Gold Country discovery.

Went on a walk around the neighborhood this afternoon and found stuff.

Lichen on!

Found an old broken art frame in the trash. Decided to fix it up a bit by painting my favorite scarecrows. The letters, toxin and eyes glow but I couldn't get pictures.

Last night I attended a book auction and scored a bunch of books for $1. They weren’t exactly valuable books, but lo and behold, look what I found tucked in the card slot of an ex-library book! A silver coin minted in 1888. Wow! 

This is really going to depend on where and when they find the treasure. If they find gold, silver and or paper money in  Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Oregon, or Wisconsin then they get to keep it. If it’s found in Tennesse or Idaho, then it belongs to the land owner. Some states have additional laws, such as in California, any found property with a worth over $100 must be reported to the police and if the original owners are not found in 90 days, then the finder keeps it unless it is worth more than $250. In that case, the police will make a public announcement about the found property and if the original owner is not found in 7 days, then the finder gets to keep the property. If it was found before 1976 in New Zeland then they can keep it, but if was found after 1976 then it belongs to the Crown. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Treasure Act of 1996 states that the find must be reported to the local coroner within 14 days, and an inquest will determine if it is treasure or not, if it is, they must offer it for sale to a museum at a price set by experts and they only get to keep it if the museum does not want the items or cannot afford them. In England and Wales, items that don’t meet the qualification for treasure can be reported in order to be recorded and remain the property fo the finder or landowner under the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The Society for American Archaeology has some additional information about finds in the US and other countries. Individual states and other countries may have website information as well, such as this FAQ from Colorado. Archaeologists will generally have a contract with the country and region in which they are digging which will already outline what will happen to found items. If your characters are just lucky people out digging in pastures, they may not be aware of those laws, though. Generally, historical artifacts are going to be a sticking point, especially in countries where there has been a history of colonization and looting/removal of artifacts. If your character tries to get on an airplane in Iran with ancient artworks, they are going to be stopped at customs and people are going to be very upset with them. The best advice I can give your characters, with the caveat that I’m not a lawyer or archaeologist so I’m not familiar with all the laws regarding antiquities, is to report their find. They may then have to turn the find over to the government, or the landowner (you’ll need to research the area to find out the applicable law), but usually, they will be granted a finder’s compensation for it, and they may get to keep the find or sell it to a museum or private bidder, and at least they’ll know they are doing it legally. If it is historical artifacts, especially in connection with fossils or human bones, they may want to just take/draw pictures, note the location and report the find to the appropriate government so that actual archaeologists can do the extraction as they are best equipped to do so without damaging the items. Also, in the US at least, they are going have to report the value of anything they keep or the amount they are paid as a finder’s fee to the IRS. You might also want to reach out to @scriptlawyer especially if they make the find in Canada. I hope this helps.~Disclaimer: This is intended as writing advice only and is not intended to be used as advice for real life situations. There are many factors that play into these situations in the real world and any real life advice should be obtained from appropriate legal counsel and accountants familiar with the area involved.