Treasure trove is a large amount of gold, silver, gems, money, jewelery, or any valuable collection found hidden under ground or in cellar or attics, etc., where the owner of the treasure is not known.

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. In language, a metaphor is a rhetorical trope where a comparison is made between two seemingly unrelated subjects. ... Graphic representation of the World Wide Web around Wikipedia The World Wide Web (WWW, W3, or simply Web) is an information space in which the items of interest, referred to as resources, are identified by global identifiers called Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs). ...

Legal definition

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. This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Waless location within the UK Official languages English, Welsh Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff First Minister Rhodri Morgan Area  - Total Ranked 3rd UK 20,779 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 3rd UK 2,903,085 140/km² Ethnicity: 97. ... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (Latin: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the UK Languages with Official Status1 English Scottish Gaelic Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... Bona vacantia (Latin, meaning vacant goods) is a doctrine of the common law in England under which ownerless property passes by law to the Crown. ... The Crown is a term which is used to separate the government authority and property of the state in a kingdom from any personal influence and private assets held by the current Monarch. ...

Throughout the UK, farmers ploughing fields, 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). Sutton Hoo parade helmet (British Museum, restored). ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The Treasure Act, 1996 is a piece of legislation designed to deal with finds of treasure primarily those made by metal detectorists in England and Wales. ... A coroner is the presiding officer of a special court to investigate deaths that occur under unusual circumstances where conventional criminal proceedings are not immediately called for. ...

All goods found on 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. The Receiver of Wreck is an official of the British government whose main task is to process incoming reports of wreck in order to give the legitimate owner the opportunity to retrieve their property ensure that law-abiding finders of wreck receive an appropriate reward This involves researching ownership, liaising...

In Scotland, treasure trove is administered by the Queen's & Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer, an office held by the Crown Agent, the senior official in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is a government department in Scotland that is responsible for the public prosecution of alleged criminals. ...

External links

• Scottish law
• US law
• English law
• German law
• Article from a 1911 Encyclopedia

See also

• geocaching