LRB from the Epfig Hoard

I recently acquired the coin pictured below from the Epfig Hoard. I've seen little info on this hoard other than it's a recent discovery near Alsace, France. Do any CT members have more info on this hoard ? Any info would be appreciated .

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Near 14,000 pieces of bronze dating from the Roman era from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD were found in 2010 in France. I remember there was a fight in court in 2016 between the 3 discovers of the 250 lbs of Roman coins (worthing 100,000 euros). The tractor driver who was digging and broke the jar containing the hoard wanted to be declared the only owner...but he finally lost his case.
These coins were first entrusted to the DRAC (Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs) for a legal expertise lasting 5 years, but the municipality finally regained possession at the end of June 2017. A first offer from collectors was first declined and then finally accepted by the City Council after a proposal for a more compliant sum of € 50,000.

 

Ocat, Many Thanks for the helpful info !

 

Wow Al I love it! Congrats on picking up such an important and impressive coin. The story of the hoard is really interesting

 

I'm not familiar with laws, especially in Great Britain, concerning finding coin hoards that have been in the ground for centuries. A while back, I read an article about some men finding a hoard of coins in Great Britain. They decided to keep it. Evidently, the law there is that any coin hoards (or maybe other things), are to be reported and they would only get a finders fee. First of all, the idiots should have kept their mouths shut and gone somewhere else. Anyway, they got a jail term because they didn't report it and turn it over to law enforcement. Have I lost something?

 

That is one beautiful coin you are very fortunate, thanks for posting it.

 

That's practically mint fresh Al!

 

@Al Kowsky, that's a stunning example. The provenance is some Serious icing to have on an already serious cake!!!
@lordmarcovan, thanks very much for giving the most thorough account of UK Treasure Trove that I've seen anywhere, let alone here. Very enlightening. You do get a sense of the more organic, evolutionary ...and potentially balanced British legal tradition really coming through in this context.

 

L.M. Thanks for the interesting info ! Britain seems to be a paradise for treasure hunters as is Europe, Turkey, & the whole Levant area, thanks to the Romans & Greeks . Britain has reported 47,000 treasure finds this year alone !

 

What do finders of lost treasures in the U.S. have to do if they find something? I have read articles where treasures or archeological finds are turned over to museums and museums don't have room for them so they are put into storage. A few years ago, I read an article about a custodian in the Smithsonian and had taken home many items that had been in storage for many years. They only found out about it when the man died and family members turned the items over to law enforcement.

 

I agree . The coin type is very common, but this coin is well centered & well struck on fairly fresh dies. I had no examples of Constantine II, so finding a coin from a well known hoard was a plus .

 

Unfortunately security in most museums is poor if they have any at all . Remember the largest gold coin ever made from the Canadian Mint? That coin was touring Europe & suddenly disappeared ! That massive piece of gold has never been found .....

 

Common yes. Fully silvered and as-struck! Not as much...

 

Yep...that one was in a large pot before the night was over. Personally as a Canadian I felt that coin was too gauche for my Canadian sensibilities. LOL

 

It belongs to the property owner. If it is found on government land, it belongs to whatever government body owns the land.

 

Common sense law in U.S.

 

Perhaps, but we don't have a lot of local museums displaying fossils or native American artifacts. It might make sense to mandate that the Smithsonian or local academic institutions have the right of first refusal, but yeah, I agree that saying anything anyone finds on private land automatically belongs to the state is pretty stupid. It just invites corruption.

 

I know essentially nothing about property law here in the USA, so can anyone answer the question of how far down into the ground your property rights extend when you buy a piece of land? Down to the center of the earth? I suppose the answer must be basically yes, because I believe that you own oil discovered under your land unless you've sold the oil rights or you buy subject to oil rights. By contrast, I'm pretty sure that you don't own the air rights above your property straight into outer space. You can't prohibit planes from flying over your property!