Supose you buy a house built in the 19th century and find a trove of money, valuables, etc. How do you know which of the previous owners are the rightful owners (assuming the house had been bought and sold several times and other owners may not have even known about it) >>
The dates on the coins would kind of help to pinpoint the time about when the stuff was placed there. I suppose any of the owners could have put a roll of 1798 dollars in there though. In this case, it would appear that the previous owner/occupant [or relative of same] could have put them in there. Still seems strange that the owner didn't retrieve them unless he/she wasn't allowed to enter the premises for whatever reason or he/she was away at the time the house was sold.
My parents' home in Denver was built in 1927. The original owners who bought from the developer owned the home for about 1 year before they sold it to owner #2. Owner # 2 owned the home from the late 1920's to 1966 when my parents bought it. My mother passed away in the mid 1990's and my father lived in the home until recently when he moved into an assisted living facility. My parents home was sold earlier this year. My sister and I spent time moving personal belongings out of the home to get it ready for sale. I did a lot of the clean out myself. While doing so I looked everyone I could (attic, closets, ductwork, garage, under the old carpeting, in the basement coal room [yes a coal room]) hoping to find a stash of old coins and currency and other valuable stuff. I was really hoping to find a roll of 1927D double eagles
I even had a metal detectorist appear and search the property and the home.
I did not find anything hidden away other than some old newspapers from the 1950's.
The metal detectorist found a number of wheat cents, a 1907 Indian Head cent, a 1964D silver dime, a couple of 1950's nickels and a clad quarter from the early 1990's. He also found some buttons and other odds and ends. Not a single 1927D double eagle though.
The realtor who handled the sale of my parents home told me a story about him representing a client who decades ago bought an old home in Denver's Five Points area. The home had been built before 1900 and was in terrible condition. The buyer paid $60,000.00 for the home. After closing on the purchase and taking possession of the home the buyer was doing work on the home to fix it up. He found tucked away in an out of way place (ductwork) old currency and old coins that all together had a face value of about $60,000.00. The buyer got himself a free house.
As far as keeping one's mouth shut, some folks just can not do so. I remember a story I heard about some guys in the So. Cal. desert finding out in the middle of no where a stash of gold coins. They went back to town to the local watering hole (bar) and talked about their discovery and probably showed a few of the locals some of the coins. Well the local small town paper ran a story about the find. The story int he small paper was noticed by other papers and the story spread. Eventually the story was reported back Washington D.C. An ever vigilent and diligent public servant read the story and looked into things. Turns out the find was made on land owned by Uncle Sam. The matter was referred to the US Attorney's Office who took the position that the coins belong to Uncle Sam since they were located on federal land. Federal law enforcement officers tracked down the guys who found the coins and told them to "hand over the goods". The guys who found the coins had no choice but to turn them over to the Feds. Bet they wish they had kept their trap shut instead of blabbing about their find at the local bar.
The law on found property differs based on what jurisdiction you are in. The rules vary depending on what label is placed on the found property ("lost", "stolen", "misplaced", abandoned", etc.).
<< <i> Still seems strange that the owner didn't retrieve them unless he/she wasn't allowed to enter the premises for whatever reason or he/she was away at the time the house was sold. >>
Sometimes the owner doesn't have a choice to remember (death) and may not have told anyone else about thier stash. When the estate is settled, no one is the wiser for its existence.
<< <i>The matter was referred to the US Attorney's Office who took the position that the coins belong to Uncle Sam since they were located on federal land. Federal law enforcement officers tracked down the guys who found the coins and told them to "hand over the goods". The guys who found the coins had no choice but to turn them over to the Feds. >>
Of course, once obtaining the coins, I'm sure the Feds dutifully tried to find their rightful owner. Right?
<< <i> Still seems strange that the owner didn't retrieve them unless he/she wasn't allowed to enter the premises for whatever reason or he/she was away at the time the house was sold. >>
Sometimes the owner doesn't have a choice to remember (death) and may not have told anyone else about thier stash. When the estate is settled, no one is the wiser for its existence. >>
There are any number of reasons why the coins were not retrieved before the house was sold. Unfortunately we are not given any info regarding the prior owner so everything is subject to speculation and one idea is about as good as the other.
<< <i>Most times when a treasure trove is discovered you wouldn't hear about it on a public forum.
In this case, the seller of the house is certain to initiate some type of legal action to recover the property.
The outcome will be determined by state law which is likely not crystal clear.
I own a house built in 1875, and if I found anything I would consider it mine. >>
If the seller of the house is alive he likely would have removed them IF he was the true owner. Also his access to the home may have been limited and he might not have been able to recover them in a discreet manner. He could have gotten a court order, but maybe he didn't want it known that he had them. Whoever the true owner is will have to prove ownership.
Frankly, I think it's unlikely that the seller will hear about it.
<< <i>We bought it on a short sale from a bank. The guy who owned it before us killed himself in the garage 2 months after he bought it. It was vacant until we bought it. There have only been 4 owners of the house. We think it was 2 owners before us, if they haven't come back for them yet. They won't. >>
Comments
<< <i>Here's my question:
Supose you buy a house built in the 19th century and find a trove of money, valuables, etc. How do you know which of the previous owners are the rightful owners (assuming the house had been bought and sold several times and other owners may not have even known about it) >>
The dates on the coins would kind of help to pinpoint the time about when the stuff was placed there. I suppose any of the owners could have put a roll of 1798 dollars in there though. In this case, it would appear that the previous owner/occupant [or relative of same] could have put them in there. Still seems strange that the owner didn't retrieve them unless he/she wasn't allowed to enter the premises for whatever reason or he/she was away at the time the house was sold.
I even had a metal detectorist appear and search the property and the home.
I did not find anything hidden away other than some old newspapers from the 1950's.
The metal detectorist found a number of wheat cents, a 1907 Indian Head cent, a 1964D silver dime, a couple of 1950's nickels and a clad quarter from the early 1990's. He also found some buttons and other odds and ends. Not a single 1927D double eagle though.
The realtor who handled the sale of my parents home told me a story about him representing a client who decades ago bought an old home in Denver's Five Points area. The home had been built before 1900 and was in terrible condition. The buyer paid $60,000.00 for the home. After closing on the purchase and taking possession of the home the buyer was doing work on the home to fix it up. He found tucked away in an out of way place (ductwork) old currency and old coins that all together had a face value of about $60,000.00. The buyer got himself a free house.
As far as keeping one's mouth shut, some folks just can not do so. I remember a story I heard about some guys in the So. Cal. desert finding out in the middle of no where a stash of gold coins. They went back to town to the local watering hole (bar) and talked about their discovery and probably showed a few of the locals some of the coins. Well the local small town paper ran a story about the find. The story int he small paper was noticed by other papers and the story spread. Eventually the story was reported back Washington D.C. An ever vigilent and diligent public servant read the story and looked into things. Turns out the find was made on land owned by Uncle Sam. The matter was referred to the US Attorney's Office who took the position that the coins belong to Uncle Sam since they were located on federal land. Federal law enforcement officers tracked down the guys who found the coins and told them to "hand over the goods". The guys who found the coins had no choice but to turn them over to the Feds. Bet they wish they had kept their trap shut instead of blabbing about their find at the local bar.
The law on found property differs based on what jurisdiction you are in. The rules vary depending on what label is placed on the found property ("lost", "stolen", "misplaced", abandoned", etc.).
<< <i> Still seems strange that the owner didn't retrieve them unless he/she wasn't allowed to enter the premises for whatever reason or he/she was away at the time the house was sold. >>
Sometimes the owner doesn't have a choice to remember (death) and may not have told anyone else about thier stash. When the estate is settled, no one is the wiser for its existence.
<< <i>The matter was referred to the US Attorney's Office who took the position that the coins belong to Uncle Sam since they were located on federal land. Federal law enforcement officers tracked down the guys who found the coins and told them to "hand over the goods". The guys who found the coins had no choice but to turn them over to the Feds. >>
Of course, once obtaining the coins, I'm sure the Feds dutifully tried to find their rightful owner. Right?
<< <i>
<< <i> Still seems strange that the owner didn't retrieve them unless he/she wasn't allowed to enter the premises for whatever reason or he/she was away at the time the house was sold. >>
Sometimes the owner doesn't have a choice to remember (death) and may not have told anyone else about thier stash. When the estate is settled, no one is the wiser for its existence. >>
There are any number of reasons why the coins were not retrieved before the house was sold. Unfortunately we are not given any info regarding the prior owner so everything is subject to speculation and one idea is about as good as the other.
In this case, the seller of the house is certain to initiate some type of legal action to
recover the property.
The outcome will be determined by state law which is likely not crystal clear.
I own a house built in 1875, and if I found anything I would consider it mine.
<< <i>Most times when a treasure trove is discovered you wouldn't hear about it on a public forum.
In this case, the seller of the house is certain to initiate some type of legal action to
recover the property.
The outcome will be determined by state law which is likely not crystal clear.
I own a house built in 1875, and if I found anything I would consider it mine. >>
If the seller of the house is alive he likely would have removed them IF he was the true owner. Also his access to the home may have been limited and he might not have been able to recover them in a discreet manner. He could have gotten a court order, but maybe he didn't want it known that he had them. Whoever the true owner is will have to prove ownership.
Frankly, I think it's unlikely that the seller will hear about it.
<< <i>We bought it on a short sale from a bank. The guy who owned it before us killed himself in the garage 2 months after he bought it. It was vacant until we bought it.
There have only been 4 owners of the house. We think it was 2 owners before us, if they haven't come back for them yet. They won't. >>
Source
<< <i>The owner of the house is allegedly dead:
>>
The owner of the house found a treasure. Who doesn't like discovery ?
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5