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19 minutes ago, Erik Oostra said:

What would you do if they didn't still have it? You'd have to prove ownership of that exact ring.. And the cops probably wouldn't love you too much for trying to test their honesty.. My guess would be that this would come back to bite you on the arse, maybe in the form of unwarranted speeding tickets.. 😬 

 

That's an interesting question.  I suppose the test would have to done with a ring that has unique markings.   

 

And .... I wonder what would happen if they said "someone claimed it", and then I "sprung the trap" and told them it was just a made up story to test their honesty.   Very interesting question.

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1 hour ago, Tom_in_CA said:

 

That's an interesting question.  I suppose the test would have to done with a ring that has unique markings.   

 

And .... I wonder what would happen if they said "someone claimed it", and then I "sprung the trap" and told them it was just a made up story to test their honesty.   Very interesting question.

Good test, might want to try it in a different town other than the one you live in 😉

Not all police are bad but not all are good either. I have my own first hand experiences with that.

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What if . . . . . . . What if . . . . . . .  What if . . . . . 

think we need to have a new forum overseen by Tom; the Philospophy of Metal Detecting

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When my neighbor finds a ring or a piece of jewelry he goes to the local paper and they will run an ad for 30 days for free.

He asks the people who calls to describe the item and where it was lost. So far he has returned at least 6 rings that I know of. The other 50 or so has gone to market.

That is what I will do if I ever find something like that.

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2 hours ago, Valens Legacy said:

When my neighbor finds a ring or a piece of jewelry he goes to the local paper and they will run an ad for 30 days for free.

He asks the people who calls to describe the item and where it was lost. So far he has returned at least 6 rings that I know of. The other 50 or so has gone to market.

That is what I will do if I ever find something like that.

Technically, if the ring or piece of jewelry meets the cutoff valuation criteria for your state of Illinois L&F laws , then your friend is in violation.  The law makes no provision for  you to do your own repatriation attempt.   It will merely say to turn it in to the police.

 

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I just accept that fact that I am a treasure hunting pirate.   Once I find it, it belongs to me.  What I choose to do with it after that is my own decision to make.   

Regards your treasure question.....ownership is part of the project research, just as you need to research the source of the treasure, you also need to research the potential ownership claims on the treasure.   

Then you decide what would be the best outcome for your project should it succeed.   

HH
Mike

 

 

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4 hours ago, rod-pa said:

the good part about finding 1800s and earlier coins....them folks is deceased

 

 

What if the value of the 1800s coin exceeds the value cutoff mark for your state's L&F laws ?   I know that some people will say that if the dime says "10c" on there, that the value is therefore 10c, right ?  But consider this true story :

 

There was a true story, from my area, where a nerdy loaner 4th grader kid took his dad's coin collection to school, for show & tell day (without his dad's knowledge or permission).  And during recess, the loaner kid began to pass out the coins to the school kids, to "make friends".  And those kids (who probably thought they were just play money), promptly went out into the school yard and lost most of them.

 

A few months later, imagine the surprise of a local md'r, who was only plying the sandbox, at this modern school, for loose change, began to find coins from the 1800s !  After finding 4 or 5 such bust halves, trade dollars, etc...., He rationalized "perhaps they came in with the sand, since, no doubt, the sand comes from the beach" (this school was only a few miles from the beach).  

 

One day, after he and his buddy had gotten up to 8 or 10 such coins, an after school janitor spotted one of them out there.  The janitor came out to tell them "Keep your eyes open for any super old coins, and let me know if you find any".  When the md'r went to ask him : "Why ?  What's up ?", the janitor told the md'r the story of the nerdy 4th grader.

 

Ok, so you tell me :  In-lieu of the CA L&F laws, do those coins belong to the lucky md'r ?  Or to the dad whose coin collection they came out of ?   If you were the dad, which side of this would you come down on ?

 

And while you may think "well .... that's an exception, since the entire story had been made known to the md'r", then :  What if the md'r had never met the janitor ?  And the dad spotted his coins being sold on ebay.   Who owns them know ?  Was the md'r in violation of L&F laws, if he hadn't met the janitor ?   Obviously the bust half is worth over $100, not .50c

 

Interesting legal issues !  Not that any of us are going to change our behaviors, but .... interesting ramifications.

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