Lost & Found laws, what would you do in this case:

[Tom_in_CA]

ok, fair enough answers. The bottom line is, you WOULD contact the guy, and return the ones you might still have. And you MIGHT keep mum about the ones you'd sold "if he was a jerk". But it occurs to me: You don't know ahead of time, if he's a "jerk" or not, till after you've talked to him, and 'fessed up to having his coins. Thus if he wanted to , think of what's going through his mind perhaps:

1) you found HIS coins, and fully intended to keep them. Yet....

2) the ONLY reason you're there talking to him now, was the chance fluke encounter with the janitor.

He could be a little upset and confused, that all these "yahoo md'rs" are going around violating the lost & found laws, unless someone, basically, comes looking for them to come clean and be honest.

Just a thought. I know it sounds only remotely possible. But I DID have something like that happen to me: Will relate in the next post:

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

One time I answered a lady's CL lost & found ad, for reward for keys lost on the beach. I met her at the beach, and she took me down to the areas where she thought they might be. But the area was way to vast, and I never found them.

While talking to her, I also mentioned that , since several days had gone by, and since other md'rs are known to frequent this beach, I mused that some other md'r might have found them already. When the lady heard this, she immediately asked : "what will they do with them?".

And this question caught me off-gaurd. Because my immediate instinct, was to think of what do I do with keys that I find. And I answered honestly (I probably shouldn't have), and told her "they probably will throw them away". Doh!

Because that's a true answer right ? I mean, let's be honest: How many of us save all the keys we find ? If I did that, I've have a 5 gallon barrel full of old rusting rotting keys by now!

When the lady heard that an md'r might have found and just tossed her keys, she was actually sort of mad. Like "how could they have the gall to do that ??" sort of response.

So it was then that I took a step back, and realized that ....... in the mind of the person who lost something, the next person who "finds it", is actually a low-down-rotten crook if they fail to return it, or make attempts to find the owner, etc..... But to us md'rs, we think a different mindset: We just assume that no one is looking for it, and that it's long-forgotten about (like the coins story).

 

[jastrowinkle]

I posted a lost and found on facebook for a mineral finding requesting the owner to give description and guess what it held mud..

 

[Honest Samuel]

Samuel and August Moose : What do you do if you or your buddy had already sold some of the coins on ebay ? Tell the poor guy that , & just give him the ones you still might have ? Reimburse him ? What if you'd already spent that $$ ?[/QUOTE/
I go by my name, Honest Samuel, I tell the person the truth and pay them the worth of the coins that I had purchased and sold. Always happy to help my friend Tom. What would you do, Tom?

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.... What would you do, Tom?

I would return any coins I had of his. And if any were already sold, I'd come up with the $ to reimburse him.

But what gets complicated, is if I had (as in my true story here) been hunting with someone else. Because if the coin collector looked me right in the eye asking if I knew of any other md'rs who had likewise found his coins, then I'd be faced with the following unsavory options:

1) lying and saying that these are all the coins I know of.

2) being truthful and saying that I know where a few more are .... in the hands of a buddy.

3) the problem with option #2, is that it's now possible that THIS fellow will now be upset with me. Perhaps not if he still had them, but what if he'd sold them and spent the $$ already ?

I hunt with friends who have no qualms with helping out someone in distress like this, and forking over items that were revealed to have owners still looking. But I also have friends who .... when not on a specific sanctioned "posse hunt", consider items to be "finders keepers". Perhaps they'd certainly gleefully reunite something that someone came asking about (like in the case of my story), but gets complicated if they've sold them already, and the money is gone. So then what ? Does he borrow against a credit card and go into debt to pay out ?

 

[chatterbait]

If fifteen coins from the mans collection were missing I would have to give back all fourteen coins.Its only right.

 

[Honest Samuel]

# 1. If I find stolen coins or I purchased them unknowing that they were stolen, I would return them to the police or to the owner. I sleep good at night.

 

[Nugget hunter]

I would consider it a cost of raising children. You don't know until you have kids, but your not allowed to have valuable things as a parent . Now on the other side of the coin. It's like fishing. In the beginning you kill every fish you catch and eat it . In the end it's always catch and release . Bottom line is. It is what it is. I would likely keep one for the glory and give the others back . Keep in mind I have yet to find anything. Detectors still in mail . If the government can lie to people ,so can you. Wanting to keep them is entirely up to him and I wouldn't judge him either way

 

[Johnnybravo300]

He keeps his coins where his kid can get them and he never went and looked for them. I'd say finders keepers.
People are out looking for that stuff and if he didn't want it that bad, there's always someone else.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

He keeps his coins where his kid can get them and he never went and looked for them. I'd say finders keepers.
People are out looking for that stuff and if he didn't want it that bad, there's always someone else.

Johnnybravo, thanx for chiming in. Let me see if I understand you correctly:

If you're the man with the coin collection . And for some reason (despite your security protocols) your son could access them (@ some point, in some way, at some time). So that ...... no matter whether it's YOUR fault (lack of proper locks and keys and safes), or HIS fault (stupid 4th grade antics). Bottom line is: Your collection went missing.

And, like in the story, you learn it's now in the hands of an md'r in your community.

If I understand your post correctly, you would tell that lucky fellow: "finders keepers". Right ?

How about this: Your wife drops her ring on the sidewalk. As she turns around to pick it up, the next pedestrian behind her has reached down first the picked it up. According to you , it's his to keep . Right ?

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Also I see you carefully added "... and he never went and looked for them". Ok, is that the differentiating factor ? Ok, then let's add that to each of the "what if's" I gave you:

A) you "went and looked" for your coin collection. But ... as of yet.... had not found them. (I'm sure the man in the story "looked" for them BTW). Ok, so you scrutinize him asking "did you look?" And that becomes the determining factor ? I don't know of ANYONE who would say "Nope, I never looked, never cared, etc..."

B) Or in the ring on sidewalk: Extrapolate that to the beach: I did a posse hunt for someone who lost their ring at their beach towel area. They combed the sand long & hard with their fingers. To no avail. I found it later with a detector. Ok, is it mine or theirs?

 

[Tom_in_CA]

If the factor of "looked for it and failed" or "gave up looking for it" becomes the all-determining factor, I sort of agree. Because, sure: Someone who looses a ring (beach, sidewalk, son took to school and lost, etc... ) is NO DOUBT NOT looking for it 6 months or 1 yr. later . I agree. But in the eyes of the law (if we can reduce the discussion to legal requirements): It makes no distinction on whether YOU think someone "looked for it", or "is or isn't still looking for it".

Yes: Realistically speaking, I see what you're saying. But if the discussion were the "should we keep the law", then it gets to where we really do have to read between the lines .

 

[Honest Samuel]

Happy New Year, Tom.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

It didn't sound like he cared to look for them? Maybe I misunderstood. If someone doesn't care to go look I'd keep them for sure. If he wants them back that's another story and situation.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

My wife lost an engagement and wedding ring at the same time once. They fell from her lap when our a/c caught fire in the car and she jumped out and was putting lotion on her hands at the time. I never found them but if someone did I'd be fine with it. I've let go.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

I've searched up and down the road for 100 yds and filled 4 sacks of Walmart bags full of trash but no rings. Even something in the asphalt was setting off my detector at times hehe. Pain in my arse and now I live 1000 miles away which makes it a once a year traditional hunt. Maybe one of these years I'll get them back haha.
All in all I wouldn't feel right if i stole someone's property but if he lost them and didn't seem any more worried about it then they'd be in with my collection and I'd keep them safe from nerdy 4th graders haha.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

It didn't sound like he cared to look for them? Maybe I misunderstood. If someone doesn't care to go look I'd keep them for sure. If he wants them back that's another story and situation.

johnnybravo, thanx for chiming in.

What if you simply don't know, one way or another, if the person "looked" for them ? As the story was told at the beginning, .... the only facts you know are what was spelled out by the janitor at the start of this post.

As for whether the collector "wants them back" or not, I can't think of any collector, in his right mind, that had this happen to him who WOULDN'T "want them back". eh ?

 

[treeslayer]

If I found them , herd the story ,I would give them back . it would be the right thing to do. you cant beat karma. now there are people that would keep them, no matter what. These people are weasels ! And will get hit with the karma boomerang when they least expect it ! Happy hunting,

 

[Johnnybravo300]

If anyone out there finds any silver its mine! I lost it out there somewhere! Please send it to me! Hehe

Hand over coins worth hundreds to a guy that claims they are his?
I was born at night but not last night.
If he's not out searching and doing what he can its up for grabs like anything. This is the reason we have detectors.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Hey gang, glad my post is still triggering some thoughts

Some of you are saying that ... in-lieu of the revealed story, you'd track down the guy and return the coins . Ie.: "karma" type thing. Ok. Others of you are saying you'd keep them (unless you had some sort of way to know if he's still on his hands and knees searching for them ?? As if that makes any difference ? But ... oh well)

... If he's not out searching and doing what he can its up for grabs like anything. ....

And even though an answer like Johnnybravos can be couched to sound heartless and mean, yet ... when you think of it, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ALL DOING every time we find something good. We ALWAYS assume no one's looking for it. We ALWAYS assume that .... if it's an old coin ... then it was lost in antiquity. Yet as the story shows, it's possible (albeit rare) that a collector could loose something . And if we want to be in strict compliance with L & F laws, then it's sort of contrary to the very nature of our hobby, eh ?

Just trying to "stir the pot" here, haha