Found treasures or caches question

lookingharder

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Feb 27, 2015
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As I sit here waiting for my new knee to heal up, this site has helped me keep my sanity, whats left of it anyway. Iv'e read a lot of threads and post about lost treasures and huge lost gold caches. My question to everyone is, Would you tell anyone if you found one? Me personally, would have to say no. I may be wrong and that's why I'm asking. It would seem to me that if I found a gold cache of $50000 in gold, people and agencies would be coming out of the wood work to claim it. Not that I have found one, this is all speculation. If it was on government land, lets say the in the swamps of South Carolina which is government land that allows public assess, Would the state have a claim to it? If I had written permission to hunt a private 200 acre farm and I found it, wouldn't the land owner has a claim to it? You just don't see or read much about these kinds of finds like you do ship wrecked where there are salvage rights and such. I have to believe that there are hundreds of large treasures to be found just from the stories of the lost Civil War payrolls. The old Treasure Hunter magazines where full of stories like this but I haven't heard of anything being found for years. I curious to see what the general consensus is on the subject.
 

Ammoman

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Oct 12, 2015
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I think people are finding treasures and hoards all the time but the greed of governments has made it impossible to even think about announcing such a find. Such a sad situation.
 

Roundness

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Apr 27, 2013
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Personally, and it may be wrong, but I agree with you. I don't think I would let anyone know.
 

GB1

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Jul 12, 2017
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i wouldn't tell a soul no matter how much they grilled me into saying it
 

RGINN

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Oct 16, 2007
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I probably wouldn't say much. But if I ever found that Forrest Fenn treasure, I believe I would post it in the 'What is it?' forum on here just to be aggravating.
 

Ogre1190

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Mar 31, 2015
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After careful consideration n much thought, I'd honestly hafta say...

Mine!Mine!!Mine!!! 😮

I would, however, post photos of my new Jaguar in Today's Snapshot. 😁
 

kingskid1611

Gold Member
Feb 23, 2015
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I never tell what kind of treasure I find.....I don't want to meet all them relatives that I didn't know I have......:tongue3:
 

Tom_in_CA

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Mar 23, 2007
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As for posting "bragging rights": Take a look at "today's find" type sections of any md'ing forum. When you look for any length of time, and you see no shortage of valuable stuff (even some caches) that get posted there.

HOWEVER, all of us are mostly never posting exactly where we found the items. Hence no one to rush out from a public agency and say "that violated the harvest/remove or cultural heritage verbiage".

So too with posting a cache, you're fine as long as you don't say where exactly you found it.

Thus I don't buy the supposed fear of "govt. claimants" being the reason why there isn't show & tell of caches. Md'rs can and do certainly show their trophy bragging rights (even valuable ones) all the time. But you might just leave out mention of location.
 

Nitric

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Mar 8, 2014
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Nope! Wouldn't say a word if I found something on my own. I don't want the bragging rights, I don't want the other possible headaches. Just rebury it where I know it's safe and take as needed.

I thought a lot about this after the cans of gold coins were found a few years back and were all over the news.
 

against the wind

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Jul 27, 2015
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Saddle Ridge Hoard,, a cache of gold coins found by land owners on their land in 2013. Estimated numismatic value, 10 million. Read about it on Wikipedia
 

Honest Samuel

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Sep 23, 2015
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# 1. You must be new here. Most of the stories in treasure magazines are total untrue. Those that are true has been search by many people and some were recovered. Always have contracts with owners, people and governments and always pay you state and federal income taxes. Good hunting and good luck.
 

Tom_in_CA

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... Always have contracts with ... governments ....

Oh ... well most certainly. I draft up "contracts with the government" before I go md'ing . In case I find a goodie or cache. Heck .... can't be too safe after all. Eh ? :tongue3:
 

Limitool

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Jun 9, 2013
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Nope! Wouldn't say a word if I found something on my own. I don't want the bragging rights, I don't want the other possible headaches. Just rebury it where I know it's safe and take as needed.

I thought a lot about this after the cans of gold coins were found a few years back and were all over the news.

That find (Saddle Ridge Hoard) was handled so stupidly (so says I). Those folks brought on their own grief by ANNOUNCING it to the world.

LOOKINGHARDER: I agree with you. Keep you mouth shut... SHUT! Especially if a large find is found by you and off your property. Don't tickle the dragon.
 

TommyB

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Jul 24, 2013
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Keep your mouth shut. If you need the money, sell off a little at a time under the radar. When asked about the origin of you treasure, "it's been handed down thru my family".
The folks in Ca that found those gold coins in tin cans were stupid. Had to pay taxes on the value. The govt even investigated to see if it was stolen loot from a
bank from years ago. Too much press can do NO one any good.
 

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releventchair

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May 9, 2012
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50,000 in gold?
Don't imagine I would be able to tell anyone after the massive coronary.
Should that be survived ...I would have to explain having the shakes for a while. A single silver ( not Gold!) coin could do that.

Now, you said Carolina swamp? :laughing7::icon_scratch::skullflag:
 

oldkoot

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if I were to find a 50 k find of anything no one would ever know of it accept my wife would sell it off bit by bit so as to draw no attention to myself I do not live off grid for no reason do not like the attention
 

Nitric

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Mar 8, 2014
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That find (Saddle Ridge Hoard) was handled so stupidly (so says I). Those folks brought on their own grief by ANNOUNCING it to the world.

LOOKINGHARDER: I agree with you. Keep you mouth shut... SHUT! Especially if a large find is found by you and off your property. Don't tickle the dragon.

Almost makes you wonder if they were...Advertising for future sales. I wonder if the attention and free advertising paid off in the end? Wonder how much more they were able to pull for some of those coins from the backstory and mystery.

Was just a thought since it seemed so wrong on how it was handled, almost too wrong, that it was done on purpose.
 

Machkin

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Nov 22, 2016
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No, wouldn't say a word. How do you go about finding a reputable "fence" to offload the articles you never found?
 

Nitric

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Mar 8, 2014
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No, wouldn't say a word. How do you go about finding a reputable "fence" to offload the articles you never found?

Hmmm...When I think of "fence" I think of "stolen" items......"creative sales" broker is for items you don't want anyone to know about, sounds a little less illegal. :laughing7:

I've never found anything...so I wouldn't know. But I have thought about it a lot! And would like the challenge of "creative sales" brokering if I found a load of gold. :laughing7:

All joking aside.....It happens daily on some scale. Coins, guns, precious metals,etc, collections. Inherited, hoarded,found,.. there is no shortage of people that buy,sell,trade and there are legal ways of doing it privately. Not hard at all. The only thing that is a problem and illegal is if it's "stolen".
 

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uglymailman

Bronze Member
Feb 3, 2010
1,266
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I would find it one coin at a time. And then there's the 2 (at a time) I'd sell at coin/pawn shops for about 80% value. You know, the one's Grandad gave me. Good luck.
 

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