which protects federal and tribal lands.
Bottom line: Be careful where you search. Get permission. And don?t get into trouble with the Feds.
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