Treasure Act 1996
The Treasure Act 1996, which came into force in 1997, replaced the common law of Treasure Trove. It provides effective legal protection to antiquities in the United Kingdom, providing a code which provides guidance to finders, museums and coroners. It sets out guidelines to determine if an object should be offered to a museum or to the finder or to any other person, and what the reward, if any, should be.
Treasure is:
• Any metallic object, other than a coin, provided that at least 10% by weight of the metal is precious (silver or gold) and that it is at least 300 years when found. If the object is of prehistoric date it will be treasure provided any part of the metal is either silver or gold.
• Any group of two or more metallic objects of any composition of prehistoric date that came from the same find.
• All coins from the same find provided that they are at least 300 years old when found (but if the coins contain less than 10% of gold or silver there must be at least ten of them). Only the following group of coins will normally be regarded as coming from the same find:
o Hoards that have been deliberately hidden
o Smaller groups of coins, such as the contents of purses that may have been dropped or lost.
o Votive or ritual deposits.
• Any object, whatever it is made of, that is part of the ‘same find’ as another object that is Treasure. An object or coin is part of the ‘same find’ as another object or coin if it is found in the same place as, or had previously been together with, the other object. Finds may have become scattered since they were originally deposited in the ground.
• Any object that would have previously been Treasure Trove, but does not fall with the specific categories given above. Only objects that are less than 300 years old, that are made substantially of gold or silver, that have been deliberately hidden with the intention of recover and whose owners or heirs are unknown will come into this category.
• Prehistoric base metal assemblages found after 1st January 2003 also qualify as treasure.
Treasure is not
• Objects whose owners can be traced.
• Unworked natural objects, including human and animal remains.
• Objects from the foreshore which are wreck.
• Single coins found on their own. Including groups of coins lost one by one over a long period of time.
What to Do If You Find Treasure
Any objects deemed to be treasure should be reported to the coroner within fourteen days. Not reporting the find to the coroner is a criminal offence and is punishable by a prison sentence or fine.
For additional information on the Treasure Act see www.finds.org.uk.