If you found a famous treasure

[Seamuss]

Define famous treasure.

Antiquity laws say you have to rebury anything atleast fifty years old. If I find a fifty one year old wheat cent, then where is that coin cop hiding when I stick it in my fanny pack.

Famous is a relative term. I refuse to believe a cache is famous just because a known robber buried it. A coin is a coin. Gold or silver.

Loose lips sink ships. Do I have any gold coins? How many do I own and how did I acquire them if I own any?

You have the right to keep silent.

WHAT?

I SAID...You have the right to keep silent.

WHAT?

Oh good greif. You have the right to remain silent.

Anymore questions about what to do if you think the treasure is famous?

It is not the treasure that is famous. Just the people that buried it.

 

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[ivan salis]

true the coin is just a coin as you say -- and thus is only worth its melt value or collector value --- BUT --a coin buried by a famous person --- say a coin from a treasure hoard buried by blackbeard * --- would fetch a a hefty "bonus" collector value over another indentical coin in all other respects but that had not buried by blackbeard ---while "all coins are created equal -- its their "histories" that make one more famous and valuible that another often .---the differance can be huge at times. --- to a rich lincoln freak--how much would a 1865 indain head cent coin that was in lincoln's pocket when he was shot be worth ? --vs a regular one?

famous people make "famous treasure hoards" --due to their fame --but to get the true worth out of it --it has to be easily and properly connected A to B --- thats why "proper" shipwreck coins with "papers" go for much more than illegall looted ones -- (the hot ones go for scrap silver / gold prices as looters can never get their "full" value for em ---since there is no "legal" or provible history behind em . )

 

[ldablo]

yeah...but is provenance really all it's cracked up to be...famous last treasure words.

LD

 

[ivan salis]

in selling high end "collectible" coins --like "shipwreck" coins for exsample -- being able to prove "provenance" is everything -- anyone can say -- yada tada --off of blackbeards vessel --but can you "prove" it thru"legal" paper ? ---- its like having a AKC "stud" dog --where is his "papers" --no "papers" hes worse than worthless as far as AKC breeding goes * -- no AKC type person would want a puppy bred from a non AKC dog -- it still might be a fine dog maybe but "no papers" --so sorry

some looter types say while selling looted goods might only get them scrap metal prices --say a silver coin --gets them $15 bucks ---vs say $150 if it was LEGALLY DONE -- THEY SAY BY THE TIME ALL THE BS RED TAPE AND WAITING AND ALL THE "HANDS" IT MUST GO THRU GET THEIR CUT --THEY THE FINDERS AND WORKERS ARE ONLY GOING TO GET ABOUT 10% ANYWAYS AND THEN THEY GOT TO DECLARE IT ON THEIR TAXES AS WELL --SO THEY TAKE THEIR "TAX FREE" NO QUESTIONS ASKED 10% AND CALL IT A DAY.

SEEMS THEY GOT A POINT IN A WAY OF THINKING -- they take the risk and do all the work and everyone else just sucks off em like a buncha leeches.

 

[Seamuss]

A treasure is only as famous as the person who found it.

If you want to find out about the antiquity laws and how many archies are in your neiborhood then by all means shout it out from the roof tops and archies will be yelling foul and the IRS will make sure you don't get more than a dime of it if that much.

There sure are a lot of people here that think a lot about fame and very little about finding and KEEPING the treasure they find.

This is not Hollywood or Dollywood, this is for fun and excitement of the hunt.

 

[ivan salis]

fame don't spend --you keep the fame --I'll take the cash.

the wider you open your mouth the more treasure pours out of it --- there are always the "offical" grabbers of things that are looking by hook or crook to swipe ,steal or legally finagal you out of it. and then theres just the "out right" crooks who will break in to your home looking for the loot .

the less folks know about what you got -- the better off you are --- to boast and brag is to call the thunder (jealousy) and lightening (greed) of others down upon your own head. --- remember this ---donkeys tend to bray loudly aslo , and most folks do not hold them in high regard. --they just say --noisy jackass.

 

[handy]

so if i found ten gold bars weighting 60 lbs i would no problem getting rid of them slowly. I would have fun getting rid of it too probly more fun then then finding them would i have people know about it i dont think so but some people would be really happy like close friends and family would i tell anyone nope maybe open a new account on here and post it from a libray out of state that i found something maybe might do that it wouldbe first and last post probly on that account

 

[Goodyguy]

so if i found ten gold bars weighting 60 lbs i would no problem getting rid of them slowly.

That is over a half million dollars!

 

[handy]

and like i said i would have fun getting rid of it

 

[ldablo]

Just remember what you learned in science class. If a gold bar gets dug up in the forest and no one sees it or hears it, did it really get dug up?

LD

 

[truckinbutch]

When I braced an obnoxious 'book seller' here onTN with some facts he chose not to refute reguarding Civil War he chose to attack me personally as 'Have never posting ANYTHING! you have found'.
My shoulders are broad enough to accept that .
I still ain't gonna'

 

[White Feather]

Okay, as far as Famous Treasure is concerned, a treasure can be famous and still remain unknown but to a very few close friends. Others may require "proof" as to the genuine authenticity where others and the owner know and accept the item as genuine. IE; I have in my possession two belaying pins off of the U.S.S. Constellation. I have built a holder for them and they were displayed on my sailboat for about8 years or so. I came by them from a friend who worked on the Constellation while being refitted in Baltimore a few years ago. I also had a section of hand rail that was being replaced. The items were removed because there was extensive wear and a little dry rot at the base. I cut a few inches off the pins and and used the piece of handrail as a mounting plaque for an old cutlass dating back to the late 1700's. Now, as far as I am concerned, I do not care if no one believes them to be genuine. Not even in the least. I know that I have one of the most unique treasures around. I have a piece of history that is far above and beyond anything I could hope for. When I was in high school in Baltimore there was a drive to refurbish the U.S.S. Constellation. They removed a lot of her metal works and struck coins to sell to help pay for the refit. Somewhere in my storage I have two of those coins. When I run across them I will mount them in the handles of the belaying pins. I have a picture of the belaying pins mounted on my mast mounted spotlight on my sailboat that I will put in this reply. As I see it, a treasure does not have to be verified genuine to have value to someone. I will not part with these belaying pins. They will be handed down and, even if no one else ever believes me,I know I have a very special piece of American History that possibly no one else in the world has. Does having an unverified treasure make it worthless? Not to me!
Have a look at real history.....

 

[lastleg]

Oh White Feather, My Word!

If you were to show your Constellation curios to Antique Roadshow I can
imagine their response. "Very interesting but damaged. Had you left the
items in their original historic placement the value would be enormous".

lastleg

 

[ivan salis]

treasure is whats its worth to you --not others *----the other stuff is merely high dolllar $$$$ to others items ---if you sell it its not real "treasure" to you its just worth $$$$ stuff .--- true real treasure is seldom parted with except under dire conditions.

 

[MaineTHDiver]

The sharks and lawyers would be out to "legally" steal it from you some how. Yes I know how do you tell a shark from a lawyer, one speaks. But honestly I would worry about telling anyone. One slip of the tounge and all, you know what, will beak loose.

 

[Seamuss]

so if i found ten gold bars weighting 60 lbs i would no problem getting rid of them slowly.

That is over a half million dollars!

I could sell a bar of gold just like I would eat an elk. Cook one little piece of it at a time.

My friend refines gold into bar and turns bars into one once ingots.

I know not nothing.

 

[White Feather]

I could not care less about what the roadies think. If saving a piece of America's Maritime history is wrong in their eyes then the U.S.S. Constellation, the U.S.S. Constitution and many other historic ships are worthless. They have all been repaired, refinished and had much of their hulls replaced. I know, I was one of the workers who volunteered during the restoration of some historic ships. How do you think they are kept in such good shape? They would all be on the bottom if not cared for and had parts replaced. Handrails are constantly replaced and refinished. Sails, rigging, deck planks, hull planks and even metal works are constantly replaced. Do you think the sails displayed are 230 years old? Guess how many of the cannon carriages have been replaced due to rot. Just because I have a piece of America's Maritime history that I can hold in my hand does not make it less valuable. I'll tell your roadies what they can do with their opinions. These pins came in all sizes. Long and short. It depended where they were on the rail, rigging or cannon carriage. You or the roadies would have no idea as to the value of a piece of one of the most famous ships in history if you think a part is worthless because it was saved from rotting away by refinishing it. Finishes constantly wear away and need refinishing. The original wood that was a part of the ship is still there and still the same as it was 230 years ago. My caring for it will help it to last another 230 years.
When the U.S.S. Constellation was off the coast of Africa in the 1800's chasing slave ships these belaying pins were there. Sailors cleat sail rigging lines to them as they chased the slave ships and returned the slaves to the freedom of their own countries. This is as close as I'll ever get to being a part of that history. Ask any African-American if they would like to have something from one of the slave ships or one of the ships chasing these criminals across the open sea. Even if it is refinished to protect it from the elements. Something over 230 years old that has been exposed to the harsh elements of the sea and sun needs help to survive or it becomes a worthless sliver of wood or metal. Isn't it worth more if you can hold it and see it in it's original condition rather than as a sliver of unidentifiable wood or metal? I understand that the value of an object is based on it's condition. Items like ship parts are constantly refinished and replaced. If I want these belaying pins in the condition I got them all I have to do is leave then outside for several months. You or the roadies could not tell the differance from these or the ones on the U.S.S. Constellation except that the ones on the Constellation would be refinished and look newer. I've been aboard her more times than you have even seen her.
Have a look at these two photos and tell me what you see.

 

[ivan salis]

treasure is what its worth to you not others - - and thus it need not be a high dollar item to you to be "treasure"---- of course in some cases --- it can be a high dollar item but it doesn't HAVE to be.

there are times folks "treasure" items that others think of as "junk" --thus the saying one mans trash is anothers mans treasure ---but most "normal" folks do like gold, jewels and silver as a rule.

 

[lastleg]

Aye, Aye, Whitefeather,

I was merely using the "Roadshow" as an example of how historians treat
personal collections of historic significance. It was IRONY my friend.
No, I haven't been aboard the Constellation because it is an Atlantic vessel.
My ship and home for four years was the USS Staten Island, a U.S. Naval
Icebreaker. We sailed from Seattle to Antarctica and the Arctic seas.

lastleg

 

[White Feather]

Thank You for your service my friend. Icebreaker work is hard and often goes unappreciated. I have been at sea when icebreakers got us out of some "tight" situations. In 76 we had to have one open the lower Chesapeake and Cape Charles harbor. We were iced in and the railroad ferry had to get across to Norfolk. The bay froze pretty heavily most of the winter. Without you guys we would have been iced in for weeks.
Thanks Again,
White Feather