A dig find in the UK

JCMhouston

Just a single coin, but apparently one of the finest known.


Linky

Bochiman

Saw that on the news last night.
When they were doing the run up to it, I was listening and started hoping it was a US coin (and was waiting to hear if it was our own board member, PCGS69, who did it ).

Still cool though, even if it is somewhere else.

SYRACUSIAN

The digger found the coin on a piece of land that did not belong to him and yet he will receive half of the proceeds of its sale at auction. I still can't make my mind up if this policy is incredibly stupid, or a great incentive for all these diggers who keep on discovering one little treasure after another these past few years.

ProofArtworkonCircs

It is a US coin. It says NEW ENGLAND and MASSACHUSETTS on it.

nicholasz219

Syracusian, I tend to agree with the policy, if not the actual terms of the split of proceeds. I think it should be split amongst the owner and finder. The owner by right of possession of the land and the finder for doing the actual work to find the treasure. Historically significant troves of artifacts should probably be given a look over period for the national museum to catalog, study and all of that stuff for a year, then the coin gets sold. I find it hard to reconcile privacy of people who do what they want in their own time (collect and metal detect) with the idea that history should be recorded as well. A financial incentive to let the government document the find then go away? Or even just a please let us come and take pictures and non invasive tests. The government doesn't need to own everything. And handing it over to the government makes for a terrible possibility of the government just saying "thanks" and never returning it.

Nap

<< <i>The digger found the coin on a piece of land that did not belong to him and yet he will receive half of the proceeds of its sale at auction. I still can't make my mind up if this policy is incredibly stupid, or a great incentive for all these diggers who keep on discovering one little treasure after another these past few years. >>



I think it's a great policy.

If metal detecting were restricted by government, it would still take place, except people would never release findspots, and archaeological data would suffer. There would be an underground market for "freshly dug" coins as in Eastern Europe.

The other half of the proceeds will go to the land owner who essentially did nothing for his trouble. I can't see this as anything other than a win-win.

coindeuce

<< <i>It is a US coin. It says NEW ENGLAND and MASSACHUSETTS on it. >>



Almost, but not quite. The U.S. did not officially exist under the title United States until July 4,1776.

This Oak Tree threepence is a Massachusetts colonial coin, which was struck by the authority of the Massachussets General Court.