Our Government At Work...

DAS7NY · Mar 5, 2009

I just read this: http://www.gold.org/news/2007/04/19/story/6485/students_dig_up_antique_gold_coin

They found the coin and the state gets it...

Montana Jim · Mar 5, 2009

So... it was lost till now, and now it's going to remain lost in a state vault. LMAO :tard:

That stoopid kid will wish he had pocketed that coin for the rest of his life.

mick56 · Mar 5, 2009

The coin was in the ground for maybe 150 years. Now it will be in a vault to preserve it

??

brokenarrow · Mar 6, 2009

well im sure that young man went through a moment of self reflection at that moment he found the coin. As detectorist we all agree to abide by a certain set of rules if not at the very least ethics. Part of him probably saw dollar bills floating all around him........but i think a better part of him said Wait....this is why we are here,this is why we are entrusted to help work this site. Had he been discovered to have this coin on him,not only would he be looked down upon by his peers but he would be giving anybody that swings a detector a black eye. Then when ever an opportunity arises that one of us is fortunate to assist in an archeological site search we may not be trusted or even asked to search all because one of us got greedy and kept something valuable that is a part of history or a missing part of a historical puzzle. I think it sux that he could not keep such a once-in-a-lifetime discovery but i believe he gave ALL of us who love this great hobby a gold star in the eyes of the public by this one act of honesty.You cant blame the government,these are the terms we all agreed to the moment we bought our detectors and started hunting in public. Whether you agree or not to the whole "code of ethics" thing,by your simple action of buying a detector you agree by default with this code. BRAVO to you young man,your parents should be proud of you. :icon_salut:

deepskyal · Mar 7, 2009

The way I see it.....he is an archaeological student...he just learned a lesson.

When he grows up and finds himself as someone of importance, he'll be the one insisting we detectorists turn in all our finds....after all ..he did!

And I'd bet he never gave it a second thought about turning it in and making himself look important...

I like to blame the government for a lot of things...but this was a school passing on a tradition that puts knots in my stomach.

Al

Montana Jim · Mar 7, 2009

SWR said:
Our Government at work?

I read the story posted. Could not find any notations that the Government did, or was responsible for doing anything.

I assumed based on this statement: "And the rare discovery of the coin in Mississippi means it will probably be stored in the vault of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History for preservation."

But of course it does say "probebly"... :P

I wonder where that gold coin went... the article is from April 2007.

handy · Mar 7, 2009

humm archaeological students and they didnt get to keep the coin oh what a pitty ::)

rmptr · Mar 7, 2009

brokenarrow said:
As detectorist we all agree to abide by a certain set of rules if not at the very least ethics.

NO
NOT
NYET

That is WRONG, Broken Arrow.
You should not repeat such blatant falsehoods in public.
It starts flame wars and causes arguing here upon Tnet, and other treasure finder forums.

I got a metal detector to find free gold at my mine.
I would have got dynamite and brought in a bulldozer if I'd had more cash at the time.

From reading the story, as presented, it sounds as though the student was under direction,
and performed quite well under his parameters.

I'd just as soon see the nice coin on display for the public.
At least it's no longer lost, forever.

Sincerely
rmptr

mrs.oroblanco · Mar 8, 2009

I believe the right thing happened - and kudos to the honest kid.

If workmen where in your home and found a 'stash' in the ceiling - it wouldn't belong to them.

In fact, not too long ago, didn't some workers find some coins and end up being prosecuted for not returning them to the owner of the home?

It's not like the kid got permission to metal detect.

We do some archeological digs, from time to time - we get to keep nothing - and that's fine - we aren't financing the digs, just enjoying seeing history coming to life, and being part of it.

B

brokenarrow · Mar 8, 2009

well im not following your complaint, you disagree that we should follow the code of ethics thats printed in 99% of what we read regarding metal detecting not to mention in all the instruction manuals? im not condemning that kid for what he did.where in what i wrote do get that? as for your gold mine,well its YOUR mine to with as you please. if you find gold there then no one has the right to tell you what to do with it whether its of a historical value or not. that decision is entirely up to you. :dontknow: