# Horde of ancient (Roman & Celtic) coins found on Jersey - finders keepers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 26, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353 "2012-06-26T15:19:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/41 "2012-06-27T23:20:29Z")
Willful Ignorance Based Recreational Outrage is a helluva drug… ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/42 "2012-06-27T23:58:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Have you been paying attention? The government _does_ pay the finders. Probably not what it would be worth on the open market, though. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/43 "2012-06-28T00:36:48Z")
Kind of hard to accuse the government of stealing when something is found on public land. If you took a sheep, I imagine you would not be particularly surprised when the owner comes and takes it back. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/44 "2012-06-28T00:45:13Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > [A summary of how it works](http://badarchaeology.blogspot.com/2007/07/treasure-trove.html) Thanks for the link. I knew there wasn’t something weird about determining whether the treasure was lost or placed there on purpose. It’s nice to see that in either case the finder can expect compensation. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/45 "2012-06-28T11:18:00Z")
> [@pdunderhill](#): > > Err not quite, the Channel Islands owe thir alleigance directly to the Queen, they are British Crown Dependencies and are not subject to the whims of Parliament although they may choose to adopt, with some localization, their legislation. I’m confused about why you started by saying “not quite”. Is there some point on which you disagree with what Northern Piper said? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/46 "2012-06-28T12:02:02Z")
> [@Jake](#): > > . > It pisses me off when somebody spends hundreds or thousands of dollars, finally finds a great treasure, and the damn government steps in and claims it’s theirs! This is out-and-out stealing in my considered opinion. > ::Vent Over:: 🙂 Even assuming that the local laws would indeed allows the government to step in and keep the treasure, it seems to me it would be up to the individual to check the laws before spending years and thousands of dollars on a treasure hunt. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/47 "2012-06-28T12:30:15Z")
Am I the only one who finds it rather odd that the [local](http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_180802) [coroner](http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/24/anglo-saxon-treasure-hoard-gold-staffordshire-metal-detector) is charged with making the determination of whether a find is “treasure” or not? Other than the fact that treasure is often buried, I don’t see the connection between a stash of gold coins, say, and determining if a death was due to foul play. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/48 "2012-06-28T12:34:44Z")
Not really. A coroner has traditionally been an investigator. Only in modern times has it come to be associated strictly with corpses. And that’s because the coroner investigates the cause of death. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/49 "2012-06-28T13:14:34Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Even assuming that the local laws would indeed allows the government to step in and keep the treasure, it seems to me it would be up to the individual to check the laws before spending years and thousands of dollars on a treasure hunt. The guys who found this hoard had been searching for a while–a few small finds had indicated there was something big around. But they appear to be more interested in the big story than in marketing metal; they are working with the archaeologists to excavate the find correctly. It sounds like they bought metal detectors & have had an interesting weekend hobby for years. Now they’ll get a fair sum & their names attached to some museum displays… ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/50 "2012-06-28T13:55:09Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > A quick look through the references here back that up. I believe the land owner can sometimes be awarded a share but I can’t find a hard and fast rule on that or if its by value or number of coins. This is why if you find ancient treasure…DON’T TELL ANYONE! If it is golden art/coins and you can’t find a buyer, melt it down to base gold and sell that. I know, I know, terrible but what do you expect of ancient treasures if you are essentially just going to confiscate it from the finder? ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/51 "2012-06-28T15:37:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Have you been paying attention? The government _does_ pay the finders. A pittance. The guy who found the last hoard of gold got a tiny fraction of its worth after a legal battle. It was in National Geographic last year. Can’t dig it up right now. If this find is worth 10mil, he’ll be lucky to get 50k. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/52 "2012-06-28T15:58:41Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > A pittance. The guy who found the last hoard of gold got a tiny fraction of its worth after a legal battle. It was in National Geographic last year. Can’t dig it up right now. > > If this find is worth 10mil, he’ll be lucky to get 50k. This recent case suggests that it’s a bit more generous than that: > **[Money raised for Iron Age gold treasure find](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-12804543)** > > An Iron Age gold hoard found by an amateur treasure hunter is secured for the nation after a fundraising campaign. Initial newspaper reports put the find at £1 million, but that was before the actual valuation was done, and the finder got £462,000, for a hoard of four gold torcs. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/53 "2012-06-28T20:31:56Z")
A similar situation was covered in Roald Dahl’s [The Mildenhall Treaure](http://www.roalddahlfans.com/shortstories/mild.php) ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/54 "2012-06-28T21:34:57Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > [sidebar] a joke that only works in certain dialects. 🙂 [/sidebar] Really? In what dialect of English does _whored_ not rhyme with _hoard_? And how are the two words pronounced in that dialect? This is not a facetious question, by the by - I really am curious. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/55 "2012-06-28T23:51:29Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > I know, I know, terrible but what do you expect of ancient treasures if you are essentially just going to confiscate it from the finder? I know, right? And what’s with laws against stealing cars? Why should I give this car back if they’re just going to return it to the owner? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/56 "2012-06-29T02:01:10Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I know, right? And what’s with laws against stealing cars? Why should I give this car back if they’re just going to return it to the owner? Those coins have been in the ground for more than a 1000 years- \*along with the owner. \* ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/57 "2012-06-29T02:10:10Z")
The treasure trove laws date back to Royal Perogative, and yeah I can kind of see why they seem a bit quaint and antiquated to our Republican cousins. I understand there being laws to protect the sale of antiquities, but exactly why should the crown automatically own objects dug up on private property? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/58 "2012-06-29T02:38:47Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > The treasure trove laws date back to Royal Perogative, and yeah I can kind of see why they seem a bit quaint and antiquated to our Republican cousins. > > I understand there being laws to protect the sale of antiquities, but exactly why should the crown automatically own objects dug up on private property? That being said, why should the property owner get the right to claim them? He didn’t bury them there. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/59 "2012-06-29T09:18:21Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > This is why if you find ancient treasure…DON’T TELL ANYONE! If it is golden art/coins and you can’t find a buyer, melt it down to base gold and sell that. > > I know, I know, terrible but what do you expect of ancient treasures if you are essentially just going to confiscate it from the finder? Are you real? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353/60 "2012-06-29T11:11:57Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That being said, why should the property owner get the right to claim them? He didn’t bury them there. It’s an old common law principle, if anything, as old as the treasure trove thing, _Uius est solum eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos_: Whoever owns land, it’s his from heaven to hell, which is to say a land owner owns everything above and below his land. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horde-of-ancient-roman-celtic-coins-found-on-jersey-finders-keepers/626353.md?page=4)