Coin Community Family of Web Sites Join Thousands of Coin, Bullion, & Money Collectors
Join Thousands of Coin, Bullion, & Money Collectors Specializing in Modern Numismatics Vancouvers #1 Coin and Paper Money Dealer 300,000 items to help build your collection! Royal Estate Auctions - $1 Coin AuctionsCoin, Banknote and Medal Collectors's Online Mall Royal Canadian Mint products, Canadian, Polish, American, and world coins and banknotes.








Username:
Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?


This page may contain links that result in small commissions to keep this free site up and running.

Welcome Guest! Registering and/or logging in will remove the anchor (bottom) ads. It's Free!

St Albans Roman Gold Coin Hoard Found Bought For £100,000

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.
First Page  Showing last 15 replies.
Author Previous TopicReplies: 16 / Views: 2,398Next Topic Page 2 of 2
Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts
 Posted 05/26/2015  11:30 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add pishpash to your friends list
I would settle for one!
Pillar of the Community
Canada
1269 Posts
 Posted 05/26/2015  11:42 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add orfew to your friends list
I'm with you pishpash, I would love to have just one of those.
Pillar of the Community
United States
4971 Posts
 Posted 05/26/2015  11:48 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add chrsmat71 to your friends list
hey pish, you can go visit them! I'm not sure where u are in the UK, looks like this is north of london. not my "neck of the woods" unfortunately.

http://www.enjoystalbans.com/things...amium-museum
Valued Member
United States
129 Posts
 Posted 05/26/2015  11:05 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add captainyesterday555 to your friends list
Lucky guy finding that on his first try. I am not terribly familiar with the rules of the Treasure Act. Since there are 159 coins, would/could the museum keep a portion it's purchased and put some up for auction?
Pillar of the Community
United States
4778 Posts
 Posted 05/26/2015  11:21 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add VisigothKing to your friends list
Would the finder have been allowed to keep even just one? Or does the law say all of it had to be surrendered?
Moderator
Learn More...
Australia
16857 Posts
 Posted 05/26/2015  11:36 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Sap to your friends list

Quote:
I am not terribly familiar with the rules of the Treasure Act. Since there are 159 coins, would/could the museum keep a portion it's purchased and put some up for auction?

They were declared to be "treasure" in 2013 (BBC article at the time here). A "treasure" declaration means they belong to the Crown, not the finder or the landowner. The Crown, however, "rewards" the finder and landowner the value of the coins, as determined by an independent valuer (who usually uses the true collector market vale as the basis for valuation). The Crown usually does not want to keep them directly and wants to make its money back, so offers them up for sale. If a local museum or the British Museum can raise the money to buy them, then they get first dibs. If no museum puts their hand up, then they get put up for public auction. Once the coins no longer belong to the Crown, Treasure laws no longer apply to them and they can be bought and sold just like any other coin.

However, once museums acquire specimens, especially ones they had to pay money for and doubly-especially ones they had to go begging to the public to raise the money for, they don't generally sell them. Ever. If a museum closes or is forced to downsize collections, they are usually "sold" to other museums, usually for nowhere near true market value. It's a philosophical thing. None of these coins will ever come onto the open market.

Quote:
Would the finder have been allowed to keep even just one? Or does the law say all of it had to be surrendered?

No, the entire hoard is declared "treasure". The finder would only get to "keep one" if the coins ended up going to public auction and they used some of their reward money to buy back some of the coins they found. In this case, the museum wanted them all (again, for philosophical reasons), so bought them all.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
Valued Member
United States
129 Posts
 Posted 05/26/2015  11:46 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add captainyesterday555 to your friends list
Thanks for the great explanation.
Pillar of the Community
United States
2589 Posts
 Posted 05/27/2015  12:05 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add XavierOfGreen to your friends list
bankruptcy would be a likely factor in a museum placing coins up for auction
Pillar of the Community
Australia
1006 Posts
 Posted 05/27/2015  01:14 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add oh my florin to your friends list
That is just amazing maybe I should set up a 'museum' then
Valued Member
United Kingdom
130 Posts
 Posted 05/27/2015  03:46 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Gooner to your friends list

Quote:
I am not terribly familiar with the rules of the Treasure Act. Since there are 159 coins, would/could the museum keep a portion it's purchased and put some up for auction?

They were declared to be "treasure" in 2013 (BBC article at the time here). A "treasure" declaration means they belong to the Crown, not the finder or the landowner. The Crown, however, "rewards" the finder and landowner the value of the coins, as determined by an independent valuer (who usually uses the true collector market vale as the basis for valuation). The Crown usually does not want to keep them directly and wants to make its money back, so offers them up for sale. If a local museum or the British Museum can raise the money to buy them, then they get first dibs. If no museum puts their hand up, then they get put up for public auction. Once the coins no longer belong to the Crown, Treasure laws no longer apply to them and they can be bought and sold just like any other coin.

However, once museums acquire specimens, especially ones they had to pay money for and doubly-especially ones they had to go begging to the public to raise the money for, they don't generally sell them. Ever. If a museum closes or is forced to downsize collections, they are usually "sold" to other museums, usually for nowhere near true market value. It's a philosophical thing. None of these coins will ever come onto the open market.

I've never heard of coins / artefacts going to public auction ,if they're unwanted by any museum they are returned to the finder & landowner to do whatever they want with.

Pillar of the Community
1121 Posts
 Posted 05/27/2015  05:48 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Topcat7 to your friends list
? ? ?
Edited by Topcat7
05/27/2015 05:50 am
Valued Member
United Kingdom
201 Posts
 Posted 05/27/2015  06:31 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Jimbo777 to your friends list
Yes Gooner is correct. I have a specimen going through the treasure process at the moment and have been told by the British Museum that after valuation if a museum does not want to acquire it I will simply get it back.
Moderator
Learn More...
Australia
16857 Posts
 Posted 05/27/2015  08:35 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Sap to your friends list
Ah, I was not aware of this. I was going off Wikipedia, and the wording of the Treasure Act; I assumed the whole "Secretary of State can disclaim the treasure" thing was a rare, exceptional event. But I find, buried inside the 145-page-long Code of Practice appended the act, the following paragraph:

Quote:
Although the Secretary of State will be able to use this power at any stage once a find of potential treasure has been reported to the coroner, the normal procedure will be as follows...

If, as a result of this process of consultation, no museum wishes to acquire the object(s), then the national museum will advise the Secretary of State that the Crown's interest in the find should be disclaimed. If the Secretary of State accepts this advice and disclaims the object(s), the British Museum will inform the local museum, the coroner and the finder...

Any objects disclaimed in this way will be treated as though they had never been treasure and will be returned by the coroner.

So yes, if the find qualifies as treasure but is deemed unimportant and unwanted by the museums, the normal practice is to allow the finder/landowner to keep it.

It still doesn't alter the circumstances surrounding this particular hoard (or any other similarly large, similarly noteworthy hoard), which was handed over to the museum. The finder and landowner get cash, fair market value to be sure, but no actual coins to keep. If the finder wants a solidus as a souvenir of their find, they'll have to take part of their reward money, go down to the coin shop and buy a similar-looking one there that they didn't find.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
Valued Member
United States
129 Posts
 Posted 05/27/2015  08:36 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add captainyesterday555 to your friends list
Do you get taxed on the value of the find if it is returned to you?
Valued Member
United Kingdom
130 Posts
 Posted 05/27/2015  2:36 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Gooner to your friends list
No you don't get taxed on the treasure value,but keep that quiet we don't want to give them ideas lol.
Page 2 of 2   Previous TopicReplies: 16 / Views: 2,398Next Topic Page 2 of 2
First Page  Showing last 15 replies.
To participate in the forum you must log in or register.


    




Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us  |  Advertise Here  |  Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

Coin Community Forum © 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Forums
It took 0.34 seconds to rattle this change. Forums