The Offer

[GibH]

GibS, You have to look at it from the land owners side. He now has 0% of "his" money and he could be looking at $4 1/4M.
Havent you ever seen those commercials? " I want my money NOW " Frank

I'm not hatin' Frank, just giving my personal opinion. I really do hope it works out for you.

Now if I were the land owner, I'd be getting me one of those special $325 plumbobs a certain site sponsor sells and find that cache in minute

 

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[GibH]

I'm not offended OD. I'm not saying Frank is right or wrong, I just tendered my opinion based upon what I would do.

 

[Gunrunner61]

If you think the land owner is wrong for asking for a 50-50 split, and you turn him down. You say thats better than nothing....Flip the coin, 25% is better than nothing. I'd take his offer. If you don't all three lose out' and the landowner can probably afford nothing alot better than you and your partner.....I'm just saying Good Luck

 

[Frankn]

For me, there is always another cache. I have 2 more on the back burner. For the landowner there would always be tbe bitter memory of how he passed up $4 1/4 M. You see, I never count my chickens before they hatch. Frank

 

[VWandSTUDEBAKER]

I think 50/50 is a pretty darn good deal, considering its HIS property to do as he wishes and you will get nothing if you dont. If you or anyone else is that geedy, then you should leave your partner at home and do the deed.

I bet if you took a poll, most on here would take 50 percent of the find and be happy campers.

 

[Frankn]

Yes, you are right, It is his property, but as far as the cache is concerned, it's like having $4M in an offshure bank and I have the only passward. So you see He doesn't win without me. And I would abandon the cache before I would abandon my partner.
Maybe you are right. Maybe there are 50% quitters on here, but I doubt it. Only the strong prevail!

 

[Sam 8]

Well it is Friday.
I guess I wasn't reading the crystal ball right on this one.
I still think they will respond.
At some point, when you are done waiting and decide to move on, I would send both property owners identical letters, indicating that your offer will stand unless they are otherwise advised by you, but, that you will not contact them again and that if they desire to re-engage with you about this case they will need to reach out to you.

 

[truckinbutch]

If I were the property owner and someone told me there was $12.75 million in gold on my property and if I let him and his partner search he would give me 1/3 of it I think I would hire a bulldozer and doze the entire 10 acres before I would let anyone take 2/3 of MY treasure. I also find it hard to believe that if there is a treasure that large in my area that I couldn't figure out what it might be by just talking to some of the old timers. Every area I have ever lived in has had its fair share of miser gold, buried stolen money, buried gangster money, civil war era gold that was hidden to keep it out of enemy hands, etc. Each and every one of these stories come from talking to old timers. Now that the land owner thinks he's got close to $13 million on his land I fear he will get a little more involved in trying to find out more about the story.

As kids in the early '50's we listened to stories of treasure hoards and miser gold in our area , as told by oldtimers . Wore ourselves out tearing down old rock piles and chopping into hollow
trees .
As we got older we determined that they were the professional liars in the community just perfecting their acts on popeyed kids before going up against the other professional liar oldtimers in the area .
Hearing it from someone old does not make it so .
LOTS of research can determine what is possibly true .
1879 records revealed one cabin owner near here had a net worth of $4.70 . Large amounts of cash
money here only existed in the minds of the storieteller . Who paid the clock tax is a better indication
of affluence .

 

[Coinstriking Michigan]

Personally, I would rather not get anything than let someone dictate what's going to happen with something on my property. Could be the guy thinks your full of feces too.

 

[Frankn]

Coin strike, possibly you might be right, but then there's also a possibility that the $4M might pray on his mine to the point that he contacts me. When you go in to do a job, you figgure what it cost to do it and a fair profit and that is your price. You don't let the customer set a much lower price and take the job.That is especially true in this case where the "customer" pays nothing, I do all the work, and he wants to get more than I do.

Sam8 That was in the final letter to both parties.

Truckin I ran into more than a few of those stories. This one is a "proven" possibility, none are for shure.

 

[Buff4]

All I want to say is best of luck, and please keep us posted. You seem to have a high degree of knowledge in this area.

 

[Viddy]

I would take the 50/50 ....

...why?

.... #1 use the 'giving in to him' to make him sign it in writing. get it? *wink*

.... #2 50% is better than 0%. I know a guy that did this and afterwards, the landowner gave him permission plus introduced him to 2 other people who had very historic properties to hunt! He gained trust, therefore access to some amazing places that these stuborn old timers would not even give their best friends!

.... #3 I kinda do the 50/50 all the time with new people and property, in a way. I take my ETrac and my F2 to the front door of someone's house, knock, introduce myself, and ask if I can detect their property, field, woods, etc. I offer them my F2 to use also and participate. My success rate for getting total strangers to let me onto their property tripled! You peak their interest and they now have a personal interest. I always ask when explaining how the F2 works 'want to keep what we find? or split anything we find 50/50? This goes over well because you are including them in the decision and sharing power with them. Their land, your equipment/experience. Made some great friends that way too.

 

[[email protected]]

If you posted this "offer" on a non-treasure hunting forum, then I could see many people agreeing with you.
Posting this here really means that you are not that special as there are many who could do your job, maybe even better!
A lot of us think that we could find such a cache on 9 acres of land.
As for your research and time, I bet I have spent MORE time researching and searching for historic sites for NO financial gain!
How do you come up with the $15,000 figure of what you claim you have sunk into this project? Is that gas money? Your time for research?
There are tons of people on this forum that will spend an entire day digging pull tabs in hopes of finding a $50 gold ring.
What I'm getting at is that there are thousands on here that would work for practically nothing. That's why lost rings are found and returned with no expectation of a monetary reward.
What is stopping the land owner from looking up a local metal detecting club and dangling a carrot? I could see 50 club members showing up just for the thrill of it.
I'm saying that there are thousands that would easily underbid you! Especially with this current economy.
Now you are talking about several million dollars worth. Word gets out to the landowners and they are easily in a position to seek a better offer elsewhere.
Heck, I would spend an entire summer camped out, just to work for a fraction of what you expect!
It's your prerogative to ask what you feel you deserve. I really do hope the best for you!
I just wanted to remind you that you're not the only one with research skills, experience, time, and a metal detector!
Take the deal before it's too late.

 

[Frankn]

Viddy, Muddy : your talking yard hunts. I do them for 50/50 all the time, but this is a cache hunt involving an old story. I image it has been searched for many times, but the location had a bad problem. It took my partner and myself, working it from different angles 7 months to crack the location. The area had changed drasticly and we had to call a professional locater to nail it down to a specific site for a 10% fee of the orginal amount if found. We had to cover hundreds of miles checking locations and interviewing people, so I think my partner, the land owner and myself should share equally, that 1/3 each.
This guy wants 50% and 25% each for my partner and myself.I can't live with that after all the work we have put into it. I would rather let him make his try and wait for his call. Frank

 

[stealthycat]

A very interesting read.

I am "new" to treasure hunting, so my point of view comes in from a guy who has bought and sold a lot of things in various formats.

He has something you want. It is currently his, or in his possession by way of landowners rights. He knows you want it, and you're vested by way of hours and hours of research. You've made an offer. Not only made an offer, but you've come back a time or two and tempted him with a potential outcome of more money if the treasure is bigger than you initially indicated.

If I were him, I'd be doing the exact same thing. He isn't a treasure hunter, neither am I, so he very likely thinks like I am thinking in that less than 10 acres means with some effort he can find it himself. This may or may not be true - its just likely what he's thinking. Why share with you when he can have it all himself?

If I am you maybe I play your side exactly as you're playing it as well. There is no right/wrong way in negotiating a % cut, it simply is what each side finds acceptable in the % that counts.

If I were you - and just going off what I have read? Give him a bit more, but less than he's asking. Instead of 50-25-25 maybe offer a 40-30-30 ..... less than you want, less than he's asking ..... win-win for both of you because if you don't get him to make a deal? You lose 100% of what you've invested. If he doesn't make a deal with you? Well he (A) still has whatever it is on his land and (B) he hasn't lost anything because he never knew it was there anyway.


Just a newbie's point of view, maybe a bit different than everyone else. FWIW I'd love to see you make a win-win deal, dig it and find 3 million in gold coins

 

[themarkd]

Yes, you are right, It is his property, but as far as the cache is concerned, it's like having $4M in an offshure bank and I have the only passward. So you see He doesn't win without me. And I would abandon the cache before I would abandon my partner.
Maybe you are right. Maybe there are 50% quitters on here, but I doubt it. Only the strong prevail!

I've followed the thread, and get your point. But...this guy owns it. Bought and paid for. He didn't hire you to find it. You did that of your own volition. This is a hobby. You chose to pursue this particular cache.

ANY portion you get is a windfall and should be treated as such. The hobby (and fun) is in the hunt. When the find becomes more important than the hunt, you've lost sight. You didn't seriously have expectations at the end of the search, I hope. This cache should be no other split besides 50/50. finders/owners.

 

[bigscoop]

Yes, you are right, It is his property, but as far as the cache is concerned, it's like having $4M in an offshure bank and I have the only passward. So you see He doesn't win without me. And I would abandon the cache before I would abandon my partner.
Maybe you are right. Maybe there are 50% quitters on here, but I doubt it. Only the strong prevail!

This cache should be no other split besides 50/50. finders/owners.

And here in lays the biggest issue of all, which is why I think this thread should never have gone public. Just because it's on another's land, apparently abandoned by a previous owner, the ownership of that find can, and probably will be, challenged in the courts if it turns out to be a significant find. Just as Frank has done, there are lawyers who will gladly spend their own time & money to locate the possible heirs to any discovered fortune that comes along....and then comes the real expensive problems. Take the "gag agreement and the 50/50" and "keep your mouth shut!" Honestly, I can't imagine anyone putting such a discovery to risk in light of the very common legal issues that often arise after a significant find is made, "public". The fact the previous owner is dead and it was found on private land means absolutley nothing in regards to who it may actually belong to in a court of law.

 

[stealthycat]

now I know what to do if I ever find a cache on someones land .... just buy the land

problem solved

 

[Frankn]

Stealthycat, I see your point except for He knows it's there now and wants it. As far as him looking, I have a cach buried on 6ac. That I haven't found in 10 years. There's an old saying in TH, you can walk over the whole area, but no one finds it all. To find a cache you nead clues to start you off and this guy doesn't have a clue.

Themarkd, He only paid about $60K for the land so I don't consider he paid for the cache.
Just about all my cache hunts are done on speculation, but I don't consider I do the work for free.
Any portion he gets is a windfall,I worked for mind. cache hunting is a bit different from park hunting.
There is a big difference between a silver quater and a double eagle.

Big scoop, What find?

 

[bigscoop]

Stealthycat, I see your point except for He knows it's there now and wants it. As far as him looking, I have a cach buried on 6ac. That I haven't found in 10 years. There's an old saying in TH, you can walk over the whole area, but no one finds it all. To find a cache you nead clues to start you off and this guy doesn't have a clue.

Themarkd, He only paid about $60K for the land so I don't consider he paid for the cache.
Just about all my cache hunts are done on speculation, but I don't consider I do the work for free.
Any portion he gets is a windfall,I worked for mind. cache hunting is a bit different from park hunting.
There is a big difference between a silver quater and a double eagle.

Big scoop, What find?

"What find?" At this point, are you kidding? It's a very small world out there Frank, especially since the internet, just look at what can be found on the internet these days. Just saying.......quite a chance to be taking in the event you would actually find this larger amount.