Ownerwship???????

[peg legged]

I have a question maybe someone can answer it for me.
Let us say that a chest of gold was recovered in 1928. The gold was removed and dumped in another location. No one has any idea who owned the gold to start with and in 1928 there were no laws concerning the ownership of this gold.
One of the partners was the father of your wife and your wife is a direct descendant of the only member of this group.
Now WHO owns this TREASURE when (not if) it is recovered.
I have a signed agreement with my EX-WIFE (WE ARE STILL GOOD FRIENDS).
Can the State of Florida have a claim?
Does the U.S.Government have a claim.
Since this Treasure was moved before there was any Laws concerning the ownership it will not fall under any present Laws-this does not mean that somewhere there can't be laws written to cover this and I fully expect to dragged into Court. It is really hard to hide 1200 pounds of gold that is in Bars and Coins.
Thanks
Peg Legged

[EDDE]

if you tell anyone about it ,it wont be yours if you find it .....be real EVERYONE and there gramma will want a hunk.....SHHHHHHHHH

[jeff of pa]

I have a question maybe someone can answer it for me.
Let us say that a chest of gold was recovered in 1928. The gold was removed and dumped in another location. No one has any idea who owned the gold to start with and in 1928 there were no laws concerning the ownership of this gold.
One of the partners was the father of your wife and your wife is a direct descendant of the only member of this group.
Now WHO owns this TREASURE when (not if) it is recovered.
I have a signed agreement with my EX-WIFE (WE ARE STILL GOOD FRIENDS).

GO FOR IT !

Can the State of Florida have a claim?

Unfortunately the Government CAN do anything it wants, and UNLESS you have more money then the Government, you will Loose.

Does the U.S.Government have a claim.

Unfortunately the Government may say they do, IF you tell.

Take a Line from the army
"DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL"

Since this Treasure was moved before there was any Laws concerning the ownership it will not fall under any present Laws-this does not mean that somewhere there can't be laws written to cover this and I fully expect to dragged into Court. It is really hard to hide 1200 pounds of gold that is in Bars and Coins.
Thanks
Peg Legged

Laws Don't need to be Written, Just TWISTED


you can dispose of it, if done one piece at a time over a year or more

OF COURSE, you Could say it is A Family Treasure handed down
over the years, but be prepaired to first split it 50/50 with Florida,
then 50/50 with the U.S. Government, which may leave you with 20% if your lucky.

JUST MY OPINION, I may be wrong.
Jeff

[Sandman]

What everyone doesn't know can't hurt you is a good saying that applies. If someone knows you found it, be prepared to split or lose it all.

[Darren in NC]

Peg legged,

I believe the issue is not who owns the treasure, but rather where is it? Is it on public lands? Private property? Answering the location question will steer you in the right direction of ownership

All the best to you,
Darren

[wallycoz]

KEEP YOU MOUTH SHUT-YES I AM SCREAMING THIS!!!!!

Most , if not all states have a trove Law! They also have antiquities laws. Most say that if any find is over 50 to 100 years old, it is of historical significance and it belongs to the state! The ONLY way to get around this to do line one! One pce at a time for disposal, once or twice a year. Odds are trying to rid it all at once will get you busted - not rich. One or two pcs per year will get you a couple of extra dollars for many years to come and a nicely feathered nest egg. Be smart - not busted.

HH
Much Success
Wallycoz

[Maverick]

PegLegg, everyone on here has posted very sage advice, I hate to see someone give themselves the shaft over a once-in-a-lifetime deal like this. Gather thy goods, zip thy lips!

[Jeffro]

A hoard of this size- everyone and their brother will crawl out of the wood work to get a piece of it, no matter where it was found, what time it was buried, who owned it, what have you. The feds will be on it, the state will be on it, the landowner will be on it, a foreign government may be on it if the pieces can be traced somewheres else, the IRS, and you can bet your sweet britches the lawyers will recover 50 percent of it without lifting a finger.


Pick it up, split it up and rebury in many smaller caches, all over the place. If you lose one to some accidental finder, no big deal.

But first you gotta find it...... and keep your lips shut.

[peg legged]

Very good advice from everyone here.
Things are about to get serious.
Yesterday I purchased a 4x4 with a power winch. The material I am looking for is laying in 12 feet of sand and mud and so far I have not been able to find a Deep Probe MD.
What I plan on doing is making a bucket type device similar to a Dragline bucket except this bucket will be made from aluminum and not steel. Gotta watch the weight.
There will be small S.S. cables attached for dragging the bucket through the mud. The bottom, top and sides will consist of welded hog wire with about 4" openings. The mud will go out the open spaces and anything larger than 4" will be retained.
The front opening will consist of a flat steel type blade placed at an angle that will force the bucket to go downward to the botton of the mud. It will be similar to a fishing drag net but not as big or heavy. This device will be about a 3' x 3' and should weight no more than 60 pounds total weight. I already plotted a grid. After each pass the bucket will be carried back to the starting point by boat and placed in a new grid and dragged again.
It make sense to me but I would like your ideas and input on this device.
Thanks
Peg Legged

[Jeffro]

In 12 feet of sand I don't see it happening with a scraper bucket. Thats a lot of weight and a long ways down. Have you considered a propwash first and then the bucket, maybe?

[peg legged]

Yes, I have a prop wash device. BUT this location is more MUD than sand or water and when I talk about mud I am talking about SERIOUS mud. The kind that will hold you there in place. It is more a mud bog.
Thanks

[paratrooper]

My advice for what it's worth comes in just 2 words . MEL FISHER .

[JACKO,John Stanwix]

Peg Leg --- Dig it up, hide it. Then take a little and buy some property where treasure has been found before.
dig a very big hole and say you foun d it on your own property. I believe you 'll just have to pay
taxes on it. Check with an attorney to make sure. I know of two digs now that are going on at
private property and this is what I have been told.

Jacko

[MiddenMonster]

Now WHO owns this TREASURE when (not if) it is recovered.

In my opinion, there are only two rules to keep in mind:

1. Posession is 9/10 of the law.
2. Loose lips sink ships.

[peg legged]

I think that the following design will work.
I understand the problem of dragging this type device through the mud so here is what I am thinking of doing.
Instead of steel I will use aluminum. The aluminum will be 5/8" thick at the back and taper to 1/4" in the front. The plate will be 4" wide and 36" long. The side plates and the top plate will be 5/8" thick and welded into a box shape or a retangular shape.
The wire will be steel hog wire. I will attach the wire to the aluminum frame by welding steel bolts every 4" all the way around the frame. I fully understand the problems I will be facing by dragging this device through the sticky mud so I have designed an aluminum tube that will fit the back side of the main frame. This tube will have holes drilled into it about 4" apart. I will connect a water pressure hose to this tube. This should cause the water to convert the mud to a watery slush and make it easier for the drag bucket to go through this mud. Of course this is the PLAN and we all know about PLANS. Getting water is not a problem. Getting a water pump is not a problem. Finding the right hose may be a little problem but we will see.
I am planning to purchase a power winch for the front of my Bronco that I bought the otherday and use it to draw the bucket through the mud.
Hope to get started in 3 weeks. Going to the Keys for a week-business and vacation. My wife has lived in Florida most of her life and has never been to the Keys-its about time don't you think?
If anyone has any thoughts on this Project let me know. I have estimated the weight of this device to be about 35 pounds not counting the cable or water hose. Thanks
Peg Legged

[Darren in NC]

I think I see your basic design. A couple of questions...

You mention you have no deep probe MD - so how do you know it's twelve feet?

Are you certain of the mud's depth? Could it be five or six feet deep, then compacted sand or clay underneath the mud? That will call for another method, too.

Keep us posted. It's very interesting. 8)

[Jeffro]

I get what your trying to do now, I work with metal and make mining equipment for a large crusher manufacturer. Have fiddled with automotive stuff as well. You may want to consider adding a stiffener angle to the lower lip, to maintain a straight plane, depending on how wide the apparatus is going to be. The wider, the more bow you'll get, of course. just putting a 20 degree bend lengthwise along the lower lip will sturdy it up a bit. Probably help it dig in better, too.

Sounds kinda similar to a device I made up one time to tunnel under concrete sidewalks. A PVC pipe with a garden hose and a spray nozzle. Worked like a champ, but it was slow in compacted earth. Put a 2 inch PVC pipe under ten feet of concrete in about an hour, without busting up the sidewalk.

I'd be interested in knowing how this works out for you, may be a few applications for me, as well... Keep us posted, please!

[peg legged]

Morning everyone,
Darren, in answer to your question. I set up a grid and took samples every 100 feet.
There were places that went only 6 feet down and other places that went 14 feet down. So far I have not come across a single rock or stone. The hardpan is Limestone.
I have also been thinking of putting a MD in a PVC tube and sealing the thing inside. It would look like a torpedo with a drag cable attached to the nose. Now all I have to do is figure how to make the thing sink and where to get such a device with the right lenght of wire.
Anybody got any ideas.
Thanks
Peg Leg

[rovnrbl]

Pegleg,

I'm confused but that happens easily. A couple of questions, suggestions. First - it would be interesting to know how large an area you're working - that might open or eliminate options. Second - don't know much about magnetometers but that's a relatively large amount of gold - it may influence the local magnetic/electrical field especially if on limestone hardpan. The Mel Fisher call is a good one. Third - I believe you mentioned coins and bars. Are the coins in a hard container? If not, how is a scoop w/4" mesh going to recover them. Your drag has the potential to open up the coin container and scatter them everywhere in addition to damaging the bars. Fourth - perhaps try a dredge with the water nozzle attached. Water to cut through the mud, once on bottom use the dredge. How big are the bars? Need to ensure dredge can lift them. Bottom line - might be a good idea to first locate where the target is, then look at recovery options. Make sure you build all the recovery costs into what ever share agreement you strike up. Good luck!

[peg legged]

I went to Key West this past Monday and was going to stop t the Mel Fisher Treasure House-BUT it rain all day long and into the next day. There were not a place to park and Mel Fishers Place is not Wheel chair friendly. I NEVER got out of my car ONCE.
I also stopped where McKee used to have a Treasure Castle display. There was nothing there except RIP OFF GIFT SHOPS. It seems that when McKee died the family sold everything and went separate ways. Could not even find a single person that knew anything about anything also checked with the Police Department and they knew even less .
Enjoyed the trip anyway. I am back home now and its time to get something done.
I HAVE A SERIOUS QUESTION FOR EVERYONE:
I am wanting to construct a 2 BOX Metal Detector BUT instead of the box's being one in front of the other I want to put them side by side and maybe 2 feet apart. I want to construct a device that looks similar to a HAMMERHEAD SHARK with a box where the eyes would be. The electronics would be in the body behind the head. A S.S. cable would be used to pull the device through water and mud. My problem is HOW LARGE CAN THIS DEVICE BE TO GET 12 FEET DEPTH READING AND WHO DO YOU THINK CAN BUILD SUCH A DEVICE.
Thanks
Peg Leg