a Scottish tale - dilema

[madasahatstand]

i was up at aberfoyle again today to meet the forrestry commision guy who is sorting out the building and placing of a bench at my mums favoutire waterfall. this bench, devoted to the memory of my mum will have a brass plaque with the details of her birth and death and will overlook the waterfall. ive attached a photo of the lower part of the falls

anyway, the guy had hurt his foot and had to take us the long way round in the 4 wheeler. on the way he told us some remarkable stories, one of which id like to share.

rob roy and his band of men were driving stolen sheep to a market in stirling. one of the men was carrying a bag of gold coins. the queens men caught up with the band of men and drove them into the woods at aberfoyle. the man with the gold coins tossed the gold coins into a hollow of a dying oak tree where they lay until modern times.
a few years back (dont know how many) a man was in the woods with a metal detector and he found the gold coins. they were apparently worth £2 million. he reported his find to the authories who told him it was crown property and it was taken off him. he challenged this and was awarded £250k.
the ranger told us that had he sold the coins to collectors in USA, he would have kept the bootie. I for one dont know what id do in this situation but id be happy with 250k.

what would you do?

mad



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[allym]

Keep them probably, or sell privtely if I knew what they were and how valuable they were! If I just thought they were 'some coins' I'd find out about them; their history, value etc. Then I would probably sell privately or sell to a museum!

[RFC]

Nice story Mad

I would keep the coins and sell them once i had found out all about them
the coins are not property of the crown as they was being stolen from a  guy who was out lawed in another country
and being stopped in his own by intruders 

That is a very nice thing you are doing for the memory of you mum

all the best William

[madasahatstand]

N

spelling police alert

[RFC]

N

spelling police alert

that just sent the first one when i was typeing   

[Sark79]

 Nice waterfall, Mad..

To the answer.  The obvious answer would be to sell them privately. But when you stop and think about it, these coins are a part of our history. So maybey handing them in, so everyone can see them for years to come would be the proper thing to do.  If a person is meant to be rich, then the money will come to them in good time. It would be a shame to sell them to a rich collecter who will keep them in a private collection. Who is going to be able to see them there.

I would hand them in.

[thetank]

I'm with you mad, 250K in honest buckeroonies is worth more to me than 2000k of dodgily acquired buckage.

What if they find out later on and demand the money you got from the sale of the coins back, (after you've spent half it)

Then you'll be up the waterfall without a paddle.

[Gryffles]

It is probably crown property.
Treasure Trove law applies differently in scotland than it does in england and wales.

Theres a really good site here: http://www.ukdetectornet.co.uk/article.php?article_id=108

[RFC]

It is probably crown property.
Treasure Trove law applies differently in scotland than it does in england and wales.

Theres a really good site here: http://www.ukdetectornet.co.uk/article.php?article_id=108

good info i was only 
just for the fun of it

[allym]

No way Tank, no way! £2million babeee! No guts, no glory! Sell privately all the way!

[12barblues]

That is a wonderful spot for your Mum's bench, Mad. 

[madasahatstand]

thanks for the link gryff. its clear from the statement i will cut and paste below that the metal detector guy did not get the full market value of the coins. or maybe he would have got more in USA rom private collectors.

'the finder is normally eligible for a reward equivalent to the object's full market value. Claimed finds are allocated to a museum or museum service approved by the Scottish Museums Council (or to the National Museums of Scotland), the recipient institution paying for the reward'
The first has been addressed by making the 'Treasure Trove' process more open and accountable: finders can have an input into the valuation process, and - as a major metal detectorist journal has recently acknowledged (Palmer 1996) - it is a foolish finder who assumes that a dealer will pay him or her the full market value, without taking a sizeable commission.'
 the guy probably got what the local museam thought they were worth

[madasahatstand]

That is a wonderful spot for your Mum's bench, Mad. 

thanks 12barblues

its a lovely place but my gran is going to struggle to get up there so we are asking for special permission for the rangers to take her up there. ill find out on monday but if needbe ill carry her all the way...

[RFC]

That is a wonderful spot for your Mum's bench, Mad. 

thanks 12barblues

its a lovely place but my gran is going to struggle to get up there so we are asking for special permission for therangers  to take her up there. ill find out on monday but if needbe ill carry her all the way...

you have my permission 

but if you need a hand with your gran i will help no problem
think it is great what your doing and a lovely sentiment

[madasahatstand]

That is a wonderful spot for your Mum's bench, Mad. 

thanks 12barblues

its a lovely place but my gran is going to struggle to get up there so we are asking for special permission for therangers  to take her up there. ill find out on monday but if needbe ill carry her all the way...

you have my permission 

but if you need a hand with your gran i will help no problem
think it is great what your doing and a lovely sentiment

lol thanks rfc. my wee granny is 89yrs old and still knows every signing celtic make and how bad or good we play. its amazing. if you were to carry her up the hill this season i fear she may have a field day with you and you might 'accidentally' drop her. lol . she is a great lady for the banter and as we also have relatives from the dark side, she's good!

cheers