Man Finds Roman Gold Coin Hoard Worth £100,000 With Metal Detector 249
An anonymous reader writes "A novice metal detector has found one of the largest roman gold coin hoards ever unearthed in the UK. From the article: 'National newspapers reported on Wednesday that the man, from Berkhamsted, had been sold a beginner’s metal detector from the town’s High Street-based Hidden History for £135. He is reported to have gone back with 40 of the “solidi” coins, dating to the last days of Roman rule in Britain, and asked: “What do I do with this?”'"
British local press at their best (not) (Score:2, Interesting)
"Are you the man who found the coins? Do you know who he is? Contact reporter David O’Neill on 01442 898451."
Duh! - one might have expected the journo to get the name, or even an interview!
not the largest find (Score:5, Interesting)
TFA is way out. The was a more valuable Roman find of Roman Torcs [wikipedia.org] 3 miles to the west of Stirling in Scotland which netted around £4m which he had a share of £500k [thesun.co.uk]
What's interesting is that the Romans didn't last long in Scotland but there are still visible signs of our italian pals from 2000 years ago, such as the Fendoch fort in the Sma Glen [scran.ac.uk] north of Crieff and the fort at Braco some 5 miles south of Crieff.
We found some tunic broaches with a metal detector in my parents field a few miles away. Still looking for the pot of Roman gold. There are legends that Fendoch had a large stash of gold but there just legends and no one has ever found them plus metal detecting is illegal on recognised Roman forts which is a bit of a set back!
Sure he "found" them (Score:2, Interesting)
It sounds like he came across a fortune through illegal means, bought a beginner metal detector someplace (really who spends 135 quid on a beginner item, he must have been certain he would find something worth at least that value) and then played dumb when he says that he "found" it.
He reports it in, nobody will claim, and he will get to keep it legally. Easy way to "legalise" something you shouldn't have. Works for bags of money some people "dig up" in their backyard too (which is really their drug money they need to bring off the black market to make a legitimate purchase). Just hope that nobody else can make a plausible enough claim for it.
Re:Good that he reported it (Score:5, Interesting)
in Italy, if you find something on your own land, the owner of archaeological stuff is Italy, moreover the country can temporarily occupy the piece of land interested and the owner is entitled to indemnification.
This is why in Italy people does not find historical stuff on the owned lands...
I smell a rat (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Good that he reported it (Score:5, Interesting)
Regarding the owner, can you get back payment for rent from the government? They kept their property stored on your land for 2000 years.
Re:Illegal in Ireland (Score:3, Interesting)
Here in China they know where the Tomb of Qin Shi Huang is located, but they won't be actually excavating the site until such a time as they can figure out how to do so without destroying everything in there. Assuming that it's properly preserved.
It's the responsible thing to do. Once something is damaged or destroyed, that's it. You can sometimes repair it, but it's never the same as if it weren't damaged or destroyed in the first place.
As much as I'd love to see the tomb opened, it's more important that it not be destroyed before the technology is there to open it safely. There's been way too many archeological sites damaged over the years by people that didn't know or didn't care about how to do it correctly.
Re:Good that he reported it (Score:2, Interesting)
You couldn't get two bits for an arrowhead back in the 60s. Now you can't legally pick one up.
Fucking politicians.
Sounds suspicious - or am I too cynical? (Score:0, Interesting)
The Roman empire was a big place. A lot of Eastern European museums must be short of cash. If some coins leaked out of a museum, and found their way to London, what would the new owner do? Maybe go out and buy a metal detector and say "look what I found"
Just a possibility. But I suppose the "lucky first timer" scenario could be true as well.
Re:Not stolen by the banks (Score:4, Interesting)
The early bankers, were already looked upon with contempt...We can now see why, by looking at what can happen when they are given too much power....
Same in Egypt ... (Score:5, Interesting)
The same principle holds in Egypt: if you discover anything interesting while digging, you have to report it to the Department of Antiquities. They may take over the site and do a dig, or whatever they see fit.
This is why I know people, from Alexandria, who found Roman era amphorae while digging the foundation of their apartment building just take them home and never tell the authorities.
I myself have seen Roman earthenware come out on a government owned building when digging for a data center power cable. The managers just said keep quiet, otherwise it will delay our own project.
The stuff is not even sold or goes on the black market, it sits in storage at someone's balcony or dumped as rubbish.
Re:Spend 'Em!!! (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Good that he reported it (Score:2, Interesting)
This is true enough. Since the 1960's much of the US Government has been infected with Leftists who don't believe in Property rights. thus they have spent 50 years slowly whittling away at it through laws passed at midnight on a weekday, various "rules" passed by unelected leftists bureaucrats, and by activist leftist judges. All with the intent of placing into law that you DON'T actually own any land or anything on or in it. this has been happening both at federal and state levels, with the more leftist controlled states being worse.
By way of example, see New York State. You own a farm? Discover oil, or coal, or some other mineral resource on it? Go ahead and TRY to sell that resource. You will find that your "Mineral Rights" don't actually exist. Oh, you still legally HAVE them, but you can't actually USE them due to all the other regulations in place.
The same goes with Archaeological finds, treasure finds, et al. If you find anything of potential archaeological, historical or intrinsic value on your property, TELL NO ONE.
- If it is archaeological, DESTROY IT or re-hide it as fast as you can. Or your entire property is forfeit to Eminent Domain as an Archaeological site.
- If it is historical, Keep it to yourself, unless you want your property declared a historical site and thus ineligible for further improvement. (IE: You won't be allowed to fix up your now historical house without a mile long ream of paperwork. Even if the roof is leaking.)
- If it is intrinsic, such as gold or silver coins, jewels etc, then TELL NO ONE, buy a small jeweler's forge and melt down the coins into small bars, remove the jewels from any settings and melt down the settings, then quietly place all of it into a safe deposit box (preferably in the caymans if you can afford it). Otherwise the US Government will simply TAKE IT from you and you will then have to pay a tax on the value of the stuff you now no longer have, thus bankrupting you for having the temerity to find something valuable.
One of the first things that despots and leftists do is remove personal property rights. If not directly, then by a thousand regulations. If you want to keep your stuff, then you keep quiet.
Confiscate them! (Score:3, Interesting)
I seem to recall, from reading about other similar situations, that the British government considers all finds of this nature to be the property of the government. Kind of like how in the U.S. the Feds now consider anything that falls from the sky and lands on Federal land to be federal property.
For some reason the Feds were pissed meteorite collectors were making money off of rocks from the sky and they weren't.
Re:Same in Egypt ... (Score:2, Interesting)
Similar things happen whenever land use rights get infringed. More than once I've seen a contractor say, "Wow, this species of tree is nearly extinct! Get rid of it before anyone sees it or we'll never get this project finished."
People really should put more thought into regulations like this, as they're not really motivating the desired behavior.
Re:Good that he reported it (Score:1, Interesting)
Malarkey. Even unimproved remote rural property that benefits from none of these so-called services is taxed.
At a typically low-rate, and yes, it does receive plenty of services, some of which may not be direct, but they are still present.
If you feel you're being taxed too much, fine, convince us how much benefit you're receiving versus how much taxes you're paying. Or convince us that your property assessment is too high.
Do it objectively, and make us believe you. Or just continue to assert things that rely on an argument of principles, rather than practicals.
You won't understand how that won't persuade people.
Roads, sewers, and other public works are generally financed via other taxes, levies and districts, often by user fees fees, which are much fairer.
Then why do I continually see people complaining about them as well?
People don't like paying for stuff. They complain. Sometimes their complaints might be valid, other times, it tends to be general grousing.
Property taxes are usually paid into "general fund" or public schools accounts, where they are squandered as government sees fit.
The point here is that you either pay or lose the land. Rent by any other name.
Ah, payments to schools are considered to be a society benefit, as we all benefit from an educated society. That's why it's part of state constitutions across the land. You can claim it's wasted if you want, but as I said, that's what some people always do, complain, complain, and complain. Then they tend to complain that all their critics are doing is complaining about them.
Here's something you don't know: You have the right to try to fix public schools if you want to offer your suggestions, you can. Of course the people who do are the ones who tend to sell us a bunch of snake oil (which chances are good you might support them as they'll play to your ideals) which actually just ruin the schools.
But that's another problem.
Still, you're not fixing things, you're just running around screaming at the injustice of it all.
Because you're really just a selfish entitled brat who wants everything for free and hates the thought of not being in complete control of everything.
You are a taker, of the worst kind, because you are a hypocrite and a liar.
Re:Spend 'Em!!! (Score:5, Interesting)
The Anglo-Saxon language was a dialect of West Germanic that developed in southern Denmark and northeastern Germany (the Angle) in the first centuries AD and was already spoken by the Angles, Saxons and Jutes when they invaded Britain, and in fact those early dialects the three groups brought over were the source of several English dialects found in England and southern Scotland even 1,500 years later.
Just to be totally pedantic :)
Re:Same in Egypt ... (Score:2, Interesting)
This is as it should be. Unfortunately.
I've seen it in N. America with native relics. Bottom line -- if I'm a property owner, I have a personal interest in the property.
Society has a collective interest in the finding, for which they utterly fail to compensate, or even mitigate my individual self interests.
Not only do they not outweigh it, but they very rarely break anywhere near a fraction of 'even'.
So -- if you find an artfiact, just like a body. Shoot, Shovel, and Shut up.
Or...you know...smash, trash, and shut up.
Alternately, put it in the attic and maybe in 100 years... but that's a lot of risk if someone finds it for very little potential reward.
Dear Archaeo people...I know you all aren't funded well. That many of you are ...actually really bumbling inept grad students... That those of you who aren't bumbling work long hard hours. That my attitude probably infuriates you.
I'm sorry.
But if these fibers and the context is so damned important to you, you need to arrange for appropriate compensation for when you shut down someone's life, someone's project, cock-block their construction and otherwise utterly screw them over.
Otherwise lots of perfectly reasonable, intelligent, good natured people are going to take your history -- and burn it, because that's the most ethical, pragmatic decision.
Yes, I said /ethical/, even if it is almost always unlawful. Why should my kids go hungry because of what somebody buried a thousand years ago?
You can legislate all you want, but if you take a stick approach instead of a carrot to society... I'm going to laugh at the taste of your tears when you're bypassed.