A “treasure trove” is typically defined as gold, silver, or cash that’s discovered and has no discernible owner. The Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS) breaks down how things are viewed regarding found items, which are labeled as “mislaid, lost, abandoned, or ‘treasure trove.'” Mislaid means someone dropped an item and didn’t realize it, and lost refers to accidentally leaving something somewhere. In both of those cases, if no one goes back looking for the item, the item is considered abandoned. A treasure trove, though, refers to something of high value with an unknown original owner. Those distinctions shape whether or not a finder of an item gets to lay claim to it.
Advertisement
In the case of buried treasure, odds are, the people who put it there are no longer living, so let’s go with that scenario. In most states, if you and your trusty metal detector find a bunch of gold doubloons in Wisconsin, Arkansas, Oregon, Connecticut, Ohio, Delaware, New York, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, or Maine, the treasure is yours to keep under the Treasure Trove Rule.
Many other states say if treasure is found — and this includes anywhere, not just buried but also in attics, mattresses, or hidden in objects — it’s the finder’s duty to try to locate the owners. In those cases, law enforcement may get involved, and there is typically a length of time the true owners have to come forward. In some cases, if you don’t report it and are found out, it’s considered theft. If no one has a credible claim, it’s yours. Two states call property owner’s rights, though. Idaho and Tennessee’s laws say any treasure found belongs to the property owner and not the person who finds it. The reasoning is to deter trespassers from slinking around on private grounds.
Advertisement
