This article is about the legal concept. For the children's book, see A Treasure's Trove. For the collection of Shovel Knight video games entitled Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, see Shovel Knight.
A treasure trove is an amount of money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion found hidden underground or in places such as cellars or attics, where the treasure seems old enough for it to be presumed that the true owner is dead and the heirs undiscoverable. An archaeological find of treasure trove is known as a hoard. The legal definition of what constitutes treasure trove and its treatment under law vary considerably from country to country, and from era to era.
The term is also often used metaphorically. Collections of articles published as a book are often titled Treasure Trove, as in A Treasure Trove of Science. This was especially fashionable for titles of children's books in the early- and mid-20th century.
Terminology
Treasure trove, sometimes rendered treasure-trove, literally means "treasure that has been found". The English term treasure trove was derived from tresor trové, the Anglo-French[1] equivalent of the Latin legal term thesaurus inventus. In 15th-century English the Anglo-French term was translated as "treasure found", but from the 16th century it began appearing in its modern form with the French word trovéanglicized as trovey, trouve or trove.[2] The term wealth deposit has been proposed as a more accurate alternative.[3]
The term treasure trove is often used metaphorically to mean a "valuable find", and hence a source of treasure, or a reserve or repository of valuable things.[4]Trove is often used alone to refer to the concept,[5] the word having been reanalysed as a noun via folk etymology from an original Anglo-French adjectivetrové (cognate to the French past participletrouvé, literally "found").[6]Treasure trove is therefore akin to similar Anglo-French or Anglo-French-derived legal terms whereby a post-positive adjective in a noun phrase (contrary to standard English syntax) has been reanalysed as a compoundnoun phrase, as in court martial, force majeure, and Princess Royal. Phrases of this form are often used either with the etymologically correct plural form (for example, "Courts-martial deal with serious offences ...")[7] or as fully rederived plural forms (such as "... ordering court-martials ...").[8] In the case of treasure trove, the typical plural form is almost always treasure troves, with treasures trove found mostly in historical[9] or literary[10] works.
History
Oldenburg Sachsenspiegel of 1336 Fol. 22v detail regarding the treasure trove, starting with red initial A (Middle Low German): "Al schat under der erden berauen deper den en ploch geyt de hort to derer conicliken walt." (Everything lying deeper in the ground than the range of a plowshare, belongs to the king.)
Roman law
In Roman law, treasure trove was called thesaurus ("treasure" in Latin), and defined by the Roman juristPaulus as "vetus quædam depositio pecuniæ, cujus non extat memoria, ut jam dominum non habeat"[11] (an ancient deposit of money, of which no memory exists, so that it has no present owner).[12] R. W. Lee, in his book The Elements of Roman Law (4th ed., 1956), commented that this definition was "not quite satisfactory" as treasure was not confined to money, nor was there any abandonment of ownership.[12] Under the emperors, if treasure was found on a person's own land or on sacred or religious land, the finder was entitled to keep it. However, if the treasure was found fortuitously, and not by deliberate search, on another person's land, half went to the finder and half to the owner of the land, who might be the emperor, the fiscus (public treasury), the city, or some other proprietor.[13] According to Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius (1583–1645), as the feudal system spread over Europe and the prince was looked on as the ultimate owner of all lands, his right to the treasure trove became jus commune et quasi gentium (a common and quasi-international right) in England, Germany, France, Spain and Denmark.[14]
An interpretation of Roman law regarding treasure trove makes an appearance in the 13th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. The Parable of the Hidden Treasure is told by Jesus of Nazareth to the crowds surrounding him and his disciples. In the parable, the treasure trove is hidden in a field, which is open country and anyone could conceivably discover something hidden in that location. It is also assumed that the present owner has no knowledge or memory of the treasure. The finder of the treasure concealed the discovery until he could raise capital to purchase the land. Selling all he had, the finder purchased the land and then unearthed the treasure, to which he was entitled as both finder and landowner. Jesus compared the kingdom of Heaven to the treasure, being of greater value than all a person's earthly wealth and a wise investment that not everyone understands at first.[15]
England and Wales common law
It has been said that the concept of treasure trove in English law dates back to the time of Edward the Confessor (c.1003/1004–1066).[16] Under the common law, treasure trove was defined as gold or silver in any form, whether coin, plate (gold or silver vessels or utensils)[17] or bullion (a lump of gold or silver),[18][19] which had been hidden and rediscovered, and which no person could prove they owned. If the person who had hidden the treasure was known or discovered later, it belonged to him or her[20][21] or persons claiming through him or her such as descendants. To be treasure trove, an object had to be substantially – that is, more than 50% – gold or silver.[22]
The Sutton Hoo helmet, recovered in 1939. The Sutton Hoo find was not treasure trove. As it was a ship burial, there had been no intention to recover the objects later.
Treasure trove had to be hidden with animus revocandi, that is, an intention to recover it later. If an object was simply lost or abandoned (for instance, scattered on the surface of the earth or in the sea), it belonged either to the first person who found it[20][23] or to the landowner according to the law of finders, that is, legal principles concerning the finding of objects. For this reason, the objects found in 1939 at Sutton Hoo were determined not to be treasure trove; as the objects were part of a ship burial, there had been no intention to recover the buried objects later.[24]The Crown had a prerogative right to treasure trove, and if the circumstances under which an object was found raised a prima faciepresumption that it had been hidden, it belonged to the Crown unless someone else could show a better title to it.[25] The Crown could grant its right to treasure trove to any person in the form of a franchise.[20][21][26]
It was the duty of the finder, and indeed of anyone who had acquired knowledge of the matter, to report the finding of a potential treasure trove to the coroner of the district. Concealing a find was a misdemeanour[27][28] punishable with fine and imprisonment.[20][29] The coroner was required to hold an inquest with a jury to determine who were the finders or the persons suspected to be the finders, "and that may be well perceived where one liveth riotously and have done so of long time".[21][30] Where there had been an apparent concealment of treasure trove the coroner's jury could investigate the title of the treasure to discover if it had been concealed from the supposed owner, but any such finding was not conclusive[31] as the coroner generally had no jurisdiction to enquire into questions of title to the treasure between the Crown and any other claimant. If a person wished to assert title to the treasure, they had to bring separate court proceedings.[28][32]
In the early 20th century, it became the practice of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury to pay those finders who fully and promptly reported discoveries of treasure troves and handed them over to the proper authorities, the full antiquarian value of objects which were retained for national or other institutions such as museums. Objects not retained were returned to the finders.[21][33]
Under the common law of Scotland, the law of treasure trove was and still is a specialized application of the general rule governing bona vacantia ("vacant goods") – that is, objects that are lost, forgotten or abandoned. The rule is quod nullius est fit domini regis: "that which belongs to nobody becomes our Lord the King's [or Queen's]". The Crown in Scotland has a prerogative right to treasure trove for it is one of the regalia minora ("minor things of the king"), that is, property rights which the Crown may exercise as it pleases and which it may alienate (transfer to another party). As the Scottish law of treasure trove on the matter has not changed, it is discussed in the "Present-day legal definitions" section below, under the subheading "Scotland".
United States law
Many states in the U.S. enacted statutes that received English common law into their legal systems. For example, in 1863 the legislature of Idaho enacted a statute that made "the common law of England ... the rule of decision in all courts" of the state. However, English common law principles of treasure trove were not applied in the U.S. Instead, courts applied rules relating to the finding of lost and ownerless items. The treasure trove rule was first given serious consideration by the Oregon Supreme Court in 1904 in a case involving boys who had discovered thousands of dollars in gold coins hidden in metal cans while cleaning out a henhouse. The Court wrongly believed that the rule operated in the same way as early rules that awarded possession – and, effectively, legal title as well – to innocent finders of items that had been hidden or concealed and the owners of which were unknown. By awarding the coins to the boys, the Court implied that finders were entitled to buried valuables, and that any claims by landowners should be disregarded.[34]
In subsequent years the legal position became unclear as a series of English and American cases decided that landowners were entitled to buried valuables. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reconsidered the rule in 1908. The case before it involved three workers who had found coins while digging on their employer's land. The Court decided along the lines of the 1904 Oregon case and awarded the coins to the finders. For the next 30 years, the courts of a number of states, including Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio and Wisconsin, applied this modified "treasure trove" rule, most recently in 1948. Since that time, however, the rule has fallen out of favour. Modern legal texts regard it as "a recognized, if not controlling, rule of decision", but one commentator has called it "a minority rule of dubious heritage that was misunderstood and misapplied in a few states between 1904 and 1948".[34]
Throughout the ages, farmers, archaeologists and amateur treasure hunters have unearthed important treasures of immense historical, scientific and financial value. However, the strictness of the common law rules meant that such items were sometimes not treasure trove. The items risked being sold abroad, or were only saved for the nation by being purchased at a high price. Mention has already been made of the objects comprising the Sutton Hoo ship burial, which were not treasure trove as they had been interred without any intention to retrieve them. The objects were later presented to the nation by their owner, Edith May Pretty, in a 1942 bequest. In March 1973, a hoard of about 7,811 Roman coins was found buried in a field at Coleby in Lincolnshire. It was made up of antoniniani believed to have been minted between AD 253 and 281. The Court of Appeal of England and Wales held in the 1981 case of Attorney-General of the Duchy of Lancaster v. G.E. Overton (Farms) Ltd. that the hoard was not treasure trove as the coins were bronze and did not have a substantial silver content. Thus, it belonged to the owner of the field and could not be retained by the British Museum.[35]
To remedy the faults of the old treasure trove regime, the Treasure Act 1996[36] introduced a new scheme which came into effect on 24 September 1997.[37] Any treasure found on and after that date regardless of the circumstances in which it was deposited, even if it was lost or left with no intention of recovery, belongs to the Crown, subject to any prior interests or rights held by any franchisee of the Crown.[38] The relevant Secretary of State (currently meaning the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport) may direct that any such treasure be transferred or disposed of,[39] or that the Crown's title in it be disclaimed.[40][41]
The Act uses the term treasure instead of treasure trove; the latter term is now confined to objects found before the Act came into force. Objects falling within the following definition are "treasure" under the Act:[41][42]
If the object is not a coin,[43] it must be at least 300 years old[44] and at least 10%[45] precious metal (that is, gold or silver)[46] by weight.
If the object is a coin, it must either be:
one of at least two coins in the same find[47] which are at least 300 years old at that time and are at least 10% precious metal by weight; or
one of at least ten coins in the same find which are at least 300 years old at that time.
Any object at least 200 years old when found which belongs to a class of objects of outstanding historical, archaeological or cultural importance that has been designated as treasure by the Secretary of State.[48] As of 2006, the following classes of objects had been so designated:[49]
Any object, other than a coin, any part of which is base metal (that is, not gold or silver),[50] which when found is one of at least two base metal objects in the same find which are of prehistoric date.[51]
Any object, other than a coin, which is of prehistoric date, and any part of which is gold or silver.
Any object which would have been treasure trove if found before 24 September 1997.
Any object which, when found, is part of the same find as:
an object within head (1), (2), (3) or (4) above found at the same time or earlier; or
an object found earlier which would be within head (1), (2) or (3) above if it had been found at the same time.
Treasure does not include unworked natural objects, or minerals extracted from a natural deposit, or objects that have been designated not to be treasure[52] by the Secretary of State.[53] Objects falling within the definition of wreck[54] are also not treasure.[41][55]
Coroners continue to have jurisdiction to enquire into any treasure found in their districts, and into who are or are suspected to be its finders.[56] Anyone finding an object he or she believes or has reasonable grounds to believe is treasure must notify the coroner for the district in which the object is found within 14 days starting from the day after the find or, if later, the day on which the finder first believes or has reason to believe the object is treasure.[57] Not doing so is an offence.[58] Inquests are held without a jury unless the coroner decides otherwise.[59] The coroner must notify the British Museum if his or her district is in England, the Department of the Environment if it is in Northern Ireland, or the National Museum Wales if it is in Wales.[60] The coroner must also take reasonable steps to notify any person who appears may have found the treasure; any person who, at the time it was found, occupied land which it appears may be where the treasure was found;[61] and any other interested persons, including persons involved in the find or having an interest in the land where the treasure was found at that time or since.[62] However, coroners still have no power to make any legal determination as to whether the finder, landowner or occupier of the land has title to the treasure. The courts have to resolve that issue, and may also review coroners' decisions in relation to treasure.[41][63]
When treasure has vested in the Crown and is to be transferred to a museum, the Secretary of State is required to determine whether a reward should be paid by the museum before the transfer[64] to the finder or any other person involved in the finding of the treasure, the occupier of the land at the time of the find, or any person who had an interest in the land at the time of the find or has had such an interest at any time since then.[65] If the Secretary of State determines that a reward should be paid, he or she must also determine the market value of the treasure (assisted by the Treasure Valuation Committee),[66] the amount of the reward (which cannot exceed the market value), to whom the reward should be paid and, if more than one person should be paid, how much each person should receive.[41][67]
Items from the Staffordshire hoard which were declared to be treasure in September 2009
In England and Wales, finders of objects that are not treasure or treasure trove are encouraged to voluntarily report them under the Portable Antiquities Scheme to finds liaison officers at county councils and local museums. Under the scheme, which started in September 1997, the officers examine finds and provide finders with information on them. They also record the finds, their functions, dates, materials and locations, and place this information into a database which can be analysed. The information on the findspots may be used to organize further research on the areas.[68] Non-treasure finds remain the property of their finders or landowners, who are free to dispose of them as they wish.[69]
On 5 July 2009 the largest single Anglo-Saxon hoard as of that date, consisting of over 1,500 gold and precious metal pieces, helmets and sword decorations tentatively dated to around AD 600–800, was discovered by Terry Herbert in Staffordshire, England. Herbert reported the find to his local Portable Antiquities Scheme officer, and on 24 September 2009 it was declared to be treasure by the South Staffordshire coroner.[70]
In 2019 two metal detectorists, Lisa Grace and Adam Staples, discovered a hoard of 2,528 silver coins spanning the Norman Conquest of 1066. Around half the silver coins depicted the defeated Harold II and half depicted the victorious William the Conqueror. A small number of the coins were 'mule' coins with designs from both reigns, believed to have been the product of early tax evasion, where the minters failed to purchase the up to date die. As at August 28, 2019, the Avon Coroner is yet to rule on the find. The hoard has been described as extremely significant by experts, including the curator of medieval coinage at the British Museum. Avon and Somerset council has expressed a desire to obtain the collection for display in Bath, if it is declared treasure.[71]
Scotland
The Treasure Act 1996 does not apply in Scotland,[72] where treasure trove is dealt with under the common law of Scotland. The general rule that governs bona vacantia ("vacant goods")—that is, objects that are lost, forgotten or abandoned—is quod nullius est fit domini regis ("that which belongs to nobody becomes our lord the king's [or queen's]"),[73][74] and the law of treasure trove is a specialized application of that rule.[75] As in England, the Crown in Scotland has a prerogative right to treasure trove[76] for it is one of the regalia minora ("minor things of the king"),[77] that is, property rights which the Crown may exercise as it pleases and which it may alienate (transfer to another party).[78]
Cliffs of St. Ninian's Isle, photographed on 24 May 2006. The St. Ninian's Isle treasure, which is believed to date to about AD 800, was found on this island.
To qualify as treasure trove, an object must be precious, it must be hidden, and there must be no proof of its property or reasonable presumption of its former ownership. Unlike under English common law, treasure is not restricted to only gold and silver objects.[79] In 1888 a prehistoric jet necklace and some other articles found in Forfarshire were claimed by the authorities though they were neither gold nor silver. A compromise was eventually reached, and the find was deposited in the National Museum of Scotland.[14] In July 1958, a porpoise bone was found together with 28 other objects of silver alloy (12 brooches, seven bowls, a hanging bowl and other small metal work) underneath a stone slab marked with a cross on the floor of St. Ninian's Church on St. Ninian's Isle in Shetland. The objects were dated to c. AD 800. A dispute having arisen over ownership of the objects between the Crown on the one hand, and the finder (the University of Aberdeen, which had carried out the archaeological excavation) and the landowner on the other, in Lord Advocate v. University of Aberdeen (1963) the Court of Session held that the bone should be regarded as treasure trove together with the silver objects.[80] Further, the requirement that an object must be "hidden" means no more than that it must be concealed; it refers to the condition in which the object was found and does not refer back to the intention which the owner of the object may have had in hiding it.[81] Finally, the requirement that there must be no reasonable presumption of former ownership means that it must not be possible to trace the ownership of the object to a person or family currently existing.[82] Even if an object does not qualify as treasure trove, it may be claimed by the Crown as bona vacantia.[83]
The King's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer (KLTR), an office held by the Crown Agent who is the senior officer of the Crown Office in Scotland, is responsible for claiming bona vacantia on behalf of the Crown in Scotland.[73] Finders of items are required to report such finds to the Crown Office or to the Treasure Trove Unit (TTU) at the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh. Each find is assessed by the Scottish Archaeological Finds Allocation Panel, which recommends if the find should be claimed. If it is, the matter is referred by the TTU to the KLTR department at the Crown Office, which will inform the finder that it has accepted the Panel's recommendation to claim the objects in the find as treasure trove or bona vacantia.[84]
The Panel also recommends to the KLTR a reward for the find based on its current market value where appropriate, and the most appropriate museum in Scotland to allocate it to. The TTU then contacts all museums which have bid for finds to advise them of the Panel's recommendations. The museums have 14 days in which to accept or reject the proposed allocation and reward for the find. If the KLTR accepts the Panel's recommendations, it will notify the finder of the amount of any reward being paid and the museum to which the find has been allocated. The KLTR also asks the museum to pay the finder's reward.[84]
While a Treasury order of 1886 made provision for the preservation of suitable objects in various national museums and payment of rewards to their finders,[14] the Crown is under no legal obligation to offer any rewards for treasure trove objects it has claimed. However, it usually does so, using the objects' market price as a guide. A reward may be withheld or reduced if the finder has inappropriately handled an object, for instance, damaged it by cleaning it or applying waxes and varnishes to it.[85] Finders may elect to waive their rewards. Rewards are not paid for finds occurring during organized fieldwork.[84]
United States
State laws
The law of treasure trove in the United States varies from state to state, but certain general conclusions may be drawn. To be treasure trove, an object must be of gold or silver.[86]Paper money is also deemed to be treasure trove since it previously represented gold or silver.[87] On the same reasoning, it might be imagined that coins and tokens in metals other than gold or silver are also included, but this has yet to be clearly established.[88] The object must have been concealed for long enough so it is unlikely that the true owner will reappear to claim it.[89] The consensus appears to be that the object must be at least a few decades old.[90][91]
A majority of state courts, including those of Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Wisconsin, have ruled that the finder of treasure trove is entitled to it. The theory is that the English monarch's claim to treasure trove was based on a statutory enactment which replaced the finder's original right. When this statute was not re-enacted in the United States after its independence, the right to treasure trove reverted to the finder.[92]
In Idaho[93] and Tennessee[94] courts have decided that treasure trove belongs to the owner of the place where it was found, the rationale being to avoid rewarding trespassers. In one Pennsylvania case,[95] a lower court ruled that the common law did not vest treasure trove in the finder but in the sovereign, and awarded a find of US$92,800 cash to the state. However, this judgment was reversed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on the basis that it had not yet been decided if the law of treasure trove was part of Pennsylvania law.[96] The Supreme Court deliberately refrained from deciding the issue.[97]
Finds of money and lost property are dealt with by other states through legislation. These statutes usually require finders to report their finds to the police and transfer to their custody the objects. The police then advertise the finds to try to locate their true owner. If the objects remain unclaimed for a specified period of time, title in them vests in the finders.[98]New Jersey vests buried or hidden property in the landowner,[99]Indiana in the county,[100]Vermont in the town,[101] and Maine in the township and the finder equally.[102][103][clarification needed] In Louisiana, French codes have been followed, so half of a found object goes to the finder and the other half to the landowner.[14] The position in Puerto Rico, the laws of which are based on civil law, is similar.[104]
Finders who are trespassers generally lose all their rights to finds,[105] unless the trespass is regarded as "technical or trivial".[106][107]
Where the finder is an employee, most cases hold that the find should be awarded to the employer if it has a heightened legal obligation to take care of its customers' property, otherwise it should go to the employee.[108] A find occurring in a bank is generally awarded to the bank as the owner is likely to have been a bank customer and the bank has a fiduciary duty to try to reunite lost property with their owners.[109] For similar reasons, common carriers are preferred to passengers[110] and hotels to guests (but only where finds occur in guest rooms, not common areas).[111][112] The view has been taken that such a rule is suitable for recently misplaced objects as it provides the best chance for them to be reunited with their owners. However, it effectively delivers title of old artefacts to landowners, since the older an object is, the less likely it is that the original depositor will return to claim it. The rule is therefore of little or no relevance to objects of archaeological value.[34]
Due to the potential for a conflict of interest, police officers[113] and other persons working in law enforcement occupations,[114] and armed forces[115] are not entitled to finds in some states.[116]
Federal law
U.S. Federal laws governing recovery of treasure are governed by the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979,[117] Under ARPA, "archaeological resources" more than one hundred years old on public lands belong to the government. The term "archaeological resource" means any material remains of past human life or activities which are "of archaeological interest", as determined by federal regulations. Such regulations include, but are not limited to: pottery, basketry, bottles, weapons, weapon projectiles, tools, structures or portions of structures, pit houses, rock paintings, rock carvings, intaglios, graves, human skeletal materials, or any portion or piece of any of the foregoing items. The definition of "archaeological resource" and "archaeological interest" has been broadly interpreted under U.S. agency regulations in recent years to include nearly anything of human origin more than 100 years old, while permits to allow recovery of such items have been largely restricted to digs by credentialed archaeologists. The effect of ARPA as currently defined by federal regulations outlaws virtually all treasure hunting of items more than 100 years old, even treasure troves of gold and silver coin or scrip, under penalty of total forfeiture.[118] Furthermore, the Federal policy against spoliation and removal of "archaeological resources" of any type from federal or Indian lands, even coins and scrip less than 100 years old, means it is unlikely that a finder of gold or silver coinage on Federal lands will prevail with an argument that the find constitutes a treasure trove of coinage, but rather "embedded property" that belongs to the property owner, i.e. the government.[119] The broad use of ARPA to target not only archaeological looting but also to prohibit all treasure hunting on federal or Indian lands has been criticized on the grounds that total prohibition and forfeiture simply encourages concealment or misrepresentation of the age of the found coinage or treasure trove, thus hampering archaeological research, as archaeologists cannot study items that when found will never be reported.[120]
France
Since 1803 in France, treasure troves are defined according to the French Civil Code under Article 716. The Code States that treasure is defined as “any object hidden or buried which no one can justify as his property and it is discovered by the pure effect of chance”. Under French law, the treasure is divided equally between the landowner and the finder of the treasure. However, under Article L542-1 of the Code du Patrimoine, metal detectorists and searchers must officially obtain permission before searching for treasure, declaring their intent is for archaeological purposes.[121][122]
↑ See, for example, the following news articles: Rebecca Morelle (16 May 2007), "Antarctic 'treasure trove' found", BBC News ("An extraordinarily diverse array of marine life has been discovered in the deep, dark waters around Antarctica."); Helen Briggs (11 March 2008), "Cosmic 'treasure trove' revealed", BBC News ("A Nasa space probe measuring the oldest light in the Universe has found that cosmic neutrinos made up 10% of matter shortly after the Big Bang. ... Scientists say it is collecting a 'treasure trove' of information about the Universe's age, make-up and fate.")
↑ "trove", OED Online (2nded.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989, retrieved 11 April 2008
1 2 R. W. Lee (2007) [1956], The Elements of Roman Law: With a Translation of the Institutes of Justinian (4thed.), London: Sweet & Maxwell, p.139 (§211: "Thesaurus (treasure)"), ISBN978-0-421-01780-1 .
↑ Institutes of Justinian, bk. II, tit. i, para. 39: see Sandars, Institutes of Justinian, p. 190; Lee, Elements of Roman Law, pp. 139, 145.
↑ Lord DenningM.R. in Attorney-General of the Duchy of Lancaster v. G.E. Overton (Farms) Ltd. [1982] Ch. 277 at p. 285, C.A.
↑ "plate, n.", OED Online, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2008, retrieved 9 April 2008.
↑ "bullion2", OED Online (2nded.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989, retrieved 9 April 2008.
↑ In Attorney-General of the Duchy of Lancaster v. G.E. Overton (Farms) Ltd., p. 288, Lord Denning said: "'Coin' is a coin of gold or silver, 'plate' is something manufactured of it; 'bullion' is a lump of it. Anything which is not a gold or silver object is not treasure trove."
1 2 3 4 Edward Coke (1648), The Third Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England: Concerning High Treason, and other Pleas of the Crown, and Criminall Causes, London: M. Flesher, for W. Lee, & D. Pakeman, pp.132–133.
↑ Attorney-General v. Moore [1893] 1 Ch. 676 at 683; Attorney-General v. Trustees of the British Museum [1903] 2 Ch. 598.
↑ John Rastell (1624), Les Termes de la Ley: Or, Certaine Difficult and Obscure Words and Termes of the Common Lawes of this Realme Expounded. [By John Rastell.] Now newly imprinted, and much inlarged and augmented, London: Company of Stationers, p.565, OCLC222436919 ; Joseph Chitty the Younger (1820), A Treatise on the Law of the Prerogatives of the Crown; and the Relative Duties and Rights of the Subject, London: J. Butterworth & Son, p.152, OCLC66375255 , cited with approval in Attorney-General v. Moore, p. 683, and Attorney-General v. Trustees of British Museum, p. 608.
↑ R. v. Toole (1867) 11 Cox CC 75; R. v. Thomas & Willett (1863) Le. & Ca. 313, 12 W.R. 108.
↑ De Officio Coronatoris (Office of Coroner Act) 1276 (4 Edw. 1. c. 2), which was declaratory of the common law. This statute was repealed by the Coroners Act 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c. 71), s.45, Sch.3, but the coroner's jurisdiction as regards treasure trove was preserved by ss.36 and 45(5) of the same Act. See also Bracton, book 3, ch. 6, fol. 122; John Britton (1865), Francis Morgan Nichols (ed.), Britton: The French Text Carefully Revised, with an English Translation, Introduction and Notes, Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp.8, 18, 66, OCLC25061529 ; Michael Dalton (1670), Officium Vicecomitum: The Office and Authority of Sherifs: Gathered out of the Statutes ... to which is Added an Appendix ... containing a Collection of the Statutes Touching Sheriffs made since Mr. Dalton's Writing ... With a New and Copious Table, wherein the Defects ... of the Old Table are Supplyed, [etc.], London: Printed by John Streater, James Flesher, and Henry Twyford, assigns of Richard Atkins and Edward Atkins, and are to be sold by George Sawbridge, [etc.], p.376, OCLC12414543 .
↑ Edward Umfreville (1761), Lex Coronatoria: Or the Office and Duty of Coroners, [etc.], London: [s.n.], p.536, OCLC79529094 , 2 vols.; Attorney-General v. Moore, p. 683; Attorney-General of the Duchy of Lancaster v. G.E. Overton (Farms) Ltd., p. 287.
↑ Attorney-General v. Moore; Attorney-General v. Trustees of British Museum.
↑ Home Office Instruction 159308/14 dated 30 June 1925; Home Office Instruction 159308/47 dated 12 June 1931.
↑ For comments on difficulties caused by the law relating to treasure trove, see Roger Bland (1996), "Treasure Trove and the Case for Reform", Art, Antiquity and Law, Leicester: Institute of Art and Law: 11, ISSN1362-2331 .
↑ "Coin" includes any metal token which was, or can reasonably be assumed to have been, used or intended for use as or instead of money: Treasure Act 1996, ss. 3(1), 3(3).
↑ An object which can reasonably be taken to be at least a particular age is to be presumed to have been at least that age, unless shown not to be: Treasure Act 1996, ss. 3(1), 3(6).
↑ The figure of 10% was chosen because if an alloy has more than 10% gold or silver, it shows that one of those precious metals was deliberately added to the alloy. It also excludes objects which are merely plated with gold or silver: House of Commons Official Report SC F (Treasure Bill), 17 April 1996, cols. 10 and 11.
↑ An object is part of the same find as another object if (1) they are found together; (2) the other object was found earlier in the same place where they had been left together; or (3) the other object was found earlier in a different place, but they had been left together and had become separated before being found: Treasure Act 1996, ss. 3(1), 3(4).
↑ Treasure Act 1996, s. 1(2). As at 2006, no designation had been made.
↑ The term "wreck" includes flotsam (floating debris from a shipwreck), jetsam (goods thrown overboard from a ship in distress to lighten its load), lagan (goods found or left on the sea floor) and derelict (abandoned goods) found in or on the shores of the sea or any tidal water: Merchant Shipping Act 1995, s. 255(1), made applicable by the Treasure Act 1996, ss. 3(1), 3(7).
↑ Lord Mackintosh in Lord Advocate v. University of Aberdeen, p. 561, Outer House, citing an earlier edition of John Erskine of Carnock; James Badenach Nicolson (1989), An Institute of the Law of Scotland (8thed.), Edinburgh: Law Society of Scotland, ISBN978-0-406-17897-8 , vol. 2, ch. 1, pp. 11–12.
↑ Lord Hunter in Lord Advocate v. University of Aberdeen, p. 543, citing an earlier edition of Andrew MacDowall, Lord Bankton (1993), An Institute of the Laws of Scotland in Civil Rights: Vol. 1. with Observations upon the Agreement or Diversity between them and the Laws of England, Edinburgh: Stair Society, ISBN978-1-872517-05-6 , ch. 3, pp. 14–16 and 18.
↑ Lord Hunter, Lord Advocate v. University of Aberdeen, p. 542, citing Thomas Craig; James Avon Clyde, transl. (1934), The Jus Feudale ... With an Appendix Containing the Books of the Feus, Edinburgh; London: William Hodge & Co., OCLC15085710 , vol. 1, ch. 16, pp. 40 and 45; James Dalrymple, Viscount Stair (1832), John S. More (ed.), The Institutions of the Law of Scotland, Deduced from its Originals, and Collated with the Civil, Canon, and Feudal Laws, and with the Customs of Neighbouring Nations (2nd, rev., corr. & much enl.ed.), Edinburgh: Bell & Bradfute, OCLC60714357 , vol. 2, ch. 3, p. 60, and vol. 3, ch. 3, p. 27; Bankton, An Institute of the Laws of Scotland in Civil Rights, vol. 1, ch. 3, p. 16; and Bell, Principles of the Law of Scotland, s. 1293.
↑ Lord Hunter in Lord Advocate v. University of Aberdeen, p. 548, Outer House, citing Bankton, An Institute of the Laws of Scotland in Civil Rights, vol. 1, ch. 8, p. 9.
↑ Lord Mackintosh in Lord Advocate v. University of Aberdeen, p. 559, Inner House; see also Lord Patrick in the same case, p. 555.
↑ Lord Mackintosh in Lord Advocate v. University of Aberdeen, pp. 559–560, Inner House.
↑ Lord Hunter in Lord Advocate v. University of Aberdeen, p. 548, Outer House, citing More's notes to Stair, The Institutions of the Law of Scotland, vol. 1, p. cxlvi.
↑ Lord Mackintosh in Lord Advocate v. University of Aberdeen, p. 559, Inner House.
↑ "Rewards to finders of treasure trove", Treasure Trove [Scotland], Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, archived from the original on 24 May 2007, retrieved 13 April 2008.
↑ In Favorite v. Miller 407 A. 2d 974 (Connecticut, 1978), the court stated that the "strict definition" that limited treasure trove to gold and silver objects was "well-established" in US law.
↑ Terry v. Lock 37 S.W. 3d 202 at p. 206 (Arkansas, 2001).
↑ Favorite v. Miller, at p. 978 n. 2 (the court held it was unnecessary to decide the issue definitively).
↑ Hill v. Schrunk 292 P. 2d 141 at p. 143 (Oregon, 1956).
↑ In Terry v. Lock, 11 years was held to be too little time, whereas in Benjamin v. Lindner Aviation, Inc. 534 N.W. 2d 400 at p. 407 (Iowa, 1995) and Ritz v. Selma United Methodist Church 467 N.W. 2d 266 at p. 269 (Iowa, 1991) the view was taken that periods of 35 and 59 years respectively might be sufficient.
↑ John M. Kleeberg, Treasure Trove Law in the United States(PDF), Numismatik.org – Texte und Materialien zur Numismatik [Texts and Materials about Numismatics], pp.15–16, retrieved 13 April 2008.
↑ In re Escheat of $92,800 (Philadelphia CountyCourt of Common Pleas, 1948): see "Note, Treasure Trove – History and Development", Temple Law Quarterly, 22: 326 at pp. 339–341, 1948–1949.
↑ In re Rogers 62 A. 2d 900 at p. 903 (Philadelphia, 1949).
↑ Barker v. Bates 23 Am. Dec. 678 (Massachusetts, 1832); Mitchell v. Oklahoma Cotton Growers' Ass'n 235 P. 597 at p. 599 (Oklahoma, 1925); Niederlehner v. Weatherley 54 N.E. 2d 312 at p. 315 (Ohio C.A., 1943); Bishop v. Ellsworth 234 N.E. 2d 49 (Illinois C.A., 1968); Favorite v. Miller; Morgan v. Wiser, pp. 222–223.
↑ Arizona Revised Statutes §12-941; Florida Statutes §705.104; New York Personal Property Law §256 (Consolidated, 1988); Washington Revised Code §63.21.070; Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations §170.105; In re Funds in the Possession of Conemaugh Township Supervisors 724 A. 2d 990 (Philadelphia Commw. Ct., 1999); Pennsylvania v. $7,000.00 in U.S. Currency 742 A. 2d 711 (Philadelphia Commw. Ct., 1999).
A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. A metal detector consists of a control box, an adjustable shaft, and a variable-shaped pickup coil. When the coil nears metal, the control box signals its presence with a tone, light, or needle movement. Signal intensity typically increases with proximity. A common type are stationary "walk through" metal detectors used at access points in prisons, courthouses, airports and psychiatric hospitals to detect concealed metal weapons on a person's body.
The Treasure Act 1996 is a UK Act of Parliament, defining which objects are classified as treasure, legally obliging the finder to report their find. It applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Trover is a form of lawsuit in common law jurisdictions for recovery of damages for wrongful taking of personal property. Trover belongs to a series of remedies for such wrongful taking, its distinctive feature being recovery only for the value of whatever was taken, not for the recovery of the property itself.
Unowned property includes tangible, physical things that are capable of being reduced to being property owned by a person but are not owned by anyone. Bona vacantia is a legal concept associated with the unowned property, which exists in various jurisdictions, with a consequently varying application, but with origins mostly in English law.
In property law, lost, mislaid, and abandoned property are categories of the common law of property which deals with personal property or chattel which has left the possession of its rightful owner without having directly entered the possession of another person. Property can be considered lost, mislaid, or abandoned depending on the circumstances under which it is found by the next party who obtains its possession.
The Hoxne Hoard is the largest hoard of late Roman silver and gold discovered in Britain, and the largest collection of gold and silver coins of the fourth and fifth centuries found anywhere within the former Roman Empire. It was found by Eric Lawes, a metal detectorist in the village of Hoxne in Suffolk, England in 1992. The hoard consists of 14,865 Roman gold, silver, and bronze coins and approximately 200 items of silver tableware and gold jewellery. The objects are now in the British Museum in London, where the most important pieces and a selection of the rest are on permanent display. In 1993, the Treasure Valuation Committee valued the hoard at £1.75 million.
Treasure hunting is the physical search for treasure. For example, treasure hunters try to find sunken shipwrecks and retrieve artifacts with market value. This industry is generally fueled by the market for antiquities.
The Vale of York Hoard, also known as the Harrogate Hoard and the Vale of York Viking Hoard, is a 10th-century Viking hoard of 617 silver coins and 65 other items. It was found undisturbed in 2007 near the town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. The hoard was the largest Viking one discovered in Britain since 1840, when the Cuerdale hoard was found in Lancashire, though the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire Hoard, found in 2009, is larger.
The inter regalia are the rights falling to the Crown in Scots Property law. The term derives from Latin inter (among) and regalia.
Scots property law governs the rules relating to property found in the legal jurisdiction of Scotland. As a hybrid legal system with both common law and civil law heritage, Scots property law is similar, but not identical, to property law in South Africa and the American state of Louisiana.
The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork yet found. It consists of almost 4,600 items and metal fragments, amounting to a total of 5.1 kg (11 lb) of gold, 1.4 kg (3 lb) of silver and some 3,500 pieces of garnet cloisonné jewellery. It is described by the historian Cat Jarman as "possibly the finest collection of early medieval artefacts ever discovered".
The Stirling torcs make up a hoard of four gold Iron Age torcs, a type of necklace, all of which date to between 300 and 100 BC and which were buried deliberately at some point in antiquity. They were found by a metal detectorist in a field near Blair Drummond, Perthshire, Scotland on 28 September 2009. The hoard has been described as the most significant discovery of Iron Age metalwork in Scotland and is said to be of international significance. The torcs were valued at £462,000, and after a public appeal were acquired for the National Museums of Scotland in March 2011.
The Treasure Valuation Committee (TVC) is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) based in London, which offers expert advice to the government on items of declared treasure in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland that museums there may wish to acquire from the Crown.
The Bredon Hill Hoard is a hoard of 3,784 debased silver Roman coins discovered in June 2011 by two metal detectorists on Bredon Hill in Worcestershire, approximately 400 metres north of Kemerton Camp, an Iron Age hill fort. The coins were found in a clay pot that had been buried around the middle of the 4th century in a Roman villa, identified by the subsequent archaeological excavation. The coins include the reigns of sixteen different emperors during the mid to late 3rd century, and are the largest hoard of Roman coins to have been discovered in Worcestershire to date.
The Grouville Hoard is a hoard of an estimated 70,000 late Iron Age (Celtic) and Roman coins reported in June 2012. They were discovered by metal detectorists Reg Mead and Richard Miles in a field at an undisclosed location in the parish of Grouville on the east side of Jersey in the Channel Islands. It is the largest hoard ever found in Jersey, and the first major archaeological find made by metal detectorists in the island.
The St Albans Hoard is a large hoard of late Roman gold coins found by a metal detectorist in a field near St Albans, Hertfordshire, England in 2012. It is believed to be one of the largest hoards of Roman gold coins ever found in Britain. The hoard consists of 159 solidi dating from the last decades of the fourth century AD, near the end of the Roman occupation of Britain. After about 408, new Roman coins ceased to circulate in Britain, causing the collapse of the monetary economy and of mass-production industry.
The Bitterley Hoard is the largest post medieval / English Civil War Coin Hoard found to date from Shropshire, England. It was discovered on 17 February 2011 by a metal detector user near the village of Bitterley, South Shropshire. The find consists of one gold coin and 137 high denomination silver coins. These were placed within a high quality leather purse which was contained within a pottery vessel called a tyg. The earliest coin was from the reign of Edward VI, the latest from the Bristol Provincial Mint of Charles I, indicating it was buried after early 1644.
The Galloway Hoard, currently held in the National Museum of Scotland, is a hoard of more than 100 gold, silver, glass, crystal, stone, and earthen objects from the Viking Age discovered in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland in September 2014. Found on Church of Scotland land, the hoard has been described by experts as "one of the most significant Viking hoards ever found in Scotland". With years of extensive study and research, scholars are still not certain who buried the hoard, why they did so and whether they were Vikings or Anglo-Saxons. During the Viking Age, Galloway found itself squeezed between two Viking kingdoms and essentially cut off from other Anglo-Saxons in Britain - "Galloway is where these different cultures were meeting. It’s not just Scandinavians, but people from Britain and Ireland as well."
The Herefordshire Hoard is a hoard of coins and jewellery dating to the Viking period found near Leominster, Herefordshire in June 2015.
Kleeberg, John M., Treasure Trove Law in the United States(PDF), Numismatik.org – Texte und Materialien zur Numismatik [Texts and Materials about Numismatics], retrieved 13 April 2008.
Bland, Roger (1996), "Treasure Trove and the Case for Reform", Art, Antiquity and Law, Leicester: Institute of Art and Law: 11, ISSN1362-2331 .
Fincham, Derek (2008), "A Coordinated Legal and Policy Approach to Undiscovered Antiquities: Adapting the Cultural Heritage Policy of England and Wales to Other Nations of Origin", International Journal of Cultural Property, 15 (3): 347–370, doi:10.1017/S094073910808020X, S2CID159695848 .
Hanworth, Rosamund (1995), "Treasure Trove: New Approaches to Antiquities Legislation", in Tubb, Kathryn Walker (ed.), Antiquities: Trade or Betrayed – Legal, Ethical and Conservation Issues, London: Archetype in conjunction with United Kingdom Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (UKIC) Archaeology Section, pp.173–175, ISBN978-1-873132-70-8 .
Miller, David L. Carey; Sheridan, Alison (1996), "Treasure Trove in Scotland", Art, Antiquity and Law: 393.
Palmer, Norman E. (1993), "Treasure Trove and Title to Discovered Antiquities", International Journal of Cultural Property, 2 (2): 275–318, doi:10.1017/S0940739193000335, S2CID162644707 .
Gerstenblith, Patty (1995), "Identity and Cultural Property: The Protection of Cultural Property in the United States", B.U. L. Rev., 75: 559 at 596–597.
Izuel, Leeanna (1991), "Note, Property Owners' Constructive Possession of Treasure Trove: Rethinking the Finders Keepers Rule", UCLA Law Review, 78: 1659 at 1692.
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