Treasure trove
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Treasure trove is a large amount of gold, silver, gemstones, money, jewellery, or any valuable collection found hidden under ground or in cellar or attics, etc., where the treasure seems old enough to presume that the true owner is dead and her heirs undiscoverable.
Both the legal definition of treasure trove and its treatment under law varies considerably from country to country.
The term is also often used metaphorically. Collections of articles published as a book are often titled Treasure Trove, as in A Treasure Trove of Science. This was especially fashionable for titles of children's books in the early and mid 20th century. More recently, the term has been used in the names of many World Wide Web resource sites.
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[edit] Legal definition
[edit] United Kingdom
Under the common law of England and Wales and of Scotland, if a person dies without passing their property by will, and has no relatives, then their property is Bona Vacantia (lit. "vacant goods") and passes to The Crown as final owner of all property in the UK. However, if property is simply lost, and remains unclaimed, then that property goes to the person who found it.
Throughout the UK, farmers, archæologists doing research and amateur treasure hunters just looking for coins occasionally unearth important treasures (such as the Sutton Hoo Treasure) of immense scientific and financial value. Since 1996, the ownership of such finds is determined in England and Wales by the Treasure Act 1996. Prior to this Act, the local Coroner was responsible for determining whether the property was lost (e.g. dropped on an ancient battlefield) or just buried intentionally (e.g. at a burial, or simply to keep it safe). In the former case, the finder was able to keep it and become rich; in the latter, the property was Bona Vacantia and belonged to the Crown (generally going to a local or national museum).
All goods found in English waters are to be returned to the Receiver of Wreck, a government official (currently Sophia Exelby) who determines ownership. In most of the cases, the found goods remain with the finder.
In Scotland, treasure trove is administered by the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer, an office held by the Crown Agent, the senior official in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
