# 14 years ago, a 9-year-old found a 700-year-old coin... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 12, 2019, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331 "2019-11-12T15:53:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/1 "2019-11-12T15:53:56Z")
…and didn’t tell anyone. [Until recently.](https://www.finance101.com/girl-finds-700-year-old-coin/) > [@](#): > > Kate Harding probably thought it was nothing more than an old, quirky-looking coin when she found it in her backyard. Kate and her mother had been gardening when she discovered the coin in the dirt. She picked up the coin and put it away, not thinking too much about it. > > Kate’s mother passed away and she was forced to think about other, more pressing matters. Life went on and she didn’t think much about the coin for a while. Kate grew up, and 14 years later, she had gained a renewed interest in the coin. She started to look into the history of the coin. > > :snip: > > Kate was told by experts that the “coin” she had in her possession was something else entirely. Furthermore, they told her that it was an incredibly rare find and worth a lot of money. They had only found four of them in the entirety of the United Kingdom. > > :snip: > > The history experts she talked to told her that it wasn’t a coin in the same sense as it is known today. It was actually a piedfort, which is a type of coin that wasn’t necessarily used as a common currency. Officials and higher-ranking officers used these for several different things. > > :snip: > > The piedfort turned out to be French and was tied to Charles IV of France. The object was thought to have marked Charles IV’s rise to the throne way back in 1322. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/2 "2019-11-12T16:04:18Z")
Today I learned: _Coroner_ has a vastly different meaning when discussing finding an old coin. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/3 "2019-11-12T16:07:41Z")
Ditto. I was wondering how different coroners in the UK are than in the US. > [@](#): > > She would soon find out that she should have sold the coin right away. What happened next could have been avoided if Kate had simply gone to the coroner and eventually gotten the coin sold off. But she didn’t mind; Kate simply thought she’d go about her life just the same. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/4 "2019-11-12T16:16:30Z")
Jesus Christ, that article reads like it was written by a 9 year old. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/5 "2019-11-12T16:37:28Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Jesus Christ, that article reads like it was written by a 9 year old. It was awful! ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/6 "2019-11-12T16:38:46Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Jesus Christ, that article reads like it was written by a 9 year old. No shit. Is it really necessary to break up a 2-minute read into a dozen “chapters?” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/7 "2019-11-12T16:53:04Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > No shit. Is it really necessary to break up a 2-minute read into a dozen “chapters?” It’s probably the long form of some clickbait. Yes, there is a clickbait version where one has to repeatedly click “next” to get the whole story. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/8 "2019-11-12T22:40:18Z")
Not to mention that the article writer has flat out decided that she’s entitled to keep the coin, without providing any discussion of its potential historical/archaeological value. Maybe it doesn’t have much and the museum would just have tossed it in a drawer and forgotten it, but the article makes it clear that the museum really wanted it and doesn’t bother to address the issue at all. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/9 "2019-11-12T22:44:00Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > No shit. Is it really necessary to break up a 2-minute read into a dozen “chapters?” You don’t read much James Patterson, do you? ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/10 "2019-11-12T22:59:07Z")
fascinating story, I googled it, she was sued but ultimately won the day and the treasure. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/11 "2019-11-12T23:05:43Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Not to mention that the article writer has flat out decided that she’s entitled to keep the coin, without providing any discussion of its potential historical/archaeological value. Maybe it doesn’t have much and the museum would just have tossed it in a drawer and forgotten it, but the article makes it clear that the museum really wanted it and doesn’t bother to address the issue at all. With the technology available today, I don’t understand why the museum couldn’t work out an agreement with her to work up a full 3d model of the coin, as well as do a study of the composition of the coin. What archaeological value is gained from having it exclusively in their possession? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/12 "2019-11-12T23:20:26Z")
I’m not getting it. Is a specific law in the UK that old shit has to be turned in? Why? A country that old must be full of old shit going back thousands of years. I’m on the side she should be able to keep it. Why is that wrong? it’s not some old king’s bones or anything. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/13 "2019-11-12T23:31:14Z")
The old shit doesn’t have to be turned in, but the finder must report it, and if the old shit is deemed to be INTERESTING old shit, the finder must give a museum a chance to buy it at a fair price, set by an independent board. This is the specific law: > **[Treasure Act 1996](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Act_1996)** > > The Treasure Act 1996 is a UK Act of Parliament, defining which objects are classified as treasure, legally obliging the finder to report their find. > The Act is designed to deal with finds of treasure in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It legally obliges finders of objects which constitute treasure (as defined in the Act) to report their find to their local coroner within 14 days. An inquest led by the coroner then determines whether the find constitutes treasure or not. If it is declared... ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/14 "2019-11-12T23:32:23Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’m not getting it. Is a specific law in the UK that old shit has to be turned in? Why? A country that old must be full of old shit going back thousands of years. > > I’m on the side she should be able to keep it. Why is that wrong? it’s not some old king’s bones or anything. Yup. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure\_Act\_1996](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Act_1996) Although that looks like it would need two coins to apply, at first read. [Too late} ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/15 "2019-11-12T23:33:35Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’m not getting it. Is a specific law in the UK that old shit has to be turned in? [Yes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Act_1996). ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/16 "2019-11-13T00:03:24Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Jesus Christ, that article reads like it was written by a 9 year old. I think it’s just written to keep us scrolling until we’ve loaded our browser with as many ads as there are stars in the Crab Nebula. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/17 "2019-11-13T00:25:10Z")
A more readable article was posted [by the BBC in 2010.](https://www.bbc.com/news/10556848) Their initial story is [here](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/uk_news/england/shropshire/8538172.stm#sa-link_location=more-story-2&intlink_from_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2F10556848&intlink_ts=1573603919928&story_slot=1-sa). Not sure why it’s in the news this year. The timeline is basically: She took it to a museum for authentication January 2009, and was told to take it to the Coroner within 14 days. She did not do that. In February 2010 she was convicted under the 1996 Treasure Act, fined 25 pounds and told to turn in the coin. In July 2010 she appealed and convinced the court that the find had been made before 1996, so that the law did not apply. But she handed the coin in to the Coroner after that. In June 2011 she was told that it had to go to a museum. Did they finally let go of that this year? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/18 "2019-11-13T00:30:12Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > [Yes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Act_1996). Everything I know about this I learned from the series “The Detectorists”. If y’all haven’t seen it, it’s a gentle, funny series about the oddities of some folks who look for buried treasure for a hobby. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/19 "2019-11-13T00:39:41Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > I think it’s just written to keep us scrolling until we’ve loaded our browser with as many ads as there are stars in the Crab Nebula. So, one? ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331/20 "2019-11-13T01:02:38Z")
OK, the _size_ of the crab nebula. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/14-years-ago-a-9-year-old-found-a-700-year-old-coin/843331.md?page=2)