What would you do if you saw this on a hike?

You’re hiking with your partner (or solo) and you catch a glimpse of what appears to be a rusty bucket..

You approach to investigate closer and see this:


What would you do?

(Note the uncirculated condition of most coins)

Btw is there mandated reporting on finds like this? If so I doubt many people would actually report it.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Me?

I would grab it, mark the area, hide it at home.

Go back with a shovel.


PS: and keep my mouth shut until I could put it in a safe deposit box

Then possibly report it without my name

 

But would that be violating any laws? Now obviously you probably wouldn’t be caught but I’m just curious what the law expects people to do?

 

You know what now I’m wondering:

How on Earth are those coins still so well preserved when even most old Mint Sets don’t have coins in that good of condition.

 

That's exactly what they did at the saddle ridge hoard site.

 

Marking it is a good idea.

There is a story about a pretty nice Roman coin hoard found in Britain and the finder marked the location.

Well the night before the archeologists showed up a big rain storm washed a bunch of gravel and dirt away making the hoard difficult to find.


But they had marked it so they were able to find it quickly and secure it before it got too damaged from the rain and dirt and gravel.

 

Gold is non-reactive for all practical purposes. Gold coins that have been sitting at the bottom of the sea in a shipwreck for hundreds of years can come up looking newly minted if they're fine enough.

 

They are made of gold.

If I found them, I'd search the immediate area with a metal detector to make sure I got it all and then . If historical research did not turn up a robbery, or interesting tidbit of history, no one would ever know I had them.

 

Britain and ancient coins there have wildly oppressive find laws that you will go to jail if you dont report it and you basically dont own what you find. They'll even track you down if they think there was a find from things entering the market.

 

But they’re in better condition than my 1932 $10 Indian Head Eagle which has been in collector’s hands since it was in circulation.

It is also gold.

 

I am going to look around to see if GoldFinger is hiding behind a tree and trying to scam me, and waiting to see what I am going to do with it.

 

Britain does it the best! They have the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

They pay fair market value if the finder reports the find and leaves the items in situ.

Now you may think: “Um but who pays for it? Taxpayers?”

Nope! Even better! The museum or institution looking to acquire the find pays for it.

It gives finders their fair share and encourages every finder to report their find with no incentive to hide it.

Why break the law and sell your items one by one on the black market when you can legally get the same amount by reporting it?

 

Here is a good example! The fabulous Hoxne Hoard found in England.

They literally raised the money from rich donors to pay the finders the full fair market value of their fund as determined by an INDEPENDENT appraiser.



I wouldn’t really call fair compensation “oppressive find laws”.

Total confiscation with zero reimbursement is oppressive.

 

Well, I can't comment on your coin - perhaps it's circulated and/or damaged? What I see from the pictured hoard is a group of basically uncirculated gold coins that were stashed away, and over time the copper in the coins reacted with the air and water to make them a bit gunky and splotchy. That's exactly what happens with gold coins - it's not the gold that reacts, it's the other metals in the alloy.

 

Oh no it’s MS. Just not GEM like these appear to be.

 

Unless my memory fails me, I read that many of the coins from the saddle ridge hoard were professionally conserved.

 

They don't look gem to me at all. Your coin is in a much better state of preservation. The coins in the hoard will no doubt be conserved, but I suspect much of the spotted toning will remain.

 

Makes sense. They look amazing even in the bucket still. I thought they were found as pictured in the bucket which doesn’t look like much conservation is required.

Maybe removing some dirt from the top coins. A wet Q-tip and gentle touch can do that.

 

The article says some of the coins are estimated to sell for $1 million or more.

Now idk if they’re in meh condition but just insanely rare or if there are some pretty rare coins in registry competition condition.

Like even some common coins sell for a fortune when you’re talking MS67+

 

They do it the worst and your understanding of fairshare is wildly inaccurate